Product Updates

We’re just putting the finishing touches on our latest update to Smokeball. Watch the video to learn what’s new and click the “subscribe” button at the bottom of this post to be the first to know when these features are live!  We’ve built more than we could cover in our video this month! Here’s the highlights and links to find out more:  Now available in Smokeball Billing Streamline compliance and invoicing with embedded signaturesYou can now embed signatures in invoices automatically. Add the signatures you need in settings then customise as much as you want to by choosing which signatures are needed for each matter and invoice type.[US only] Automate evergreen retainer top-ups Quickly update invoices to include retainer to top-up requests. This feature works well with the existing ability to set an alert when your retainer balance drops below a preset amount. Learn more about what we’ve recently released in Smokeball Billing. Coming soon in Smokeball desktopImportant - these features are scheduled to be released soon and are not yet live in Smokeball desktop. We’ll let you know when they’re ready to go right here.  [AU only] Store files with your contact for safe custodyDigital safe custody documents such as wills, certificates or title and assets are now easy to link to a contact for use across multiple matters.Click to zoom in Create a new Lead or Matter from a contactWord of mouth recommendations are still a major source of new clients. Because of these connections - you will often find the details you need are already stored in your contacts in Smokeball. Right clicking on an existing contact now lets you create a lead or matter that is already linked up to the contact in your records. Click to zoom in  You auto-complete me. Autocomplete addresses in contact cards. Get some extra peace of mind that your address is correct with our autocomplete function. As you enter in details, we’ll search for matching street addresses. Just click the right one to automatically update the rest of your contact’s details. Click to zoom in  Keep what matters in your matter view Sub-items give you space to record as much or as little detail as you need for each matter that you create for your clients. Declutter your view by hiding the items you don’t need. Click to zoom in  For the full list of what’s to come in Smokeball, visit our release notes page.That's all for now! Let us know what you think or ask questions by replying below.

  Search for contacts with certaintyCheck for duplicates and tell the difference between clients with the same name. Smokeball now displays extra contact details to help you tell who’s who.  Who assigned you a task?It’s now possible to see who created a task so in your task list as an optional column. We’re also busy creating task notifications, so stay tuned for this. Share a Pay Now link in Communicate messagesIs your client ready to pay your invoice? Show them how to pay at the same time you let them know the bill is ready.  Add a Pay Now button to your Communicate message to speed up your payments.It’s now also possible to add your own URLs as clickable links in Communicate messages sent from Smokeball.See what else is newThere’s so many more new features and improvements ready for you to explore including some very helpful bug fixes. Find out more in our latest version 8.8 Release Notes and our latest Billing Release Notes.  Need more help?Ask a question, we’re ready to talk!

After successful beta testing, Smokeball Billing now supports multiple trust accounts for all users!This highly-requested feature makes it possible to manage trust transactions, reporting and reconciliations easily between multiple accounts. Get all your trust accounting done directly from Smokeball Billing in order to:Keep your accounts compliant Manage trust accounts across different states Say goodbye to complicated workaroundsWatch below: Read more about multiple trust accounts in our support hub.We cover everything from how to add a new trust account to closing an account and everything in between. Still have questions? Click reply below or ask a question. We’d love to help!  

We always work hard to bring you features which are designed to make your work easier, more efficient, and more professional. 2022 was no exception. Here’s my round up of the top features we released to help you run your best firm: Custom Dashboards: track your work your way Get all the information you need at your fingertips. Our custom dashboards are designed for your area of law and how you like to work.  View Dashboards in actionCommunicate: helping you securely connect with your clientsStay connected with your clients, colleagues and other stakeholders. Our redesigned Communicate Portal makes it easier to securely share everything from messages, emails, documents and invoice summaries in one place. See how Communicate worksNew invoicing: more professional to help you get paid faster Present a polished, professional image to your clients with every invoice and invoice email you send.We also helped fast track your payments, allowing clients to pay straight from the invoice with one click through local payment integrations: Stripe (🇦🇺) and Lawpay (🇺🇸).  Get started  Take a bit of 2022 with you into the new year. We’re here to help you put our new features in action!

Earlier this year we released customizable dashboards. They are a powerful way to boost productivity that is tailored to your area of law and your way of working.As a family law practitioner, my dashboard is set up so that it surfaces the most important information for me - all in one place.Have you set up your dashboard yet? If not, let’s go through setting it up together! Watch now:  Read more about customizable dashboards and the various widgets you can implement.Let us know your thoughts on dashboards in the comments below!

We’re excited to roll out two highly-requested features we’ve been working on behind the scenes:Handling surcharges on invoices Support for multiple trust accounts The multiple trust accounts feature is currently in beta testing. If you would like this to be enabled for your firm, reply to this thread and we’ll make it happen!Watch now: Add surcharges to invoices Easily add fixed-fee or percentage-based surcharges to your invoices. Using a calculator to figure out credit card surcharges or sales taxes is now a thing of the past!Manage multiple trust accountsWe’re making it possible to handle transactions and bank reconciliations for more than one trust account. This is a great feature if your firm owns multiple trust accounts operating across different states. You can also use this feature to easily manage the process of drawing down your current trust account to transition to another bank.

Smokeball’s newest integration with eBrief Ready helps Australian lawyers:Share briefs with Counsel Submit accurate and correctly formatted documents for Australian courts Sync documents and folders between eBrief Ready and SmokeballLearn how Smokeball's integration with eBrief Ready works to share your documents in moments.​Watch now:  Have an eBrief Ready account?Australian Smokeball users can use this integration from within a paid eBrief Ready account. There’s no extra charge for integrating it with Smokeball.Want to know more about eBrief Ready? eBrief Ready helps Australian lawyers collaborate and share court-friendly briefs. Learn how eBrief Ready can help you streamline your briefing process.

Smokeball helps you securely connect and share information with your clients. Through Communicate, you can:Have confidence your files, correspondence and invoices are secure with two factor authentication, encryption and unauthorised access monitoring Provide your clients with a secure portal to access everything including files, correspondence and billing information that can be accessed on your web browser or via the Communicate mobile app.See it in action with a client’s eye view of Smokeball’s Communicate features  Read more about how to add our secure features to your workflowsWe’ve got a great overview of all the features in Communicate. Install the app so you can keep the conversation going while you’re on the go. Learn about the added security features we’ve built to protect you and your clients from bad actors. Helping your clients connect via Communicate? We’ve built a support site just for your clients. It’s got everything from learning how to get started to all the frequently asked questions.  Have questions or feedback? I’d love to talk. Please take a moment to share a reply below.  

Here’s a  bunch of great features to help you:Send invoices securely Provide a secure place for your client correspondence, files, billing and payments Create new matters that are automatically configured with all your favourite settingsCheck it out live in Smokeball right now!  Securely send invoices through CommunicateData security is a top priority for us here at Smokeball. That’s why we’ve made it possible to send invoices securely via Communicate. Get peace of mind now.  Secure file sharing, correspondence and billing for your clients The Communicate client portal overview gives your clients all their important information from you at a glance, including billing, payments and outstanding balances.  Create new matters with all your favourite settingsAre you creating and saving matters the same way every time? Get some time back and make your day easier: pre-configure each matter type by creating default folders, re:lines, fees, notes, tags and more.  Coming soon…Want to know more about using the Communicate client portal? We’re putting the finishing touches on a video about it now. Visit the product updates section and click subscribe to get notified when it’s ready to watch! 

As a lawyer in a small firm; ensuring your precedents are always up to date and covering best practice approaches can consume time we don’t always have. Not everyone has the luxury of larger firms where it’s easy to tap a specialist on the shoulder for some advice and the peace of mind that you’ve covered everything.  Introducing Marketplace Precedents for Australian firmsThat’s why we’ve launched Marketplace Precedents. It’s a new subscription service that connects you with professionally crafted precedents that are written and maintained by your industry peers.  Save hours and leverage the legal IP and experience​Save yourself hours of drafting documents from scratch and leverage the legal IP built into this new library of precedents from those who have being doing it for decades.​​Peace of mind with always up to date precedents​Starting with Precedents Online, we are actively partnering with specialist legal firms to bring you high quality and up-to-date precedents each month, ranging from Commercial Law to Family to Conveyancing. ​​How it works (Precedents Online Pricing)​Precedents Online is an optional add on to your existing Smokeball subscription at $99 + GST a month, per firm.* Introducing our first partnersWe’ll be adding new partners offering precedents in other areas of law all the time. Here’s what’s live now: Commercial Law PrecedentsPrecedents Online has partnered with us to offer a range of Commercial Law precedents.  Family Law Precedents (and more)The Family Law Education Network of Australia (FLENA) has joined us to offer a comprehensive array of family law focused precedents that are FCFCOA amalgamation compliant.  Subscribing to FLENA precedents also gives you access to a FLENA specific community, wellness support and a range of CPD training opportunities.  We are always on the lookout for more partners​Have something unique to offer, or precedents we don’t have? We’d love to talk.  Want to know more? It’s easy to get in touch. Reach out to your customer success manager, send me a message or reply below. *Terms and conditions apply: Pricing is subject to change and your Subscription will be coterminous with your Smokeball Subscription Term.​

Here’s some handy new features that we’ve launched for you this month. Watch the video Make multiple memos in momentsOur new quick-add memo feature makes it easy to create a memo straight from the main menu of Smokeball. You can now take multiple memos at the same time and save them to a Matter when you’re ready. Manage your template or precedent library in a way that works for your firmYou asked to be able to choose who is able to make changes to the precedents or templates that are in your library. We've taken that feedback on board and given Firm Owners full control  over who within your firm is able to change templates and precedents in your library. Have questions about permissions in Smokeball? Jump in to our ask an expert thread and get help with customising permissions for your firm.  And there’s more...We’ve made many more improvements over the last month. Read all about all new features and fixes in our Support Hub. What do you think we should build for you next? Let us know in the replies below! 

We have partnered with FamilyProperty to deeply integrate their powerful features within Smokeball. It’s never been easier for Australian Family Law professionals to support their clients, with the best solution out there. Watch the video below to learn more about some exciting new features which are live right now! Watch the video Thanks for watching our update on our new FamilyProperty intergration. Learn more in the links below or type in a reply to talk to the team right now. Our new integration takes all the features you know and use on a daily basis in FamilyProperty and allows you to access them directly within the Smokeball desktop app. You can now: Send the FamilyProperty Questionnaire to clients from within Smokeball Sync important information captured in FamilyProperty or Smokeball between both systems Work on your FamilyProperty Balance Sheet or Parenting Calendar without leaving Smokeball Track time spent working in FamilyProperty Automatically save documents created in FamilyProperty back to SmokeballLearn more: -Check our our detailed article on all the features the new integration brings-Get in touch with the FamilyProperty team to learn more about how FamilyProperty-Join the community to hear about new Smokeball features and future updates to our FamilyProperty integration-Have a question or feedback? Let us know in the replies below! FamilyProperty is currently available to Australian customers only. 

Every month, we help you discover our freshest version of Smokeball. In August, here’s a few key additions:   Track your work your way: custom dashboards and widgets Track critical dates, tasks, leads or matters by adding widgets and organising your dashboard. Whatever you are working on, we have a widget to watch it. Choose from a library of custom widgets to personalise your dashboard.   New branded billing templates We’ve polished our billing email templates to ensure they load faster and showcase your firm's brand. You can show your firm logo and a “pay now” button to make invoicing easier.  Get the details in the latest billing releases in the Support Hub. Find errors in your document automations and fix them  If/then/else statements are the key to automating more of your work. We’ve made it easier to see if there’s an error in the way yours are set up.   Lock your PDF documents It's now possible to share a PDF court form with your client, in a read-only format, hiding the input fields to avoid unnecessary confusion. Here’s how. What widgets do you want next?  Is there a widget that you’d like to see in the library? Reply below and let us know.  

It’s been a busy few months! We’ve wrapped up some fantastic new features for all of our clients - here’s the highlights: Drafting documents to multiple clients just got easier When creating letters or precedent/forms, you can now choose from the contacts linked to the matter rather than editing the address block manually.  No more manual editing or removing clients automatically added from the matter into the address block. Read the version 8.3 release notes for details.Customise your view  It’s now easy to show, hide or reorder columns to help you find what you need in the form library / precedent library. Simply right-click anywhere in the column header bar to see what columns are available to you.Keep track of time and expenses in closed matters Need to add time and expenses to closed matters?  Well now you can! You could do this from the billing side and now you can do it from within the Smokeball desktop too. This way, you can focus on serving clients, even when the matter is closed. Find out moreEdit your time and expenses in bulk Getting paid just got easier – that's always a winner! You can now change multiple time or expenses items from billable to non-billable (or vice versa). And, if you need to change individual time-based billable items to a fixed fee, it’s now a breeze! Find out moreProtect trust fund allocations  Smokeball Billing lets you set aside and protect funds earmarked for a specific purpose, ensuring those funds don’t get used accidentally (oh no!). It’s easy to start protecting your trust funds today.Bank recs made easy You asked, we listened! The Bank Reconciliation screen just got better, with improved sorting, filtering and searching. Even with loads of data, these improvements will help you reconcile in no time. Review Smokeball trust accounting features for full details.And there’s more...We’ve made many more improvements over the last month. Read all about all new features and fixes in our Support Hub.I’d love to hear your feedback – hit reply to post your thoughts.  

The Billing Product team has done it again!  Did you accidentally forget to set a matter to fixed fee and now all the time entries are marked as billable?  Never fear, you can now bulk reassign entries billing status! Please keep submitting your feature suggestions here everyone.  This amazing new billing feature is due to the many feature suggestions we have gotten in the past.

Hi everyone,I’m the product owner here at Smokeball for Communicate.We’re passionate about making it as easy as possible to keep your clients up to date on the progress of their matters, share files, and collect information and instructions from them.We've heard lots of great ideas in the community about how we might make Communicate a more powerful tool for connecting with your clients.I’m excited to share the new features we’re working on to make some of the ideas you have shared with us a reality in our new Client Portal.The newly redesigned Client Portal aims to be more intuitive, to make it easy to hold secure conversations and view files shared with your law firm.Here is what you need to know:- This is a Beta and not the final version- The design and functions of the Beta Client portal might change- Clients can switch back to the standard version of Communicate at any time.- Watch this space as we are building a bunch of new features.Read all about how to turn on and use the new Client portal.Please hit reply and let me know what you think of the Beta so far! 

Have you ever wished that you could hold some Trust money to not be used to pay legal fees and expenses? Maybe you are holding escrow, but also a retainer? Well now you can! Please check out all about our newest update!   

Introducing all-new Dashboard in Smokeball legal practice management software. Featuring significant enhancements to the way, you can view your matter information, and manage your workload.The interactive and personalised Dashboard will drive efficiency by enabling you to easily access the data that matters the most. Organise your day faster and smarter from one central spot using the new visually appealing layout. The new Smokeball Dashboard will display:Recently Viewed - your recently viewed legal matters and leads. Recent Activity - a clear snapshot of the work you have completed across all your matters. Daily Digest - view upcoming events, law firm tasks, and phone messages. Activity Timeline - a daily, weekly, or monthly view of all the activities that you have performed in Smokeball.