Product Updates

As we wrap up 2024, it’s time to celebrate YOU — our Smokeball clients who absolutely crushed it this year. You accomplished millions of tasks, managed a mountain of matters, and sent a mind-blowing number of messages. Along the way, we worked hard to ensure your success with timesaving, productivity-enhancing features. From innovative new AI tools like Archie to seamless integrations like our Microsoft 365 add-ins, Intake Form Builder, and File Manager, this year has been all about empowering you to do your best work. Let’s revisit the highlights together! Our clients achieved some remarkable milestones this year.  2024 in review: Celebrating a year of innovation and productivity Game-changing features that you loved  Archie: Your AI-powered matter assistant   By answering over 180,000 questions around the globe, Archie quickly became a fan favorite, securely woven into your matters to supercharge document and correspondence drafting, streamline document review, and summarize matters in seconds. Why you loved it: Archie starting slashing email writing time by up to 80%, freeing you up to focus on bigger priorities. What’s next: Expect even more Archie enhancements in early 2025—stay tuned!  Boost integration with Microsoft 365 add-ins  Microsoft Outlook 365 add-ins for Boost Organize smarter, not harder. With the Outlook 365 add-in, assigning emails and attachments directly to Smokeball Boost matters became a breeze. Everything is stored in one place, making staying organized so much easier. Microsoft 365 Calendar Sync for Boost You were happy knowing you’d never miss a meeting when we introduced our two-way sync between Outlook and Smokeball Boost. It felt like having a personal assistant to keep your schedule on track. Microsoft Word 365 add-in for Boost Drafting letters got faster! The Microsoft Word add-in allowed you to create professional letters on your firm’s letterhead in seconds and assign documents to Smokeball matters from within Word. With logos and addresses automatically included, you could start writing without fuss.  Intake Form Builder: Powered by Smokeball AI  Creating client intake forms got even simpler — and smarter. With the new drag-and-drop form builder, creating sleek online forms without any coding became a reality. Plus, Smokeball AI allowed you to quickly convert PDFs or documents into user-friendly digital intake forms. Why it mattered: Get the information you need quickly and easily with digital intake forms. Who got it? All Smokeball clients can use this time-saving feature.  File Manager: Streamline your document workflow  For Smokeball Boost users, File Manager made opening, editing, and saving files directly within Smokeball seamless. Why you loved it: It reduced the risk of uploading incorrect files and kept your workflow smooth. Where it works: Available for Windows and iOS.  Looking ahead to 2025  The best part? We’re just getting started. From major upgrades to Archie to even more ways to enhance your productivity, 2025 promises to be another exciting year. Alongside the big innovations, we’ll continue delivering those small but meaningful updates that simplify your daily tasks and keep your firm running smoothly.Thank you for being part of the Smokeball family. Together, we’re making legal work easier, smarter, and more impactful every single day. Here’s to another amazing year ahead! What was your favorite feature this year? Let us know in the comments below — we’d love to hear from you!  

November product round-up This month, we're excited to bring you new updates designed to streamline your workflow, improve productivity, and make your daily tasks easier to manage. From enhanced document management to seamless calendar syncing and email integration, these features are all about giving you more control and saving you valuable time. Here’s what’s new:   Smokeball Boost updates   1. Letter automation  Regions: US, UK, AU Tier: Boost What’s new: Smokeball now offers a Word add-in that allows you to use the Create Letter function to draft letters on a letterhead template. Why it matters: Automate the creation of professional letters featuring your firm logo, address and recipient details, saving time on manual formatting. With this feature, your firm's logo and address will automatically appear on letterhead for a more polished look.  Learn how to create letters in Smokeball.  Connect the Word Online add-in to Smokeball: AU  |  US Create a letter in Smokeball Boost  AU  |  US  2.  File Manager   Regions: US, AU Tier: Boost What's new: File Manager allows Smokeball Boost users to open, edit, and save files directly within Smokeball Boost - streamlining document management. It’s available for Windows and IOS users. Why it matters: File manager makes working with your files simpler. This update reduces the risk of uploading incorrect files. Get started with File Manager: US  |  AU  3. New documents UI   Regions: US, UK, AU Tier: Boost What’s new: The Documents tab in Boost has a new look, featuring a streamlined action bar with options to preview, download, bookmark and share links. Be sure to download and install File Manager so you can open, edit and save files directly from within Smokeball. Why it matters: The new documents UI and File Manager make managing and editing your documents simpler and faster.   4. Outlook 365 integration  Regions: US, AU Tier: Boost What's new: Smokeball now integrates with Outlook 365, allowing you to assign emails directly to matters from within Outlook.Why it matters:  This integration saves you time by allowing seamless storage of emails and files without needing to switch between Smokeball and Outlook 365. You can assign emails and attachments to relevant matters from within Outlook, ensuring your matter records stay up to date. By linking your emails to the relevant matters, you reduce the risk of duplicate data entry and improve overall workflow efficiency.   Find out how to integrate Smokeball with Outlook 365.    5. Outlook 365 calendar sync  Regions: US, AU Tier: Boost What's new: Connect your Outlook 365 calendar with Smokeball boost for two-way sync of calendar entries. Why it matters: Two-way sync means reduced risk of missing an important date or deadline. Connect your Outlook 365 Calendar. General Updates  1. Two factor authentication (2FA)  Regions: US, UK, AU Tiers: Bill, Boost, Grow and Prosper+ What's new:  Once activated, users will not be able to disable 2FA.Why it matters: In 2025, we’ll be mandating 2FA for all Smokeball users. This feature is essential for helping firms keep clients’ data safe.  Protect your clients’ data and set up 2FA now:  US  |  AU  |  UK  Web Updates  1. New matter creation UI  Regions: US, UK, AU Tiers: Bill, Boost, Grow and Prosper+ What's new: We’re changing the experience of creating a new matter in browser (web) from a form with multiple accordion sections to a 5-step process with less fields to complete. Why it matters: Quickly create new matters wherever you are with our new browser-based interface. The streamlined process ensures that you can capture essential matter details in minutes and add more information later.   Learn how to create matters in 5 steps.  These new features are part of our ongoing efforts to make your workflow more efficient and seamless. We hope you’re as excited about these new features as we are!  2. Bulk trust deposits  Regions: US, UK, AU Tiers: Bill, Boost, Grow and Prosper+ What's new: This new feature enables browser users to easily split a single payment from a client and distribute it across multiple matters for that client.  Why it matters: This streamlines trust payment allocations for a client with multiple matters.   Learn how to allocate bulk payments:  US  |  AU  |  UK  2. Staff targets  Regions: US, UK, AU What's new: Track staff progress and performance and easily manage staff capacity with the ability to set staff targets. Why it matters: Manage your staff’s capacity and workload in one easy place. Step 1 Step 2 Learn how to set up staff targets.  

6 updates to Smokeball Boost  We supercharged Smokeball Boost and we’re excited for you to try out the new features that will help your firm run more smoothly and efficiently! Here’s what you can look forward to:  1. Outlook 365 add-in 📧Save time by directly assigning emails or attachments to a Smokeball Matter. With everything stored in one spot, staying organized has never been easier.  2. Microsoft 365 calendar sync 📅Keep track of every appointment by syncing your Microsoft 365 calendar with Smokeball. With two-way sync between Outlook and Smokeball, you’ll always be on top of your schedule.  3. Word add-in Install the Microsoft 365 Word add-in to use the new Create Letter function and draft letters on a standard letterhead. If your firm settings include a logo, it will automatically appear in the letterhead along with your firm’s address, so you can start drafting in seconds.  4. File manager 📁Managing files just got a whole lot smoother. With File Manager, you can access, edit, and sync file changes directly within Smokeball Boost. No more downloading or re-uploading! File Manager is available on both Windows and iOS. Ready to set it up? Find support articles here: US   |   AU   |   UK   5. New documents layoutThe documents section in Smokeball Boost just got a fresh new look! With an intuitive pop-over menu, managing files is now quicker and simpler.  6. New matter creation experienceStarting a new matter is now a breeze! The updated experience divides matter creation into five easy steps, helping you get up and running from anywhere in minutes.  Why does this matter? From managing files and emails to keeping tabs on your calendar, these are essential tasks for every law firm. With these new features, staying organized in Smokeball Boost will be easier than ever.  Who gets it? All these updates are available to Smokeball Boost users via their web browser. Some features may require a Microsoft 365 account.  Hope you enjoy these updates as much as we enjoyed building them! 🎉 Let’s get boosting! 

Updates to Native Desktop App  Back in August, we made some changes to the Smokeball native desktop app to boost performance.  Based on user feedback, we’ve implemented additional improvements and introduced new features.  What’s changed  Matter list and contact list pagination:  Users can now choose to view 50, 100, or 200 matters in a matter list before pagination occurs. This change benefits firms that prefer to scroll through more matters per page. The feature will be gradually rolled out to users over the coming weeks.  Improvements to search logic:  We’ve enhanced the search logic to allow partial matches for internal matter reference numbers, making it easier to find relevant matters.    Automated signatures and firm logos:  Users can now upload their firm’s logo or staff signatures to be used as automation fields within Word or PDF document templates, making it easier to create templates without the use of ‘if-then’ statements.        Workflow trigger: Automatically trigger a workflow when transitioning a matter from one stage to another.  A new checkbox in stage set configuration allows workflows to be automatically displayed when a stage transition occurs. This eliminates the need to manually trigger workflow prompts and enables users to create stage-specific workflows.    Task priorities:  Tasks can now be categorized by priority, including: Urgent, High, Medium, Low, No Priority.  These priorities will appear next to the task name wherever tasks are displayed, including the task list, tasks tab in a matter, daily digest email, and widget.    New file browsing experience:  Instead of viewing files in the document pane of Smokeball there’s now a pop out button (see below)  which triggers a new window to pop out, allowing users to manage their folders and files easier in a larger full screen.        Kanban board widget: This new widget helps users visualize their matters grouped by matter stage. Additional filters include staff member tags or roles, giving a clearer overview of team progress.    Assigned Matters widget:  This widget helps users see how many matters a staff member is involved in. It offers two views: a numbers view that shows how many matters and leads are assigned to a staff member, and a list view with a clickable list of matters.    Improved online publishing feature:  Users can now upload files directly from a matter to frequently visited websites (such as court form submission sites) quickly and easily. This feature removes the need to save files locally before uploading them. It supports uploading both single and multiple files at once.   Why does it matter? These enhancements are designed to streamline your team's Smokeball workflow, helping you complete daily tasks more efficiently.  Who gets it? These updates are available to users of Smokeball's native desktop app version 9.3 or higher. Be sure to update to access these new features. 

AI to make intake faster and more accurate  Online intake forms have transformed the way firms get vital information from prospects and clients quickly and easily - no more emailing files or interpreting handwritten forms.  Back in July, we made building intake forms easier and quicker with the help of Smokeball AI.  Now we’re taking it a step further with a brand new autofill feature (currently in BETA).  What is it?With Smokeball AI, the intake process is now even smoother with the introduction of our Autofill Assistant. This feature offers two powerful ways to streamline information exchange between you and your clients.   Autofill Assistant for Your Clients  A simple toggle will allow your clients to upload relevant documents for Smokeball AI to scan and automatically pre-populate their intake form with relevant information.  Clients just need to review the form, confirm the prefilled details, and fill in any missing information     Autofill Assistant with Archie The Autofill Assistant streamlines the process for firms using Archie by allowing you to send partially populated forms to clients, significantly reducing manual data entry. This feature ensures that clients don’t have to provide information that you already possess.  Simply navigate to the client's matter, click intake then share form then select internal use.  In the window, select the form you’d like to share and activate the Autofill with Archie toggle.     Why does it matter? These enhancements will significantly reduce the time it takes for your clients to provide the information you need, speeding up the intake process so you can get to work sooner.  Who gets it? Autofill Assistant for clients is available with the LeadPro and MatterFlow add-ons or on Prosper+ plan. Autofill Assistant with Archie is available to firms with Archie enabled and have LeadPro and MatterFlow add-ons or on the Prosper+ plan. 

September Product Round-Up for Grow & Prosper+  We’re excited to share September’s updates for Grow and Prosper+. These new features are all about helping you work efficiently, improve your productivity and streamline your workflows.    1. Tag emails with Smokeball in Outlook   Region: Global What’s new: You can now see a dedicated "Smokeball" category when tagging emails in Outlook to a Smokeball matter. This feature is enabled by default but can be disabled in the settings. Why it matters: This feature helps you quickly identify which emails have been assigned to Smokeball matters. By utilizing this tagging option, at a glance, you’ll easily be able to see which emails have yet to be assigned – making email management a breeze.    How it works: When composing or reviewing emails in Outlook, assign an email to a Smokeball matter. This will add the "Smokeball" category tag to that email, making it easier to identify later. If you prefer not to use this feature, it can be turned off in the settings under e-mail Preferences. Learn more: Discover how to identify emails in Outlook assigned to a matter.    2. Easily know your billed and unbilled time    Region: Global What’s new: Performance reporting has become much easier and more accurate. You’re now able to view the hours you’re billing against the actual hours worked on the job. Why it matters: By splitting out time worked versus time billed you can now accurately report on staff productivity and client billing. It helps streamline financial reporting and performance analysis for law firms. How it works: In the time recording interface, you’ll now see two fields: one for “Working Hours" and one for “Billing Hours”. Enter the time spent in the appropriate fields, and the system will automatically split them into reports, allowing for better tracking and billing. Learn more: More details coming soon on the Support Hub.   3. Create file notes in a template  Region: Australia and UKWhat’s new: File notes are now created in a pre-populated template with a simple click. When you create a file note after a client meeting, the date, time, file number, and matter details are automatically filled in, leaving you to simply input your notes. Why it matters: This update saves time by eliminating repetitive manual data entry, allowing lawyers to quickly document meeting outcomes or case progress. It improves accuracy and keeps all relevant information organized, contributing to a more efficient workflow. How it works: In the action bar click New Document and select file note.  A template will open with the date, time, and matter details prepopulated. All you need to do is add your notes. Once saved, the file note is automatically stored in the All Documents section. Learn more: Find out how to create a file note.  4. Add an intake form link to a precedent template   Region: Global Who’s it for?: Grow (with LeadPro and/or MatterFlow add-ons), all Prosper+ clientsWhat’s new: Firms can now link an intake form directly to a template, removing the extra steps of manually adding intake links to generated documents. Why it matters: This feature reduces the manual workload when generating documents that require an intake form link. It allows firms to automate the process, reducing errors and speeding up document preparation, ultimately leading to more efficient client onboarding and case management. How it works: When setting up a document, you can now attach an intake link directly to the template. This eliminates the need for post-generation edits and ensures the form is ready when the document is created. Simply choose the appropriate template, and the intake form link will be pre-included. Learn more:  Find out how to add an intake form link to a template.    We’re here to help  We hope these updates help improve your workflow, and we look forward to delivering more enhancements next month! If you need assistance, feel free to reach out to our support team.   At Smokeball, we continuously work to make Grow and Prosper+ the productivity powerhouse for law firms. These updates were designed to increase efficiency, improve accuracy, and reduce manual work in daily tasks. By streamlining tasks like email management, time tracking, and document creation, your team can focus more on client work and less on administrative tasks.           

What is it? We've made significant updates to the user interface in our native desktop app to boost performance and enhance your experience. While these changes might require some adjustments to your workflow, they are designed to improve Smokeball’s speed and reliability, making it easier for you to access and organize information efficiently. Here’s what’s changed: Contact and Matter Lists: Contact and Matter lists are now paginated, displaying 50 items at a time, instead of one long continuous list.  No More Grouping: Grouping has been replaced with filters to refine your data faster.  Exporting Matter Lists: Exporting a matter list is now only possible via a report.  Connecting Related Matters: A new feature that allows you to toggle between a single client’s multiple matters easily.  NEW: Link related matters to quickly switch context. Find out more  Why does it matter? These changes are aimed at improving platform performance (e.g., moving to paginated lists) and making it easier for you to find, sort, and view your data, ultimately enhancing your productivity.  Who gets it? These updates apply to all Grow and Prosper+ users of our Native Desktop App.

We’re excited to announce a new feature that enhances your client intake process: the ability to book appointments directly through your custom intake forms. This update is now live on the Smokeball platform, and it’s designed to save you and your clients valuable time. What is it?You can now add an Appointment component to your custom intake forms, allowing clients to schedule appointments with specific staff members at pre-designated times. This feature not only helps prevent double bookings but also ensures that all scheduled appointments sync seamlessly with your staff members' Smokeball calendars for easy tracking.  Why does it matter?Time is one of your most valuable resources, and even the simple act of scheduling an appointment can be time-consuming. With this new feature, both you and your clients can quickly and easily find a mutually convenient time, reducing the back-and-forth typically involved in scheduling.  How does it work?Integrating the Appointment component into your custom intake form is simple. When building or modifying a custom intake form, just drag and drop the Appointment component into place.  Here’s some of the things you can do with the component: Select staff members clients can book to see  Set the booking duration  Set a ‘buffer time’ before and after the meetings  Set a minimum notice period so clients can’t book meetings with less than the set time  Select days and hours available for booking  Set the time zone  Select the type of meeting (in person or telephone)  Once a client books an appointment, it automatically syncs to your Smokeball calendar, making it easy to keep track of your schedule. Who gets it?The Appointment component is available to firms using LeadPro or MatterFlow add-ons, or with Prosper. Start using this feature today to enhance your client intake process and make scheduling more efficient for everyone involved. 

What is it?A smart way to create client intake forms in seconds, saving you time and hassle. Smokeball AI will convert existing PDF or documents into a user-friendly digital form. You can also generate new area of law specific forms from scratch in just a few clicks! Why does it matter?With more cases than ever, paperwork can slow you down. Smokeball AI whips up custom forms fast, letting you focus on what matters: your clients. How does it work?Head to the intake section in Smokeball Choose to upload or create a new form Let AI do its thing Review and share with clients via email, our secure client portal, messages or embedded on your site  Details your clients share are linked back to your records in SmokeballThat's it! Who gets it?All Smokeball clients can harness the power of AI-boosted intake. Want to know more?Dive deeper into Intake boosted by Smokeball AI in our support hub. Or simply drop a reply below with any questions or feedback. We're here to help you run your best firm! 

What is it? Meet Archie, your AI-powered matter assistant seamlessly integrated into Smokeball. It's like having everything you and your team know about your matter at your fingertips, ready share a summary, answer questions, and draft correspondence in seconds.Why does it matter? Staying on top of every detail takes time and is always better with a second pair of eyes. Archie steps in to streamline your matter management, freeing you up to focus on high-value tasks and the outcomes your client has hired you to achieve.How does it work?Open any matter in Smokeball Click on Archie to activate your AI assistant Ask Archie to summarize the matter, answer specific questions, or draft an email Review Archie's output, which includes source links for context Use Archie's document analysis to compare files or extract key insightsIt's that simple!Who gets it? Archie is available as an add-on to Grow and Prosper+ subscriptions.Want to know more? Dive deeper into Archie's capabilities in our support hub. Or simply drop a reply below with any questions or feedback. We're here to help you run your best firm with AI-powered assistance!

What is it?Smokeball AI is a suite of powerful AI tools integrated into familiar features you already know and love. In this first release, you can now experience:Archie - the hero of Smokeball AI is available as an add-on for Grow and Prosper+ clients. This AI-powered matter assistant enhances matter productivity by answering queries and drafting correspondence and legal documents in real time. For example, Archie can draft an email response to a document from the other party highlighting specific challenges or scenarios. Intake - Now powered by Smokeball AI, this tool helps you build intake forms in moments so you can get the information you need more efficiently. Communicate - Now powered by Smokeball AI, you can get an instant summary of correspondence with clients and between staff. Get up to speed with any case in seconds. Why does it matter?Generative AI will revolutionize the legal profession. Smokeball AI helps you securely and easily adopt AI and embrace its benefits. By using these integrated tools, you can quickly gather information to help you get started on matters faster, get up to speed with any case in seconds, get answers to matter queries, draft correspondence, and create custom intake forms.By automating routine tasks and providing intelligent insights, Smokeball AI allows you to focus on high-value work and firm profitability. How does it work?Smokeball AI is seamlessly and securely integrated into the Smokeball platform. No third party integrations or changes to your existing workflows required! The AI tools are sitting right in Smokeball where you need them. Who gets it?Smokeball AI can be found throughout Grow and Prosper+ for clients with LeadPro and MatterFlow. Archie is available as an add-on and can be easily requested via the orange Archie button in product, or by contacting your Client Services Manager. 

Firms are managing more matters than we've ever seen before. With that comes the challenge of getting back up to speed as you dive into the next matter on your list. Smokeball AI is here to help, producing a quick summary of your client conversations and lists next steps. It will save you time trying to reconstruct the conversation so you can get to helping your clients. Here's How It Works Locate the Conversation: Jump into your matter and locate the conversation you would like to see a summary of in your Messages tab. Click “Summarize this conversation” Watch the magic happen: Smokeball AI will then securely and privately review the conversation and produce a summary to help you get up to speed. That's it.Private and SecureWe've built the Smokeball AI integration in-house with your and your clients' privacy in mind. Unlike other off-the-shelf products, your data will never be used to train other models and cannot leak.For Your Eyes OnlySummaries are only visible to staff who can access the messages you're summarizing. Your client won't see these summaries, allowing you to decide what to do next and how to communicate it.That's all there is to this update. Stay tuned for more updates on how we're integrating AI smartly and securely into Smokeball.Read more about this integration in our support hub. Sign in and click reply below if you have questions, feedback, or ideas. We're here to help and learn how to improve this to make it as useful as possible for you and your firm.

I’m excited to introduce our latest update to our Intake tools. An effortless form builder that’s designed to streamline client onboarding. With an easy drag-and-drop form builder, smart conditional logic, direct lead intake, and the ability to duplicate and customize, gathering client information has never been easier.  Easy and intuitive form builder A straightforward, drag-and-drop form builder that anyone can use. No more fuss or complications when creating forms to gather client information. Smart conditional logic Forms now ask only what’s necessary, adjusting based on previous answers. This means less work for your clients and more relevant information for you. Direct intake from leads Ready to take someone on straight away? You can now send matter intake forms straight to potential clients. Just look them up in your Leads records and start getting details for your matter straight away. Just click Share Form to get started.  Duplicate and customize Save time by copying any existing form, whether your own or Smokeball's, then tweak it to fit your needs. No need to start from scratch every time.  Can you repeat the question? Use grouped fields when you need answers to the same questions multiple times for family members, property or anything else. Your client just clicks “add” to share as much or as little as needed.  Everything’s connectedAs always, our goal is to keep the information flowing so you can get your matters going. Data goes right into Smokeball, the moment it’s entered into a form, letting you take action right away. If you send a form to a contact that has details on record already, then that information will be pre-filled for them in the form. Questions or feedback? Click ‘Reply’ below and ask or share what’s on your mind. You can also check out our detailed guides on all things intake or go through it step by step by with an on demand course in the Smokeball Academy. 

We’re back with another recap of Smokeball feature updates! Read and watch below to see a recap of  big features, as well as some smaller enhancements that you really shouldn’t miss out on.We’re introducing rate sets, accelerating document storage, providing instant firm insights, and refining our intake processes. Keep scrolling for links to help documents, guides and a place where you can reply with feedback or follow up questions!  Smart Rate Sets: Effortlessly customize and manage billing rates across your firm for precise, flexible charging. Simplify rate adjustments and schedule changes with a few clicks, enhancing efficiency and accuracy. Learn how to charge more in less time. Save (Almost) Anything To Smokeball: Effortlessly save documents, webpages, or images directly to your matters, eliminating the need for double handling. This minor tweak to your Print settings can lead to major time savings. Instant Firm Insights: As a firm owner, get instant insights into your firm's performance with our updated dashboard. Access real-time data on financials and case progress, empowering you to make quick, informed decisions. Keep your firm on the path to success and learn more about Firm Insights Reporting. Improvements to Intake: We now have more than 1600 tailored forms built in LeadPro and MatterFlow to help your firm with lead and matter intake. See the seamless transition from contact to case in our latest update. Get started with intake in our starter guide.Last but not least, stay tuned for a deep dive into our upcoming intake releases! Share Your Feedback and Ask Questions BelowYour input is crucial to our continuous improvement. We're eager to hear how these new features enhance your Smokeball experience and welcome any questions you might have. Share your thoughts and ask questions in the comments below; let's make the most of these exciting updates together.

We're thrilled to share three new features: revolutionary lead and matter intake, plus Smokeball’s cloud-based companion app. These have been some of our most highly requested features, and we’re excited that they’ll help you work faster, reduce errors, deliver a better client experience, and bring in more business.Watch the video to see them in action and read below for all the details.    LeadPro: These branded client intake forms embed on your website and socials to help you seamlessly capture and review new leads. Watch how to customize these forms and learn more here.   MatterFlow: With these practice area-specific matter forms, you’ll get the client information you need faster and automatically synced to the matter in Smokeball. Discover how and learn more about this powerful feature.  Cloud-based Companion App: Our billing app has had a refresh and now includes tons more information so you can keep your matters moving from any place, on any device. See how and log in now.  Share your feedback and ask questions below We hope these updates bring even more value to your Smokeball experience, and we’d love your feedback! Please drop any thoughts or questions in the comments below. 

We're back with some handy new updates that we've been working on. We've added a bunch of new features that we think you're going to like. Watch the video to see some of the highlights in action or keep scrolling to get all the details.  Notification Centre: Our new Notification Centre, found at the top-right corner of your Smokeball desktop app, is here to keep you in the loop. You'll easily see what's new and what needs your attention. Check it out in the video and read more about it here.Third-Party File Sharing: Sharing documents with clients just got a whole lot easier. With our updated Communicate feature, your clients will always have the latest versions of shared documents. See it in action and learn more here.Zapier Integration: We're happy to announce our integration with Zapier, a tool that connects Smokeball to a wide array of apps. Automate tasks and boost your productivity. Discover more and learn more here.Rate Sets for Staff: Our new Rate Sets feature makes managing firm rates a breeze. You can easily organize and attach staff rates to matters, and set dates for rate set updates. Learn more here.Out of Office Message in Communicate: Our new Out of Office feature in Smokeball Settings lets your clients and staff know when you're not available. Learn more here.InfoTrack Process Serving (Australia Only): Our InfoTrack integration now supports Process Serving. Access it from the matter tab or by right-clicking on a document. If you have CourtSync enabled, Process Serving will be available under the Litigation Services menu. Learn more here.Share your feedback and get help belowWe've designed these updates with you in mind, and we hope they make your Smokeball experience even better. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions in the comments below. 

I’m back to show you some of my favorite features that we’ve been working on here at Smokeball.   Enhanced Billing Increments We’re making it easier to accommodate different billing increments that your clients might request. You can now customize billing increments at a matter level down to the minute. Jump to this feature in the videoClick to enlargeBillable vs Non-Billable Amounts WidgetTime is money, so we’ve added a billable vs non-billable widget to our dashboard that lets you check how much of your work can be directly billed to a client vs how much isn’t. Armed with that information you can start to close the gaps and make sure everything that can be billed, is billed. Jump to this feature in the videoClick to enlargeInvite clients and third-parties to events Whether it's a court hearing or a client meeting - it’s now easy to invite not only internal staff but also clients and other parties to attend. Event invites land in your client’s portal with the option to easily add the event to any personal calendar apps they might use to organize their time. Jump to this feature in the videoClick to enlarge Professional Fee SummaryDesigned to cut down on Invoice queries - our update to the professional fee summary makes it easy for your client to see exactly who worked on their matter. Visit your invoice template settings to switch the summary on.  Click to enlarge Invoice Reminder Emails with Pay Now LinksOur Invoice reminder emails automatically alert clients of payments that are overdue. You can now embed a pay now  button in these reminder emails to quickly move your clients to the payment step.  Tell us what you thinkThese updates are for you. If you’d like more detail, different features built, or just need help setting these features up we’re here for it. Jump into the replies below and share your thoughts.  

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.