Most transactions (time entries, reminders, notes, accounting entries, etc.) are linked to file/matter records, just as most of the information in your office is likely linked to files. The image below shows one view of LawStream's main file/matter tab. You may see that the file/matter tab can show various details for a selected file, as well as lists and reports for selected files.. |
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There are several different ways to find a file in LawStream, but the most common method is to use the standard "find file" dialog window, which is shown below. You may find a file simply by keying the file number into the appropriate field. If you do not know the file number, you can locate the file by client code, client name, file description, or nick name. Alternatively, you can specify the first few letters of the client name, and have LawStream build a list of all clients whose names begin with those letters, so you may then select one of those names, to make LawStream create a list of all files for that client. In the example below, client "MAWLT, ESRA" has been selected from a list of names beginning with the letters "MA", and file number 2345 has been chosen from a list of files for that client. |
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Each file can have default information about how it is to be billed. In the following image, you can see the sub-tab for entering or modifying billing data for a file. That information includes alternate "bill-to" name and address, and different methods of calculating a bill. |
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LawStream's File/Matter details include information about the people in your office who are working on the file, including any special billing rates they might be using for the file. In the following image, you may also see that there are "notification" fields. Those fields take advantage of the way LawStream integrates various types of data with other types. For example, you may key a user's initials into the "waiting for account payment" field, to have LawStream automatically notify that user when a payment on account is made on this file. |
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| Along with accepting many different types of information for each file, LawStream also provides many different reports. The following window contains a selection of basic reports (45 in all!), but there are many other reports in LawStream that contain data related to files. |
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| You could have hundreds of files on-the-go at any time, but usually there won't be more than twenty or so that are active on any given day. LawStream will keep track of the last twenty files you have accessed, to make it easier for you to locate and use any of those files. The following image shows a list of the twenty most recent files for a user, and it also shows how this one window can be used to select any of those files, and enter different types of information about any selected file. |
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