Does It Compute?

Linking PCLaw Client/Matters with Worldox

When various programs are linked – such as Amicus or Time Matters with PCLaw or Timeslips – the client/matter information is exchanged between the programs as well as time entries. Thus if you enter a new matter in one program it is ported over to the other one.

There is no such direct link between PCLaw and Worldox, but there is a fairly easy way to keep your client/matter list up to date.

You can schedule the Worldox indexer to import a given comma delimited file containing client/matter information every night at a given time, say 11 pm. So any accounting program that allows you to export client/matter IDs and descriptions to a given file can be linked to Worldox. The accounting program (say, PCLaw), exports the current client/matter list to a given file (say wdximport.txt) at 10 pm. At 11 pm Worldox imports all the new information in that file (leaving the information previously in Worldox intact). Your list is now current.

PCLaw does not have an automated export facility. However, it is trivial to assign someone to export the correct information (the Client, Matter, Description and Last/Firm Name fields) every day last thing before they leave.

This does mean that there could be up to a 24 hour lag between when the firm gets a new matter and when it appears in Worldox. To compensate for this, many firms create a “client” called “unassigned” or “newclient” or something similar. If you have to work on documents before a client/matter number is assigned in Worldox, store them under “unassigned.” Then, the next day, move them to the new client/matter number.

What's New - PCLaw Versions 6 through 9

People who have older versions of software frequently ask: “What are the new features?  Will it be worth my while to upgrade?”  This is easy enough to answer of they are upgrading from, say, version 8 to version 9, because software makers usually produce a “What’s New” document to answer just this sort of question.  But what if they are on version 6, or 7?  The old “What’s New” documents are usually lost in the sands of time and there is no easy way to answer this question (unless of course you had the foresight to save all the “What’s New” documents when each version and service release came out).

However, the other day I discovered that LexisNexis has posted all the old PCLaw “What’s New?” documents on their web site. While they may never have intended this to really be public, nevertheless, the documents are there, all 25 of them.  I have summarized the main new features of each release in a document in the Cheat Sheets section my web site. Here is a shorter summary of the most major new features in each release.

Version 6-6.6 (July 2002-Oct. 2003.  This is probably the most major release PCLaw ever put out. It included both the Matter Manager and the Register, which fully updated the graphical interface and allowed users to see all their entries in ways never before possible. Department Codes were introduced in v. 6.5. A number of billing features were introduced, including Quick Bill (great for real estate closings) and the ability to bill a minimum amount even if the hours don’t reflect it, or to add a percentage to billings. Custom Reports which let you design your own report were introduced in v. 6.6

Version 7-7.63 (Oct. 2003-Sept. 2006) was the longest-lasting release and included the acquisition of PCLaw by LexisNexis (April 2006). It introduced the Document Management and other “Front Office” features. It added improvements to closing matters, transferring matters from one client to another. You could now “drill down” on entries in Pre-Bills to correct them. V. 7 also let you produce bills, reports and G/L statements in PDF format. It enabled batch printing of checks. All in all, it build on v. 6 and was stable over a long period of time.

Version 8-8.20c (Sept. 2006-Sept. 2007). This was the first LexisNexis “yearly release” and was pretty incremental. V. 8.20c made major structural changes for Vista compatibility. It included the very convenient ability to change billing rates effective as of a certain date (so you don’t have to spend New Years Even changing your billing rates for Jan. 1). It allowed you to track time from within Word, Excel, Outlook, as well as Internet Explorer (which it had been able to do for some time). Data could now be exported to QuickBooks after Month’s End. The ability to export to Excel was added to the Register

Version 9 (Sept. 2007 - present). The initial version 9 didn’t offer much, and took away the Payroll feature (infuriating the small minority of clients who used it). It added a Credit Card processing feature via PPI.  V. 9.2 let you jump versions if upgrading (previously, you could not go from e.g., 6 to 9, you had to go 6 to 7 to 8 to 9, which was a pain. V. 9.3, just out, added a very nice “Matters List” that for the first time let you see all your matters in a list and perform batch operations on them. It also allowed for printing G/L reports in both Cash and Accrual modes (or Modified Cash and Accrual). As usual, some of the newer functionality is still partial and needs to be rounded out (the search feature for G/L accounts for example).

To see the entire list, check the “Cheat Sheets” page on my web site or “What’s New PCLaw.”

PCLaw 9.31a Released

PCLaw version 9.31a has just been released after a series of more or less disastrous service packs by LexisNexis for Time Matters and PCLaw. This service pack actually has some fairly significant upgrades and is clearly intended as a surrogate for PCLaw 10, due out a year from now. So it is somewhat more than a routine service pack/bug fix. To date, it seems pretty solid.

Of course, there is the new splash screen – LexisNexis has reverted back to “PCLaw” (as opposed to LNBOPBPCL9 – aka the software formerly known as PCLaw). A belated recognition by LexisNexis that debranding a known brand is a really bad idea.  (“....hey Mo! The poker game and goils are in the Back Office along with the booze!...”)

For many firms, the most important new features include:

– The ability to run G/L statements in both Cash and Accrual modes (or Modified Cash and Accrual). This remedies a big hole that used to drive bookkeepers crazy.

– A new “Matter List.” To my mind this is the best feature in this release. Prior to this, it was never possible to see an actual list of all the Matters and operate on it. Now, by selecting multiple matters, you can make batch changes on the selected matters. 

– Improved search. On any screen in the form of a grid (time entries, for example) there is a very tiny magnifying glass at the upper right of the window (just above the scroll bar). Click on it and you can search for anything in any cell of the grid. Very nice.

– For firms that are using only PCLaw without a link to any other program, it now features an internal “instant messaging” capability similar to those found in Amicus or Time Matters.

– For firms linking PCLaw with TimeMatters, if you use the Billing Form in Time Matters to send time entries to PCLaw, and if “Use PCLaw Defaults” is selected, the rate PCLaw uses is determined first by the default rate set for the given matter and second by any overrides set in the Split Lawyer Charges (but only if the overrides are not tied to a specific task code in PCLaw).

– Finally, it is now easier to send data to your Accountant and integrate any changes they may make when the data comes back.

Like most software companies, PCLaw does not release a bug fix list. However, generally if you want to know in advance whether a specific known issue you have experienced has in fact been fixed, you can get tech support to give you a yes or no answer to a specific question.

For clients who want to upgrade from a much older version and want to know “what’s new from version x to version 9, there is a complete list of the “what’s new” files buried deep within the Lexis website (I only found it by accident). You can access it at the PCLaw Whats New page.

PCLaw Pro -- C-Tree vs. SQL

Over a year ago, LexisNexis started to try to force PCLaw Pro users to migrate to a SQL database structure. Since that time, however, the SQL version has had numerous problems and many consultants have been advised privately by senior PCLaw techs to stay with the C-Tree version. Having been tweaked over many years, the C-Tree version is faster than the SQL version certainly up to a large number of users (40-50). Part of the reason for this is that when a firm uses the SQL version, many queries and reports are translated back to the C-Tree version before they are displayed, thus negating any possible speed issues. There have also been a number of reports with other problems with the SQL version, possibly linked to this hybrid structure.

It appears that LexisNexis is starting to recognize this, although the semi-official CIC forum is still rejecting posts that try to point it out in response to queries about the slowness of the SQL version.  Once such user recently emailed me noting that PCLaw tech support frankly acknowledged the problems with the SQL version and quickly walked their firm through reverting from SQL to C-Tree.

The C-Tree and SQL versions are installed from the same executable, just with different license numbers. So if LexisNexis refuses to sell you a C-Tree license (which has until now been their official position regarding end users), find a CIC has have them order the C-Tree version for you.

As for the CIC forum, founded about 2 and a half years ago on the “Three Monkeys” theory: Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil about Lexis Nexis products, they are not doing end users any favors by censoring posts that correctly point to issues.

Customizing PCLaw

Like most programs, PCLaw has a series of keystroke shortcuts. A list of them (and for other programs) is in a series of blogs I did called “stop mousing around.” The PCLaw list was published on September 24, 2007  (Click to see the list).

However, one of the shortcuts may cause confusion. Most Windows programs use Ctrl-P as a “print” shortcut. However, in PCLaw Ctrl-P brings up the Pre-Bill screen.

Fortunately this can be changed, at least in more recent version of PCLaw (I am using version 9.20f – I don’t recall when this option was introduced). Log in to PCLaw as Admin, then select Options | Customize. Click on the “Keyboard” Tab and select the function you wish to change.

To change the Ctrl-P keystroke, select the category “Billing” and the Command “Pre-Bill.”  Ctrl-P will appear as the current keystroke. Change it to whatever you wish.  Other keystroke shortcuts can be changed in a similar way.

Back Doors: PCLaw

Very often there are “back doors” in a program that let you accomplish something that it officially “doesn’t support.” 

People who modify PCLaw billing templates often express frustration that the templates are still limited to an 8.3 dos-based model. While there is a longer “description” that appears next to the name, clients frequently ask for longer names.

It turns out that while the Template Editor will only work with an 8.3 structure, PCLaw will USE templates with a longer name. Therefore, if you have a stable template and RENAME it to something longer, it will still work. (The billing templates have an *.rbf extension and are located in the ...\pclaw\data\statdata directory).

However, if you needed to edit the template, you would have to rename it back to an 8.3 format before editing, and rename it back to a longer name when you are done.

An Easy Way to Undo Bills in PCLaw

The default method of undoing a bill in PCLaw involves several steps. First you select “Undo Bill” then look up the client, then look up the invoice number and select Undo.

There is an easier way, however. Open Register and select “Invoice” and the date range and client (assuming you have appropriate rights).

Then select the invoice you wish to remove and click the “Remove” button. You will be asked if you wish to undo the bill. Say yes, and you are done. I find this much easier.

If payments have already been applied to the invoice, you can also remove the payments in this way as well.

What Is the Future for Time Matters and PCLaw?

So what does the future hold for Time Matters and PCLaw (and other acquired products, but those are the ones I am most familiar with). Most importantly, should you upgrade to the most recent version?

To cut to the chase, yes, you should upgrade to TM Version 9 and PCLaw 9, especially if you are on a version previous to version 8. Previously, I have encouraged clients to adopt an “every other version” strategy for Time Matters (unless there was some specific feature they particularly needed), so why the change? (Note that since PCLaw upgrades are free with maintenance, this is a somewhat different situation.) My reasoning on this is a bit lengthy.

First, it is clear that LexisNexis is committed to pushing products into a Software as a Service model - Web-based subscription. In fact, sales reps are already pressuring potential buyers to buy into the LN Total Practice Advantage - which is TM plus a variety of Lexis research options. If you currently use LexisNexis for research, this may make sense. Otherwise, it is just going to cost you a fair amount extra. Currently, if you end a subscription, you wind up with a network version of the latest release of Time Matters, so your data is intact and usable (but that option could well change). I won’t go into the merits of SaaS, but there are a lot of issues to be considered: see my blog of April 4.  http://doesitcompute.typepad.com/heckman/2008/04/negotiating-a-s.html

Logically, this means that sooner or later, the various LN products will be available primarily, if not exclusively, on a subscription basis. One possible scenario for this is that LN will raise the price of the standalone product and offer more or less deep discounts for the SaaS version. Apparently this is already happening to some extent.

This trend is reinforced by the fact that LexisNexis seems to be focusing its efforts internationally rather than in the U.S.  Thus the new Senior Vice President of its Global Practice Management Solutions division (of which TM and PCLaw are a part), Kate Holden, is headquartered in England, not Dayton. This appointment is so new that her bio is not even listed yet on the Lexis Executive Bios page.

Recent acquisitions include (at least) the Locus practice management system in Australia, and Axxia and Visualfiles in England. See also the acquisition of the LAWbase practice management program in New Zealand, announced last week. Note that all these acquisitions involve practice/case management programs.

The international focus of LexisNexis is part of the answer to the argument: “Lexis would be crazy to alienate its customer base by going the SaaS route exclusively.” The fact is that Lexis’s actions since the acquisition of TM and PCLaw have already significantly alienated its customer base: overall customer satisfaction has noticeably decreased, and Lexis may find it easier to buy into less competitive markets than to fix its offerings in the highly competitive U.S. market.

The major push to SaaS is likely to happen sometime within the next 3 years or so. It is likely that there will be a Time Matters 10 in 2009, but it quite unclear whether there will be a TM 11 around 2011, and I would be rather surprised to see a version 12.  For LexisNexis one advantage of the SaaS model is that they do not have release new whole releases, they can simply update the software.

LN is also likely to consolidate overlapping products, starting with Billing Matters and PCLaw, possibly by refusing to sell new standalone versions of Billing Matters, and then sunsetting it as the versions of TM sunset and are no longer supported. Expect this to happen to Billing Matters within the next few months. More globally, they apparently plan to consolidate all the products - TM, Billing Matters, PCLaw, Juris, etc. into one monster, subscription-based product. How long this will take and how well it will work is anybody’s guess (don’t hold your breath or bet money on it). While the idea of putting all products into the same SQL-based code base sounds rational and attractive, implementation is likely to be extremely difficult (read: buggy).

So why upgrade?  Many firms have so much invested in Time Matters (still arguably the best program of its type on the market) that switching is not really an option. LexisNexis (and many other companies) typically support 2 versions back from the current version. Thus the current version is 9, so versions 7 and 8 of TM and PCLaw are supported, but not version 6. Version 9 will continue to be supported through version 11 of these products. Hopefully, in the next year or so some of the outstanding bugs will also be fixed.

Overall, then, it is likely that TM 9 will be the most stable version over the longest period of time. So it is worth upgrading, especially if you can take advantage of one of the sales that are offered periodically. Since PCLaw upgrades are included in the cost of maintenance, this is not as much of an issue. However, to the extent that it may be “fused” with TM, it would still be a good idea to bring it up to date as well.

Removing Unwanted Templates from PCLaw

PCLaw ships with a large number of bill templates. Many of these are for electronic billing in one LEDES format or another. Most firms do not use any of these and it is simply an annoyance to have to scroll through them all the time.  Fortunately, there is a simple lo-tech solution.

Using Windows explorer, go into the PCLaw program directory on the server, then to the Data | Statdata folder.  Create a new subfolder called “unused bill templates” or some such. If you then click on the “Type” column in the Statdata folder, it will sort your files by type. PCLaw bill templates all have an *.rbf extension. You can then select and move the *.rbf files that you are not using to the “unused” folder. You might want to be conservative and keep many of the basic templates - Detail, Sdetail, Generic, Interest, etc. in the event you need them. If you move one you need by mistake you can always move it back.

A similar strategy works for other templates that you may not use - cost recovery (*.crl format) for example, or custom tabs (*.ctl format).

The only drawback to this scheme is that it requires ongoing maintenance, since every time you update PCLaw to a new build, it will repopulate all the templates and you have to do it over again.

Interest and Taxes in PCLaw

Charging Interest and Taxes in PCLaw is a two-step process.  First, you have to set up the program overall to charge them. This will set defaults going forward (but not for previous clients). This is done under System Settings | Past Due or System Settings | Interest.

Second, for past clients, or if there is any change, you have to set the charges manually for each client. There are a number of reasons why this process is not further automated.

First, you may not want to change interest for all clients, just for certain ones with a history of not paying promptly. Secondly, the applicable tax can be different in different jurisdictions (counties, states, etc.).

In the Matter Manager, under the Billing tab, select the appropriate options.