Person / Contact
Management
All the details of a person or company are centrally stored in electronic form. These data form the basis of the other modules. Whenever you need information on a certain person, the program will retrieve the data here.
The input fields in the contact management are unrestricted. As a user you can define different groups. Using a search instruction you can select people according to different criteria. As a large proportion of the turnover of law firms is generated by the existing clientele, a good up-to-date database is a treasure-trove of useful information.
"At any given moment I can run a check using different parameters,
which enables me to see who is doing what, and what the results are."
Advocate Bert De Keyser
Business
/ Case Management
Once the persons have been created, a case file can easily be put together. The file consists of a number or a name. An unlimited number of parties and different basic data such as opening date, type of business, who handles the business, rates and location, can be kept. Case management (called "business management" in the package) is central to working with the software package. From business you can: process texts, manage jobs and appointments, manage the digital file (all processed documents can be automatically stored in the digital file), retrieve accounting information from the file.
"The system is very flexible in letting one customise its set-up
to the specific needs of one's practice."
Frederik Pollet
Rates
Within CICERO LawPack there are different ways of specifying rates. First, different jobs can be created. Every job can have its own rate and can be applied as a fixed price or per time unit. Then, it is possible to assign "rate percentages" to different workers. The price of a job can be adapted according to the % of the worker. (If, e.g., a job is done by an apprentice, it can be charged at 60% of the normal price, while the same job, done by a senior partner with expertise in the field could be charged at 150 %). This gives you the flexibility to easily manage the rates of every employee. Finally an additional percentage factor can be specified for a file. For example, different rates can be managed for specialized files or urgent files, without getting lost in hundreds of different job types and rates.
"The integration of the timesheets and billing,
and the very powerful debt collection module save us a lot of work."
Advocate R.M. Wever
Processing
of Documents
When a file has been selected in the case management, a module called "process document" can be started. All information in the file then becomes available in MS Word or MS Outlook. Thus you do not need to type in or retrieve any addresses, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, references, etc. All information on the various parties can be automatically entered into various standard models. The time saved and the exclusion of mistakes are very important in office administration.
Once the document has been processed in MS Word or MS Outlook, you can immediately register the costs and time spent on the file, and comments may be added, which may or may not appear on the invoice. The document together with any appendices can be automatically saved in the file. The case calendar can be consulted and adjusted during correspondence.
"The templates are fully customisable to suit one's needs and desires.
Even the layout can be tweaked in a multitude of ways."
Advocate Johan Brees
Standard
letters and documents
With CICERO LawPack, it is easy to work with document templates and models. Export fields can easily be put into MS Word documents for the completion of standard documents. It is important that each field has a separate code so that, as a user, you can determine the order in which the fields are completed and their layout.
Within these "document merge" modules there are commands and specific functions available that allow the integration of multiple client data into a document. You only have to enter the merge code into the template once, but you will receive the data for each client separately.
All standard documents can be stored in a logical tree structure. The user himself determines the structure hierarchy.
"There are almost 1 500 templates for correspondence and legal documents,
that are available in several languages, and into which case-specific data are automatically merged. Furthermore, all of this also automatically ties into the timesheet management, so administrative interventions are reduced to a minimum."
Frederik Pollet
Jobs
Jobs can be registered in a file at any time. The worker will be determined for each job. A handy timer is available for timed jobs. The actual time spent and the time to be billed can be registered for each job.
All jobs can be consulted per file, per period, per employee, or per dominus litis. An overview can also be obtained of the missing hours per employee. Handy reports can be printed or exported to MS Word, MS Excel, Lotus, HTML.
The most important lists are :
- Missing hours per employee.
The hours per employee can be totalled between two dates and the difference with respect to the average number of hours can be shown.
- File: work/time per employee.
Overview per file of the time spent per job, with a total of the number of hours per employee. The same list can be obtained with the amounts instead of the number of hours.
"In the olden days keeping track of what had been done was a puzzle
that took a lot of time to solve. Nowadays, however, the effort involved is minimal."
Advocate Bert De Keyser
Billing
Every job can be marked as "to bill" or "billed". CICERO LawPack gives an overview of the cases with outstanding billable items. The amounts can always be changed for the billing. Different jobs can be totalled per category. All bills can be automatically processed in the accounts. You thus do not need to enter everything separately via the sales journal. Reminders are automatically set for all bills entered. The billed fees can be linked to separate ledger accounts per collaborator. You can thus track turnover and do profitability calculations at any time.
"The possibilities with regard to invoicing alone already
save me two full days per month."
Advocate Herwin Hemmerechts
Accounting
CICERO LawPack has complete company accounts and financial accounts. The sales invoices can be automatically processed by the billing module. Invoices of purchases can automatically be processed as jobs or expenses in a case.
Overviews can be obtained per customer, per supplier, per ledger number, per file, per lawyer. CICERO LawPack gives you a trial balance with the associated totalling accounts. You can export this information to Excel no problem at all.
With the Direct Banking module you can pay the purchasing invoices or transfer money to third parties by modem. You no longer have to look up the account numbers or references of the beneficiaries. Once your bank account has been debited, the payments can be automatically processed in the financial journal. You only have to worry about the incoming payments.
A reminder system monitors all unpaid invoices. Customers can be reminded with different types of standard letter.
All purchasing invoices are automatically included in the invoices to the client. The monitoring of outlays is thus watertight.
Overview of third-party accounts: You can obtain an overview of all files in which money still has to be paid to third parties. From here you can make simple payments to people included in the digital file.
The CICERO LawPack accounts are able to manage the accounts of different offices. These offices can use one and the same database for all other modules. The accounting can be done totally separately, however. Within one set of accounts, a number of financial years can be managed at the same time. In a new financial year, an overview of all outstanding customer and supplier invoices can always be obtained. The balance sheet accounts can be carried forward automatically and manually.
"If time is money, Cicero Lawpack already earned us a lot of money."
Advocate Bert De Keyser
Debtor
Control
CICERO LawPack has a very extensive debtor monitoring program. The billing conditions can be stored per customer.
The following options are possible :
· Fixed interest
· Variable interest, depending on a period
· Minimum interest
· Fixed compensation clause
· Variable compensation clause, depending on the amount
· Minimum compensation clause
· Maximum compensation clause
· Administrative costs
Every file has its own monitoring sheet showing all debts and payments already made. There is a direct link to accounts for the incoming third-party accounts and costs. Every payment can be imputed according to separate imputation rules.
All information can be automatically processed in standard letters set up by the user. After an action has been processed, the next action can be automatically placed in the diary.
An automatic monitoring procedure ensures that all files in which an action has to be taken are also monitored accordingly.
An extensive reporting module provides all types of information on the status of the debt. You can print or export this information to MS Excel, Lotus, HTML or publish it on your own website for optimum communications with your customer.
All debtor data can also be read in digitally. You can receive your customer files by file. Data on the debtor, claims and payments no longer have to be entered manually. Once you have made certain agreements with your client/customer, the entire administration can be done automatically.
"The debt collection module has taken care of a lot of the work, and this large debt collection practice is now processing at 100% with the CICERO package. Reminders, summations can be generated in all available languages."
Advocate R.M. Wever
CICERO JobLogger
Does your office work with external collaborators whose performances need to be billed? CICERO LawPack offers the ideal solution!
Through your secure website you can allow your collaborators to log the jobs they've performed in your cases. They can only see their own performance in the case and have no access to the other overviews.
They do not need to install software on their computer: with an Internet browser they can start immediately.
The benefits to you are:
- The collaborator registers his own jobs
- Fewer jobs are forgotten
- You can improve the quality and speed of your invoices
- You have a clear overview of the job performance of your collaborators
CICERO JobLogger mobile
How often do you call your clients on your mobile?
How often do you get a call on your mobile phone that was relayed from the office?
Are these telephone conversations logged as jobs?
Are you sure they will not be forgotten when you bill your client?
Now you can record your phone calls or other messages from your iPhone or Blackberry! Through your secure website you can log these jobs directly into CICERO LawPack.
CICERO Mobile Contacts
How often do you call your office to ask for somebody's contact details?
From now on, you can request this information through your secure website on your iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry via the 3G network or any other wireless Internet connection.
Addresses are also automatically linked to Google Maps.
