See the Quick Start guide on this website. Basically, you create the link with Dropbox, begin listing your clients, learn how to schedule work sessions and record work done. Later, you will learn how to tag the meetings and work, send them to Billing, and create and/or send an invoice.
CaseManager opens on your calendar so you can see what’s going on. To go elsewhere, tap the CaseManager Global Menu icon at the top left of the screen and choose where you want to go. (On mobile devices you can also do this by swiping right.) The Global Menu icon is at the top left of almost every screen, so you won’t get lost.
This can be done in the Consultants and Therapists apps. In the Consultants apps, select the client name from Clients; or in the Therapists app select the patient from Patients. Click Profile from the upper right of the screen (desktop/laptops) or the bottom menu (mobile apps), enter the desired work/session duration and fee number, and click Save. Thereafter, when you schedule a work/session for that client/patient, those values will automatically enter in their respective fields (but can be changed if desired).
In the “Week” calendar (the week view shows as a grid), tap the desired time slot and in the screen that opens, click the Client/Patient button to select the client/patient. Click Save. If the time is not precisely what you want, you can move the appointment rectangle on the calendar with your mouse or finger on the grid, or tap the appointment and type in the time in the detail screen that opens.
Another method: in “Calendar” view (shows the days of the month on one part of the screen and the day list on the other), click the “+” at the top right of the screen, and fill in the desired information in the detail screen. Don’t forgot to pick the client/patient from the appropriate list.
The easiest way to do this is to drag the appointment rectangle to the new time. When you are changing to a subsequent week, drag the rectangle to the right of the grid and you will see the week’s date range advance at the top of the grid. You can also accomplish this by clicking on the appointment and changing the time and/or date in the detail screen. To delete an appointment, drag the appointment rectangle to the garbage can at the bottom right of the screen, or right-click and click Delete.
When the work/session is finished, you click “Completed” or “Missed”. Then click “Send to Billing”, and fill in the duration of the work/session or fee if necessary. (You do not have to mark the session as Completed or Missed to move it to Billing.)
There are several ways to do this. Select the case/client/patient from Cases/Clients/Patients, click Events or Tasks/Work/Sessions, tap the “+” at the top right of the screen, enter the pertinent information about the work done, and click Save. To put the work done in the list of billable items, click “Send to Billing”.
Another way to add work is to, from the “Calendar” view or the “Week View” of the case/client/patient, click the “+”, enter the pertinent information. As above, if you’re ready to have the work in the list of billable items, click “Send to Billing”.
Select the client/patient and then click the Billing button for the list of items that were sent to Billing. By selecting Print you will be able to print or PDF the unbilled items.
At the Billing list of a client or patient, click “Send Invoice”. The work/sessions in the Billing list will be placed in a PDF attachment to an mail. If you have entered the client/patient’s email address in his or her profile, that address will automatically appear in the billing email.
In Settings, click “Edit Billing Template”. Tap “Paragraph” and compose the message you would like to appear in the billing email. This message will appear in the body of the email for every client/patient. To be able to personalize the message with the client/patient’s name or something else, leave a space in the message where you will personalize the message just before sending the email.
You can mark a work/session as Complete or Missed. This enable you to filter the Global Work/Sessions list or an individual client/patient’s work/sessions list, by clicking the Completed and Missed filter buttons at the top of the screen. Similarly, tags allow you to see which work/sessions in the Billing list have been Billed or Paid. Work/Sessions can be tagged manually, or automatically after CaseManager asks you if you wish it to so mark work/sessions in the process of being Sent to Email. Work/Sessions can be marked Paid manually in the session detail screen.
Your computer, phone or tablet retains your CaseManager data; synchronizing with Dropbox will give you have a cloud-based backup of that data. In addition, synchronizing with Dropbox permits to keep multiple devices running CaseManager.
CaseManager creates a link that communicates with Dropbox–you never have to visit Dropbox to synchronize or manage your data (indeed, it’s not a good idea to go to Dropbox to manage your CaseManager data because it can interfere with the handling of your data. A Dropbox account is free at Dropbox.com.
In your Cases, Clients or Patients list, create a case, client, or patient that is not a case, client or patient, giving a name such as Personal, Social, Miscellaneous, etc. Then use CaseManager normally for this category.
With Google Calendar Sync, work sessions appearing in your CaseManager calendar will appear in your Google Calendar, and vice versa.
Once the Google Calendar Sync link is set up (see below for setting it up), CaseManager calendar items will appear in Google Calendar automatically. Here is how to create calendar items in Google Calendar which will appear in your CaseManager calendar:
In Google Calendar, click the date/time for the new item. In the Event Creation screen, as the title of the item write the precise name (and nothing else) of the CaseManager Case/Client/Patient for whom the work will be performed. Ensure that the calendar listed is the calendar you are using to sync with CaseManager. Click “Edit event” and fill in information on the time, location and description of the item; then click save.
Now, the next time you click “Synchronize Calendar” in CaseManager, the event created in Google Calendar will appear in CaseManager as a “Google Calendar Event”. (If the new calendar item does not immediately appear, “refresh” the screen by navigating away from the calendar and then returning to it.) To view additional details about the event, click on it.
If you have any problems using Google Calendar sync, contact us at [email protected] or call John at 212-233-9300.
With Google Calendar Sync, events/appointments made in Google will sync to CaseManager and vice versa.
To set it up, you essentially share Google calendar identification with CaseManager, and CaseManager identification with Google. Here are the steps:
1. Identify or create the Google Calendar you’d like to sync with: In Google Calendar, choose the calendar with which you would like to synchronize with CaseManager. It must be a sub calendar to your primary calendar and the ID number must end in group.calendar.google.com. To see the ID#, click the down arrow to the right of a calendar and click “Calendar Details”. The ID# is just to the right of the iCal and HTML buttons. If the ID# does not end in group.calendar.google.com, you will need to choose or create a sub calendar. Creating a calendar is easy. In the left column of Google Calendar, to the right of “My Calendars”, click the down arrow and choose “Create a New Calendar”. In the creation screen, give the calendar a name and click save at the bottom of the page.
2. Put the CaseManager sync address in Google Calendar: In Google Calendar, to the right of the calendar with which you are going to sync, click the down arrow to the right and then click “Share this Calendar”. Next, under “Share with specific people”, enter this CaseManager address in the “Enter email address” box: [email protected]. To the right of the box, click the down arrow and select “Make changes to events”. Then, slightly to the right, click “Add Person” and at the bottom of the screen click “Save”. You’re almost done.
3. Put Google Calendar ID in CaseManager: In Google Calendar, again click the down arrow to the right of the individual Google Calendar with which you wish to sync CaseManager. Click “Calendar Settings”. Scroll down to “Calendar Address” and, to the right of it, copy the Calendar ID#. Now go to CaseManager Settings. Paste the Calendar ID# in the box called “Google Calendar ID” and exit Settings (but in mobile apps click Save). You are finished! To test your sync, see the FAQ on How to Use Google Calendar Sync. If you have problems contact us [email protected] or 347-903-0355.
Yes, you can now easily export the Time & Expenses data of a case to a csv format file. To do this, go to Time & Expenses (Lawyers app) for the case in question, and click the printer/pdf icon. CaseManager will ask you whether you wish the file format to be csv or pdf. If you wish to export to a spreadsheet, select csv, and the file will automatically open in your default spreadsheet application.
CaseManager uses the date format for the region which the device (computer, tablet, phone) is set up to use. Thus, in Europe, for example, the date format is dd/mm/yy.
In addition to US dollars, CaseManager users can select, in Settings, to work with the following currencies: Eur, Ypy, Gdp, And, Cad, Chf, Cny, Sek, Nzd, Mxn, Sgd, Hkd, Krw, Rub, Inr. Additional currencies can be requested.
Both Windows and Mac get suspicious when you use third party software like CaseManager. In Windows, when you get the message that it blocked an unknown software, click “Learn More” and follow the instructions to tell your computer to let you proceed. On a Mac, click Systems Preferences, next Security & Privacy, and then go to the option slightly down the page allowing you to Open CaseManager.
Here is a link to a CaseManager demonstration video on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq8zYwwLeSc
In addition, we would be happy to demonstrate CaseManager online for you. Just give us a call (or write) and we’ll schedule it.
Existing Google Calendar events can be synchronized to CaseManager by associating them with a case/client/patient which is in CaseManager’s Cases/Clients/Patients list.
For example, If the event relates to a case in CaseManager’s Cases list, click the event in Google Calendar, then click “Edit Event” and ensure that the title of the event is only the precise title of the case as it is in CaseManager’s Cases List (otherwise CaseManager will not recognize it). The other descriptive facts about the event should be transferred to the “Description” and “Location” boxes in Google’s Edit Event screen.
Yes, simple call or write us and we will schedule a web demonstration.
CaseManager has 3-way billing which attorney can pick from Hourly, Flat Fee and Contingent fee billing types, and get fee calculations at any time. For example, in a contingent fee case, enter the attorney’s fee percentage in the Client Profile and at any time CaseManager will calculate the potential fee taking in consideration the amount of the recovery, expenses, and client payments.
Three-way billing requires very little setup. In Client Profile (in the case dashboard), select from Hourly, Flat and Contingent Fee representation. If you wish CaseManager to include the expenses in future fee calculations, click the checkbox for that. In Contingent Fee cases, enter the attorney’s percentage of the recovery. (Note: For a one-third percentage, make sure you enter 33.33 for the attorney’s percentage, not simply 33.) If “include expenses” has been checked, CaseManager will subtract the expenses from the gross recovery before applying the attorney’s percentage.
To generate the attorney’s fee calculation, in Time & Expenses, click the PDF/printing button and select your preferred viewing method–printing or PDF, from the printing options. The attorney’s fee calculation will appear at the top of the report generated.
In any screen, swipe right or tap the CaseManager icon at the
top left of the screen to display the global menu, which includes all-cases/clients/patients lists as well as Newsfeed (Lawyers), Settings, and Synchronize.
Assuming you have established the link with Dropbox in Settings (see FAQ “How do I link CaseManager with Dropbox?”), you will be prompted whether or not you would like to synchronize upon starting and exiting CaseManager (desktop/laptop). You can also synchronize by accessing the global menu (swipe the screen to the right or tap the CaseManager logo at the top left of any screen) and pressing Synchronize.
When you synchronize, your Dropbox database and the database in your device will be made the same.
Do not synchronize more than one device at the same time because data loss can occur.
There are two ways: The easiest: if the work you have done was pursuant to a saved Event or a Task, then all you have to do is tap “Send to Time & Expenses” and then fill in the number or hours and billing rate. (If you used the clock in the Event or Task screen then you don’t even have to fill out the time.)
If the work was not the result of an Event or Task, go to Time & Expenses, tap the “+” time button, and then fill out the date, amount of time, and hourly rate.
Yes, your CaseManager data resides in each device on which you use CaseManager, and you can access it any time, with or without the internet. You only need the internet to synchronize your data with your Dropbox account. When you synchronize, you will acquire all data which you have previously pushed to Dropbox by synchronizing any of your devices.
Your data is very secure. First, GoodCase Apps could never be required to disclose your data because we do not have it! Your case information resides in a database on each device in which you have CaseManager and, if you synchronize through Dropbox, in a file on your own Dropbox account. Data on Dropbox is encrypted and, if you desire the maximum security, you can use Dropbox’s two-factor authentication system. For more information, read Dropbox’s statement regarding the security of your data, https://www.dropbox.com/help/27/en, and this article in Lawyerist on that issue, http://lawyerist.com/72903/dropbox-lawyers/.
You can change the name in the Settings page.
In the mobile devices (for iPhone, iPad and Android) touch that case, client or patient, then go to Overview. Simply touch the misspelling and type the correct letters.
In the Windows/Mac apps, go to the case, client or patient dashboard, click the profile/edit button (the icon with the pen, top right of the screen) and change the name.
When using a desktop/laptop, go to the dashboard and click the Documents tile. At the top right of the screen, click the “+”. In the title field, give the document the name you wish it to have in CaseManager. Click browse, find the document on your computer, and click save.
iOS — Select and display the document from the Documents section of CaseManager. Press the Open In button at the top right of the screen, and from the list of compatible applications, select the desired application. The document or photo will open in the selected application, where you can annotate or edit it. When you have finished, utilize the Open In button to transfer it back to CaseManager.
Android — Start the desired third-party application and open the desired document or photo by locating it in the folder from which it was originally added to CaseManager. When you have finished working with the document or photo, save it back to the original folder. Open it in CaseManager as you did originally, using the + symbol in the CaseManager/Case/Documents section and selecting the item from the original folder.
Use one finger to write the note, and two fingers to scroll.
Definitely not! Setup synchronization practices so that this never happens, otherwise your data can be lost.