What’s New List for Version 14.2
of Tabs3 and PracticeMaster Software

 

Application Toolbar   ***New Feature in All Products***

• Get one-click access to all Tabs3 and PracticeMaster products from the new Application Toolbar. The Application Toolbar can be docked anywhere on your desktop and is minimized whenever your Tabs3 and PracticeMaster programs are minimized. When you start Version 14.2, you will find the Application Toolbar on the right side of your open window.

 

Back Up Data Files & Restore Data Files

·         The Back Up Data Files feature now backs up all of your integrated Tabs3 and PracticeMaster programs at the same time, and creates one consolidated backup file. This means when you restore a backup, you can be sure that all products will be reset to the same point in time. Previously, the backup feature would only back up one program at a time.

·         The Restore Data Files feature restores the data for all integrated Tabs3 and PracticeMaster software.

·         Both the Back Up Data Files and Restore Data Files features now require exclusive access to all Tabs3 and PracticeMaster software. These features automatically lock out all users from starting new tasks and show which users are currently in the software.

 

Conflicting Activities Window   ***New Feature in All Products***

·         When trying to start an exclusive task, a new Conflicting Activities window shows all of the activities preventing the task from being started. Previously, only the first task encountered was displayed.

·         Simultaneously “locks out” other users from the software, making it easier for you to get the exclusive task started as quickly as possible.

 

Active User List

·         A separate row is shown for each task that a user has open, thus eliminating the “Multiple Occurrence Task(s)” item.

 

Tabs3 and Tabs3 General Ledger Software (GLS)
Version 14.2 Integration

 

Tabs3/GLS Integration    

• Simplified mapping procedures for payment allocation when only a single debit journal entry and single credit journal entry is desired. This is accomplished by selecting the new Single Debit/Credit option.
• Expanded account mapping capabilities for allocation of payments to fees to also include primary, secondary, and originating report order timekeepers in addition to category, location, tcode, and working timekeeper. This provides more flexibility for posting payments to GLS.
• Expanded account mapping capabilities for allocation of payments to costs to also include primary, secondary, and originating report order timekeepers in addition to category, cost type, location, and tcode.
• Expanded account mapping capabilities for payment allocation to allow two levels of posting for unapplied payments, finance charge, progress fees, fee sales tax, advance sales tax, and expense sales tax as follows:
• Unapplied Payments:  You can now designate multiple unapplied payment accounts for two levels of payment allocation. Levels include Single Debit/Credit; Client Category; Client Location; Payment Transaction Code; Primary Timekeeper; Secondary Timekeeper; or Originating Timekeeper.
• Progress Fee: You can now designate multiple progress fee accounts for two levels of payment allocation. Levels include Single Debit/Credit; Client Category; Client Location; Payment Transaction Code; Primary Timekeeper; Secondary Timekeeper; or Originating Timekeeper. Payments allocated to progress fees are still flagged in GLS as unapplied, and when a progress fee payment is allocated, adjusting journal entries will automatically be created for allocated accounts.
• Finance Charge: You can now designate multiple finance charge accounts for two levels of payment allocation. Levels include Single Debit/Credit; Client Category; Client Location; Payment Transaction Code; Primary Timekeeper; Secondary Timekeeper; or Originating Timekeeper.
• Sales Tax: You can now designate multiple sales tax accounts for two levels of payment allocation for each type of sales tax (i.e., Fee, Expense, and Advance Sales Tax). Levels include Single Debit/Credit; Client Category; Client Location; Payment Transaction Code; Primary Timekeeper; Secondary Timekeeper; or Originating Timekeeper.
• Made changes to various terminology and labels to accommodate enhanced integration options.
• Changed the Timekeeper label to Working Timekeeper, in order to differentiate from the Primary, Secondary and Originating Timekeeper options.
• Changed the Category label to Client Category.
• Changed the Location label to Client Location.
• Changed the Tcode label to Payment Tcode.
• Added a Progress Fee label to GLS Journal Entries created by Progress Fee Integration.

 

 

Tabs3 Billing Software Version 14.2

 

Receipt Allocation Report

·         New Uncollected column on the Receipt Allocation Report displays uncollected amounts by working timekeeper.

 

Reprint Statements

• New ability to exclude statement run totals when reprinting multiple updated statements.
• Statement run totals are no longer included when reprinting single updated statements.

 

Pre-Update Statements Report

• New asterisk next to the statement number on the Pre-Update Statements Report indicates that a critical field for a transaction included on that statement has been modified, thus requiring you to run another final statement before that statement can be updated (introduced in Version 14.1).

 

 

PracticeMaster Version 14.2

 

Quick Clicks  ***New Feature***

• A new Quick Clicks pane gives you quick, constant access to your most common tasks including Sorting, Filtering, Column Layouts, Convert to Fee, and more.
• Auto Hide option hides the Quick Clicks pane, giving you a larger work area, until you move your cursor to the edge of your screen.

 

Convert to Fee Settings   ***Even Easier***

• Ability to define separate default settings (such as minimum billable time, etc.) for each record type that can be converted to a fee. Previously, the same default settings were used for timer, phone, e-mail, research, and calendar records.
• Ability to define default Phase/Task and Activity codes.
• More options for setting the default timekeeper for each record type. Previously, you could only designate one specific timekeeper for all record types. The default timekeeper for each record type can now be set to:
• a specific timekeeper,
• the timekeeper of the last fee entered,
• or the client’s primary timekeeper.
• More options for setting the default description for each record type. Previously, the description from the journal or calendar record was used. Now you can set the default description for each record type to:
• the description of the journal or calendar record,
• the default Tcode/Activity Code description,
• or a custom-defined description.
• Powerful new Customized Description feature lets you design custom descriptions for each record type for each user that can include information from the fields within the journal or calendar record.
• With all of the new additional default options, you can now configure, for each record type, whether or not you want the Fee data entry window shown when converting journal records to fees, thus making it easy to truly automate the process of creating fee records.
• Added the ability to create a fee record from a client notes record.
• The settings on the E-mail tab are also used when creating a fee record from PracticeMaster's E-mail program.

 

Calendar File

·         Two new ways to convert events and tasks on your calendar into fees. A “Convert to Fee” button now appears in the Calendar window toolbar and also appears in your right-click menu when you right-click an event or task on your Calendar. Previously, this feature was accessed via the Action toolbar button or menu.

 

List Preferences   ***New Feature***

• This new feature allows you to customize the look of the List tab for each file.
• Customize the text and background color for alternating rows on the List tab helping you to quickly establish at a glance which file you are looking at. For example, you can use one color scheme for the client file and a different color scheme for the journal file.
• Optionally hide grid lines from the List tab of a file’s Editor window.
• Define the height of each row to allow for multiple lines of text in each row. This can be particularly useful when looking at records in files with multi-line descriptions, such as the journal file or fee file.

 

Document Search   ***New Feature***  PracticeMaster Premier

• Powerful new Document Search features let PracticeMaster Premier users search for text within e-mail attachments and linked documents.
• Search customization includes:
• Ability to search either e-mail attachments or linked documents or both.
• Limit search to specific clients.
• Limit search to files created or modified within a certain date range.
• Use phonetic searching, or search for grammatically similar words, or commonly misspelled words.
• Optional real-time indexing of new e-mail attachments and linked documents, so searches are always current and accurate.

 

Conflict of Interest Search

• PracticeMaster Premier users can include e-mail attachments and linked documents in addition to PracticeMaster data files when performing a conflict search.
• Reduced the frequency in which the “Conflict of Interest index files need to be rebuilt” message is displayed. This was accomplished by increasing the 50,000 word threshold in the intermediate index files to 5,000,000 words (introduced in Version 14.1).
• Consolidated all search configuration options to one place – the new Search Settings program.
• Use Ctrl+E to display the report directly to a Preview window.
• Use Ctrl+D to send the report directly to the DropBox.

 

Search Settings   ***New Program***

• Use the Search Settings feature to configure search preferences for Conflict of Interest fields, e-mail attachments, and linked documents.
• Includes the ability to rebuild each of the Conflict of Interest, e-mail attachment, and linked document indexes independently or together.
• Options for rebuilding indexes allow you to reindex all files, or just new and modified files.
• New command line options allow you to perform reindexing as part of a nightly process.
• Tracks when the last rebuild was performed for each index.
• Maintains a consolidated customizable Exclude List that includes commonly ignored words.

 

Search   ***New Menu Option & New Task Folder***

• Added a new Search menu option to consolidate PracticeMaster’s various search programs into one convenient location. Also added a new Search tab to the Task Folders.
• The new Search menu option and Task Folder provides quick access to the following programs:
• Conflict of Interest Search
• Contact Search
• Document Search
• iManage Search
• WORLDOX Search
• Search Settings

 

Import Data Wizard   ***New Functionality***

·         Added a new Import Data Wizard that allows data to be imported while users are using the software.

·         Added the ability to save custom Import Definitions that include field mappings, thus eliminating the need to perform field mapping for subsequent imports of the same file. Over 40 standardized Import Definitions for different files are provided with the software, making it easy to import data from Outlook, GroupWise, Time Matters, Amicus, and Abacus.

·         Added a command line option to allow PracticeMaster to automatically import data from programs that you integrate with.

 

Tracking Your Internet Research   ***New Plug-in***

• New PracticeMaster toolbar integrates with Internet Explorer. Now you can easily track Internet-related research directly from Internet Explorer including the ability to:
• create a Research record.
• save entire Web pages for offline viewing at a later time.
• paste actual research contents from the Web page into a Research record.
• update URL locations in a research record.
• Previously, in order to access the Web research features, Internet Explorer had to be accessed from within PracticeMaster.

 

Sending E-mail

• Added the ability to configure PracticeMaster to use your default e-mail program when sending, forwarding, or replying to an e-mail message. Previously, using these features required the PracticeMaster E-mail program to be configured.
• Signatures automatically appear in the message section of an e-mail when including signatures for outgoing e-mails (introduced in Version 14.1).
• Removed the Signature field from the Send E-mail window. Signatures are now selectable from the Insert menu. This allows you to insert multiple signatures into a single e-mail.

 

Creating Fees from E-mails

• The options defined in Convert to Fee Settings are now used by default when creating a fee record from PracticeMaster's E-mail program.
• Minimized the amount of required user input, making it much quicker and easier (i.e., typically only a Client ID needs to be selected).

 

Plug-ins Window    ***New Feature***

• Added a new Plug-ins window that provides a consolidated location for installing PracticeMaster plug-ins, which add functionality to various third-party programs.
• The Plug-ins window is accessed via the Maintenance | Integration | Plug-ins menus and provides tabs for the following plug-ins:
• Outlook Plug-in (previously accessed via Maintenance | E-mail Preferences).
• Internet Explorer Plug-in (new).
• HotDocs Plug-in (previously accessed via Documents | HotDocs Options).
• Word Plug-in (previously installed during Installation).
• Renamed PM Link to Outlook Plug-in.

 

Preferences   ***New Menu Option***

• Added a new Preferences menu option to the Maintenance menu to consolidate various configuration programs into one convenient location. This menu option includes the following configuration areas:
• Calendar Properties
• Convert to Fee Settings
• E-mail Preferences
• Timer Preferences
• Visual Timer Display Properties

 

Journal Records

·         When creating a new Journal record, initial focus is now placed in the first field of the tab order. Previously, focus was placed on the folder label requiring you to tab to the first field.

 

Word Document Assembly

·         Updated the buttons on the Word document assembly toolbar shown in Word.

 

Support Log

·         Added additional tracking information for the Import Data section that includes the method used to import data and which PracticeMaster file was imported into.

 

 

Tabs3 General Ledger Software (GLS) Version 14.2

 

General

• Journal entries are now retained for three years -- the current year, the prior year, and the second prior year. Previously, journal entries were only retained for the current year and prior year.

 

Advance Current Posting Month  

• Renamed the Month-End/Year-End Close-Out program to Advance Current Posting Month to more accurately reflect what the program does.
• Optionally retain all journal entries for current year and prior year when opening a new year, thus allowing up to three years of journal entries in the software.
• If electing to not retain all journal entries when opening a new year, you will be given the option to retain unreconciled journal entries for the current year and prior year, thus allowing two years of unreconciled journal entries in addition to all journal entries for the current year. Previously, only one year of unreconciled journal entries could be retained in addition to all journal entries for the current year.
• Changed the text in the window to show the new month being opened as opposed to the month being closed out.
• When opening a new year (i.e., advancing the last month of the current year to a new year), added a message and link on the window to make it easy to create a copy of journal entries.

 

Reconciliation

• Unreconciled checks can now be retained for the previous year and the second prior fiscal year, thus making it easy to reconcile outstanding checks that are older than one year.

 

General Ledger Report & Trial Balance

• Added the ability to print a General Ledger and Trial Balance for the second prior fiscal year. Previously, these reports could only be printed for the current fiscal year and prior fiscal year. (Note: Keep in mind that journal entries for the second prior fiscal year are not available retroactively. Journal entries for the second prior fiscal year will be optionally retained after opening a new year in Version 14.2.)

 

Edit GLS Client

·         Changed Date of Last Close label to Date of Last Advance.

 

About GLS

• Changed the Current Fiscal Month label to Current Posting Month.

 

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