Matters in SwiftlyBooks

Open a matter

1. Press Open a matter.
2. Choose the Client, or A new client and their name. Give the Description, Kind, Fee earner and Billing.
3. Under Other parties, add the other side and their lawyers.
4. Press Open the matter. It gets its number, such as MAT-0001.
5. If the conflict check finds names, press Open it anyway only if none stands in the way.

Work on it

• Under In trust, Receive money, Pay from trust, or Move to another matter.
• Under Unbilled, Record time, Add a disbursement, or Draft a fee note.
• Under Dates, add its hearings and deadlines for the diary.
• Statement gives the client's statement of account, as a PDF or by email.

Close it

1. Press Close the matter once it holds nothing in trust, no payment waits, and nothing is unbilled.

Good to know

• A payment from trust is never more than the matter holds. Unless Settings let one person pay it, someone else approves it on Trust account.
• Disbursements paid as the client's agent go on a disbursements note of their own, outside VAT and not fiscalised.
• Work for another client is another matter: a matter's client never changes.

Related

• Trust account
• Time
• Diary
• Invoices
• Raise a fee note from recorded time