📄️ Close Client Matters
The Close Client Matters routine allows the user to Close or Re-Open Client Matters. Once the work is complete on a Matter and all financial aspects of the Matter are settled, the Firm can then close the Matter. When a Matter is closed, it is assigned a new Matter number (i.e. Closed Number) and it is assigned a Destroy Date. The Destroy Date is assigned based on the Firm's preferences, as indicated in the Maintain Firm Parameters routine (i.e. Closed File Years). The Matter will remain in the system and can be re-opened or accessed until the Destroy Date, at which time all information regarding the Matter will be purged from the system. Before this occurs, the Firm usually makes 'hard copies' of the information that is kept for future reference.
📄️ Conflict Search
The Conflict Search routine allows the user to search for Matters, Client, Timekeepers, etc that are in some way associated with the selected entity. Users can also perform searches for Matters based on a full or partial Matter Name. This allows users to identify any possible conflicts of interest before they arise. It is recommended that the user perform a conflict search for new clients and for each new matter. A conflict search cannot be performed on an entity until that entity has been entered into the system through the Entity Search routine.
📄️ Department Transfer
The Department Transfer routine allows the user to transfer Matters from one Department and/or Office to another. Matters are initially assigned to a Department when they are first established through the Maintain Matter Information routine. Departments and Offices are established and maintained through the Maintain Offices and Departments routine.
📄️ Mantain Contacts
The Contacts routine allows the user to view, and enter Contact Affiliation information. The Contacts screen can be accessed from the main Maintenance forms (i.e. Vendor, Client, Major Client, Billing Entity, Timekeeper, etc). Each time the Contact form is accessed, it changes to reflect the form from which it was accessed. For example, the form caption below reads "Vendor Contact Affiliation"; if the form were accessed from the Client form, the caption would read "Client Contact Affiliation".
📄️ Entity Manager
The Entity Manager screen is where all entity information is created, viewed, and edited. Bill Entities (Billing Parties), Clients, Major Clients, Timekeepers (Lawyers, Secretaries, etc), and Vendors are all classed as Entities.
📄️ Maintain Addresses
The Maintain Addresses routine allows the user to view or edit existing Entity Address, Telephone, and Email information, create new Addresses, and consolidate addresses (i.e. replace all instances in the database of one address with another address). This routine allows the user to see which addresses are associated with which client, vendor, timekeeper, etc.
📄️ Maintain Bill Entity Time Rates
The Billing Entity Time Rate routine allows the user to enter Time Rate information (the amount to be charged hourly for each time activity) for specific Billing Entities. Time Rates for the same Billing Entity and for the same Time Code or Activity may vary from Timekeeper to Timekeeper (i.e. for the specified activity, the current Timekeeper will charge $X/hr to the current Billing Entity). In eQuinox, Billing Entities are those people who may or may not be Clients, but who are responsible for the Bill for a particular Client (i.e. Billing Parties).
📄️ Maintain Bill Entity Disbursement Rates
The Maintain Bill Entity Disbursement Rate routine allows the user to enter Disbursement Rate details (the amount to be charged for each type of Disbursement incurred) for specific Bill Entities. In eQuinox, Bill Entities are those people who may or may not be Clients, but who are responsible for the Bill for a particular Client (i.e. Billing Parties). When the Maintain Bill Entity Disbursement Rate routine is accessed from the eQuinox main menu, the screen shown below will be displayed.
📄️ Maintain Billing Entity
The Maintain Billing Entity routine allows the user to view or edit information about existing Billing Entities, or enter information for new Billing Entities. In eQuinox, Billing Entities are those people who may not be Clients, but who are responsible for the Bill for a particular Client (i.e. Billing Parties).
📄️ Maintain Cheque Payee
The Maintain Cheque Payee routine allows the user to maintain the entries in the List of Values that appears in all fields throughout the application that require a Cheque Payee name. In this routine, the user can add new names, edit existing name, or delete names. To make maintenance easier, lists containing Timekeeper and Vendor names from which the user can select are provided. Note: Changes made in this routine will affect ALL Cheque Payee LOVs in the application.
📄️ Maintain Client Information
The Maintain Client Information screen allows the user to view or edit existing Client information, or enter information about new Clients. When entering information for new Clients, the Client must first be entered as a new entity through the Maintain Entities (Entity Search) routine. Once the person has been saved as an entity, the user must then select the entity on the Maintain Entities form and click the Client button; the user can then proceed to enter Client information for the entity.
📄️ Maintain Entity (Entity Detail)
The Maintain Entity routine allows the user to enter, edit, or view details about Entities. To access this routine, the user must select the desired Entity in the Entity Manager routine, and then click the Entity Details button on the bottom of the screen. This routine can also be accessed from within the Maintain Vendors routine. The Maintain Entity routine cannot be accessed from the main menu.
📄️ Maintain Client File Case Schedules
The Client File Case Schedules routine takes the Matter Templates that are established and maintained in the Maintain Case Templates routine, and applies the Templates to Matters. The Templates consist of Phases/Tasks that are involved in a particular type of Matter. In the Client File Case Schedules routine, each Phase/Task in the Template is given a Date on which it must occur, thus setting a schedule for the entire Matter. The user may also enter notice dates for the tasks, and the timekeeper will then receive these notices through the Limitation Events routine.
📄️ Maintain Major Client Information
The Maintain Major Client Information routine allows the user to enter, view, or edit Major Client Information. To do so, the user must select an Entity from the Entity Manager screen, and then click the Major Clients button at the bottom of the form. If the selected Entity already exists as a Major Client, the user will be taken directly to the Maintain Major Client Information screen; if the selected Entity does not already exist as a Major Client, the user will first be asked if they wish to create the Entity as a Major Client.
📄️ Maintain Matter Information
The Maintain Matter Information routine allows the user to enter and maintain Matter information. The user can also access various other routines from within the Maintain Matter Information routine.
📄️ Maintain Timekeeper Budgets
The Maintain Timekeeper Budgets routine allows the user to enter and maintain monthly budgets for each Timekeeper within the Firm. Budget amounts can be established for WIP Hours, WIP Fees, WIP Disbursements, Billed Hours, Billed Fees, and Fee Receipts. When the Maintain Timekeeper Budgets routine is accessed from the eQuinox main menu, the screen shown below will be displayed.
📄️ Maintain Timekeeper Information
The Maintain Timekeeper Information routine allows the user to view or edit information about existing Timekeepers, or add information about Timekeepers that have recently been added to the system. In eQuinox, Timekeepers are all people in the Firm who are posting Time (i.e. Secretaries, Partners, Lawyers, Associates, etc). Note: To add a new Timekeeper to the system, the user must first enter the information through the Entity Manager form, and can then add additional information for that Timekeeper through this form.
📄️ Maintain Valuable Client Property
The Maintain Valuable Client Property routine allows the Firm to track Client property that they are responsible for. For example, if a Client asks the Firm to keep a copy of their Will, this form will let the Firm easily record that they are indeed responsible for this copy of the Will, the location of the Will, as well as any changes to or movements of the document.
📄️ Maintain Vendor Information
In eQuinox, Vendors are those companies that supply the Firm with the necessary services and/or goods (Suppliers). The Maintain Vendor routine allows the user to enter, view, or edit Vendor information. To do so, the user must select an Entity from the Entity Manager screen, and then click the Vendor button at the bottom of the form. If the selected Entity already exists as a Vendor, the user will be taken directly to the Maintain Vendor screen; if the selected Entity does not already exist as a Vendor, the user will first be asked if they wish to create the Entity as a Vendor.
📄️ Limitation Events
The Limitation Events routine allows the user view event schedules for specific Clients, Matters, and/or Timekeepers. The Limitation Events that are displayed in this routine are as entered through the Client File Case Schedules routine, which is accessed through the Maintain Matter Information routine. The Client File Case Schedules routine takes the Matter Templates that are established and maintained in the Maintain Case Templates routine and applies the Templates to Matters. The Templates consist of Phases and Events that are involved in a particular type of Matter. In the Client File Case Schedules routine, each Event in the Template is given a date on which it must occur, thus setting a schedule for the entire Matter. It is this schedule that the user can view through this routine.
📄️ Matter Move (Client To Client)
The Matter Move form allows the user to move a Matter from one Client to another. When a Matter move is performed, everything associated with that Matter is also moved to the new Client (i.e. unbilled time, outstanding AR, etc). When moving Matters, the system will ensure that the new Matter number that has been assigned is unique (i.e. in "Matter First" systems, the number must be unique to the system and to the Client; in "Client First" systems, the number must be unique only to that Client. See below for more info). In addition, the system will ensure that the user has not selected to move a Matter to a Client whose file has been closed.