Description: Billing Management Report Status: Effective immediately Date: 29 February 2024 Dynamic interface: Two, Core, Front Desk Version: 2.0.1.503
Explanation:
It was necessary to tweak the Billing Management Report slightly to work faster on bigger data sets. In addition a net available column was added.
PS 2.0.1.503 is the only version ever released on a Leap Year 🙂
Description: File Cover Status: Effective immediately Date: 15 February 2024 Dynamic interface: Two, Core, Front Desk and RMS Version: 2.0.1.500
Explanation:
Looking for a file and cannot remember the cover color?
Dynamic now allows you to set the file color. A tiny widget with far reaching application. Easily spot and out of place file. This is a user convenience designed to increase visual stimuli for the user.
Client Profiles allow easy management of large volume instructions. Any matters for a client with multiple instruction can now be quickly and easily be found, updated and reported on.
Description: Search for Invoice numbers and match to File Number Status: Effective immediately Date: 15 February 2024 Dynamic interface: Two, Core Version: 2.0.1.500
Explanation:
It’s a common time waster to spend time matching Invoice numbers to file numbers. This can happen directly on the bank statement or when splitting bulk payments. Dynamic now has semi-automated search and allocation capabilities which will save your hours of frustration. Simply identify the transactions where invoice numbers appear, select and click the allocate button. Dynamic will search for the invoice numbers found and allocate the correct ledger account number.
Description: Billing Management and Group Billing Status: Effective immediately Date: 15 February 2024 Dynamic interface: Two, Core, Front Desk Version: 2.0.1.500
Explanation:
Group Billing has had a facelift. In addition to the existing functionality, Group Billing will now generate lists of Milestones and Invoice Remittance, making it easier to account to large corporate clients. Especially in the field of insurance and sectional title management, these reports can save a great deal of time.
Remember, Billing Management is your friend!
Description: Fees to Target Status: Effective immediately Date: 15 February 2024 Dynamic interface: Two, Front Desk Version: 2.0.1.500
Explanation:
Will we make target? Is a common and recurring question every month. This easy little Fee Report combines current actual Ledger and Fee Book items to give an accurate picture of our current position.
Description: Quality of Life User Experience Improvements Status: Effective immediately Date: 15 February 2024 Dynamic interface: Two, Core and Front Desk Version: 2.0.1.500
Explanation:
Several minor improvements have been made, the most important include:
These include Control+S hotkey on the Fee Book to save fees, and an Alt+L hotkey on certain financial reports in the Core module. The Alt+L key will open the Ledger History Report+ for easy ledger inspection.
Milestone capturing has been streamlined, allowing smooth transaction capturing.
Microsoft Outlook for Windows Calendar appointments can now be scheduled directly from the Notify scheduler. These appointments are all staggered at the top of the day and will result in an Outlook pop-up when starting Outlook in the morning.
Description: Client Billing Documents processing time reduced Status: Effective immediately Date: 16 December 2022 Dynamic interface: Two, Core, Front Desk Version: 2.0.1.421
Generating PDF Client Billing Documents is a time-consuming tedious process. Changes have been introduced to both Invoices and Statements reduce the time required. Batch of 100 PDFs can now be done in approximately 5 minutes. Local internet speed and computer processing capacity will affect this.
Description: Bank Reconciliation Hints Status: Effective immediately Date: 10 December 2022 Dynamic interface: Two, Core Version: 2.0.1.419
Bank Reconciliation is boring. To make life a little more interesting we have added Hints to assist support your experience. Hint Tick All! 😉
Description: Trust Provision Status: Effective immediately Date: 11 November 2022 Dynamic interface: Two, Core, Front Desk Version: 2.0.1.419
It is now possible to set multiple trust provisions to each matter. This allows the user to streamline and manipulate Trust To Business transfer processing, without affecting Client Billing.
Special Thank You to the clients’ who assisted in field testing. 🙂
A tenant of a rental property is entitled to statement of account clearly indicating recurring obligations and confirming historic transactions. By definition rent should always be paid up to date an age analysis for rent should be considered an anomaly.
Tenant Statements
Statements of account issued to a tenant should include all items debited to such an account:
the rent due
repairs charged
utilities or services used
And the tenant’s account must also reflect any payments made by the tenant.
The net balance of the tenant statement should be a clear indication of the current status of indebtedness by the tenant. Bear in mind that rent is typically charged in advance.
The Landlord
Dynamic’s unique Rent Management System allows for invoices to the landlord for services rendered, as well as statements with running balances.
This means that one powerful accounting solutions provides detail accounts to both the landlord and tenant in an easy to understand format.
-Simply Dynamic
Read more about matters concerning Rental Properties:
Description: Easy Invoice run Status: Effective immediately Date: 30 August 2022 Dynamic interface: Two, Core Version: 2.0.1.406
A
single, fast Invoice run at the end of the month
As part of month end compliance and reconciliation, Dynamic can run through all invoices without disrupting operational activities.
This workflow allows for the issuing of invoices on a one-by-one basis when necessary. It also allows for all current transactions to be invoiced without omission and without interruption.
At the end of the Financial Year, Income and Expense accounts are normally closed off to a consolidated profit and loss Equity account.
Dynamic can automatically process these journal entries. The default profit and loss Equity account is number #94001, but may vary on your system.
The benefits of using automatedFinancial Year End Roll Over journal processing include
ease of use
speed
accuracy
Financial Year End journal specifically affect business accounts, and does not affect client trust accounts.
Request guidance from your auditor concerning Financial Year End Roll Over.
Some auditors would prefer for you to run the Financial Year End Roll Over before they start working on the reports. This has the benefit of reducing the number of accounts to deal with. The consolidated profit and loss account contains full transaction details concerning the source accounts. In addition, the Statement of Profit and Loss will still display the original balances regardless of the Financial Year End Roll Over entries.
Other auditors may prefer to work with the raw data without any automated Financial Year End Roll Over transactions processed to the system. This makes it easier to detect discrepancies and provides a framework for reallocating items. In this case run the Financial Year End Roll Over after the auditor has completed the audit.
In any event, the auditor is likely to provide a set of journals to be done. This is standard practice as financial and tax reporting may require additional processing which falls beyond the scope of the software.
Note that supplementary journals may
How to run the Financial Year End Roll Over
Select the date, typically the last date of the last Financial Year
Select the target Equity account from the list
Click Go
Don’t blink. It’s so fast, if you blink, you will miss the transactions.
Inspect the ledgers for the relevant entries.
Supplementary Financial and Year End Journals
Supplementary journals may be required for any number of reasons, including operational, financial and reporting. Transactions which require additional processing include depreciation and amortization. Additional updates based on operational requirements or amended tax guidelines may require supplementary journal entries.
It is not recommended to process these additional journals manually. Since the auditor will provide the required transactions in spreadsheet format, it is strongly recommended that these journals be imported directly into Dynamic.
Notify has been expanded to provide for scheduled, personalized email. This means that you can now schedule and email to be delivered at a future date. Instead of Outlook Tasks or Popup reminders, any recipient email address in the system Address Book can receive a personalized email. Suitable applications include diary scheduling, meeting reminders and birthday or anniversary reminders.
Scheduled emails are centrally stored and Sent to the email recipient on the given date.
Optional, but handy personalization include
Report deadline
Account number
Client Name
An unlimited free form text reminder to clearly indicate the reason why the message was sent and what response is expected.
Send your future self an email to get Dynamic now!
How to set gmail Spam Filter:
The aggressive spam filters on gmail are designed to protect you. However, sometimes gmail is too aggressive and may leave your email unusable. To allow notifications into your gmail Inbox, create a mail filter.
Log in to your gmail account.
Click the GEAR icon at the top right and then click SETTINGS.
Go to FILTERS AND BLOCKED ADDRESSES and click CREATE A NEW FILTER.
In the FROM section, type the email address notify@dynamilta.com to keep it out of your Spam Folder.
Click CREATE FILTER.
Check NEVER SEND IT TO SPAM and ALSO APPLY FILTER TO MATCHING MESSAGES boxes.
There is a gap. The gap is big and it is growing. This gap affects us daily and it needs to be addressed. We need to close this gap.
The
gap exists between the attorney’s Fee Book and every day activities.
As
recently as five years ago, correspondence was mainly by snail mail.
Letters were dictated and typed, signed and sent off in an envelope,
to reach the client in a few days time. The simple act of creating
correspondence was an involved task and physical evidence of the act
remained on the paper file. Communication was slow, formal
and tangible. Whenever a bill was drawn up, each letter on the split
pin in the file made it onto the invoice.
Today
communication is very different. Communication is electronic, with
email dominating the attorney-client communications environment. Use
of instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp (remember that one?) and
Telegram are on the rise. The result is simply that communication is
online and more live than ever before, but this near instant
communication has increased the gap. Communication occurs more
frequently, but billing is less efficient.
This
gap has a name. It is a Billing Gap.
There
is a clear gap where communication is concerned. On the one side
stands the empty Fee Book. On the other side email and instant
messaging platforms. Like a ghost story, the skeletons of old email
messages live on in your Inbox while unbilled email messages haunt
your empty Fee Book.
Regardless
of the underlying fee agreement, care should be taken to keep track
of individual billable items. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.
In certain instance every single email sent and received will and
should find its way to the clients’ account. In other cases, a simple
internal log of email sent and received will be sufficient. But,
without an adequate inbox monitoring tool, keeping accurate record
becomes tedious and inaccurate.
In
a law practice, your Inbox can easily become a FeeBox.
Attorneys
indicate they send as many as 60 emails per day. Assuming that each
email also has a response, that is a 120 emails per day, over several
files. Most attorneys fall into one of three categories (a) those who
do not count email and rarely bill for the email sent and received;
(b) those who add generic Various emails sent entries to their
bills, with no clear reference as to the actual number of messages
and their dates and subjects. (c) those who meticulously keep
accurate record of each message sent or received, its time and
subject, creating a clear and accurate billing report of email
correspondence in any given matter.
If
the attorney sends 60 emails per day, at a nominal fee of R28.50 (no
VAT) per item, that amounts to R1 710.00 worth of fees per day. Five
working days results in R8 550.00. Four weeks results in R34 200.00
worth of fees. For email sent only. Double this amount for email
received. Of course, not all messages can and should be billed for.
But the vast majority of communication takes place by email, and this
communication is billable.
Emails
per day 60 @ R28.50
Billing
per day R1 710.00
Billing
per week R8 550.00
Billing
per month R34 200.00
Are
you billing R34 200.00 per month for email sent?
Tariff
published in GOVERNMENT GAZETTE 43592, dated 7 AUGUST 2020,
Magistrates Court Scale A, under item 18 (page 38) allows for
Correspondence fees R28.50.
Screenshot of client bill with automated fees for email sent and received.
There
are several unproductive ways of keeping track of email. One is to
keep a manual log book and write down each item, or type it into a
spreadsheet. This needs to be interpreted and converted to a fee item
at a later stage. Or, using an app, copy and paste directly from the
email client to the billing app. This is faster, but requires
discipline.
But
there is a better way.
It
is no coincidence that Microsoft Outlook for Windows remains the most
popular email client for business use. Outlook can be used with the
MS Office suite including Word, Excel etc in smaller firms, or with
an Exchange server for bigger business. Exchange Servers offer many
benefits to bigger business, including powerful internal email
management, but at cost typically beyond the budget of the average
small business. Fortunately smaller firms can implement Outlook
without the need for an Exchange Server. The Microsoft ecosystem is
based on continued commitment to local app infrastructure as
confirmed by the Office 365 local-app and cloud-data model, offering
the best of both worlds in terms of user experience and secure shared
data storage.
Imagine
a billing tool that allows billing for email directly in your Fee
Book, and bills the email accurately and immediately to the client.
Imagine an accurate bill for every email message sent or received.
There are only some many hours in a day. Spending additional time to
manually update an account based on email is not worth it.
Bill for every email sent. Bill for every email received. Never miss a fee for an email, ever, again. The choice is yours.
If
you are not billing for email, perhaps it is time to ask yourself the
question Why are we not billing for email? Is it time to
consider a billing tool that supports your daily activities? A tool
which allows fast, accurate email activity billing? A tool which
keeps your Fee Book up to date?
The
good news is that such a tool exists. Dynamic Lawyers Trust Account
software is much more than simply a bookkeeping system for attorneys.
Dynamic is also a billing tool, allowing fast, easy, reliable billing
between Microsoft Outlook and the Fee Book. This makes Dynamic very
affordable for the attorney in a small legal practice. Increased
billing is the first step towards increased revenue, and eventually
profit. Convert your Inbox into a FeeBox and drive revenue with
Dynamic’s email billing.
If
you are interested in what Dynamic’s Outlook interface can do for
your bottom line, scan the QR tag below.
For
implementing additional Outlook features, please contact us
Outlook@DynamicLTA.com.
Description: Outlook integration for Windows Status: Effective immediately Date: 27 April 2021 Dynamic interface: Two, Core, Front Desk Version: 2.0.1.300
Starting with version 2.0.1.300 on 27 April 2021, Dynamic can now be set up to monitor Outlook. These activities can be billed directly to the Fee Book.
The Tariff covers the High Court, Magistrates’ Regional and Magistrates’ District Courts. This is also the first comprehensive tariff update since November 2019.
The Tariff is available in the Fee Book and appears as 2020 Sept P&P Scale Gazette 43592.
A Refresh will make the tariff available.
The tariff was published on 7 August 2020 in Gazette No. 43592, Regulation Gazette No. 11156.
Dynamic’s unique new Trust to Business Analyzed Transfer analyzes the funds transferred from Trust to Business and gives an instant breakdown of the nature of these funds.
Disbursements refer to refunds – essentially the business account is being refunded for costs incurred on behalf of the client. These funds cover costs and are not available to be spent.
Fees refer to profit – Yes, we can discuss this extensively, but the Fees we transfer refer to our net earnings, which can be applied to business expenses that do not affect clients: rent, salaries, stationery etc. Fees indicate the financial health of the business.
Why is this important?
Trust to Business Transfers can be extensive and cover many files with transactions broken down over a the entire life time of the account in our books. Understanding the composition of the transfer amount gives immediate insight into (a) which portion is begin refunded and (b) which portion is available to pay expenses. Only the fee portion of a transfer is available to cover expenses. The Disbursement portion is being refunded to the business account, those funds cannot be allocated a second time.
We cannot use refunded Disbursement money to pay expenses. We can only use money from Fees to pay expenses.
Why do you need this now?
The immediate breakdown of cash flow into fees (free cash) and disbursements (refunds) provides insight into the cash stream entering the business and an indicator of financial health.
Introducing Dynamic’s Trust to Business Analyzed Transfer
It works like
before, only better.
Balancing the
trust by quickly, accurately and responsibly transferring funds between the
client’s trust and business ledgers.
Before…
A manual or
one-to-one transfer would typical require a single payment from the trust
account to the business account. Each transactions required a trust payment and
a business receipt. For few accounts, and large sums, this allowed a very high
level of control, but creates unnecessary risks concerning accuracy and
duplication. Further it leads to higher than necessary bank charges.
Other
Systems
Custom
attorneys accounting solutions provide for various degrees of semi-automated
trust to business transfer mechanisms. Ideally such a system should transfer
funds from trust to cover any business transactions, while preventing trust
debits from occurring and neutralizing business credits. Not all systems
correct for business credits. A single “Transfer from trust” entry was not very
informative, and only automated an otherwise tedious accounting process.
Dynamic’s
Analyzed Transfer
Dynamic’s
transfer system prioritized the trust. This means any trust debit
balances are corrected first. It also scans for and corrects business
credit balances. The magic, however, happens when the system detects fee
transactions on the ledger. Dynamic analyzes the transfer amount and identifies
the fees and disbursements. This distinction is noted on the individual ledger
accounts, is available for scrutiny on detailed reports and forms the building
block of a basic cash flow forecast report.
TRANSFER
DISBURSEMENTS from trust
TRANSFER FEES
from trust
The accuracy of
the analyzed transfer makes business cash flow management easy.
The transfer auto-corrects,
once the Transfer button is pressed, it will write up the ledger
and check for corrections. Transfer all the items on screen immediately until
the report shows 0.00 to transfer.
VERIFY TRUST INTEGRITY
Trust integrity is confirmed by comparing the
post-reconciliation cash book balance to the trust ledgers. This is easily done
on the Management Snapshot, this is an extract based on formal reports.
This post deals with the circumstances under which trust funds may be transferred to the business, and the procedure for doing so.
Bulk Trust to Business Transfers
When may Trust Funds by paid out?
Trust funds belong to the client. The lawyer maintains the trust on behalf of his client. Only in very limited circumstances is the disbursement of trust funds authorized. Disbursement here has the wide meaning of paying out money, and it means payment to any party not the client.
Generally,
the client may always receive payment of funds held on his behalf;
third parties, if duly authorized by the client, by receive payment from the trust;
the law firm, as payment for its professional services rendered.
This post does not deal with retainers and the point at which a retainer may become transferable from trust to business.
Where payment is made directly to the client, or a third party, this will be a direct bank transaction, such as an EFT (electronic banking) or a paper cheque. A specific beneficiary for such payment must be apparent and trust payments may not be made to unspecified (“cash“) recipients.
The ledger will merely reflect a trust debit entry.
Trust to Business Transfer
Few Transactions
For a very few law firms, it may be suitable to transfer trust funds as settlement of its bill on a one-to-one basis. In this case a simple trust payment is made, and should then be received on the same account with a business receipt.
In any busy law firm, with many active files and high transaction volumes it would soon become impossible to manage the number of files and keep accurate tabs on the current balances. This one-to-one type transfer is not recommended.
Problems associated with this method include
an increased administrative burden
additional costs (bank charges)
multiple additional transactions
increased reconciliation workload
for no apparent benefit.
Many Transactions
Dynamic is designed for trust accounting. This means that a sophisticated and dedicated trust-to-business-transfer function is available.
The trust-to-business transfer is composed to of two distinct set of transactions, (a) the Ledger entry, showing the movement of funds from trust to the business, and (b) the Banking transactions, which show payment from trust and the receipt in the business account.
The benefits of this method include
reduced administrative burden
lower costs (bank charges)
few individual transactions to track
reduced reconciliation workload
less time spent on administration allows more time for professional activities.
How Trust to Business Transfers should be done
The Bulk Trust to Business Transfer procedure
The discussion below is designed to give a complete and accurate description of the transfer procedure. It is the recommended procedure. This can be done on demand, any time, any day.
Bear in mind that Dynamic is designed to ensure compliance in a legal trust accounting environment. Following the steps outlined below will facilitate compliance. The Bulk Trust to Business Transfer procedure will ensure the integrity of the trust.
The goal throughout is to ensure that the trust cash books are always equal to the trust ledgers.
Required
Recent, accurate trust bank reconciliations.
A business Transfer Control Account, we recommend a generic account such as #99000. If separate control accounts are required for each trust account, #99001 can be used for bank 1, #99002 for bank 2 etc.
Procedure
All current transactions must be up to date.
Confirm most recent Bank Reconciliations. Unprocessed banking transactions, or outstanding transaction may present a problem. Please see elsewhere for details on the bank reconciliation procedure. If either the cash book is not up to date or there is no recent bank reconciliation, do not proceed beyond this point.
Management Snapshot prior. The purpose is to verify the integrity of the system at the start of the process. Check the trust assets and liabilities, make sure it does not report a problem. This document represents the state of the books at the start of the process. If anything is unclear, do not proceed beyond this point. Print this report.
Management SnapshotManagement Snapshot with Trust in balance
Processing > Trust to Business Transfer. This journal entry totals the current business and trust client ledger balances on a by-account basis, then typically debits trust and credits the relevant ledger. This will reduce the trust obligation, which will reduce the trust creditors. This report should be printed, but it can also be found in the diagnostic reports.
Processing Trust Transfer JournalsPrint the trust transfer list
Management Snapshot post. The purpose is to find a summary of the trust funds in excess of the trust creditors. These funds have become available due to the trust to business journal entry. This document is a summary, and a detailed report such as the Trial Balance may be required in some areas. Find the trust surplus on this report. Print this report.
Management Snapshot with Trust Surplus
Banking Transactions. Process this trust surplus amount with a trust payment and a business receipt. Take the funds out of the trust banking account with a Trust Payment. Process this transaction against the Transfer Control Account. Receive this payment in Business, against the same Transfer Control Account. These transaction should show a nil balance on the Transfer Control Account once we are done. Unbalanced control accounts indicate a problem.
Management Snapshot final. The purpose is to confirm that the books balance correctly after all transactions have been processed. Print this report.
Age Analysis. Inspect the Age Analysis for Accounts Receivable at this point to ensure that Management is fully aware of the extent of outstanding Receivable accounts.
Common Questions
Sometimes we make mistakes or the unexpected happens. What happens to the trust then?
How do I recover VAT on my transfer ? No. There is no VAT applicable to the trust to business transfer transactions. VAT is calculated on transactions as they occur. This means when a Fee is processed, Output VAT is calculated and processed in the system. Similarly when a payment on an expense is made, Input VAT is processed. The cash transfer from trust to business is only that, a cash transfer, and no additional VAT should be raised on that amount.
Must we wait for month end to do a transfer? No! Dynamic is fully integrated and immediately up to date. Post all the necessary transactions and do a transfer immediately. There is no reason to wait for month end. Transfers may be done daily.
I did not do a transfer at the end of last month. Can I force transfer on a specific date? Yes. Simply select the date on which you want to process this transaction and a ledger entry will be processed on that date. Do follow the remaining steps in order to avoid creating a double transfer.
The bank reconciliation is a few months behind, or inaccurate. May I proceed with the transfer ? No. The bank reconciliation is a required preceding step. Proceeding without an up to date cash book and a recent, accurate bank reconciliation undermines the entire process.
My system shows a Trust Deficit. What do I do now? The discussion above assumes the normal position where positive cash flow is from the Trust account to the Business account. It may happen, for reasons not explored here, that a Trust Deficit arises: this is a situation where the net Trust Cash Books are worth less than the Ledger requirements. In such a situation Dynamic will clearly indicate the Trust Deficit position and banking transactions must be processed to correct this state of affairs.
Process a Business Cheque and Trust Receipt against the standard Trust Transfer Control account.
Check the Management Snapshot for the Trust Position.
The Trust to Business feature balances the ledgers. Any remaining differences between the cash books and ledger balances will be reflected by the Management Snapshot.
Mary, the attorney, was at home, surrounded by her files. It was late at night, her household was sleeping. It was that time of night when it was quiet enough to work, and not so late as to get cold and tired.
Mary picked up another file.
She read the cover, to remind
herself of what they were doing. Paged to the back and systematically started
scanning each of the pages in the file.
Every now and then she would inspect the client ledger on the file, in order to verify that the professional work done had been accurately converted to an accounting transaction and recorded on the client’s statement.
Every now and then a missing item would crop up. A “Fee receipt and perusal of something or another…” had been omitted, slipped through the cracks of outdated systems. Every item omitted impacted her cash flow, and the rework and checking was a waste of time. Capturing fees for work done on the go, in real time would prevent omissions. Mary worked hard, but it seemed as if there just was never enough time to get everything done. As the sole owner of her firm, Mary did almost everything by herself. She had a receptionist who also did some typing, and the clerk who seemed to be more interest in taking selfies than actual legal work. Mary’s firm was small, but it was hers.
Time to make a new fee note.
Mary reached for her Fee Book.
The Fee Book was an old school black, hard cover counter book. Battered, it almost looked ancient. It was not old, merely well used, the pages covered in dates, fee notes and amounts. Some lines had been struck through where the entries had been carried over to the ledger.
The stories those
pages could tell!
But Mary’s thoughts were not sentimental.
Mary was annoyed. She had to
turn pages in the file to locate client statements and ledger reports, she had
to write new fee notes by hand. And where billing was on tariff, she had to
pick up the tariff sheets to get the correct tariff items. For commercial work
she had to make special notes. Every activity should be noted to keep track of
the value of the work done, but not billed as individual items.
This is not working for me,
thought Mary.
Too many pages. Too many duplicate reports. Multiple reports, supplied by different people, always out of date by the time she got to read it. Like so many other small law firms, cash flow management always required attention. The first step was converting professional activities into billable hours, and then making sure clients were invoiced regularly, with enough easy to read reports to follow up on outstanding accounts.
What if, Mary thought, there was a better way?
What would it be
like, thought Mary, if there was a system, designed for lawyers, which allowed capturing
all business and trust transactions on a single accounting ledger?
A system which
supported the lawyer’s professional activities. All the transactions clear and
integrated so that it was easy to see exactly what was going on. A system with
a single central, cloud based Fee Book, so that all fees were immediately,
directly written to a single sheet. A Fee Book where events could be captured
as they happened, and not months later. A Fee Book that allowed for Memo
Fees for the commercial files, and To Be Reviewed Fees for the work
the attorney had to check.
A cloud based Fee
Book that could be easily managed and imported into the accounting Ledgers
without retyping.
With pro forma
invoices for clients who insisted on changing the fee descriptions, and
itemized invoices detailing all the work done. With recurring monthly
statements and Accounts Receivable trackers for those clients who always paid
late.
A system that
does all the things expected of an accounting system, and a smart Trust to
Business transfer feature to balance the Ledgers.
A system that
supported law firm operations on a daily basis, reducing the time required to
manage the business, allowing more professional time to write fees. A system
accessible from anywhere, not just the office, with accurate, real-time
reports.
And if the Fee Book is online, thought Mary, maybe her clerk would actual write fees on his cell phone too!
The good news is that such a system is available. A system which
is
Mobile time billing is a vital part of legal practice. The Hours keeper app offers mobile timesheet creation on all major mobile devices. Walking into a client’s office for consultation, or attending a taxation at court, nothing is easier than tapping the start and stop on the Hours Keeper app.
Description: Extensive Quality of Life improvements Status: Effective immediately NEW Date: 14 April 2020 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.169
Explanation:
Extensive Quality of Life improvements have been implemented over the past several months. These are mostly based on end-user feed back. All basic functionality remains available. Visual triggers and reminders have been implemented to support end-users in daily activities.
Description: Client Billing Documents Status: Effective immediately NEW Date: 14 April 2020 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.169
Explanation:
A simple logic has been implemented which allows an immediate Pro Forma invoice to be generated, including Fee Book transactions. The formal Invoice and routine Statement has been streamlined to provide commercial invoicing capabilities to clients. Original functionality remains available.
Layout has been improved and the full 200 character transaction description now appears on itemized client billing documents.
Multi-VAT rate compliance is supported.
These changes have been affected based on end-user feedback. We would love to hear from you. 🙂
Do not let current uncertainty undermine your professional independence or disrupt your business activities.
At the time of writing this, the future is uncertain. Small law firms are faced with the distressing thought that staff who interact every day, will not see each other for the next few days or weeks.
Dynamic was designed as an online integrated business & trust bookkeeping system, to be used in a geographically distributed working environment. Why work from home when you can work from anywhere?
Instead of having to ask someone else, or having to wait for someone to become available to supply a required report, simply log in and get the report you want, write up the fee in the Fee Book, issue the invoice. Don’t wait.
We aim for 100% uptime, but the truth is, that is a very difficult objective to reach.
Uptime is a measure of reliability. When a user logs in, is the system available. Five-nines or 99.999% availability means 5 minutes, 15 seconds or less of downtime in a year.
We can only reference our own server’s availability. Unavailability caused by client-side issues are beyond our control.
2019
For 2019, we were up 100% of the time. This quite an achievement and a lot of thanks go to our server support team. Well done!
We give ourselves a five star rating: ★★★★★
2019 uptime
2018
During 2018, we experienced a few minor connectivity issues which were mostly related to hardware related updates. Even so, we had only partial down time on several dates. We were up and working almost always.
We give ourselves a four star rating: ★★★★
2018 uptime
2017
The 2017 stats are no longer available, but server upgrades and other issues occasioned several downtime sessions, although these were all quickly resolved with no failed remote logins.
As a hybrid cloud based solution Dynamic uses a familiar Windows user interface, with access to a range of Windows features, such as saving PDFs to the Documents folder and integrating with Microsoft Office components, such as Outlook and Excel.
But, sometimes you just need to check something. What to do when your computer is not around, or it’s simply too much of a hassle to walk to the room and fetch it? Do you really need to switch on the computer to see whats going on? Or wait for the office to open to ask somebody to check?
Fortunately, Dynamic understands that sometimes you need easy online access.
Dynamic Online Reports
Dynamic has a light weight online access portal which allows basic activities on any mobile device.
Online means browser based.
Online means access anywhere.
Online means any device, at any time.
The online access portal is designed to provide focused access, restricting access and reports to client matters. Sensitive business information is not accessible. Transactions cannot be processed.
Ideally suited for easy access on the go, or limited to Reception or clerk level activities, the online access portal contains the following features:
Search – Find Files or Transactions
Ledger History Analysis
Fee Book
File Notes
General File Detail Report
Imagine a Receptionist, tasked with channeling income phone calls. The online access portal allows name searches, which displays sufficient information to accurately identify the reference and the attorney involved.
Routing is now easy.
The attorney walks into an important meeting. Accurate information is critical. The online access portal makes it easy to confirm the last transactions and read the most recent file notes. Afterwards a fee is immediately debited to the Fee Book.
On a cell phone.
Online accessibility makes it possible to work at any time, anywhere, on any mobile device.
Conditions apply. All current versions of major browsers are supported.
Dynamic is designed to provide a compliant, integrated Business and Trust Accounting system for attorneys. But, simply distinguishing trust and business transactions is an easy task. That can even be done manually. The truth is that basic accounting is very simple indeed. But simplicity disappears immediately once custom demands are made of the accounting records. A manual system does not immediately and accurately yield a trial balance, cash book, or ledger report on a given day. Nor can a manual system effortlessly and error free provide multiple trust-to-business transfers during a month, a week or even the same day.
Of course, Dynamic can do all these things.
But there is more.
Dynamic can produce easy to read, custom management accounting reports combining business and trust transactions into a single net balance, combined with file activity. Making it easy for management to see at a glance the state of any file.
Not only are reports streamlined on a file level, but high level overview reports provide a birds eye view, with a drill down to the individual transaction.
Whether you want to look at the data form a high level, to spot trends, or investigate a specific department, file, ledger, or transaction, this is all possible.
But there is more.
Productivity Tools
Dynamic supports a wide range of tools designed to increase productivity.
Productivity tools are designed to make tedious, repetitive tasks fast, easy, and reliable. By automating number crunching the risk of error is reduced, or even completely eliminated. Productivity here means to get more done in the time available. If the same task could be performed manually, without rework or error, in the same time, we have achieved nothing. So our benchmarks are clearly defined: speed in execution, accuracy, with no repetition or rework, and as few errors as possible.
Fee Book: Import Hours Keeper Timesheet
Hours Keeper is a premier time tracking mobile app. And it’s compatible with Dynamic.
Effective time management, and eventually effective time billing is central to legal practice.
Keeping a timesheet is not enough, Timesheetsshould be
flexible
complement operations
easily integrate with the overall accounting system
Manual timesheets require paper, are often left on a desk in a private office and still require re-typing timesheet particulars to a billing sheet or system. The Hours keeper app makes it possible to keep accurate, up to the minute time billing sheets on a mobile device.
Dynamic makes it easy to import the Hours Keeper Timesheet directly into the Fee Book.
Hours Keeper is a market leader in mobile time keeping. Hours Keeper allows to record your daily working hours for each client, including your overtime and break time.
It current has a 3.5 out of 5 rating in the Apple App Store and 4.6 out of 5 on Google Play store for Android. Supporting both Apple and Android, makes it possible to capture accurate timesheet information on almost every smartphone. The app generates a CSV export file, which can be imported raw by Dynamic. This means without any fiddling, the timesheet can be uploaded to the Fee Book.
Speed – beats a manual timesheet any day!
100% accurate. No errors in interpretation or conversion of data from timesheet to billing!
No repetition. No rework. Once the data is captured in the app, it can be imported as is into the Fee Book. Of course, editing the CSV file is possible… But why would you want to do that?
Error free.
And, once the data has been imported to the Fee Book, it can immediately be edited, or billed to a client! Reducing the time delay between finalizing the timesheet and billing to seconds!
Timesheets may be uploaded at any time.
Search for “HoursKeeper” in the Apple App Store or in the Google Play store.
Fee Book: Import from CSV
spreadsheet general
CSV is a multi-purpose, basic text file format which can be opened by any spreadsheet application. Think of a CSV file as a basic, text based spreadsheet. All the data, with none of the tricky hidden columns or display options. What you see is what you get.
This allows the import of Fees into the Fee Book.
A common application is to circulate spreadsheet with fees for a specific matter through the office to be edited and updated by everyone who worked on the matter.
Once complete, the file may then be imported into the Fee Book. Simply select Save As… in the spreadsheet app and choose CSV as the format. Don’t worry about the technical stuff like delimiters and text separators, we have that covered.
A sample file is located in the HelpFile.
Why do we use the Fee Book? Again speed, accuracy and simplicity are the key words. The Dynamic Fee Book is flexible and easy to use, making it the ideal control point for fees originating from various sources.
Dynamic applies a strict interpretation of the ISO8601 date format. Dates are imported in YYYY-MM-DD format only. Other date formats will be rejected.
Please see the Help File for more information.
Core Accounting
Processing: Import from Fee Book
Fast, accurate and no repetition! That’s exactly what the Import from Fee Book does! Once a fee as has been captured into the Fee Book, it can easily be processed into the ledger. The design is intended to support the processing of multiple items simultaneous. No tedious re-typing or copy & paste involved. Processing directly from the Fee Book. And current VAT rates can be applied, while the original work done date will be remembered.
Please see the Help File for more information.
Processing: Import from CSV
CSV is a multi-purpose, basic text file format which can be opened by any spreadsheet application. Think of a CSV file as a basic, text based spreadsheet. All the data, with none of the tricky hidden columns or display options. What you see is what you get.
This allows the import ledger journal type transactions directly into the ledger. Suitable for Opening Balances.
A sample file is located in the HelpFile.
This feature uses the same CSV format as the Fee Book, but supports more transaction types, including Trust Journals.
Please see the Help File for more information.
UDT: User Defined Transactions
UDTs are lists of transactions defined by the user, to be used in dropdown selectors, such as the Fee Book, to quickly and accurately process transactions. The main application is in the Fee Book. Think of each UDT Plan as a menu of Fee Items available to select from.
UDTs can be managed from the Core module, using Config: Manage User Defined Transactions. The workflow is as follows:
Create a new UDT Plan. Each Plan has a name: John’s Corporate Fees
Add items to the Plan, eg Drafting Memorandum of understanding
Use the items from the Plan in the Fee Book
Import Items for a Plan from CSV. This CSV uses a simple format exactly like that displayed on screen:
Type, which must be BFA,
Narrative of up to 200 characters,
a Debit amount,
a Credit which must be 0,
Cascade value, set to A and
Order value of 1. Cascade and Order have not yet been implemented.
UDTs are defined in the Core module and activated by Refresh in the Front Desk.
Please see the Help File for more information.
Tasks: Reconcile Cash Book – Advanced
This amazing feature allows semi-automated processing of CSV transaction history from the bank. Transactions are automatically allocated based on user selection.
Each bank uses their own format. The basic seven column import format is
These files must be edited by the user before import.
The columns ACNO, VAT, VOUCHER, may be left blank, but must be inserted into the source file.
A handy little tool is the CSVConvert application. This can be used to modify the raw file received from the bank into a format more import friendly. CSVConvert is available from our Download page.
Dynamic applies a strict interpretation of the ISO8601 date format. To accommodate different date formats, either dd-mm-yyyy or YYYY-MM-DD (ISO8601), Dynamic allows a date format specification. Please see the Bank Account settings.
The ability to pre-set VAT selection on ledger accounts is not only a great time saver, but also prevents processing errors.
Direct processing from bank transaction history to cash book!
Accurate ledger allocation!
Pre-set VAT selection!
No fuss, easy and accurate bank reconciliation. Exactly what you expect.
Description: Fee Tracker Status: Effective immediately NEW Date: 21 August 2019 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.115
Explanation:
Fee Tracker
Fee Tracker is a visual production metric report. Designed to monitor productivity, it provides insight into several key performance indicators. This report is emailed to the operator using MSO_Notify and MS Outlook.
Fee Tracker provides an easily readable graphic report, in vibrant colours, easily read on a mobile phone.
Metrics are productivity focused and include:
Fees: Month to Date
Fees: Year to Date Analysis
Monthly Fee Target
Billing Rates: Day and File
Accounts Receivable
Fee Book
End User display is dependent on the device used.
Requirements
Config > System Configuration. The My Dynamic tab requires a valid email address in the Email Report box.
Budget Target for each Income account: Open or Amend Nominal Ledger accounts
Requires local installation of MS Outlook.
Description: Fee Book: Import Hours Keeper Timesheet Status: Effective immediately NEW Date: 21 August 2019 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.115
Explanation:
HoursKeeper
Hours Keeper is a leading mobile productivity app. It allows capturing time to the minute for any range of activities. The new functionality allows importing the Hours Keeper timesheet from CSV directly into the Fee Book, where it can then be further manipulated. This is a great step for mobile time tracking and billing!
The design is such that the default Hours Keeper downloaded CSV can be imported into Dynamic directly. No need to edit the CSV before import!
Available on the Apple App Store and from Google PlayStore for Android.
Description: VAT ledger account pre-setting Status: Effective immediatelyNEW Date: 21 August 2019 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.115
Explanation:
Pre-setting accounts to accommodate for VAT is now possible. Example a specific ledger account, such Salaries & Wages should default to No VAT. This is now possible. User override remains possible.
Description: VAT settings Status: Effective immediately Date: 21 August 2019 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.115
Explanation:
Setting VAT once will now roll out to all users. Access Config as usual, change as necessary, Okay to save. Then Refresh Bookset & Folders to get VAt settings from cloud.
We have written before about the different reasons why Dynamic may get flagged as a false positive on virus scans. Few things can be as annoying as coming back to your work computer and finding that your shortcut has disappeared because an anti-virus application decided your software is not safe for you to use.
Dynamic has certain built-in features which can trigger anti-virus software diagnostics to make false positive matches. These include
Quick Update – Dynamic makes it easy for users to update their software over the internet. This is a great time-saving feature, and guarantees that the most recent update is only a click away, without relying on specialized IT support. However, anti-virus software designers tend to take a dim view of software with download capabilities. The zip file (it’s always a zip file) is described as a “payload” and because it originates on the internet, automatically defined as malicious. Well, it’s not.
Bundled file distribution – Dynamic applications act like self-extracting zip files, containing everything they need to go operational immediately. This means that when you run a Dynamic executable file in a folder, it will immediately create any missing files, such as the DLLs (dynamic link library’s) used to supply run-time functionality. This features allows smaller and faster updates, and only writes to the local folder. Much the same case as with the Quick Update feature, anti-virus software designers unfortunately tend to take a dim view of software with self-extracting capabilities. These files are extracted silently in the background. And only to the local folder.
Microsoft Windows Outlook integration – Dynamic provides Microsoft Outlook integration. Dynamic sends email through Outlook. The local user gets to use their own primary email account as the Dynamic sender account. Outgoing mail can be seen in the Outbox and Sent Items. Again, anti-virus software designers tend to take a dim view of software with Outlook integration capabilities. This is typically flagged as MachineLearning. 🙂
PDF document generation creates new content. Client Billing, such as invoices are generated at a speed of approximately one every 3 seconds. These documents are written to the %documents% folder. However, certain anti-virus software considers this malicious activity and blocks the creation of the PDF.
AVAST Anti-virus interferes with file creation
Dynamic installs into a single folder. Typically c:\Dynamic\mylawfirm and installs it’s required files and folders here. Specifically no registry keys are written or read.
It should be noted that a common threat detection mechanism is to scan for files which did not originate on the local computer. This is done by scanning the “data stream” of each file. As Dynamic software is internet delivered, it is a tell tale sign that the files are indeed foreign. But not malicious.
Once operational, Dynamic creates folders for each matter in the Documents user folder. Again no registry keys are written or read.
Windows Defender False Positive
Note that this screen grab shows the same target, identified by Windows Defender as three different threats.
Add an exclusion to Windows Security
Set Windows Defender Exclusions
Since May 2019 we noticed increased instances of false positive detection by Windows Defender. This coincides with Windows 10 Updates.
Other anti virus applications that are known react very harshly to our products include Kaspersky, Norton, Avira and Avast. Please set exceptions. Do not Quarantine or Delete, just Allow Always.
We have taken remedial action to safeguard the relevant modules. This seems to make Windows Defender happy and has reduced the number of false positive hits. Users are encouraged to use the Quick Update feature and use at least version 2.0.1.76.
Our software is scanned by Eset’s Nod32 and Malwarebytes prior to release.
Typical applications of this function include the following
Financial Year End entries are easily generated from Income and Expense reports and can conveniently update all affected accounts through a single import. Use Journal type “BJA”
Bad Debt reversals can easily be managed with type “BDX”. Debit the Bad Debt account and credit the relevant client account.
Off line users can maintain spreadsheets with information, such as Fees which can then be conveniently imported into the system. For Fees use type “BFA”
Recoverable Disbursements may be captured manually or loaded from monitoring software, such as telephone or copier solutions. Use Journal type “BJA” or Petty Cash “BPC”
The various transaction types are all ledger based and it is not possible to update a Cash Book using this import.
The Processing: Import from CSV menu item allows the direct processing of transactions from a pre-formatted, prepared CSV file.
The file must follow a layout similar to this: BookType, Matter1, Business2, Description1, Description2, Date, Amount, VAT, Voucher
CSV template in Excel
BookType Users familiar with import of batch transactions in any suite of legal software should be comfortable with this type of file and layout.
Contains a valid transaction type. Only Ledger type transactions are support. Bank transactions such as receipts and cheques cannot be processed here. Valid options are
BJA – Business Journals
BFA – Business Fees
BFX – Business Fee Reversals
BDX – Business Credit Notes
BPC – Business Petty Cash
BBF – Business Balance Brought Forward
TJA – Trust journals
Matter1
An existing ledger account number. The account to be debited.
Business2
An existing ledger account number. The account to be credited.
Description1
Transaction narrative for the account to be debited.
Description2
Transaction narrative for the account to be credited.
Date
A valid date in yyyy-mm-dd format.
Amount
A valid transaction amount. 0.00 transactions are not processed.
VAT
Contains a valid VAT type.
Valid options are
N*0 – No VAT
I*10.00 – Input VAT at 10%
O*17.5 – Output VAT at 17.5%
Voucher
Optional. If blank will be replaced with the word “Import”
Business Balance Brought Forward BBF types are suitable for bringing forward balances from third party accounting records.
Description: SMS capability Status: Effective immediately NEW Date: 6 March 2019 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.46
Explanation:
The system can send user initiated and semi-automated, or scheduled SMS messages. Updates to File Notes and Fee Book can be selected. End User specific information follows. Look for the SMS widget on the Fee Book. 🙂
Description: Processing: Bulk Trust to Business Transfers Status: Effective immediately NEW Date: 5 March 2019 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.44
Explanation:
The standard layout has been modified to include the Account Name, and now prints landscape.
Description: Processing: Import from CSV Status: Effective immediately NEW Date: 4 March 2019 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.41
Explanation:
The Processing: Import from CSV menu item allows the direct processing of transactions from a pre-formatted, prepared CSV file.
The file must follow a layout similar to this: BookType,Matter1,Business2,Description1,Description2,Date,Amount,VAT,Voucher
A Sample CSV file is included in the manual.
BookType Users familiar with import of batch transactions in any suite of legal software should be comfortable with this type of file and layout.
Software has come a long way since the first Graphic User Interface for Windows more than 30 years ago. User experience design (UX, UXD, UED or XD) is the process of enhancing user satisfaction with a product by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction with the product.
A Streamlined User Experience
Dynamic is designed to provide a streamlined User Experience. Most User Interfaces have very few components. Think of any report screen: date selectors, account number inputs are limited, or does not exist. This does not mean that these selectors are not important or required.
less is more
On the contrary, the underlying design logic of Dynamic is one of less is more. The values required do exist, but are simply hidden from the user. Where necessary these controls are displayed, but instead of crowding the user with a multitude of rainbow buttons that serve no useful purpose, the streamlined design is focused on providing a one-touch user interface.
Control rests with the user. And that control is provided through a clever, streamlined design which takes into account typical reporting requirements and user expectations.
Are you sure?
Most Dynamic screens contain one touch options.
These options include the Print icon, or the Save To Disk (spreadsheet) icon.
Example: Dynamic generates all reports to PDF. There is a single click print icon, which creates a PDF document immediately. This PDF can be printed, emailed or deleted.
Quick, easy and direct. No irritating Are you sure? popups to annoy. 🙂
You have the control and a single button. That is all you need.
Description: Alphanumeric account numbers Status: Effective immediately NEW Date: 4 December 2019 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.4
Explanation:
This change allows client account numbers in the range #A0000-#ZZZZZ. It expands the Dynamic Chart of Accounts to over 1 million possible account numbers. Accounts remain a standard five characters in length.
Nominal accounts remain in the range #90000-#99999.
It is recommended that client accounts in the range #00000-#89999 be used for accounts which form part of the trust, such bank charges or interest, or other trust control purposes. These accounts should not be used for Trust Transfer Control.
It is recommended that client accounts in the range #A0000-#ZZZZZ be used for clients. A suggest application would be to use an account such as #ABC00 for a client master account, with the subsequent accounts #ABC01, #ABC02, #ABC03 etc as individual matter accounts for the client..
Description: Quality of Life improvements Status: Effective immediately NEW Date: 4 December 2019 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.4
Explanation:
Smoother User-Interface workflow.
Thousand separator spaces for all currency display, such as 123 456 789.128.
Additional calculation display for VATable transactions.
Bank Recon import has been streamlined.
Client Balance List now displays only accounts with balances. Zero balance accounts are ignored.
Description: Transaction Narrative Status: Effective immediately NEW Date: 6 December 2019 Dynamic interface: Two Version: 2.0.1.19
Explanation:
Transaction narratives are now a standard 200 characters in length. Please note however that most report only display approximately 35-65 characters at a time.
Certain reports such as Diagnostic and Ledger History reports will allow browsing these narratives on screen by scrolling, and exporting to CSV for use in spreadsheet applications (the disk icon) will display the entire narrative.
Description: Send Debit Notes Bulk Status: Effective immediately NEW Date: 6 December 2019 Dynamic interface: Two, Front Desk Version: 2.0.1.19
Explanation:
Statements and Invoices are retained.
A new Debit Note item has been implemented. Just like Statements, the Debit Note reflects Fee Book entries. It is not an invoice, but reflects disbursements paid from trust.
The Debit note follows a typical Bill of Cost layout, with separation of Fees and Disbursements and amounts showed net of VAT (if applicable). In addition, this report will also export the entire narrative to CSV.
Hours Keeper is a premier time tracking mobile app. And it’s compatible with Dynamic.
Speed – beats a manual timesheet any day!
Please see the Help File for more information.
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