Time & Cents Consultants LLC, Software Consultants

Amicus Attorney 2012

Caren Schwartz — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:15:28 +0000

It’s that time of year again, and Gavel & Gown has just released the Amicus Attorney 2012 products, including Amicus Attorney Premium Edition 2012, Amicus Premium Billing 2012, Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition 2012 and Amicus Small Firm Accounting 2012.

If you use Amicus Attorney Accounting it is important to note that the product has been renamed to Amicus Small Firm Accounting. If you are using Amicus Attorney Premium Edition you should be switching to Amicus Premium Billing. Amicus Premium Billing is tightly integrated into Amicus Attorney, making it an easy to use billing solution. However, Amicus Premium Billing does not have general ledger and accounting capabilities. To meet your accounting needs, Amicus Premium Billing links to QuickBooks. You can still meet your billing needs by linking either the Premium edition or the Small Firm Edition to other solutions, like Timeslips.

A big area of change for Amicus Attorney 2012 is in the area of document management. Both the Premium and Small Firm Edition offer a new Documents Module to make it easier for you to find your documents and work with them. In a single click, you can open, edit and print documents, add new documents and create time entries without having to open the file details. New filter capabilities allow you to filter by file type and to limit your view to active files. Gavel & Gown has also added the ability to search documents or files using full-text search or by document profile search.

If you do a lot of work with PDFs, you can save time using the new Amicus Tasks toolbar in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. Similar to the Microsoft Office toolbar, this allows you to associate a PDF with files, view related file details or send a PDF as an email attachment to your Amicus contacts.

In a firm with lots of files, you can now save time in finding just those you are working on by designating files as favorites and filtering the file index to show only your favorites.

For those that are frequently out of the office but need to be notified of new phone messages, Amicus now has the ability to send phone messages by email. You can also create customizable email messages to your contacts and automatically merge in information from Amicus.

While there are many other new features for all users of Amicus Attorney here are a few more highlights:

Faster Access to Events details via File name hyperlinks
Keep up with client referrals with a new field in Client contacts
New preferences allow better tracking of return phone calls

One thing to note: If you are still using a Palm OS device, that connectivity for these devices has been discontinued.

If you are using Amicus Attorney Premium Edition, there are additional new features:

Amicus will forward your daily agenda via email
Enhancements to billing include faster performance, better functionality “at a glance” file values and an improved QuickBooks link
Simplified licensing procedures

You can visit the Amicus Attorney website (www.amicusattorney.com) to learn more about What’s New in Amicus 2012 as compared to your version or call us at 203-254-7736 to discuss the options for upgrading.

New 1099 Reporting Requirement

Caren Schwartz — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:55:04 +0000

As a business you have to issue 1099-MISC forms to your vendors. Whenever you begin working with a new vendor, it is important to get the correct tax id and address so that you have the information when needed. It is always easier to get the information before you pay the vendor than after the fact.

For 2011 the reporting requirements have changed and it is important that you understand these changes. Traditionally you issue a 1099-MISC to anyone that is not a corporation that is paid over $600 for services. However, in 2011 how you paid the vendor is important in determining the 1099 requirement and amount.

If you pay a 1099 vendor with a credit card or other 3rd party transaction (defined in the regs), the payment is to be EXCLUDED from any 1099-Misc that you give to that vendor. The 3rd party payor (credit card processor, bank, etc.) will file a 1099-K to report those payments.

If you use QuickBooks v2012 this requirement is addressed with Release 5. You can determine what QuicKBooks Release you are on by clicking F2 within the program and looking at the top of the box. For QuickBooks v2010 and 2011, Intuit is working on an application that you will be able to purchase to address the requirement. The application is expected to be inexpensive (Less than $5) and should be available shortly.

If you would like step by step instructions on using QuicKBooks 2012 to prepare 1099s please take a look at the blog post by Laura Madeira at http://www.quick-training.com/2011/12/21/quickbooks-2012-new-1099-tax-form-wizard-2/. While you are at Laura’s website you can sign up for her newsletter and get a free copy of “What’s New and Improved for QuickBooks 2012″

If you use other accounting packages you may need to find another way to address this requirement. If you need help, please contact us so that we can help you issue correct 1099s.

Creating Labels Using PCLaw

Caren Schwartz — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:00:38 +0000

While holiday season is the most common time to do a mass mailing, you may also need to do this at other times. Whatever software you are using, there is generally a way to create address labels so that you don’t need to re-key data. In this series of blog posts we show how to create address labels using the different programs with which we work.

1) From the top menu click on File, then choose Contact Manager and click on the Label button.

2) Choose the label format. If you need to create a new label format that must be done before you start by using the Template Editor (Tools – Template Editor).

3) To choose specific contacts click on the Contact button and then click on the contacts you want to include. They will appear with a check next to the name. You can also choose contacts associated to a specific matter, client or vendor, or contacts belonging to a certain contact type using the various boxes on the Labels – Select Contact screen. The Advanced Search at the bottom of the screen allows filtering based on additional, specific search criteria.

4) Click OK. A screen will come up allowing you to choose the first label position on which you want to start printing. Make your selection and click OK. The selected labels will print.

If you need help in creating labels or setting your search criteria, please call us at 203-254-7736.

Creating Labels Using Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition

Caren Schwartz — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:00:38 +0000

1) From the Contact list select those for whom you will be creating labels. You can do this by marking them or by highlighting them by clicking on the name. To highlight you can select a Range by clicking on the first name in the list, holding down the SHIFT key and clicking on the last name you want included. Additional names can be selected by holding down the CTRL key while clicking on the name. To mark Contacts, open the Contact and click the upper right Yellow corner to change the indicator to a check box. You can also Mark contacts by highlighting as described above and then clicking on CONTACTS from the top menu and choosing Mark Contacts.

2) Once you have selected or marked the appropriate names, Click on CONTACTS on the top menu and then choose Generate A Document or CTRL-D.

3) Choose whether Labels should be created for All Shown, Selected or Marked.

4) Click on the drop down arrow in the Master Document box to expand the choices.
5) Click on Letters and Labels and then choose the Labels document you wish to print.

6) When you click OK, Word will open with your labels setup and ready to print. The Amicus – Save Options window will also open to allow you to Save the Document and Add to Amicus if you choose.

7) You can now use the features of Word to preview and print your labels. You can also edit the font or make other changes that you desire. If the changes are ones that you will want to be in effect for the future you will need to modify the Amicus Document Template. If you need help in doing that please call us.

Previewing of labels, prior to printing is highly recommended to verify that the fields chosen show as you expect. It is also recommended that you print one sheet to paper and hold it over your labels to make sure everything lines up correctly before you start.

If you need help in creating labels or setting your search criteria, please call us at 203-254-7736.

Creating Labels Using Peachtree

Caren Schwartz — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:00:54 +0000

When using Peachtree you can create labels for Customers, Vendors or Employees.

1) From the top menu bar click on Reports & Forms then click on Forms and choose the group for which you want to create labels.

2) For Customers, Peachtree provides several pre-designed forms including 1 x 10, 3 x 10, continuous and Shipping Address labels. The Customer Labels 1 x 10 and 3 x 10 are set to use the Bill to Address. The 3 x 10 format matches the Avery Standard 5160 labels.

3) The primary customization you might want to do is to change the font. You can Preview prior to Printing your labels.

If you need help in creating labels or setting your search criteria, please call us at 203-254-7736.