Version 8.12 of Smokeball introduces new features and refinements to the Smokeball desktop app.
New features
Notification Centre
The bell icon located on the top-right corner of the Smokeball desktop app now houses the Notification Centre, which will notify you of any specific actions happening in the app.
Currently, the Notification Centre will send a prompt when the following areas of Smokeball are updated:
- Tasks (individual and workflows) - Workflow tasks are grouped into the same notification.
- Events
- Phone Messages
- Roles
Clicking on the notification will take you directly to the area of Smokeball where the notification originated from. You can also click on the matter name to open the matter window.
Unread notifications will show as a raised box:
Read notifications will show as a flat box:
Reminders are also accessible within the Notification Centre. A red counter will display unread notifications and reminders.
Clicking on Reminders opens the existing Reminders window.
Set up Rate Sets for staff
Manage firm rates easily with Rate Sets. The Rate Sets feature allows you to organise and attach staff rates to matters and update rates without modifying each matter. You can also set a date for rate set updates to ensure you stay on top of rate increases during holidays or busy periods.
Learn more about setting up Rate Sets in the Smokeball desktop app and Smokeball Billing.
Share a live document via Communicate
When sending a document to a client in Communicate, you now have the option to Share it.
When sharing a document, changes you make to it in Smokeball will carry over. Your clients can then view the latest version of the document from Communicate, without you needing to send them multiple versions.
When the client opens a Shared document, the Shared icon is denoted next to the name of the document, while information on the document's last update is located in the top-right corner of the document viewer.
Set up an Out of Office message in Communicate
You can now specify when you are out of the office from the Staff & Users section in Smokeball Settings.
When a staff member or client messages you on Communicate during your out-of-office period, they will see a notification that you are out of the office.
Zapier Integration (Beta)
Smokeball now integrates with Zapier, unlocking the ability to connect Smokeball to Zapier's wide suite of apps.
Learn more about the Zapier integration.
InfoTrack Process Serving
The InfoTrack integration now supports Process Serving. You can now access Process Serving from the matter tab:
You can also access Process Serving by right-clicking on a document.
If you have CourtSync enabled, Process Serving will be available under the Litigation Services menu.
Clicking on Process Serving will open InfoTrack on your browser window, where you can view all your Process Serves and create a new one.
Refinements
Search Bar available from the automation toolbar
When modifying a precedent, you now can easily search for the automation field you wish to insert.