Close and archive a matter

Closing and archiving a matter in the desktop app

Once a matter is finalised, you can mark it as Closed in Smokeball and enter the archive details.

The Matter closed date automates to today’s date when the status changes to Closed.

From the matter file

If you need to change the Matter closed date to a date other than today, or enter archive details:

1. Navigate to the matter, then double-click on the Info line. Change the Status dropdown menu to Closed.
2. When the status changes to Closed, archive options appear in the same window. 

From the list of matters

1. Navigate to the  Matters section from the left panel, then locate the matter in the matter list.
2. Right-click on the matter.
3. Hover over the Change Status option and select Closed.
   

From the matter tag options

1. Open the matter.
2. In the matter file, click the + icon on the header.
3. Change matter status in the dropdown menu to Closed .
   

Archive a matter

Once the matter is closed, the archive section appears when you double-click the Info line in the master file.

Note that:

• The Archived Date defaults to today’s date.
• The Destroy Date defaults to today’s date + 7 years.

View closed matters

Matters cannot be removed from Smokeball (even if Closed and Archived). To review closed matters:

1. Click the Show dropdown menu on the top-right of your matter list.
2. Change the Status field to the Closed option only.
   
3. The matter list will be updated with Closed matters.

Reopen a closed and archived matter

To reopen a matter, double-click on the  Info line in the matter file and select  Open from the Status drop-down menu. This will also remove any archive details from the matter.