Matters are foundational to everything you will do in Smokeball Bill. This article provides a general overview for creating, navigating, and editing a matter in Smokeball Bill.
Create a matter in Smokeball Bill
- Start by selecting the Quick Add button in the upper right corner or selecting the Add Matter button from the Matter view.
- Select the state, area of law, and matter type. Enter or select the client, attorney responsible, and any other relevant information.
- When entering a client, the field will search and allow you to select an existing contact.
- If you would like to enter a new contact, select Add New Contact.
- Select Create Matter.
Navigate a matter in Smokeball Bill
Everything you need to bill for a matter is located in one place.
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Matter information including client name, matter type, reference number, etc.
- Select the Folder and Pencil icon to edit your matter settings. Matter settings gives you access to additional options, including matter info, basic billing settings, Evergreen Retainer, Interest, UTBMS, and more.
- High-level overview of your matter. Note: If you use Evergreen Retainer for Trust and amounts fall below the minimum balance, the values turn red.
- Matter tabs to review, edit, and create time, fees, expenses, invoices, and transactions to trust or operating retainer accounts.
Each matter has a variety of tabs. Click on each heading to learn more.
Review, edit, and create new time/fee entries. Learn more about Time & Fee Entries.
Review, edit, and create new expense entries. Learn more about Expense Entries.
Review, edit, create and add payments to invoices. The Invoices tab will only show relevant invoices for that specific matter. Smokeball Bill has an invoices view where you can manage invoices across all matters. Learn more about creating invoices.
Manage the trust and operating retainer accounts for individual matters including deposits, payments, and credit card requests. You can use Smokeball Payments or our integration with LawPay for credit card transactions. Learn more about Depositing Funds into Trust or Operating Retainer Accounts.
Edit matter settings in Smokeball Bill
You can edit your matter settings by selecting the folder and pencil icon.
Review and edit matter details such as matter status and matter description.
Review and edit Attorney Responsible, Person Assisting, or Originating Attorney on a matter.
Review, edit, and add clients, debtors, and opposing parties on a matter. Here you have the ability to create new contacts to add to a matter, as well as add, view, and edit existing contacts (1). The View link will open the contact page in a new tab and upon closing the tab will return you to the Edit Matter screen. The Edit link will display a pop-up box allowing you to edit details without leaving the page.
Select and edit the matter's billing type and billing rate. In this setting you can override the default rate for the matter by individual staff member or for all staff.
Activate the evergreen retainer on a matter and set the minimum threshold and replenishment amounts. If you do not see this option, go to our article on Evergreen Retainers to learn how to activate this feature.
Set interest on matters with outstanding balances, including any grace period and the date you want the interest to start calculating. Learn more about Interest.
Set cc and bcc email addresses on an individual matter. Please refer to our article on adding CC and BCC email addresses for more detailed information.
Review and edit certain invoice settings for a matter including the invoice template, title, subtitle, and notes. Learn more about Invoice Settings.
Did You Know
Smokeball Bill allows you to have multiple matters open at one time, creating various matter tabs at the top of Smokeball Bill.