ACCOUNTING for LAW
PCLaw Terms:
A
A/P(Accounts Payable)
An accounting short form for the term Accounts Payable.
A/P Allocation Summary
An A/P Allocation Summary displays only the debit tools. All credits are posted to General Liabilities (2000) for Accrual systems or the general bank for Cash and Modified Cash systems when the payable is paid.
A/R (Accounts Receivable)
An accounting short form for the term Accounts Receivable.
Accounting Methods
PCLaw® supports 3 different accounting methods: Cash, Modified Cash, and Accrual. The method you choose determines into which General ledger (G/L) account certain transactions are placed. You accountant can tell you what accounting method your firm uses. Select the About PCLaw menu option from the Help menu to display the accounting method PCLaw has been set up to use for the current set of books.
Accounting Restriction Date
Set on the System Settings>Other tab, this option prevents accounting entries from being placed on or before this date. When closing a month, the accounting restriction date is adjusted to the last day of the closed month.
Accounts Payable
Money your firm owes for goods and services purchased on account.
Accounts Receivable
Money owing to your firm for goods and services that you have billed, but which have not yet been paid.
Accrual Method of Accounting
In this method, income is realized when the bill or invoice is produced. In other words, the income appears on the income statement in the month the bill is issued. Disbursements are considered assets and consequently appear in the receivable area on the balance sheet. This is the method used by Canadian firms. Select the About PCLaw menu option from the Help menu to display the accounting method PCLaw has been set up to use for the current set of books.
Active Vendor
Vendor with which the firm conducts business. Once a vendor is no longer used, they are closed and considered inactive.
Activity Codes
Used with task-based billing to describe an activity on an invoice. In PCLaw, activity codes are defined and maintained using the Explanation Codes function.
Add Tabs
Tabs can be added, hidden, removed, or the tab order changed in Contact Manager, Matter Manager, and Client Manager. Tabs that can be added include tabs that were previously hidden or removed or custom tabs.
Add to Totals Only
Select this Hold option to include the hours and amount of the charge in the sub-totals and totals for any Pre-Bill, Bill, Request Bill, or Settlement Statement. A transaction line does not appear on the invoice.
Admin
The user name assigned for the System Administrator. This user can access all functions in PCLaw, including the security function.
Administrative Hours
Hours that are tracked for administrative purposes, but not charged for.
Advanced Bill Selections
Hide the Matter, Fees, Disbs, Rcpts, Trust, and Options tabs when billing by deselecting this box on the System Settings>Billing tab.
Only the Main tab is visible when billing. An Advance button is available to allow users to view the additional billing tabs.
Advanced Costs
Item paid for by a firm on behalf of a client. The funds are later recovered from the client.
Advanced Search
On the Common tab of all customizable reports and labels, an enhanced filter is added. Specific search terms can be combined and saved for future use.
Aging
The process of tracking a transaction over time. For example, a bill may be aged to determine when interest charges are to be added.
Allocation Area
The middle half of a check, receipt or transfer window that is used to allocate a financial transaction to one or more matters or G/L accounts.
Allocation Listing
The Allocation Listing displays costs allocated to matters through the Accounts Payable feature. Invoices are grouped by vendor and can be sorted by matter or invoice number. The report displays the original amount of the invoice, payments applied to the invoice and any discount realized. Allocations to matters and the matter's GST/HST category are shown. The Summary by Responsible lawyer separates billed and unbilled allocations by lawyer.
All Tab (Matter Manager
The All tab displays client ledger transactions, calendar events, and notes associated with the matter.
Anticipated Disbursements
An anticipated disbursement is a cost to the firm that has not yet occurred, but is expected. The disbursement is posted to the Client ledger as two separate entries. A positive entry is flagged with the invoice number, indicating the disbursement is included on the invoice. A negative unbilled entry is also included on the Client Ledger.
When the actual disbursement occurs and is posted to PCLaw, the negative and actual entry will negate each other, and thus will not affect the net billed amount of any future invoices.
Appointment
An appointment is a Calendar event that needs to be performed on a specific day and time.
Appointment Area
The appointment area of the Calendar displays appointments for a day, a week, or a month, and compares time posted against a daily goal. If Include Holidays is selected in System Settings, the holiday is displayed on the required day on both the Day and Week view.
Appointment History
You can view a history of an appointment by opening the original appointment or any of its continuances. In the Continuances window, click the View button. The View button is not available when creating a continuance.
Appointment Listing
The Appointment Listing displays Calendar and Notes information in a report format. The report shows what is due for a specified reminder date or due date and can include one or more of appointments, to do's, or notes. The user has a choice of viewing only uncompleted or completed events, or both.
Appointment Schedule
The Appointment Schedule displays appointment and to do information in a Calendar format. The schedule can be displayed in a daily, weekly, or monthly view beginning at the start date of the program. Events are displayed for a specified reminder date or due date.
Appointment Sheet
Use the Appointment Sheet to add multiple appointments at one time. A matter summary is provided at the bottom of the window if the appointment is associated with a matter.
Archiving (to a matter)
The process of moving a matter from your hard drive to another storage location (for example, a thumb drive). The system retains a brief description of the matter and the place where it was archived.
Asset Account
A category of General ledger (G/L) account that records assets. An Asset account is a debit balance account.
Assets
Resources owned by your firm (such as bank accounts, furniture and computer equipment).
Assigned Lawyer
The lawyer or timekeeper who is primary timekeeper for a matter.
Associated Matters Tab (Contact Manager)
The Associated Matters tab enables you to work with matters associated to the selected contact.
Associated Template
Using an Electronic Billing custom tab, an associated template sends a copy of the electronic invoice to the printer or screen, allowing the firm to save it for their records.
Associated Type of Law
The type of law assigned to a matter that is marked for task-based billing. This type of law is defined on the Billing/Past Due/Taxes tab of the Open Matter window and should not be confused with the type of law defined on the Matter tab. When an associated type of law is selected, all entries for this matter are restricted to explanation codes associated with the specified type of law.
Auto Track Time Reduction
Auto Track Time Reduction creates a time adjustment entry whenever the hours of a time record are reduced in the Correct Time Entry window.
Auto Transfer from Trust
When mass billing, trust funds can be transferred automatically to the general account to pay all or part of a bill. The transfer is displayed on the bill. The user has the option to print the trust check, general receipt, or both.
AutoFill
Button used in the Trust-to-General Transfer function to list all matters that have an A/R balance and a trust balance. You choose one or more of these matters for the transfer.
Automatic Fee Allocation
A method PCLaw uses to distribute fees among the working lawyers for a matter. Lawyers are compensated based on the work they perform.
Automatically Create Disbursements at Billing
Automatically Create Disbursements at Billing is a feature that places a one time or per-bill charge on the client's invoice. The charge can be a flat amount or calculated as a percentage of fees.
Automatically General PDF Output
The Output>PDF option on Bill Selection windows creates a .PDF file of the bill in addition to any other output selections.
B
Backup
A copy of information from a computer, stored on a removable medium such as CD or flash drive. Used to recover from theft and system failures.
Balance Sheet
Shows your financial position at a single point in time. Presents the balance of each of your asset accounts, liability accounts, and equity accounts.
Bank Account Summary
A Bank Account Summary lists all bank accounts included on a bank journal for the criteria and period by which the report was run.
Bank Accounts Tab (Security)
The Bank Accounts tab restricts user access to particular general and trust bank accounts.
Bank Error
A bank error is an incorrect debit or credit on the bank statement of a check or receipt that the banking institution may correct at a later date.
Bank Reconciliation or Bank Rec
The process of comparing PCLaw® data to your bank statement. Allows you to determine whether your bank accounts are accurate.
Bank Reconciliation Report
The Bank Reconciliation report is produced from within the Bank Reconciliation module. The report displays cleared and outstanding checks and receipts and possible differences between the actual and calculated bank statement and bank journal balances.
Banking Tab (System Settings)
The Banking tab controls the defaults for both the general and trust bank accounts. Settings for the printing of checks can be set. For firms using Deposit Slips or MICR fonts, those features can be enabled on this tab.
Base Date
For linked events, the base date is the date upon which all other dates in the link are determined. It can be the completion date of the start date of a series of tasks.
Billable Time Summary by Working Lawyer
The Billable Time Summary by Working Lawyer shows a comparison of hours and amounts for the month and year by working lawyer, categorized by responsible lawyer. The start of year can be manually selected when creating the report. Although the report can be filtered to show time or fees only, and billed or unbilled time only, the report does not indicate what portion of time or fees have been billed.
Billed Item
An entry from a Client Ledger which has been included on a bill.
BillFlow Manager
BillFlow Manager helps you organize your billing workflow by providing you with one centralized feature. Not only can you create and save a collection of matters, but you can assign a timekeeper to one or multiple matters and review and modify charges on each invoice prior to finalizing and processing.
Billing
The process of selecting charges, updating your files and producing an invoice. Charges are billed only after the Create Bill function has been run. Entering time or fee information into the system is not the same as billing it.
Billing Addresses
Address to which a bill is sent. By default, a matter's billing address is the same as the client address unless overridden on the Billing/Past Due/Taxes tab of the Open Matter window.
Billing by Lawyer Report
The Billing by Lawyer report summarizes billed time and hours by fee credit lawyer or type of law. The effective billing rate is calculated for billed time and fees, fee adjustments, and write-ups/downs. Payments applied against fees are provided, as is the percentage of fees that payment is applied.
Billing Cycles
A billing frequency used to group matters together for mass billing purposes.
Billing (Fees) Journal
The Billing (Fees) Journal is the source accounts receivable report by which other A/R reports retrieve information. The journal lists invoices created through billing and matter opening balance. Write-downs and payments affect the current amount outstanding for each invoice. Invoices are detailed by fee credit lawyer.
Billing Frequency
The frequency with which bills for a particular matter are to be created. Options include monthly and quarterly.
Billing Information Window
The Billing Information window provides additional features for adding time entries, fee adjustments, and contingency fees. The window appears following the Bill Selections Window, once OK is clicked.
Billing Options
Parameters on the Options tab of Create Bill, Pre-Bill, Request Bill, and Settlement Statements can be preset on the Billing tab of System Settings.
These settings affect all billing, regardless of selections for individual matters. The selection for individual and mass billings can be overridden during the billing process, from the Options tab of the respective billing features.
Billing Realization Report
The Billing Realization report lists billed hours, fees, and adjustments added at the time of billing or after the bill is created. The report is summarized by working lawyer by matter. Given are actual fees realized and the percent collected for the month. The report provides working lawyers, responsible lawyers, and types of law by the actual effective rate and realized dollars.
Billing Tab (Matter Manager)
Defaults for individual matters are set on the Billing tab of Matter Manager. Settings on this tab are populated according to the defaults selected on the Matter Billing tab of System Settings and can be modified for each matter. The billing process references the Matter Manager > Billing tab for the criteria for billing matters.
Billing Tab (System Settings)
System Settings affect all billing, regardless of selections for individual matters. The selections for individual and mass billings can be overridden during the billing process, from the Options tab of Create Pre-Bill, Create Bill, Request Bill, or Settlement Statement.
Bound Elements
An element on a template that gets its contents from PCLaw. For example, an element box that displays a client's last name is bound to the last name information in PCLaw.
Budget Fees
This value, from the Billing tab of Matter Manager, can be pulled by a token onto billing templates, or included in custom reports.
C
Calculated Elements
An element on a template that displays the result of an expression rather than information stored in PCLaw®. The value is recalculated each time a value in the expression changes.
Calendar
The Calendar is a multi-functional desktop interface that keeps track of appointments, meetings, court appearances, and other activities.
Calendar Area
The Calendar Area is a two month page on the Calendar, giving an at-a-glance overview of the current date, the selected date for the calendar view, and scheduled appointments.
Calendar Tab (Security)
You can assign an user access to view or modify events for specified timekeepers. The access can be limited to standard events of can include private events. All timekeepers with activated Calendar licenses appear in the View Access > Timekeepers box.
Calendar Tab (Workstation Settings)
The Calendar tab controls how Calendar and Phone event entries are entered on individual workstations.
Case
A synonym for matter.
Case Notes
General and collection notes about a matter.
Cash Accounting Method
In this accounting method, income is not realized until payment is received from a client. In other words, PCLaw does not post a billed fee to the profit and loss statement until payment for that billed fee is received. Disbursements are considered expenses and consequently appear on the income statement. Select the About PCLaw function from the Help menu to display the accounting method PCLaw has been set up to use for the current set of books.
Cash Flow Planner
The Cash Flow Planner offers a quick analysis of the short term cash flow of the firm. The report provides an inventory of cash on hand and cash received by the firm for a selected month. A summary of payables and receivables due is given, as well as current work-in-progress and invoices created during the month.
Categories
Use Cost Center, Department and Category to create subsets of the General ledger. Example: instead of using a single General ledger account for each of your expense categories, you could create a different account for each lawyer. Assuming you have five lawyers, you would create five different accounts for each expense category, assigning each lawyer's accounts a unique Cost Center (or Department or Category). When you run your General ledger statements, you could then list information for a specific lawyer by entering the appropriate Cost Center or for all lawyers by leaving the Cost Center field blank.
Charge Authorization Phone Number
The Charge Authorization Phone Number is a Voice Authorization hotline that automatically appears on declined transactions. The number is stored on the Configure Merchant Account window.
Charge Selection Window
The Charge Selection window appears when clicking OK in the Bill, Pre-Bill, Request Bill, or Settlement Statements Selections windows for any of the tabs.
Select Charges must be enabled on the Options tab for this window to appear.
Charges
The items that appear on bills. These can include time, fees, expenses, retainers and prior receipts. (Note that these may be positive or negative charges.)
Check Pattern Tab (System Settings)
The Check Pattern tab sets the foreground and background color of checks and receipts, as well as the check design. Separate designs can be saved for general checks, general receipts, trust checks, and trust receipts.
Checks
American spelling of cheque. PCLaw uses American spelling throughout the program, manual, and help files.
Cheques
Canadian spelling of check. PCLaw uses American spelling throughout the program, manual, and help files.
Clearing Accounts
A General ledger (G/L) account that is used as a working account by financial transactions. It is not used to track your firm expenses, and should generally have a zero balance.
Client Account Interest Report
The Client Account Interest report is used to calculate interest on client accounts with balances that meet the time and amount requirements of The Law Society. This report is available for PCLaw United Kingdom firms only.
Client Accounting Ledger
The Client Accounting Ledger displays G/L postings for matter transactions. Fees are displayed only after they are billed, while a running balance is provided for unbilled disbursements, receivables, trust, taxes, and general retainers. Balances for both the report period and report end date are provided.
Client Addresses
Address for a client or a matter. Used as the default billing address unless overridden on the Billing/Past Due/Taxes tab of the Open Matter window.
Client Cost Journal
The Client Costs Journal displays all costs allocated to matters, regardless of how the cost is entered into PCLaw. The report displays costs without differentiating between unbilled and billed items or hard and soft costs. Costs can be filtered by date, G/L account, and source journal.
Client Disbursements
A synonym for advanced cost.
Client Disbursement Clearing Account
A reserved G/L account used by PCLaw when a general check is issued for a matter. You can change the account on the General tab of System Settings.
Client Expenses
A synonym for advanced cost.
Client Fees Listing
The Client Fees Listing displays time and fee entries for a matter. The report indicates if a fee is billed and provides the invoice number containing the entry. A comparison of billed and unbilled transactions is given for each matter.
Client Introducing Lawyer
The lawyer who brings a client to the firm.
Client Ledger
Where PCLaw records all client-related transactions. Organized by client. Produces client-related reports.
Client Manager
Client Manager is a tool for viewing or changing client information. The toolbar allows for quick movement between clients, the ability to add new clients and to generate PCLaw reports. Separate tabs in Client Manager displays information on clients, matters associated with the client, and custom tabs.
Client Summary
Printed page at the end of a bill that summarizes the charges for all matters. It is only produced when Print Client Summary is selected on the Options tab when billing.
Client Trust Ledger
The Client Trust Ledger shows trust activity for each matter. A balance is provided for each trust account in which the matter has funds, followed by a matter and client total. Separate columns are provided for receipts and disbursements.
Client Trust Listing
The Client Trust listing shows trust balances by client and matter. A balance is provided for each trust account in which the matter has funds, followed by a matter total. A last entry date is also displayed for each trust account.
Client WIP, Billing, and Collection Summary
The Client WIP, Billing & Collection Summary provides a summary by matter and client of unbilled and billed time and disbursements, including the billing collected and written off.
Close A Matter
When work on a matter is complete, you may choose to close it by purging or archiving.
Close A Vendor
When a vendor is no longer used, you can mark it as inactive with the Close Vendor function.
Closed Files Report
The Closed Files report provides a list of matters that are currently inactive or archived. Matters, description, open date, close date, close matter number, and file location are included on the report. Purged matters are not included on the report.
Collecting Lawyer
The lawyer who is responsible for collecting the balance of an invoice if it becomes outstanding. By default, the responsible lawyer becomes the collecting lawyer unless a lawyer nickname is entered in the Lawyer box when the bill is created.
Collection Memos
Memos regarding the collection of outstanding receivable balances can be kept for each matter. Collection memos are added and viewed through the Matter Manager and can be included on the Receivables by Client and List of Clients reports.
Collection Notes
Notes about a matter pertaining to collections. Those notes can be included on the Receivables by Client report if Include Collection Notes is selected on the Advanced tab.
Collection Summary
The Collection Summary provides a monthly analysis of billing by fee credit lawyer. Payments received during the same period are compiled, including fee, disbursement, and tax allocations. A monthly accounts receivable balance is provided for each lawyer.
Color Tab (Workstation Settings)
The Color tab sets the background colors for the Calendar and Manager modules. Each module can be assigned a unique color.
Comparative Time Analysis
The Comparative Time Analysis compares 2 periods of time as specified when the report is created. Hours and Amount values are compared, as are percentages by task code or type of law. The Amount value, compiled by working lawyer, is comprised of time and fee entries, adjustments to fees made at the time of billing, and write-downs to fees after billing. A differentiation is not made between unbilled and billed fees, or between time and fee entries.
Condition Sections (Billing Template)
Conditional sections may exist, to accommodate events that may happen on some invoices, but not all, such as discounts, previous payments, general retainer refurbishment, etc. A Conditional section only prints if the values of the tokens in the section are not equal to zero.
Contact Address Tab (Contact Manager)
Use the Contact Address tab to store both the contact's main and secondary addresses.
Contact Information tab (Contact Manager)
The Contact Information tab contains basic information for the contact, including name, contact type, lawyer, phone number, and memos. This tab is available to all who are assigned rights to Contact Manager.
Contact Listing
The Contact listing displays information and all associated matters for a contact. Contact name, address, type, email and phone numbers are included on the report. If the contact is associated with a matter, the matter name, description, lawyers, type of law, billing rate, and date opened is displayed below the contact.
Contact Manager
Contact Manager is the main utility for managing contacts in PCLaw. The feature provides for the creation, maintenance, association, and exporting of contact information.
Use Contact Manager to maintain contact information in PCLaw. You can add, change, remove and classify contacts and associate them with matters, events, and timekeepers. Documents, emails and phone messages can be viewed by contact.
Contacts
Person you deal with. Contacts in PCLaw can be associated with Matters, Lawyers, and Appointments.
Contacts Tab (Matter Manager)
The Contacts tab enables you to work with contacts associated with the active matter.
Contingency Calculator
The Contingency Calculator calculates fees due to the firm upon closure of a contingency case, including allocations of lawyer fees. The invoice is adjusted automatically for the contingency amount.
Contingency Fees
Fees calculated as a percentage of a settlement or other payment.
Corrected Entries
An entry that has since been corrected. The corrected entry is the original, incorrect transaction.
Credit
A number which increases a credit balance account and decreases a debit balance account.
Credit Balanced Accounts
A category of General Ledger accounts that records credits. Liability, equity and income accounts are all credit balance accounts. These are increased by a credit entry, decreased by a debit entry.
Credit Card Listing
The Credit Card Listing lists all the credit card transaction entries. The entries can be viewed for all accounts, a single account and by date.
Credit Hold
Warns you whenever you enter information that will result in the client being billed. Used to closely monitor expenses incurred for clients.
Criteria Tab (Partner Alert Reporting)
Found only on the Partner Alert report, the Criteria tab sets the parameters for the inclusion of information on the report.
Current Report Period
When producing G/L statements, the current report period defaults to the start date and the end date of the first open month.
Custom Layout
Custom layout can be imported, created, modified, or removed using the Custom Tab feature. Changes made to a custom layout are reflected on the custom tab in Matter, Client, or Contact Manager.
Custom Tabs
Matters, clients, and contact can be customized to meet the special requirements of the firm. Use the Custom tabs feature to create individualized tabs that can be added on a matter by matter basis or automatically for new matters. Include any field added to a Custom tab into a Miscellaneous section of a billing template.
Custom Title Set
User defined set of fields defined on the Matter tab of System Settings and accessed by the Custom tab of the Open Matter window.
Customizable Reports
The Customizable report feature, on the Common tab of the report selection window lets you choose the columns that appear on the report and the order that they appear. Columns can be individualized in terms of width, font type and size, alignment, color and width. The layout can be saved under a unique name, allowing multiple layouts to be used for any report.
D
Daily Time Summary
The Daily Time Summary displays billable, non-billable, and total hours for 1 full calendar month by the individual working lawyer. The Summary by Working Lawyer gives a total for billable and non-billable hours, the number of unique days that is docketed and the average number of hours for each day.
Data Copy
Copy of the PCLaw® data files made by PCLaw when month-end is performed, when year-end is performed or when exiting PCLaw. The data copy is NOT a backup. You are still responsible for making a backup of your data onto a removable medium such as CD, external hard drive, or flash drive.
Data Entry Tab (System Settings)
The Data Entry tab determines the default settings for data entry into PCLaw. Respective settings apply to time, expense, accounts payable, trust, and receive payments.
Data Entry Tab (Workstation Settings)
The Data Entry tab controls how data is entered for the individual workstations.
Data Entry Transaction
Synonym for transaction.
Data Transfer To Another location
Data can be transferred from PCLaw in order to work with the entire database on a laptop, at home, or wherever a copy of the PCLaw database is required. The .PLA file created is similar to the backup file, with the word transfer replacing the word backup in the file name.
Debit
A number with increases a debit balance account and decreases a credit balance account.
Debit Balanced Accounts
A category of General Ledger (G/L) account which records debits. Asset and expense accounts are debit balance accounts. These are increased by a debit entry, decreased by a credit entry.
Default Entry Date
The date which will be the default for most PCLaw date fields. You specify this date when you run PCLaw. By default, it is set to your computer system's date.
Deferred Expenses
Synonym for accounts payable.
Diary Codes
Code used to describe frequently made appointment activities.
Disb Tab (Billing)
The Disb tab provides the ability to select and arrange disbursements that appear on the invoice. The tab appears if Use Advanced Bill Selections is selected on the System Settings > Billing tab or if the Advanced button is clicked on the Bill Selections window.
Disbursement Analysis and Interest Report
The Disbursement Analysis & Interest report is one of the three reports that comprise the Disbursement Interest & Analysis report grouping. The Disbursements Analysis & Interest report displays costs allocated to each matter and shows interest calculated on disbursements at a specified rate. The report displays costs without separating unbilled and billed or hard and soft costs in item totals. Costs can be filtered by matter, client, responsible lawyer or date.
Disbursement History Report
The Disbursement History report is one of the 3 reports that comprise the Disbursement Interest & Analysis report grouping. The Disbursement History report displays costs allocated to each matter and indicates if the cost has been billed. The report displays costs without separating unbilled and billed or hard and soft costs in item totals. Costs can be filtered by matter, client, responsible lawyer or date.
Disbursements
Payment made by your firm. A general disbursement reduces a general bank account; a trust disbursement, a trust account.
Discount Listing
The Discount Listing displays accounts payable invoices where discounts are available. Included are the percentage and dollar amount of the unrealized discount. Once a discount period has elapsed, or an invoice is paid and the discount realized, that invoice no longer appears on the Discount Listing.
Disk Image
Stored image of a bill in TXT (text) or RTF (rich text format) that is accessed with the Edit Invoice Disk Image function.
Display Reminders At Start Up
The Display Reminders at Start Up option produces an Appointment Listing when first starting PCLaw. Events, notes, and reminders are displayed, according to the criteria selected on the Workstation Settings > Calendar tab.
If you close and re-open PCLaw for the same day, the Appointment Listing report does not appear. The Appointment Listing at startup can be modified for each individual workstation.
Docs tab (Matter Manager)
The Docs tab displays documents that are associated with the matter. You must be assigned rights to the Document Listing to access the Docs tab.
Document Listing
The Document Listing displays documents, emails, and precedents in PCLaw. Documents can be sorted by name, type, matter and other criteria. The report format can be selected to list just the matter, name, description and comment, or all document property information. The report can be further refined to show only once or a combination of documents, emails, and precedents. Searches can be performed to find documents containing a certain word or phrase within the document name, description, or body.
Document Tab (Workstation Settings)
The Document tab sets how the PCLaw indexer runs on the workstation.
Double Entry Accounting
The accounting process used by PCLaw. All transactions appear both as a credit and debit, with the total credits equal to the total debits.
Drawings
The General Ledger (G/L) accounts that record amounts withdrawn from the firm by partners.
Due Dates
The dates on which A/P invoice must be paid.
E
E. & O.E.
Errors & Omissions Expected. This is found at the bottom of a Quick Bill.
Editor
Editor displays an output option for bills and pre-bills that creates a stored image of an invoice for future retrieval.
Elements
A template consists of elements that are categorized as text, tokens, graphics, shapes, and formulas. Each has a specific function in the presentation, appearance, and importation of information on the template. Each element is described separately.
Eligible Matters
Eligible matters are all matters which met the selection criteria you specify and which have an appropriate billing frequency. Used for mass pre-billing and mass billing.
Email is an output option for reports. When this option is selected, the report is included as an attachment in an email message.
E-mail Tab (Matter Manager)
The email tab lists emails that are associated with the matter. To access the emails tab, the user must be assigned rights to the document listing.
Entry Numbers
For audit trail purposes, every transaction in PCLaw® is assigned a unique entry number. When a transaction is modified, the original transaction retains the original entry number and the modified transaction receives a new entry number.
Equity
Equity refers to resources invested in the firm by the owners of the firm. This corresponds to the difference between assets and liabilities.
Equity Accounts
This is a category of General Ledger (G/L) accounts that records equity. A credit balance account.
Events Tab (Matter Manager)
The Events tab displays appointments and to-dos associated with the matter. Appointments and to-dos are entered through the Calendar, Matter Manager and Appointment Sheet features. Events are differentiated under the Type column. To access the Events tab, the user must be assigned rights to the appointment listing.
Expense Accounts
This is a category of General Ledger (G/L) account that records expenses. A debit balance account.
Expense Recovery
This is an entry recording an advanced cost for a client that does not require a check to be issued.
Expense Sheet Listing
This is a report of expenses printed from the Transfer Expense tool. Disbursements meeting the parameters of the Transfer Expense window are included on the report.
Expenses
Expenses are the costs of running your firm such as salaries, rent, insurance, and office expenses.
Explanation Codes
This is a nickname that invokes a full or partial description for a transaction. It may also be associated with a General Ledger (G/L) account..
Export
Use Export to store information from PCLaw in a file that can be accessed by other software applications.
Fee Adjustment Report
The Fee Adjustment Report records adjustments to fees made at the time of billing not including new time entries added at the time of billing. Adjustments are summarized by working lawyer, responsible lawyer, and type of law.
Fee Allocation Summary
The Fee Allocation Summary displays fees billed, collected and written off by lawyer for each matter. Values are divided into work performed by that lawyer and by all other lawyers for the same matters. The lawyer is categorized into client introducing, responsible, introducing and responsible, and fee credit lawyer.
Fee Allocations
The process of crediting a lawyer's fee account when fees are billed (accrual method of accounting) or received (cash and modified cash method of accounting).
Fee Credit Lawyer
The timekeeper who is assigned credits for time/fees billed or received on a matter.
Fee Entry
Entries recording fees for a matter. Similar to a time entry, but does not include hours. Created with the Fee Entry function or imported from case management programs.
Fees
Include both flat fees (for example, an amount quoted for a real estate transaction or a power of attorney document) and fees for services rendered (number of hours worked at a specific hourly rate).
Fees Billed Calculator
The Fees Billed Calculator provides a means to add a lump sum or percentage discount, or a fee adjustment to the invoice. An explanation can also be added. A discount can only be calculated to existing time and fee entries. It cannot be calculated on a fee adjustment.
Fees Collected Summary
The Fees Collected Summary provides a monthly and year to date analysis of fees collected by lawyer as fee credit and responsible lawyers. It also provides a comparison of current and previous year to date values included in the percentage of change between the two years.
Fees Due by Lawyer
The Fees Due by Lawyer report provides a period and overall view of fees billed, written of, and collected. The current A/R balance is also given for each fee credit lawyer. Use the report to assist in determining lawyers draws based on billings and collections. The report is detailed by matter, with each invoice reported separately.
F
Fees Tab (Billing)
The Fees tab provides the ability to select and arrange the fees that appear on the invoice. The tab appears if Use Advanced Bill Selections is checked on the System Settings > Billing tab or if the Advanced button is clicked on the Bill Selections windows.
Fields
A portion of any PCLaw® window where you can place data, either by typing it or by selecting from a list.
File Conflict List
The File Conflict List provides a list of clients, matters, contacts, or vendors that match a given search name. Information is presented to determine if a possible conflict of interest exists between the search name and any of the created matches.
File Location Report
The File Location report provides a list of matters and the physical location of their printed files. Also included on the report are the file open date, close date (if applicable), and cross reference. The report can be run for active, inactive and archived matters. Purged matters are not included on the report.
Fee Entry
Entries recording fees for a matter. Similar to a time entry, but does not include hours. Created with the Fee Entry function or imported from case management programs.
Files
(1) A synonym for matter. (2) Your paper records for a matter.
Final Billing
Producing the actual bills for clients. Contrast with pre-billing.
Firm Cash and Fee Summary
The Firm Cash & Fee Summary provides hours and fees docketed, fees billed, payments allocated to fees, and adjustments made to fees after billing for each fee credit lawyer. The values are displayed for the selected calendar month, as well as year to date, where the start of the year is determined when creating the report. Matter and invoice detail is not provided.
Firm Information Tab (1099 Form)
The Firm Information tab displays all mandatory company information needed for 1099 Forms. This information is stored on the Firm tab of System Settings.
Firm Tab (System Settings)
The Firm tab stores name, address, Internet information, phone numbers, and identification numbers for the firm.
Firm Types
PCLaw supports three types of firms: Sole Proprietorship, Partnerships and Corporations. Select the About PCLaw menu option from the Help menu to display the accounting method PCLaw has been set up to use for the current set of books.
Flat Fees
Flat fees are fixed billable amounts, such as fees charged for contingency cases. They are not dependent on the number of hours worked or the billing rate.
Front Office Tab (System Settings)
The Front Office tab allows you to enable the PCLaw Front Office modules of Calendar, Phone Call Manager, and Document Manager. Additional Document Manager settings enable you to set default directories for blank letterhead and fax cover pages. Separate pages can be set for Client Manager/Matter Manager and for Contact Manager.
G
GST (Goods and Services Tax)
The Canadian Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a multi-level value-added tax introduced in Canada on January 1, 1991. The tax is on the sale of all goods and services, except certain essentials such as groceries, residential rent, and medical services, and services such as financial services. Fiscally, the GST has accounted for 15% to 17% of total federal tax revenues each year since 1999.
GST Journal
The GST Journal lists all GST paid out by the firm of charges to the client. This document describes how to produce a GST Journal and how to interpret the entries that appear on the report.
G/L (General Ledger)
An accounting short form for the term General Ledger.
G/L Account Summary
A G/L Account Summary lists the accounts to which allocations were made and displays the total debit or credit that was made to that account.
General Bank Account
Accounts containing funds that belong to your firm. Contrast with trust bank account and General Ledger (G/L) account.
General Bank Journal
The General Bank Journal lists all transactions that affect the general Bank. The entries can be viewed for all accounts, a single account, by check or receipt, by G/L allocations, or by date.
General Bank Missing Checks Journal
The General Bank Missing Checks Journal lists all trust checks and receipts that have been skipped or that have been deleted. The entries can be viewed for all accounts, a single account, by check or receipt or by date.
General Disbursements
This shows any disbursements related to general bank accounts.
General Journal
The General Journal lists transactions that only affect the G/L and not any other journal. The journal handles G/L adjustments for entries where none of the debit or credit accounts are reserved. Transactions made through any PCLaw® feature other than G/L Adjustment is recorded in the journal(s) linked to that feature.
General Journal Entry
An entry consisting of equal amounts of debits and credits that directly affect the general ledger. General journal entries do not affect journals and therefore must not be made to reserved G/L accounts.
General Ledger
This is where PCLaw records all financial transactions, once you post them.
General Reconciliation Balance
The General Reconciliation Balance displays the GST Payable (2400) account balance as of the end date of the GST Journal reporting period.
General Retainer
The retainers held in general bank accounts.
G/L Reconciliation Report
The G/L Reconciliation report compares PCLaw journals with both client ledger balances, and the journals' G/L control accounts. If there is a discrepancy between the journal and either the ledger or the control account, the amount is displayed on the report. The report is created for a specific point in time, and is detailed to the accounting method utilized for the set of books.
Global Search
The Global Search differs from the Conflict Search in the availability of options that the user can search. The Global Search provides the user the option to perform a partial search. The file it produces, the File Global Search List, is not considered a Conflict List as all files in PCLaw may not be searched.
Grace period
The amount of time allowed for a client to pay a bill before interest will be charged.
Groups
A security group that you define that has access to specific PCLaw functions. For example, the Data Entry Group may have access to the Time Entry, Fee Entry and Expense Recovery functions. Security groups are defined on the Group tab of the security function.
H
Hard Costs (Cost)
A hard cost is one you produce a check to cover; examples include filing fees, court reporters, and corporate kits.
Hard and Soft Cost Analysis Report
The Hard & Soft Cost Analysis is 1 of the 3 reports that comprise the Disbursement Interest & Analysis report grouping. The Hard & Soft Cost Analysis categorizes costs as per their origin. Expense recovery and billing adjustments are soft costs while allocations from general checks or new payables are hard costs. The report indicates whether or not a cost is billed and paid. Costs can be filtered by matter, client, responsible lawyer or date.
Help Panel
The help panel is on the right side of the PCLaw® window that describes the Quick Step buttons that are displayed.
Hold
When this option is selected, the charge is excluded from any Pre-Bill, Bill, Quick Bill, Request Bill, or Settlement Statement.
For trust receipts, funds cannot be drawn from that receipt for the duration of the Hold period.
Holidays
Include Holidays is selected on the Options > Workstation Settings > Calendar tab, the holiday designation appears for that day, both in the Day and Week view. When an event is posted to the holiday, you receive a pop up reminder asking if you want to move the due date to the next business day.
I
Inactive Vendors
A vendor that has been closed.
Income
Amounts received for services such as fees, interest, and rental income.
Income Accounts
A General Ledger (G/L) account that records income. A credit account.
Income Distribution
Allocation of the firm's profits or losses among the partners.
Income Statement
Shows your financial position over a period of time. Presents the balance of each of your income and expense accounts.
Instant Data Validation
Feature of PCLaw® that verifies the information entered into each box as you type it. Can be enabled or disabled on the Data Entry tab of Workstation Settings.
Interest Calculation Report
The Interest Calculation report lists invoices including principal and interest by matter within the client aged receivables by client for collection follow-up. Client information is provided, with invoices grouped by matter. The original invoice amount is displayed, along with the current aged outstanding balance, and interest due. The date and amount of the last receipt is included with any interest paid on that receipt.
Interest Rate Table
The Interest Rate Table allows you to schedule rate adjustments according to date. For example, if a law firm wishes to set its interest rate to prime plus 2%, it would use the Rate Table to set the rate and the date it becomes effective. It should be noted that the first entry 10/10/82 is the rate to use for any invoice with a date prior to the first entry.
Interest Tab (System Settings)
The Interest Tab allows for the setting up of interest rates only, and do not have past due notice settings for matters or phrases.
Invoice Disk Image
Synonym for disk image.
Invoice Journal
The Invoice Journal displays invoices as billed, with the amount for fees, disbursements, and taxes appearing as they did on the invoice. Write-downs are shown separately. You have the option to display invoices by fee credit lawyer. Payments to invoices are not provided.
Invoice Tab (Register)
The Invoice tab lists invoices matching the selected matter, date range, and other parameters.
Invoices
The printed list of charges you send to clients.
Journals
The place where the PCLaw® software records transactions.
Last Billed Date
This is the last date that a matter was billed. This date, together with the billing frequency for a matter, determines if the matter will be included in the next mass billing.
Lawyer Budgeting Report
The Lawyer Budgeting report displays budget comparisons in the Lawyer Budgeting and Lawyers and Rates formats, showing actual work done, fees billed, and payments received.
Lawyer Overview
The Lawyer Overview provides at-a-glance summaries for the selected lawyer for matters, time, work-in-progress, accounts receivables and trust. Separate values are provided for the lawyer in his role as client introducing, responsible, and working.
Lawyer WIP, Billing, and Collection Summary
The Lawyer WIP, Billing & Collection Summary provides a summary by fee collecting lawyer of billable time worked and the amount actually billed. Also displayed is the value of the billed work that was either collected or written off.
Lawyers
In PCLaw®, this does not refer just to a professional lawyer, but includes timekeepers.
Layout Tab (for reports)
The Layout tab allows you to adjust the physical appearance of the report without affecting how information is extracted from the database. What information gets displayed on the report is determined by the options selected under the Layout tab. A check box exists for all columns on the report, and all items that appear in the summary and total sections.
Layouts
A layout is a template containing selection rules, field names, and other specific instructions that PCLaw must use in order to retrieve or extract information from/to a set of books.
Ledger Tab (Matter Manager)
The Ledger tab displays an interactive Client Ledger where it is possible to view and edit all entries that appear on that report. To access the Ledger tab, the user must be assigned rights to the client ledger report.
Ledger Tab (Register)
The Ledger tab lists all entries that appear on the Client Ledger. An invoice can be removed by selecting the billing option and clicking Remove. You can also select tax or general retainer entries added during the creation of the invoice.
Liabilities
This refers to things you owe such as taxes, loans, outstanding invoices, and accounts payable.
Liability Accounts
This is a General Ledger (G/L) account which records liabilities. A credit balance account.
Library
This is a search parameter when conducting research. Library refers to the database where to conduct the research.
Linked Event (Linked Dates)
Appointments can be expanded to be part of a series of linked dates or events that are dependent on each other. For example, a real estate purchase cannot be closed until the property has been searched for liens, among other tasks. The two events are linked dependent on each other.
Linked Item
This refers to an appointment or to-do within a linked event. A series of linked items comprise the linked event.
List Help
This is a synonym for Pop Up Help.
List of Clients
The List of Clients report provides a list of clients and their relevant information. Included on the report are the client number and name, major client number, client introducing lawyer, and business phone numbers. When creating the report, you can choose to display client address, a list of associated matters, matter cross references, contacts associated with the matter, memos, and collection memos.
List of Phone Calls Report
This displays a list of selected phone calls from Phone Call Manager.
Load Last
A button that is available when producing a report that loads the report options that were selected the last time the report was produced.
Location Codes
These are codes used to describe frequently-used appointment locations.
Main Matter (Split Billing)
The matter containing the charges to be split is referred to as the "Main Matter".
Liability Accounts
This is a General Ledger (G/L) account which records liabilities. A credit balance account.
Library
This is a search parameter when conducting research. Library refers to the database where to conduct the research.
Linked Event (Linked Dates)
Appointments can be expanded to be part of a series of linked dates or events that are dependent on each other. For example, a real estate purchase cannot be closed until the property has been searched for liens, among other tasks. The two events are linked dependent on each other.
Linked Item
This refers to an appointment or to-do within a linked event. A series of linked items comprise the linked event.
List Help
This is a synonym for Pop Up Help.
List of Clients
The List of Clients report provides a list of clients and their relevant information. Included on the report are the client number and name, major client number, client introducing lawyer, and business phone numbers. When creating the report, you can choose to display client address, a list of associated matters, matter cross references, contacts associated with the matter, memos, and collection memos.
List of Phone Calls Report
This displays a list of selected phone calls from Phone Call Manager.
Load Last
A button that is available when producing a report that loads the report options that were selected the last time the report was produced.
Main Matter (Split Billing)
The matter containing the charges to be split is referred to as the "Main Matter".
Liability Accounts
This is a General Ledger (G/L) account which records liabilities. A credit balance account.
Library
This is a search parameter when conducting research. Library refers to the database where to conduct the research.
Linked Event (Linked Dates)
Appointments can be expanded to be part of a series of linked dates or events that are dependent on each other. For example, a real estate purchase cannot be closed until the property has been searched for liens, among other tasks. The two events are linked dependent on each other.
Linked Item
This refers to an appointment or to-do within a linked event. A series of linked items comprise the linked event.
List Help
This is a synonym for Pop Up Help.
List of Clients
The List of Clients report provides a list of clients and their relevant information. Included on the report are the client number and name, major client number, client introducing lawyer, and business phone numbers. When creating the report, you can choose to display client address, a list of associated matters, matter cross references, contacts associated with the matter, memos, and collection memos.
List of Phone Calls Report
This displays a list of selected phone calls from Phone Call Manager.
Load Last
A button that is available when producing a report that loads the report options that were selected the last time the report was produced.