Customize your list selections

Many lists in RB9 can be customized to better fit your company

Lesson #112
Setup – Lists function

Lists in RB allow users to choose an entry from a set of available values, saving time and reducing errors that result from keying in entries. RB includes initial values and defaults for lists used throughout the system, and you can run your business using these defaults. You can also edit, hide, merge, or delete most of these entries. You cannot create new lists, but you can add your own entries to most RB lists.

Managing lists

When setting up your RB system, take some time to customize its default lists to better match your company. You can revise a list at any time you have new options to add or unused options you’d like to remove/hide.

You can set each list’s default entry, which will appear in any field tied to that list. Default entries cannot be deleted. If you want to delete a default-designated entry, you must set a different entry in the list as the default. Then you can delete the other entry if it is not required by RB.

If you no longer need a particular entry, but want to keep its historical data, you can merge it into an existing entry of the same data type.

If you don’t want to delete an entry or merge it into another entry, but you also don’t want it to appear as a list option in RB, you can de-activate it. It will still exist in the database, but it will be hidden.

You can export any list as an Excel spreadsheet or a CSV (comma-separated values) file to save, share, print, or use in other applications.

Lists can be customized for:

  • Accounting: Although RB is not an accounting system, it does track many financial aspects of your business, can be used with QuickBooks, and replaces separate billing software.
    Set up categories for types of accounts, financial transactions, payments, payment terms, and units of service items (e.g., pages, miles, or hours). Also set up billing and pay rate groups, parent structures for related billing or pay rates. (You could have 100s of billing and pay rates, which can quickly become overwhelming without some sort of organizing capability.) You will assign each billing rate table, firm, contact, and party to a case to a billing rate group, and assign each pay rate table and resource to a pay rate group.
  • Cases: RB is a case-based system. Case attributes will be automatically applied to jobs tied to a case.
    Set up categories for types of cases, sides represented in a suit, notes, and case statuses, such as in progress or settled.
  • Connect: RB Connect is the RB9 plug-in that gives your clients and resources direct access to your office via the internet. (RB Connect Mobile is an RB Connect plug-in that gives users most of the same functions but in an interface designed for smart phones and other mobile devices.)
    Set up designations for support ticket ratings, support ticket status (e.g., Awaiting Response or Closed), and resource time-off request status (e.g., Pending or Approved).
  • Contacts: Contacts are people who work at firms that schedule jobs with you.
    Set up categories for types of contacts, notes, work turnaround preferences, credit ratings, and tags to organize contacts. Also set up gender classifications, work titles, and salutations.
  • Firms: Firms are companies you do business with: They schedule depositions with you, e.g., a law firm, or they are a third party that pays you, e.g., an insurance company.
    Set up categories for types of firms, notes, credit ratings, collection actions, and tags to organize contacts. Also set up designations for account status, class (the quality or ranking of a firm), and client sources (how clients heard of you).
  • Invoice: Set up categories (Groups) for invoice headers and messages, so you can find what you want when invoicing without having to scroll through all of your invoice headers or messages. Also set up categories for invoice and notes types to use as search filters.
  • Jobs: Set up categories for types of expert witnesses, client referrals, jobs, notes, job status, tasks, and task status.
  • Locations: Set up categories for types of locations, notes, and tags to organize locations.
    Not all job locations should be entered in the location database, so they would not need categories here. Examples would be law firms or other businesses in your Firms database, resources such as other court reporting firms, your own conference rooms or business units, one-off locations you won’t use again, and virtual locations, such as Zoom meetings.
  • Other: Set up categories for types of anniversaries and other events, how notes in Notes Logs were received (e.g., System, Email, or call), and award point redemption like gift cards or cash.
  • Production: Set up designations for how products are delivered to clients, e.g. USPS, courier, or FedEx.
  • Repository: Set up designations for types of files that you will store in the central repository.
  • Resources: Resources are people or things that provide your business with services, such as reporters, other court reporting agencies you work with, and your conference rooms.
    Set up categories for types of resources, notes, and tags to organize resources. Plus set up categories of time periods you pay resources, certifications, specialties, priority levels (e.g., staff or overflow), salutations, and reasons for resources’ time-off periods (e.g., vacation or personal time).
  • Tracking: Tracking is a stand-alone function in RB9 used to monitor where production items are in your production cycle and physical space.
    Set up categories for archival status, types of service items (such as DVD, Editing, Exhibit, Scanning, Synching, and Transcript), and priority of tracked items. Plus set up media classifications (e.g., Confidential or Under Protective Order) and media formats.
  • Users: Users are people on your staff who directly access RB, as opposed to contacts and resources who access your office through RB Connect.
    Set up categories for departments in your company and position titles.
  • Witnesses: Set up categories for notes types to use as search filters.

TL;DR: Many lists in RB can be customized by adding/editing options to better fit your company.

RB concepts in this lesson

Award Points: Used to encourage clients to book with your agency by rewarding them with points for different services.

Billing Rate Groups: Umbrella structures aimed at categorizing your billing rates. Instead of one long list of billing rates, Billing Rate Groups create a series of shorter lists to search through when invoicing clients.

Contact: Person who works for a firm you do business with.

Firm: Companies you do business with.

Header Group: Parent structure that contains related invoice headers as its children.

Job: Usually the reporting of a deposition, but can also be any kind of service you provide with your reporters or other resources. More >

Location: Place where jobs occur, such as court rooms, hospitals, schools, doctors’ offices, or private residences.

Message Group: Parent structure that contains related invoice messages as its children.

Pay Groups: Categories of time periods your company uses to pay resources, e.g., Monthly, Weekly, On Demand. Group resources according to their pay period (frequency) to reduce errors when running payroll.

Pay Rate Groups:  Umbrella structures aimed at categorizing the rates you pay resources, such as by experience levels, percentage paid on services, or affiliates. Instead of one long list of pay rates, Pay Rate Groups create a series of shorter lists to search through when invoicing clients.

RB Connect: Online repository, calendar, and access to your office for clients and resources, including interactive transcripts, downloadable invoices and e-commerce for clients, and online turn-in, one-touch job acknowledgements, and downloadable pay statements for resources. More >

RB Connect Mobile: Clients and resources can access your RB Connect on their smartphones and tablets in an interface optimized for mobile devices. More >

Resource: Person or thing that provides your business with a service, such as reporters, videographers, interpreters, scopists, account executives, other agencies that cover jobs for you, or a conference room.

Tracking: System for keeping track of where production items are in your production cycle and physically in your office.

Users: You and your staff who directly access RB.

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