Tag Archives: email second round

Lesson #135

Setup – System Preferences function

Payables System Preferences

In addition to options for fixing printing problems on checks and 1099 forms, you can also set up direct deposit for payroll and other pay options.

1099 Form

In RB9 you have the ability to print each resource’s 1099 directly from the system. RB9 is designed to print in the correct fields on the 1099-NEC forms, but you can adjust the placement if needed to align the RB9 output with the 1099 form’s fields on your printer. Adjustments are in inches. You can increase (or decrease with a negative number) the top and left margins, using up to 2 decimal placements.

NOTE: This is an RB9 Standard-only function. It is not included in RB9 Lite.

Check

If you want to print checks directly from RB9, RB9 will create a PDF of the check information according to your settings to print on your own standard or voucher (2-part check) business checks. You can use Quickbooks-compatible laser checks (standard or voucher). Adjust where RB9 information is printing on your checks by increasing (or decreasing with a negative number) the top and left margins, using up to 2 decimal placements.

NOTE: This is an RB9 Standard-only function. It is not included in RB9 Lite.

NACHA (National Automated Clearing House Association)

Instead of printing checks or using a third-party payroll service, use RB9’s direct deposit feature to deposit pay into your resources’ accounts instead. After signing up for direct deposit with your bank use information provided by your bank to set up your system preferences for direct deposit payables. Some of the information you must get from your bank includes a unique 9-digit number assigned by the bank and a company ID number. (You will need to enter your resources’ banking information in their profiles.) Then all you have to do is send a NACHA-formatted file (exported from RB9) to your bank and your bank will transfer the funds for you.

NOTE: This is an RB9 Standard-only function. It is not included in RB9 Lite.

Draft Pay Statement

Before closing, you can print out or email your resources a draft of their pay statements, so they can review which invoices they will be paid for and how much will be included in their next paycheck.

If you email draft pay statements, you can customize the email that accompanies them. Similarly to invoice emails set up in Billing preferences, you can change the default text in the Subject and Message fields and insert contextual data fields so that real data from RB9 related to the resource and payroll merge into the email automatically. You can also customize the appearance of the body of the emails with text formatting, colors, images, hyperlinks, and tables.

The draft pay statement itself will attach to the email as a PDF. And you can override the defaults set here in any pay statement emails sent from RB9.

Pay Statement

After you run payroll in RB9 and close it, you can print out or email your resources their pay statements – which is the report that shows them exactly which invoices they were paid for on a closed payroll. You have the same settings options for pay statements as for draft pay statements.

Payroll

You have 2 options for when you pay resources:

1. “Hard Wait” is the default and refers to waiting a set number of days before releasing an invoice for payroll — regardless of whether you received payment from clients. (The default number of days to wait for originals and copies are set in Entities preferences, and can be overridden in individual resources’ settings.)
2. “Soft Wait” is similar in having your resources wait to get paid after a certain number of days — but there is an exception. If you receive payment for an invoice within the wait period, then RB9 will release the invoice to the resource in the next payroll you run.

TL;DR: Customize pay statement emails. Specify when resources get paid in relation to invoices. Adjust printing layouts for 1099s and checks. Set up your direct deposit account for paying resources.

RB9 concepts in this lesson

Resource: Person or thing that provides your business with a service — such as reporters.

Lesson #130

Setup – System Preferences function

General system preferences

As the name implies, these are preferences for features that span more than one module or are basic to the system, like log in.

Email

Email is integrated into many RB9 functions. If you will be sending emails from RB9, this is the one system preference that you are required to customize by entering your primary company email address settings. Other preferences can be customized at any time.

The Email preferences panel lists any email addresses already entered with the main email address selected as the default sender address for RB9 email. You can:

• Add email addresses.
• Change the default sender address.
• View, edit, delete, or test any listed email address.
• Export this list of email addresses that can be used systemwide as an Excel or CSV file to save, share, print, or use in other applications.

When entering a new email address, you can designate that it use either the standard email protocol or a Microsoft 365 Office email protocol. If using:

• Default email protocol – You must include the email server address and port. You can also add security measures like SSL encryption of your email and SMTP authentication.
• Microsoft 365 email account – You must verify the account before using it because RB does not store your email’s password in the database.

The rest of the email setup is the address, user name, and any Bcc email addresses to include in emails by default. Plus you can create a signature using formatted text, images, hyperlinks — even tables — that appends automatically to the end of your emails. You can edit your signature in the default WYSIWYG word processor environment or as HTML markup.

After setting up an email address, you can test it within this same function to see if you have the correct settings for sending emails within RB9 from this address. You can also view the sent email to see if you want to make any changes to the signature.

General vs. personal email addresses

You do not have to enter every user’s email address in System Preferences. If your staff should use their own address when emailing from RB9, they can set up their email address in User Preferences (preferences that affect their RB9 account only, not the entire system). Then in most instances, their address will be the sender address when they send an email through RB9.

If you have a small staff and want to have users share addresses, enter the addresses in System Preferences — not User Preferences. Then they can use the default company email address or choose any of the other addresses as the sender when sending an email.

Email & RB Connect

Another reason to set up email accounts in System Preferences is if you have RB Connect. All RB Connect calendar communications for the contact side of RB Connect will be sent from the email account listed as the default in System Preferences.

Or you can designate one of the other General email addresses as the source for auto confirmations and cancellations that are sent to clients regarding RB Connect job schedulings. This is so in case a client responds to the auto confirmation email they receive, their response needs to go to a validated email account. Set this up in RB Connect General Preferences.

Forgot Password Email

If one of your users forgets their RB9 password, they can request a new password from the sign-in screen. RB9 will automatically send them an email so they can reset their password. You can change the default text of the header and body of this email.

You can automatically insert relevant RB9 data with contextual data fields for who requested the reset, when they requested it, and the link to reset their password. You can also customize the appearance of the body of the email with text formatting, images, color, hyperlinks, and tables.

License Info

In these section, find information about your RB9 licenses and other product information. It contains:

• Your RB9 product code
• Your current number of paid-for user licenses — which you can increase or decrease at any time
• Date your RB9 licenses will expire if not renewed
• Version of RB9 software you are using — you can request to change your version (Standard or Lite) here
• Web address of your RB9
• Entity your RB9 is licensed to
• Amount in gigabytes of storage you are currently using for your RB9 repository
• Number of files in your RB9 repository
• Any plug-ins you currently subscribe to are marked Active in this pane (you can export this list as an Excel or CSV file to save, print, share, or use in other applications)
• Any RB9 custom programming you have is listed in this pane (you can export this list as an Excel or CSV file to save, print, share, or use in other applications)
• Billing information including history, individual invoices, and the credit card you have authorized to pay your RB9 subscription with. You can update your credit card information and also pay overdue invoices and any prorated amount for increased user licenses here.

Login

RB9 follows general security rules for business application user log-ins. You can change some of these security features. In System Preferences you can:

• Protect user accounts from hacking attempts by selecting a set amount of incorrect login attempts before RB9 locks out the user. Single-system users can select the “Never locked out” option.
• Require complex passwords that contain a number, lowercase letter, capital letter, and symbol.
• Force users to reset their password periodically. You can set the duration to every 30, 60, 90, or 180 days before RB9 users must change their password.
• If you require users to change their password periodically, you can allow them to keep the same password when they update their password.
• Use email addresses as the log-in name for all of your user accounts instead of custom log-in names. With custom log-in names, users can change their log-in names but everyone must have a unique log-in name. They do not have that option with email addresses.
• If you choose email addresses as the log-in name, you can give users the option to log in using their social media accounts: Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, or Microsoft.
• Require users to verify their identity upon RB9 sign-in with a second factor in addition to their user name and password. A verification code will be sent to the user’s preferred method of communication — which they must then enter into RB before accessing the site. Authentication is per device, and users can decide to authenticate a device once or every time they sign in on that device.

Notifications and Messages

You can select 30, 60, 90, or 180 days for how long RB9 will keep old messages in the Sent Message and Trash folders in the system’s message center before deleting them.

Session Timeout

Because RB9 is web based you can work anywhere you have a web browser and internet connection. However, RB9 stores sensitive data — including information about your business units, accounting, contacts, and resources — so it will automatically log you off after staying inactive for a set period of time to deter prying eyes from compromising any sensitive data. It is exactly like how online banking sites sign you off after a predetermined length of inactive time.

The default is that you are automatically logged out of RB9 after 20 minutes of inactivity but you can change the session timeout. You can set the interval at any 5-minute increment from 5 minutes to 60 minutes. Your changes will take place the next time you log in. Since this is a system preference, all users will be affected — including contacts and resources that use RB Connect — the next time they log in.

Since RB9 does not automatically save your information when it logs you out, it’s a good idea to set an interval that balances security with your work processes — and to let other users know what the interval is so they remember to save their work periodically.

SMS

Select the third party vendor you want to use in RB9 to send text messages from within RB. Then store your account credentials and related phone number.

System Time

Set your RB9 job clock to the time zone that your company is in. (The list of time zones is set in Calendar System Preferences.) Users can select a different default time zone for jobs they schedule in User Preferences.

You can also set the system to automatically adjust the job clock for Daylight Saving Time.

TL;DR: Set preferences for aspects of RB9 that impact multiple modules or the entire system in General preferences. Some preferences can be overridden by individual users in User Preferences.

RB concepts in this lesson

Business Unit (BU): One of your company’s revenue centers or any entity in your business that you want to track separately — such as branch offices, other companies you own, affiliates, and profit-sharing operations.

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

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

RB Connect: Online repository, calendar, and access to your office for clients and resources.

Repository: RB9 has 9 repositories where you store files for safekeeping and quick retrieval. When you store files in a case, they are in RB9’s Case Repository; when you store files in a job, they are in RB9’s Job Repository; etc. If you have RB Connect, you can give clients and/or resources access to specific repository files.

Resource: Person or thing that provides your business with a service — such as reporters.

Users: You and your staff who directly access RB9.

Lesson #129

Setup – System Preferences function

RB9 comes with default options for its different functions. Some cannot be altered but generally you can customize functions to fit your company by editing, adding, and deleting options. System Preferences is where you set global options for different features in your RB9 system.

These global preference settings are used throughout your RB9 system by all users. You must be part of the Administrators group to change System Preference settings.

System preferences can be customized at any time. The only one you need to set before using RB9 is entering your company’s email settings in General > Email if you will be sending emails from RB9.

Options you can customize in System Preferences include:

• Company email address(es)
• Text of “Forgot Password” emails
• Upgrade to Standard or downgrade to Lite editions of RB9. This feature is only available to Administrators.
• Which credit card to use for your RB9 subscription payments. You can also view your billing history and pay overdue invoices.
• How many Named User Licenses access your RB9
• Login security — such as requiring strong passwords and 2FA verification
• How long RB9 saves messages sent internally
• How long a period of inactivity allowed before RB9 logs a user off automatically
• Company time zone default & other time zones to select
• Job confirmations & cancellations
• Task assignments & cancellations
• Job statuses displayed as calendar search options
• Future calendar emails
• Holidays observed
• Job & task calendar view options
• Job status colors
• Job status automatic updates
• New job defaults
• Overdue tasks emails
• Resource Blast (last minute job announcement emails & texts) contents and defaults
• Zoom account settings, preferences, and other customizations
• Envelope printing specs
• FedEx & UPS account information
• Repository publishing default & use tracking options
• RB Digital Signature Proxy settings
• Invoices, statements, and payment receipts & related emails’ contents and other invoice options
• LEDES 1998B exported files
• Reward points
• Pay statements & related emails’ contents
• Payment wait periods
• 1099 Form & check printing
• Direct deposit payment settings
• Default settings for new firms, contacts, & resources
• QuickBooks settings
• Company contact information for RB Network membership
• Email Logs tracking

System Preferences sections

With so many options to describe each section is broken out into a separate lesson:

• General
• Calendar
• Production
• Billing
• Receivables
• Payables
• Entities
• Tools

System Preferences vs. Lists

RB9 separates out list customization from other system preferences. If you want different options in a list you would make those changes in the Lists function. All other options are grouped by module under System Preferences.

Some System Preferences options work with Lists — such as the file types you can have RB9 automatically attach to assignment notifications. They are generated in Lists under Repository, which you can then select from in System Preferences under Calendar.

Personal preferences

Some system preferences can be overridden by personal preferences set by individual users. Preferences that only affect your individual RB9 setup are available under User Preferences.

TL;DR: Use RB9’s default options or customize these systemwide options to match your company.

RB9 concepts in this lesson

Administrator: RB9 user who has access to and control of all areas of RB. You can have any number of RB9 administrators but each RB9 system must have at least one administrator. Administrator rights include setting up user accounts, assigning users to groups (which authorize what actions users can perform in RB9 and what kinds of notifications and messages they receive), and setting global system preferences.

ReporterBase Digital Signature Proxy (RB-DSP): Free digital signatures for reporters and agencies that agencies apply to RB-PDF Transcripts. Reporters retain control of their signatures while agencies are able to apply the signatures through their normal production process. More >

RB-PDF Transcript: PDF version of a transcript with built-in transcript-specific features. More >

Users: You and your staff who directly access RB9.

Lesson #126

Setup – PDF Transcript Stamps function

Make stamp templates that can be applied to RB-PDF Transcripts so you don’t have to switch to a different program to stamp a transcript “original” or “certified copy.”

Stamp templates can be styled with different text formatting, border treatments, and stamp colors. Create as many templates as needed. Update templates — or delete templates when no longer needed.

You can apply stamps to full-sized and condensed transcripts — as well as word lists and word indexes if you create them as separate documents. You can apply as many stamps to a document as you want.

NOTE: This is an RB9 Standard-only function. It is not included in RB Lite.

TL;DR: Apply stamps like “original” or “certified copy” to PDF Transcripts and exhibits without leaving RB9.

RB9 concepts in this lesson

RB-PDF Transcript: PDF version of a transcript with built-in transcript-specific features. More >

Lesson #123

Setup – Invoice Messages function

In addition to the descriptive header that appears automatically on invoices, you can add more information to your invoices — such as detailed payment information, company info, and holiday greetings — with custom messages. While you can write messages on invoices as you generate them you can also save time and ensure consistency by setting up messages in advance in the Invoice Messages function, then simply apply them to individual invoices or in batches.

Customize your invoice messages

You can include any written communications you want to share with clients on your invoices. By creating invoice messages for different circumstances you can easily give your clients more information when they need it — such as invoice payment options — or to let them know you appreciate them, extend an appropriate holiday greeting, share company news, etc.

You create messages in a similar way to invoice headers. Write as many messages as you want and organize them into groups to make it easier to find the right one when billing.

Designate which message is the default to minimize the need to select messages each time when invoicing. You can override the default and modify the message on individual invoices during Turn In. You can stylize the appearance of invoice messages with bold/italic/underline treatments, different typefaces, font sizes, and colors.

Creating new messages is easy. They only require a message group — and optionally the message (you can have a blank message if you want). Message groups are categories — which you set up in Lists — for organizing messages to make it easier to locate the desired message when billing by looking within a subgroup instead of the whole list.

When creating a message the message group defaults to the system default (set in Lists) so you might only need to enter the content. Message size is unlimited and you can use the text formatting tools to style the text to match your company brand, emphasize content, and make your message more memorable.

If you are creating multiple messages in one sitting, use the Save & New option to stay in the new message window — eliminating extra clicks to get back into the window. It will also keep the same message group you used in the last invoice message saved rather than resetting to the default — saving even more time. For example if you are setting up a batch of holiday messages, you won’t have to select the message group before entering each message.

Manage existing messages

Update existing messages and create new messages whenever you want. Change which message is your default at any time — for example change the default to a holiday greeting when invoicing around a holiday. You can delete messages you don’t need anymore so they no longer appear as an option when selecting invoice messages during Turn In.

Messages are stored in the Invoice Messages function and the default lists all of your stored messages by Invoice Message Group. You can also view messages for a single group or multiple selected groups. Export the list to an Excel or CSV file to save, print, share, or use in other applications. Click any message’s hyperlink to edit or delete it.

Apply messages to invoices

When preparing invoices your default invoice message appears. You can override the default by entering new text or selecting a different invoice message from your custom list. You can apply messages to invoices one at a time or in batches. Use the Save & New feature to apply different invoice messages to single or multiple invoices without leaving the Set Invoice Messages panel in Turn In.

TL;DR: Save time and ensure consistency by setting up invoice messages in advance, then apply them to individual invoices or in batches.

RB9 concepts in this lesson

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

Lesson #122

Setup – Invoice Headers function

Invoices in RB include a short descriptive title called the invoice header. Standard invoice headers are automatically generated based on the service items you select for each witness listed on an invoice. If the standard headers aren’t accurate enough to cover your billing requirements, you can create your own invoice headers.

You can enter your own headers on the fly as you generate invoices. Or if you think you will be reusing the same headers, set them up in the Invoice Headers function. Then you can quickly select the correct header for a witness from a drop-down when generating invoices — saving time and reducing errors.

Create & organize headers

Create as many invoice headers as you need to cover all of your business’s different billing circumstances. If you have multiple custom headers, organize them into Header Groups. Header Groups are categories of invoice headers, and are set up in Lists. By organizing your custom headers into header groups, you will save time locating one when billing.

Creating new headers is easy. They only require the header content and header group. The header group defaults to the system default (selected in Lists), so you might only need to enter the content.

If you are creating multiple headers in one sitting, use the Save & New option to stay in the new header window, eliminating extra clicks to get back into the window. It will also keep the same header group you used in the last invoice header saved rather than resetting to the default, so that could also save you time.

You can add, edit, or delete invoice headers at any time. Headers are stored in the Invoice Header function, and the default lists all of your stored headers by Invoice Header Group. You can also view the list for a single group or multiple selected groups. Export the list as an Excel spreadsheet or CSV file to save, print, share, or use in other applications.

You can update the header content and/or header group for any custom invoice header. Or delete it if you don’t need it anymore.

Using custom invoice headers

After entering billing information to invoices in Turn In is when you would add custom invoice headers. You can apply the same custom header to multiple invoices at once. And use the Save and New feature to apply different invoice headers to different invoices without leaving the Set Invoice Headers panel in Turn In for greater efficiency. Custom headers are listed in the drop-down by their invoice group, so you can quickly find the correct header by looking within its group only.

TL;DR: If RB’s default invoice headers are not enough, create and save your own custom headers to apply during Turn In.

RB concepts in this lesson

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

Lesson #121

Setup – Pay Dates function

When setting up your RB system and then at the beginning of each year, set up the year’s pay dates and their corresponding cutoff dates (last date for invoices to be included in pay) for each time period you use to pay resources (e.g., monthly, weekly, etc.). By setting up pay dates in advance you can reduce the number of payroll errors caused by entering the wrong date when running payroll.

View existing pay dates

The Pay Dates function defaults to all pay dates entered this year. Each pay date listing shows the date, Pay Group (different time periods you use to pay resources, e.g., monthly, weekly, etc.), cut-off date, and the date the payroll was closed. You can either add dates to the current year or change the year — if you want to enter next year’s pay dates for example.

When viewing the list of pay dates, you can sort the list by one or more columns in ascending or descending order (but when you exit the function, RB will revert back to the default order). Export the list as an Excel spreadsheet or a CSV (comma-separated values) file to save, print, share, or use in other applications.

Pay dates & cutoff dates

When you enter a new pay date, you also enter the last date for invoices to be included in pay, i.e., the cutoff date. RB calculates resource payment cutoff dates using invoice dates by default. But you can also use the date invoices are paid as the cutoff date for specific resources or all resources paid for jobs tied to one or more of your company’s business units (BUs). This preference is set in individual resource listings (under Original Term and Copy Term) and your BU listings.

You further define pay dates by selecting which Pay Group you are paying and which BUs’ jobs are included. You can include a description of the pay date listing and other notes.

Designate responsible business unit

If you have multiple BUs, you can also designate which BU will be responsible for issuing 1099s for this pay date. Instead of having to create pay date listings for each of your BUs, you can include multiple BUs in one pay date listing, and designate one BU to be responsible for issuing all related 1099s. It doesn’t have to be the BU tied to the jobs being paid for, and the default is your main office.

You can have multiple pay date listings on the same calendar date — or if every Pay Group will have the same cutoff date and BU(s), you can set one pay date for all groups.

Correcting errors

If you made a mistake setting up a pay date, you can delete it if payroll for that date has not been closed yet. Otherwise, you can make a note in the pay date’s Remarks field for future reference.

TL;DR: Set up pay dates for different pay periods (and different business units in your company, if desired).

RB concepts in this lesson

Business Unit (BU): One of your company’s revenue centers or any entity in your business that you want to track separately — such as branch offices, other companies you own, affiliates, and profit-sharing operations.

Cutoff Date: Last date for invoices to be included in a pay date. Default is the date of the invoice, but you can use the date invoices were paid for a single resource or all resources tied to a business unit/multiple BUs in your company.

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.

Resource: Person or thing that provides your business with a service — such as reporters.

Lesson #120

Setup – Billing Sets function

Group service items into sets to speed up billable services selection because you only have to choose the set — not each of the items individually.

A Billing Set is a predetermined group of service items that are typically billed together. By configuring these sets you can add service items en masse to an invoice to streamline the billing process. This eliminates the need to add service items one by one — as well as reduces the possibility of overlooking any service items when billing.

There is no limit to the number of service items you can add to a set — and it’s not a requirement to bill for each service item in a set. The purpose of a Billing Set is to select multiple service items to add at once to an invoice from a concise selection pool — rather than having to scroll through your entire service item list to pick each one individually.

Create as many sets as you need

Set up multiple Billing Sets to further streamline your billing process because you can group service items based on what the job is asking for — and you won’t have to deal with service items you may not need. For example you can make a Billing Set for standard court reporting jobs, one for video depositions, and another one for video conferences. This way you can pull up the set that’s specifically tailored to your job type and not have to deal with any unnecessary service items.

Other common Billing Sets you might want would be a list of services commonly included when clients order an O&1 package and another set for copy clients. You can have as many Billing Sets as you like and choose one to be the default option when generating invoices. You can include descriptions and other notes in your Billing Sets to help you keep them organized.

Add all related services to a set

You can add any of your service items to a Billing Set and set a default number of units for each service item. Put all of the possible service items that could apply to a particular set in the set because it is easier to uncheck the ones you don’t need for a specific order so they are not added to the invoice at that time than it is to not have enough service items in the Billing Set and have to add service items to an order one at a time. Even adding just one or two service items to an invoice individually will slow you down.

For example include all of your delivery options in your O&1 Billing Set. Then simply uncheck the ones you won’t be using for a particular order when generating its invoice.

Using Billing Sets at Turn In

When adding services to invoices in Turn In, use the Prefill Service option to access your Billing Sets. It will also show any of the contact’s/firm’s Preferred Services so you can select all the ordered services and update the number of units ordered for each service in one screen. Once you have added billable services to an invoice, you can edit each service item as needed and arrange their order of appearance on the invoice.

If you have RB Connect you can give your resources access to any of your Billing Sets so they can also save time during Turn In by adding multiple service items at a time instead of one by one.

Manage sets

You can update any information in a Billing Set at any time or delete it if you don’t need it. The default view of Billing Sets lists all of your sets and shows which is the default and which ones are accessible to your resources through RB Connect. If your list is too long to easily find a particular set, you can sort your results in the grid by one or more columns in ascending or descending order (but when you exit the function RB9 will revert back to the default order) or search for the Billing Set by name.

You can export your Billing Set list as an Excel spreadsheet or a CSV (comma-separated values) file to save, print, share, or use in other applications  You can also sort and export an individual Billing Set’s list of service items.

TL;DR: Instead of adding service items one at a time to invoices, set up groups of related services so you can add multiple items at once.

RB9 concepts in this lesson

Contact: Person who works for a firm you do business with — such as attorneys, paralegals, secretaries, legal assistants, claim adjusters, and court clerks.

Firm: Company 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.

RB Connect: Online repository, calendar, and access to your office for clients and resources. More >

Resource: Person or thing that provides your business with a service — such as reporters.

Lesson #119

Setup – Pay Rates function

Pay Rates are the amounts you pay resources for services. These rates are organized into tables so you can easily pay different resources different amounts for the same services by applying different pay rate tables instead of entering pay amounts manually.

Before using pay rate tables, group them for easier searching. By organizing pay rate tables into groups of similar tables you can search through a subset of your pay rate tables — instead of the whole long list of tables — each time you invoice a client. These groups are called Pay Rate Groups. Set up the groups for different categories of resources first, then set up your pay rate tables.

Set up Pay Rate Groups first

Similar to Billing Rate Groups, it is important to set up Pay Rate Groups prior to creating any pay rate tables — otherwise you will encounter organization issues. Pay Rate Groups categorize resources — such as by experience levels, percentage, or affiliates — and will allow you to create the umbrella structure to categorize your pay rates under. Pay Rate Groups are set up in the Lists function.

For each Pay Rate Group set up as many pay rate tables as you need.

Add as many pay rates as you need

After setting up Pay Rate Groups, use this function to enter your pay rate tables in the appropriate group. Then when billing, you only have to scroll through the rate tables in one of these smaller groups instead of your entire list of rate tables.

You can set up pay rate tables in 2 ways: From scratch or from an existing table. Copying and updating an existing table is a quicker way to create a new table because the existing table’s rates and details are duplicated in the new table for you to update.

Pay Rates contain the earning amounts for all of your service items. Agencies often have multiple pay rates set up to accommodate specific needs. Pay rates can be based on negotiations with resources, networking rates with other agencies, rates based on the difficulty of jobs, etc.

Every pay rate table you create in RB9 will automatically inherit all service items set up in the Service Item Master. Before setting up your pay rate tables complete the Service Item Master setup first. The Service Item Master is where all of the service items are stored along with their default pay rates and other preliminary settings — which are automatically inherited by any new pay rate table when created from scratch.

For each pay rate table you must name it and assign it to a Pay Rate Group. You designate a default Pay Rate Group in the Lists function — but you can select a different group here if the new pay rate table should be in a different category.

Give each table a clearly specific name — something you will recognize and know what it pertains to. The name is what you are going to see when you are selecting a rate:

• As your default pay rate for a specific resource.
• During the Turn In/Billing process for a specific invoice.

So the name is important because it will help you and your billing staff decide when to use this pay rate table.

When you set up a new pay rate table — either from scratch or copied from another table — all of the service items will appear in the table. You can customize the pay rate and other pay information for any of the service items. If there are service items that the resource should not get paid for, simply set the pay rate to $0.

In addition to each service item’s pay rate you can also customize:

• The minimum amount you pay resources for this item.
• Whether you pay your resources for the service item using a flat rate ($) scale or percentage (%).
•  If the pay amount for this service item will have the Expedite (Rush) amount added to it.

Set up rush rates before billing & pay rate tables

If you set up your Rush Type Master before setting up individual billing and pay rate tables, your default rush rates from this master template will automatically fill in when you create an individual rate table. Setting up rush rates as an add-on to billing and pay rates reduces the number of billing and pay rate tables you need to have.

You can override rush defaults in individual rate tables if needed — such as the Rush Type’s name, whether you pay it using a flat rate ($) scale or percentage (%), and the amount. The amount will be in addition to the base pay rate of the transcript. You can also include any relevant notes or comments in a pay rate table.

Managing pay rate tables

You can update any information in a pay rate table at any time — except its Pay Rate Group. You can delete any pay rate table that hasn’t been used. If you can’t delete a table that you no longer use, you can de-activate it so it does not appear in lists. And you can update rates in multiple pay rate tables at once in the Service Item Master.

To find a pay rate table to copy, update, delete, or de-activate, you can search your entire set of pay rate tables — or narrow your search to a specific Pay Rate Group and/or pay rate table name. You can also choose to search all tables or only active tables. RB9 lists the results by Pay Rate Group and includes each table’s name and its Active status.

You can sort your results in the grid by one or more columns in ascending or descending order (but when you exit the function, RB9 will revert back to the default order). Export the list as an Excel spreadsheet or a CSV (comma-separated values) file to save, print, share, or use in other applications. You can also export the service item and rush type lists in each pay rate table.

Using pay rates

You can include default pay rates and options in your billing rate tables, then set up pay rate tables for all of your other pay rate situations — such as for resources who earn higher amounts for the same jobs. The pay rates in your billing rate tables will be automatically applied to invoices — unless you also designate a pay rate table for an invoice which will then supersede your default pay rate settings.

If a resource is always paid at the same pay rate for all the jobs they take, select that pay rate table in their individual entity listing. Setting the default pay rate for a resource will make it so that RB9 will generate that resource’s pay for every job using the same rate. The default pay rate can be overridden at the time of billing.

When finalizing invoices, you apply pay rates after you apply billing rates. If you have default pay rates included in your billing rates, you might not have to apply the separate pay rate tables if the pay rates in your billing rates are accurate for the job being billed.

When generating invoices for multiple parties on a single job, you can apply pay rates individually or in batches to the invoices.

If you apply the wrong pay rate on an invoice, you can correct the resource’s pay using the Override Resource Pay function if you haven’t paid the resource yet.

If you made a mistake setting up pay rate tables — or there is a change in pay rates — you can update rates and/or options in multiple pay rate tables at once in the Service Item Master.

TL;DR: Easily pay different resources different amounts for the same services by assigning them to different pay rate tables. Apply the appropriate pay rate tables to invoices. You can override specific pay rates in any invoice.

RB9 concepts in this lesson

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.

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

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.

Resource: Person or thing that provides your business with a service — such as reporters or a conference room.

Lesson #118

Setup – Billing Rates function

Billing rates are the amounts you charge for services. These rates are organized into tables — so you can charge different clients different amounts for the same service items by applying different billing rate tables instead of having to enter rates each time you bill someone. You might charge different billing rates for the same service items based on negotiations with clients, networking rates with other agencies, or rates requested by an insurance company. Your multiple billing rate tables can contain the prices for all of your service items — so you can easily apply the correct prices when invoicing specific firms by selecting the appropriate table.

Set up Billing Rate Groups first

Before you start creating billing rate tables, set up Billing Rate Groups in the Lists function. Billing Rate Groups are groups of similar tables, so when billing you can search through a subset of your billing rate tables instead of the whole long list of tables each time you invoice a client. Set up basic categories/groups — such as Standard, Preferred, and for specific cases. You can also designate which Billing Rate Group is your default group that will appear when setting up new billing rate tables, new firms, new contacts, etc.

After setting up groups, use the Billing Rates function to add your billing rate tables within the groups. You can set up as many billing rate tables as you need in each group.

Add as many billing rates as you need

You can set up billing rate tables in 2 ways:

• From scratch
• From an existing table — copying and updating an existing table is a quicker way to create a new table because the existing table’s rates and details are duplicated in the new table for you to update.

Another way to save time is to set default billing rates, pay rates, and options for service items in the Service Item Master, then change them for specific situations by creating different rate tables with custom rates for the service items.  Every billing rate table you create in RB9 will automatically inherit all service items set up in the Service Item Master — including all default rates and options for each item as well. So if you set up defaults in the Service Item Master then you only have to update them as needed in individual rate tables.

Give each billing rate table you create a clearly specific name so your billing staff can easily understand when it should be used. Some examples would be Standard Rates, Preferred Rates, Medical-Technical, and Rates for [a specific law firm]. You can further segment your market by state and/or city if you charge different rates by location.

Customize rates for each table’s service items

In each billing rate table you can customize the billing rate for each item. If there are service items that do not pertain to this billing rate, leave their billing rate at $0 and RB9 won’t bill for them when this billing rate table is used.

In addition to each service item’s billing rate you can also customize:

• The minimum invoice amount for the service item.
• The pay rate for resources, the minimum amount you pay resources for this item, and whether you pay your resources for the service item using a flat rate ($) scale or percentage (%). If you have service items that resources do not get paid on, leave them set at $0, and RB9 will not calculate pay for them. (You do not have to include pay rate information in your billing rate tables. You can use the Pay Rates function to set up separate pay rate tables which you can select when billing.)
•  If the billing amount and pay amount for this service item will have the Expedite/Rush amount added to it.
• Whether the item is court taxable and/or sales taxable.
• If you offer discounts on this particular service item. The percentage of discount that a client will receive on the service item is entered in their Firms setup.
• If you use the Reward Points System and the service item should be included in the revenue calculation to accumulate points.
• If you pay commissions on the service item to resources that bring in clients (Client Of) and/or account managers (Sales Reps).
• If you want the service item name and billing amount to appear on invoices. (If you set a firm to always print details on invoices in their Firm setup, then their invoices will be fully itemized, displaying all service items and billing amounts overriding whatever is specified here.)
• If you have the RB Connect plug-in, you can allow clients to request the service item when submitting an online job request and/or allow resources to select this service item during turn-in.
• If the service item needs your production department’s involvement, you can have it appear on Production Sheets which show them on a job-by-job basis who is ordering and what they’re ordering that needs to be produced.
• LEDES codes required by clients for e-billing.

In addition to customizing the billing rates you can also make adjustments to each Rush Type in the table if needed. All Rush Types are automatically inherited from the Rush Type Master. You can also include any relevant notes or comments in a rate table.

Manage billing rates

You can update any information in a billing rate table at any time except its Billing Rate Group. You can delete any billing rate table that hasn’t been used. If you can’t delete a table, you can de-activate it so it does not appear in lists. And you can update rates in multiple billing rate tables at once in the Service Item Master.

To find a billing rate table to copy, update, delete, or de-activate, you can search your entire set of billing rate tables or narrow your search to a specific Billing Rate Group, state, city, and/or billing rate table name. You can also choose to search all tables or only active tables. RB9 lists the results by Billing Rate Group and includes each table’s name, its state and/or city (if applicable), and its Active status.

You can sort your results in the grid by one or more columns in ascending or descending order (but when you exit the function, RB9 will revert back to the default order). Export your search results as an Excel spreadsheet or a CSV (comma-separated values) file to save, print, share, or use in other applications. You can also sort and export the service item and rush type lists in each billing rate table.

Attach billing rates to entities

After setting up Billing Rate Groups and billing rate tables, attach entities to the rate tables. You connect billing rates to firms, contacts, and parties to a case/job. You can do this when you set them up or at any time afterwards. Contacts inherit billing rate tables from their firms but you can select different tables for contacts from their firm’s. Parties will default to the billing rate tables in their contact profile. You can override the default when adding parties to cases/jobs or when turning in jobs.

Apply billing rates

When creating an invoice in Turn In, RB9 will select the billing rate table connected to the designated Bill To contact. You can select a different rate table for this invoice and you can override any charge on individual invoices.

TL;DR: Set up multiple billing rate tables so you can automatically charge different amounts to different clients for the same service items based on prices you negotiate with clients.

RB9 concepts in this lesson

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.

Bill To Contact: The contact responsible for paying the invoice for a job.

Client Of: Resource that receives a commission for jobs their clients scheduled or that are part of a case the resource was designated as the Client Of resource. You can also give reporters right of first refusal on their clients/cases’ jobs by displaying unassigned jobs from their clients/cases in Resource-side online calendars in RB Connect.

Contact: Person who works for a firm you do business with, such as attorneys.

Firm: Company 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.

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

RB Connect: Online repository, calendar, and access to your office for clients and resources. More >

Resource: Person or thing that provides your business with a service, such as reporters.