Tag Archives: email second round

Lesson #124

Setup – Tracking Steps function

If you want to monitor jobs as they move through your production workflow — including the location of physical media such as DVDs — RB9 has a tracking function. Set up tracking items to match your production workflow, then define the steps each item goes through in your process. Once you have your tracking steps set up in this function you can use Tracking to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Tracking is a stand-alone function in RB9 so you have complete freedom in whether you use it or how you use it. If you want to track the status of service items like transcripts, exhibits, and video, you must first customize the module to fit into your workflow.

Set up tracking parameters

There are 6 steps in setting up tracking. The first step is to create categories of service items that your office produces and wants to track — such as DVD, Editing, Exhibit, Scanning, Synching, and Transcript. Set up tracking item types in Lists.

After setting up item types to be tracked, the second task is to create steps that each item type goes through in the production workflow. Use the Tracking Steps function to define the steps each item goes through in your production workflow so you can track jobs as they move through the process. If an item passes through different departments or staffers as it is produced and completed, you can add alerts to specific steps to automatically notify people when the item is their responsibility.

The Tracking Steps window lists all of the tracking item types you have set up. When you select an item to add steps or modify a step, any previously set-up steps are displayed. You can:

• Add steps.
• Edit or delete any step.
• Change the order of steps to match your workflow.
• Export the list of steps to an Excel or CSV file to save, print, share, or use in other applications.

When adding a new tracking step, only the step name is required. We recommend giving each step a descriptive label so users can easily understand what each step means. You can also designate:

• Default turn-around time for the step.
• Whether the step is active (meaning it will appear in the Tracking function).
• Which staff member(s) RB9 should alert when a service item reaches the step.

For steps that involve handing work off to another person/department or that additional staff need to know a milestone has been achieved, set up alerts that RB9 will send to their RB9 inbox when the milestone is reached. You can notify multiple users about any step and add or delete users from the notification list for a step at any time.

Finish tracking setup

After setting up tracking steps, return to the Lists function to complete steps 3–6 of setting up your Tracking function by specifying codes for different areas in tracking:

• Archival Status codes describe the current archival status of original media, such as video tapes.
• Media Classification codes specify who has rights to view/handle the media.
• Media Format codes specify the types of media you produce, such as DVD or audio tape.
• Priority codes specify order of importance or urgency.

Once you have finished your tracking setup, you can start tracking jobs through your workflow in the Tracking function.

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

TL;DR: Define the steps each service item goes through in your production workflow so you can track jobs as they move through the process.

RB9 concepts in this lesson

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

Service items: Regular charges that you bill to your clients.

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.

Lesson #115

Setup – Service Item Subgroups function

Any billable services that you include on invoices must be set up as Service Items in RB9. You could have over 100 service items to cover all the types of billable services you provide. To make it easier to add billable services to invoices, they are broken down into 9 basic service groups: Original, Copy w/ Original, Copy, Additional Copy, Rush, Exhibit, Mileage, Attendance, and Misc. Charge.

However since you can still have potentially 100 or more miscellaneous charges to bill, RB9 breaks down service groups further into Service Item Subgroups. This way you can locate individual service items quickly when billing based on their subgroup instead of searching through a long uncategorized list of service items.

RB9 includes some default subgroups and you can add/edit/delete subgroups in the Misc. Charge group to better fit your company. Since the idea with subgroups is to make billing easier by limiting the amount of time it takes to find an individual service item, take some time upfront to consider what would be logical groupings of your billable services and make Service Item Subgroups for each of those categories.

An example of a Service Item Subgroup would be Exhibits. You have multiple items for exhibit billing: Color Copies, B&W Exhibits, Bates Stamping, etc., that could all be categorized as Exhibits.

You can update your subgroups at any time but you cannot delete any subgroups containing service items that you have already used on invoices.

Create your own subgroups

The default view in Service Item Subgroups is to list all subgroups but you can narrow the view to the Misc. Charge Service Group to make it easier to see if you need to add a subgroup or update one in this group by editing its name to better fit your needs. (You can view but you cannot edit or add subgroups to the other Service Groups.)

You can sort the list by one or more columns in ascending or descending order — but when you exit the function, RB9 will revert back to the default order. It might be helpful when setting up subgroups to export the list of existing subgroups to save, share with others, work with in other applications, or print out.

Creating new subgroups is easy. All you do is click New, give the subgroup a name, and save. Your new subgroup will automatically be added to the Misc. Charge Service Group for you to use in other functions. Some common subgroups are Production, Exhibits, Delivery, Video, and Video Conference.

After setting up a subgroup you can then enter its related service items using the Service Item Master.

Using subgroups

Service Item Subgroups come into play when adding a client’s requested services to either a job or case party, or when adding service items to an invoice during Turn In. You can also use them to narrow the results of reports — such as the Additional Resource Production Report or Misc. Sales report — and to see subtotal breakdowns in interactive reports — such as Client Analysis.

TL;DR: To make finding a particular service item quicker set up Service Item Subgroups, then arrange your company’s billable services into these subgroups.

RB9 concepts in this lesson

Job: Usually the reporting of a deposition but can also be any kind of service you provide with your reporters or other resources — such as realtime, videoconferencing, or read & sign. 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.

Service Groups: The most commonly used billable items for court reporters — such as Original or Copy. These main categories are preset by the system and cannot be modified by the user. The catch-all Misc. Charge Service Group is where you enter billable service items that are not a separate Service Group.

Service items: Regular charges that you bill to your clients.

Lesson #114

Setup – Chart of Accounts function

Although RB is not a general accounting system it uses account numbers to keep track of sales, cash receipts, accounts receivable, payables, and other transactions in a basic double-entry bookkeeping system. You can set up RB’s accounts to match your general ledger or accounting software.

For example if you use QuickBooks, you can use QuickBooks Integrator to import your RB data directly into your QuickBooks. But before you can import RB invoices and payments into QuickBooks, you must set up your RB business units’ accounts to match your QuickBooks setup.

If RB’s default set of accounts is not accurate to your in-house setup, you can add, edit, and delete accounts to match RB to your general ledger or accounting software.

Set up account types first

The first step in matching RB to your in-house setup would be to customize your account types in the Lists function. Basic accounting rules group all finance-related things into 5 fundamental types of accounts: Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Income, and Expenses. RB includes these and other account types — which you can edit/delete types and add your own. Entries here appear in the Account Type drop-down in individual accounts in the Chart of Accounts function.

Set up your Chart of Accounts

Each account in Chart of Accounts is tied to an Account Type and includes an account name and reference number (account number). RB uses these accounts for different financial activities in your company’s business units.

The default view in Chart of Accounts shows all accounts in the system in numerical order by account number. It also includes the account names, their account types, and whether the account is active or not. You can restrict the view to a single account type or multiple account types.

You can sort your results in the grid by one or more columns in ascending or descending order (but when you exit the function, RB will revert back to the default order). You can export your Chart of Accounts as an Excel spreadsheet or a CSV (comma-separated values) file to save, print, share, or use in other applications.

You can keep the default accounts set up by RB or customize the default Chart of Accounts by adding, editing, and deleting accounts. If an account is not used — but you don’t want to delete it — you can make it inactive so it will not appear as a choice in account lists elsewhere in RB.

Add accounts for processing credit cards

If you are going to process credit card fees in RB, you must set up two accounts in Chart of Accounts so RB will separate out those fees:

1. An Expense-type account for the fees
2. An Other Current Assets-type account for undeposited processing fee funds

Then you can assign those accounts to handle credit card fees in your business units.

Designate accounts to use

After you have set up your accounts, you designate which ones to use for different financial activities. Where you use accounts in RB:

• When setting up business units, you can leave the default accounts set up by RB or select which accounts handle which types of transactions for each of your company’s business units.
• When setting up billable services — called service items in RB — you select an account to associate with each service item.

TL;DR: Use RB’s default accounts as is, or customize the Chart of Accounts to match your in-house system or QuickBooks.

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.

Service items: Regular charges that you bill to your clients.

Lesson #113

Setup – Users and Groups function

You can run RB9 as a single user, but if you have other in-house personnel who need access to your RB9, set them up as users. Then give them user names and passwords to access RB9, and store work-related and personal information about them. Group them according to their access levels and job functions so they can perform their jobs and receive internal messages, but not access areas of RB9 you do not want them to use. 

Each RB9 user needs a license to gain access to the application. Although account sharing is allowed, our recommendation is for each user to have their own unique Named User License for security, data integrity, and auditing purposes.

Groups give users defined access

User account administration is a critical stage of your setup phase as it allows you to bolster your security posture by managing the access each of your users has within RB9. Users and Groups is the tool you use to manage RB9 users, individually and grouped according to permissions, rights, and notifications. There are 2 default groups in RB9:

1. Administrators – grants group members full access to all areas of RB9
2. Users – basic group every RB9 user is part of and grants them limited access to only essential areas of RB9.

The initial user of your RB9 system is designated as an administrator so they can enter other users and grant them permissions. They can add other users to the Administrators group, and anyone who is an administrator in RB9 can perform the same functions. There is no limit to how many administrators your system can have. We recommend maintaining at least two members in the Administrators Security Group to ensure that if one admin is locked out, the other can quickly restore their access.

Security Groups

This feature enables precise permission management, ensuring users have the exact access required for their roles. By limiting exposure to sensitive information, administrators can effectively maintain data integrity across the organization.

Security Groups can be created with well-defined permissions to limit group members’ access to specific functions. For example you could set up a Calendar group, in which you give access to all Calendar functions in RB9 and maybe some select functions in other modules, such as the repository and entities.

When setting up a new group the only required information is the Group Name. Other information you can add to a group is a group description, group members (RB9 users), and security permissions/function access.

There are 2 levels to security permissions:

1. Simple access — Users in the group can search and view information, i.e., a read only level.
2. Comprehensive access — Users can also edit and delete information.

Most functions offer comprehensive access only, but in some functions you can limit access to read only. Functions that offer both access levels are generally more critical areas — such as cases, jobs, and invoices — which you might want to allow some users to view but not change.

In addition to setting up Security Groups, administrators can:

• Add or delete users from each group (one user, several, or all users at once) — RB9 indicates which users are active making it easy to remove unnecessary group members.
• Change which functions are accessible in a group (except the Administrators group).
• Delete groups (except the Administrators and Users groups).

Users can be members of more than one group so you do not have to have a lot of groups to cover every option. If someone’s responsibilities overlap different areas — such as someone who oversees both calendaring and billing — administrators can give that person access to both areas through membership in multiple Security Groups.

While members of the Administrators group have all of the capabilities described by default, they can also grant members of other Security Groups the same capabilities if desired. Due to the sensitivity surrounding user account administration, access to the Users and Groups function should be limited to those belonging to the Administrators Group only.

Message Groups

In addition to Security Groups RB9 also has Message Groups, which allow you to send a message to all the members of a group simultaneously. Members of a Message Group can also send messages to the group. There are no required Message Groups nor are users required to be a member of any Message Group to use RB9.

Similarly to Security Groups the only requirement when setting up a Message Group is a group name. Administrators can also add a group name, and add or delete members. Administrators can edit or delete existing Message Groups.

With either group you can sort the list by one or more columns in ascending or descending order (but when you exit the function RB9 will revert back to the default order).

Adding users

When you open the Users and Groups function it lists all of the users who are already entered into your RB9 system — along with their user name, email address, whether they are an active user, and when they last logged into the system. You can sort the list by one or more columns in ascending or descending order (but when you exit the function RB9 will revert back to the default order). You can also export the list as an Excel spreadsheet or a CSV (comma-separated values) file to save, print, share, or use in other applications.

Administrators can add users to RB9 at any time. When entering a new user the only required information is their full name, RB9 login name, and password. When saving a new user RB9 will prompt you to tie them to your company’s business units (BUs). You can tie them to one or more of your company’s BUs.

Even though it is not required, we recommend you include the user’s email address in their listing as it is important for password reset emails, Notifications and Messages, and 2-step verification at log-in.

If you are using email addresses as user login names you will be required to enter the user’s email address instead of a login name. We recommend this option because everyone knows their email address so it is easier for them to remember than a unique user name for their RB9 user ID. The option to use email addresses for RB9 login is a general system preference.

General information

In addition to required information you can store users’ contact information— such as their work email address, and other work related information, including their work phone number, start date/termination date, title and department (which you choose from lists you customized in the Lists function), the user’s supervisor, and any information you want to include that is not covered elsewhere in the user’s listing.

In addition to storing info about the user this is also where administrators can:

• Reset the user’s password for them if they forgot their password and don’t want to change it themselves (administrators do not have a way to retrieve passwords).
• Let the user back into RB9 if they got locked out for making too many incorrect attempts to log in (using the wrong user name and/or password). Administrators set how many tries users get to log in correctly before being locked out in System Preferences.
• Deactivate the user if they no longer work for the company or otherwise don’t need to be assigned or contacted anymore. Deactivated users can no longer log into RB9 and their names will not appear in the system by default.
• Delete a user if they never did anything in the system. RB9 tracks and logs user interactions so if someone has added or updated information in RB9, they cannot be deleted from the system because their interactions are part of your audit trail.

Personal info

Personal information about a user includes their home address, date of birth, and personal phone numbers. When entering the user’s street address or P.O. box number, skip the other fields and enter the zip code. RB9 will fill in the city, state, and country for you. After entering the user’s address you can view maps and directions to it in RB9.

After saving a new user, 2 other panes appear in their listing: Groups and Business Units. Groups will have the default Users group listed and Business Units will list any BUs you tied to the user. You can add or delete groups and business units you want to associate with the user here.

Who gets RB9 access?

Clients or resources who need access to their information in your system are not the same as RB9 users who are your staff, managers, or other company personnel who need access on a more global level. If you want to give your clients and resources access to their calendars, financial info, files, and other relevant info, add RB Connect to your RB9 system where they can have their own online RB9 offices automatically populated with their information exclusively. Add RB Connect Mobile to give them similar access on their iPhones and other mobile devices.

TL;DR: Store work and personal information about company personnel. Give them access to specific functions in RB9 through Security Groups. Communicate internally with multiple users at once through Message Groups.

RB9 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.

Job: Usually the reporting of a deposition but can also be any kind of service you provide with your reporters or other resources — such as realtime, videoconferencing, or read & sign. More >

Named User License: Each RB9 user needs a license with their own user ID and password to gain access to the application.

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 >