If you are using DayLite, I cannot imagine how adding FileMaker to your solution stack would enhance your workflow - especially for contact/conflict management. In fact, it seems to me that things would get really messy and potentially become a real problem. I would suggest picking either DayLite or FileMaker and trying to maximize whichever solution you choose.

quote:

Originally posted by J. Scott Anderson:
If you are using DayLite, I cannot imagine how adding FileMaker to your solution stack would enhance your workflow - especially for contact/conflict management.

I generally agree. For the moment, I'm sticking to Daylite, but FileMaker has some advantages in familarity and flexibility. The biggest advantage of Daylite for conflicts is that I'm more apt to add a party who was brought into a case at a later date, or ID attorneys or experts who were for/against me. I guess a question to ask: any reason I shouldn't use Daylite for conflict checks?

I for one see no reason. Why do double the work for something you can clearly do in DL?

I cannot imagine any reason not to use DayLite for conflict checks. If anything, the ability to link people, organizations and opportunities/project (cases/matters) to any other object of those types and then either build sophisticated Smart Groups and/or reports to expose those links and thus relationships and ultimately conflicts is a huge justification for using DayLite over trying to build something similar with FileMaker. -and I have been using and building solutions in FileMaker since version 2. Back "in the day" when you could tie FileMaker to FrameMaker to do some very sophisticated database publishing. ;-)

Now that we've decided that Daylite is the home of our conflict checking system, I'd like to build a report to document that I've done a check, what names I've searched, and such. Something to print for the file. Any thoughts?

(BTW, we seem to be the most active thread in the "Industry Specific Usage" section of this forum. Maybe the more we post, the more that Daylite will evolve to meet our desires? Just a thought....)

Before you can report on your conflict checking activities, I would think you would need to define how you will track them. For example, you could use Opportunities to track your cases. If you did, then you could create and link a project to the Opportunity for conflict checking.

Each person/organization you check for conflicts could be a task in that project. When you have exhausted your conflict checking, you would close out the project. I should be obvious and simple to run a report on the tasks in a given project.

Have no fear about Marketcircle listening to this market or any others. I know that they are constantly wanting to know what their customers want.

quote:

(BTW, we seem to be the most active thread in the "Industry Specific Usage" section of this forum. Maybe the more we post, the more that Daylite will evolve to meet our desires? Just a thought....)

I think that's probably a fair conclusion so I'll start with a couple of ideas...

I, for one, think that one area which could prove to be immensely useful is the integration and/or interoperability of MC's billing product with DL. Although it is theoretically possible to do at least rudimentary billing from within DL, it seems like meshing the two products could provide some extensive benefits to some of us.

In the same vein, I would also REALLY like to see some integration with QuickBooks. I know that QuickBooks isn't necessarily the law office accounting package of choice (or maybe it is, I don't know) but I've always felt that it's pretty clumsy to have everything I need to manage a project in DL EXCEPT for the financial end of things.

Another thing that has crossed my mind that I would like to see is some more advanced management for external files. While the current system works fine where you might have a few documents linked to a project (e.g. as in a dissolution) I think it would be a nightmare trying to manage a complicated case. Now, I realize that this is one area where there is a risk that this type of functionality could over-complicate DL, I do see a potential for MC to come up with a really elegant and powerful solution.

So, there are a few suggestions to get things rolling... What do you guys think?

quote:

Originally posted by George Qualley:
Another thing that has crossed my mind that I would like to see is some more advanced management for external files.

I haven't decided what to do about external files with Daylite. At the moment, I'm relying on OmniOutliner for much of the digital case file - notes, thoughts, summaries, research, and links to external documents. I use one OO files for all cases, then link to separate OO files as appropriate (e.g., I might spin off a separate file to motions on a particular case).

As to billing... nothing works as I want. I recall that the first version of DL has some links to Quickbooks, but more on the contacts info than anything else.

As to conflicts check... the most workable approach is a task with a memo to the file describing the search. Suppose that's good 'nough for now.

QuickBooks is the "big" accounting package. But I have to say that since they do not, at least, keep the features up with the Windows version, I prefer MYOB's Account Edge. While better integration with Billings is good and probably even in the works, I don't think, nor do I want, DayLite to become a billing package. However, I do know that many of the packages in the Windows environment focus on the billing end and case and contact management is another module, at best, and an afterthought, at worst.

The management of external files is a real beast. I spent many years in the document management industry (after my years in the CRM industry). The details that you can get into with document management are huge and many. The solution might be integration with another package. Or, depending on how robust the plug-in capabilities are with DayLite, someone creating and managing this kind of plug-in but leaving MarketCircle to focus on all the issues with CRM/Collaboration.

With that said, document management is a huge tool for many types of businesses. So I can certainly see the benefits of exploring it. One group that perhaps should be approached for a plug-in or a separate product that integrates with DayLite are the fine people over at Acordex Imaging Systems Acordex Imaging Systems. They have the talent, tools, and experience to pull off either a plug-in or a separate product to integrate with DayLite.

However, there are things coming with upgrades in the operating system, the programming frameworks, and the applications that use them, that could be a huge boon for DayLite and its users or make matters very confusing. Here is where we depend on the bright folks at DayLite to help and make sense of it and where they depend on us to spend money buying products that we say we want/need - no money, no programmers, no features.

I have been using the new Billings 2 with DL and it works great. Anyone else using it in their law office?

And Dave, can you share more on how you use Pipelines with DL?

quote:

Originally posted by Grant Griffiths:
I have been using the new Billings 2 with DL and it works great. Anyone else using it in their law office?

And Dave, can you share more on how you use Pipelines with DL?

Grant,

If you wouldn't mind, I would be very interested in your setup with DL and Billings. I've started to give Billings a trial run, but there are already some things that I don't like about it (e.g. clutters AddressBook, doesn't import projects from DL, doesn't integrate with QuickBooks that I can see). Right now, I'm on QuickBooks for accounting and as you may or may not know, it has BASIC timetracking built in. Of course, what Billings does is about 1000 times more robust. Perhaps it would be best if I posed a couple of questions to you (if you don't mind, of course).

1. Are you using Billings with another accounting package and if so how?

2. Are you using Billings in a single user environment? (I ask because I'm in a multi-user environment and it seems to me like this could be the real downfall for the program for my use).

3. One of the things that I like about DL and the level of time tracking that it does have is that I can see my notes AND the time that I spent on an activity all in one place. Is this something that you use and if so, how?

Also, don't hesitate to add anything else that might be particularly insightful!

Now that I've got the questions out of the way, I do want to express some of my concerns with Billings (I know this isn't necessarily the most appropriate place, but I think it might be a good discussion since the law business is a natural for this type of product).

First, like I said, I'm really disappointed that the product isn't multi-user. The way I see it, unless you're a solo practitioner, or your firm does strictly one lawyer per issue type of business, then Billings really isn't going to work. Maybe I'm missing something here, and if so, please inform me...

Second, I'm really turned off by entering the SAME data in multiple places. It doesn't matter if it's in DL, QuickBooks, Billings, AddressBook, or anything else, I just believe that this is one problem that computers SHOULD have solved by now but really haven't. Of course, I full well realize that my ideal is pretty Utopian, and I do realize that Billings has limited integration with DL, but I don't think it's very well done at this point and I do think it is at least SOMEWHAT fair to hope for that kind of interchange between products made by the same company (as an aside, I think this is one reason why I love Apple so much and especially OS X, everything talks to everything else [e.g. iMovie and iPhoto] which is exactly how it should be in my mind ). Don't get me wrong, I think that Billings is a very Mac-like and well-designed application when taken by itself, but it seems to me that it would be about 100 times more powerful if it was more like a plugin for Daylite. What say the rest of you?

Finally, like I said before, another significant problem that I see is efficiently getting data out of Billings. Essentially, Billings is kind of like a mini accounting program that only handles accounts receivable. (at least as I see it). While that's fine and good for some businesses (maybe even some law practices) I just don't see how I can split my accounting between this and QuickBooks. If I tried, I'm betting I would have a pretty unpleasant experience coming my way the next time the IOLTA auditors came by. However, it does seem to me that it MIGHT work if Billings could export transactions to a QIF (QuickBooks) file. That being said, I'm certainly not an expert in this field and I might just have a completely incorrect paradigm. If that's the case, I would LOVE it if someone could show me the light...

OK, so those are some of my issues. I really look forward to an education in this area if anyone can give me one...

Hello all,

I just thought I would let everyone know that I'm going to be writing a multi-part article dealing with Daylite and its use in a law office setting. Of course, I don't purport to be any sort of guru in this area, but I do think that I have some tips that others might find useful so I figured I might as well write them down. In any case, if you're interested, here is the link:

Law Office and Case Management on the Macintosh

As you can see, this is an ongoing article which will be added to over time, so there's not a whole lot there in this segment. However, I do appreciate any comments or suggestions that anyone might have.

Daylite 3 sounds pretty interesting for Law Office management.

I think kudos have to be given to them for being able to offer iCal support that doesn't blow the app up or traversing Sync Services that are spotty at best in Tiger.

If you guys can make these two technologies work somewhat consistently you're probably going to fall over yourself with glee when you get the update to the new stuff in 10.5. I don't have to tell you as you already have the Developer seeds most likely.

I certainly look forward to your thoughts on DL3 usage in your firm George. I so desperately want to get my mother off of PCs for her practice as I can tell that any future growth will just cost a bundle if I go down the Windows path.

DL really IS a great tool for almost any kind of management. MC has really done a great job and Im sure the future will only bring more improvements!

I have been using DL to run my office since v 1. It is a great product and Marketcircle is very responsive. I had suggested reverse calendaring to them and within a month or so, AJ and the gang had implemented it. If you have ideas to improve it for the law office that would also be useful in other fields, I have no doubt Marketcircle will listen to you.