Setup firm administration

Setting up firm preferences

In the Firm Preferences tab, your firm administrator or other staff member with security permission to make firm-wide setup decisions can select the firm’s preferences for approving and posting time and expense entries, billing, and receipt and adjustment entries. This tab also provides options for firm security and phone number format, and allows you to specify default dashboards and user preferences for new staff.
  1. From the Setup menu, choose Firm.
  2. In the Firm setup screen, click the Preferences tab.
  3. Under Approval/Posting process, mark the appropriate checkboxes if your firm uses an approval process for the following activities. Using an
    approval process
     means that someone in the firm with the authority to review invoices, time and expenses, and A/R entries must approve these entries before they are posted. Unposted entries are not included in firm totals.
    • Time and expense entry
    • Billing
    • Receipt & adjustment entry
  4. Under Security options, mark the
    Enable Firm Security
     checkbox to require passwords to open the firm database and require security privileges to access various areas of the application. If this checkbox is not marked, staff can log in without using a password and will have access to all parts of the application.
  5. Allow Users to Remember Logons
    : When this checkbox is marked, the login dialog has a checkbox that you can mark to remember your login information and bypass the login dialog. You can still access the login dialog, if necessary, by choosing File > Open Firm.
    note
    This checkbox is marked by default.
  6. Under Time and Expense Entry, mark the
    Require Projects on Time and Expense Entries
     field to make
    Project
     a required field during time and expense entry.
    note
    If a project does not exist or is completed, the project will not be required.
  7. Under Contact setup options, choose the appropriate format as a default for the entry of telephone numbers.
  8. Client setup options:
    • Automatically create portals in Digita NetClient for the Billing Contact of new Clients
      If your firm is licensed for the Client Management module and Digita NetFirm, you can mark this checkbox to have Practice CS create a new portal automatically for the billing contact associated with a new client when you add the new client in Digita Practice Advanced.
    • Automatically create Digita NetClient portals for the Billing Contact of new Prospects
      If your firm is licensed for the Client Management module and Digita NetFirm, you can mark this checkbox to have Digita Practice Advanced create a new portal automatically for the billing contact associated with a new prospect when you add the new prospect in Digita Practice Advanced.
    • Automatically create Digita Practice Advanced folders in Digita FileCabinet for new Clients
      If your firm is licensed for Digita FileCabinet, mark this checkbox and then select a path to your Digita FileCabinet data from the
      Data Location
       drop-down list. When this checkbox is marked, Digita Practice Advanced will automatically create a folder in Digita FileCabinet when you add a new client (Setup > Clients).
  9. Staff setup options:
    • Automatically create portals in Digita NetStaff for new Staff
      :
      If your firm is licensed for the Client Management module and Digita NetFirm, you can mark this checkbox to have Digita Practice Advanced create a new portal in Digita NetStaff automatically each time you add a new staff member in Digita Practice Advanced.
    • Default dashboard layouts for new Staff
      :
      You can assign default dashboard layouts to new staff members for each dashboard. Choosing a default layout can save time setting up new staff and ensure that staff have access to any dashboards that have been designed specifically for the firm.
    • Default User Preferences for new Staff:
      Choosing default user preferences can help speed up entering new staff in the application. If you want to specify default user preferences for new staff, click the More button to open the User Preferences dialog and select their preferences.
      note
      Staff with security privileges can later change their individual user preferences if they want. Staff can also revert to the firm-specified defaults any time by clicking the
      Reset to new Staff defaults for Firm
       link at the bottom of the User Preferences dialog (available from Setup > User Preferences).

This article applies to:

  • Product: Digita Practice Advanced