More features of 2021’s Q4 update

RB9’s fourth quarter update, RB 9.23, released October 12, 2021, is a major update with over 50 additions/changes, including a new function.

In addition to the new features highlighted earlier — like the ability to group results by column in List View and the new Weekly View function— the new features and improvements in RB9 and RB Connect include:

Calendar view improvements

In addition to the List View grouping capability and the new Weekly View, the 2021 Q4 update includes:

  • Jobs in List View and Monthly View’s individual day views can be sorted by the Task(Resource) column.
  • Monthly View’s top navigation bar is locked, and the rest of the calendar page can scroll so current month and navigation controls are always accessible.
  • Monthly View’s month & year are now bold and in a larger font size for better legibility.

Job scheduling improvements

In addition to easier Zoom meeting scheduling, Job Status improvements, and overdue account warning, the 2021 Q4 update includes:

  • When scheduling multiple job dates at once, day selections have also been changed to switch controls and the Type dropdown has been changed to option buttons.
  • You can now set task-due-in-#-days in individual firms’ RB9 listing, so when entering tasks in jobs, RB9 will calculate due dates by the ordering firm’s preferences first. If a firm doesn’t have task due date preferences in their profile, RB9 will apply BU-level task due days.

Task management improvements

You can:

  • Set or clear tasks’ Acknowledged Date without leaving the main Task window.
  • Assign resources to tasks on jobs that have already occurred in Quick Assignments.
  • Search Send Overdue Tasks Report by Task Due Date From/To.
Turn In improvements

During Turn In:

  • If you designated a rush type for an invoice that should not include a rush charge, you can now clear the selection in Set Rush Types.
  • You can provide explanations on invoices about specific service items by entering text in the “More detail on the invoice” field in the New Service/Edit Service panel. Information in this field will print on the invoice following the service item name.

Marketing Inquiry improvements

  • “Top N Calendar” option in the Type search category changed to “Top N Calendar by Ordering” for both firms and contacts; and a “Top N Calendar by Scheduled” option for contacts was added so you can search for your top clients by who is scheduling the most: typically secretaries and paralegals instead of attorneys, who are your ordering contacts.
  • You can filter Contact and Resource searches by Notification Type. Search results include the entities’ email addresses designated for the selected notification type(s).

Receivables improvements

  • In Receive Payments, you can look up invoices by job number in One Check One Invoice window and One Check Multiple Invoices > Apply Invoices panel.
  • In Aged A/R, you can search by Firm or Parent Firm; and choose to have all firms listed separately or combine all outstanding invoice amounts of firms under a parent firm together into one row.

Firms improvements

  • When you change a firm’s Late Charge Rate or Finance Charge Rate, RB9 automatically records the change in the firm’s Notes Log.
  • As noted above in Job scheduling improvements, you can set Task Due Days at the Firm-level for clients who have their own turnaround deadlines.

Tools improvements

In addition to the ability to import RB9 data into QuickBooks online edition, the 2021 Q4 update includes:

  • In Bulk Update, when changing the sales rep for firms, contacts, or jobs, you can search by the currently assigned sales reps in the Update To panel to find the relevant entities.
  • In Query Maker, you can use parentheses with multiple queries to prioritize queries when AND and OR operators are used. For example, to find law firms in TX or LA, you can query: (State is equal to TX OR State is equal to LA) AND FirmType is equal to Law Firm.

Setup improvements

In addition to the new features above that require setup/are customizable, the 2021 Q4 update includes:

  • In the Service Item Master, you can search for all service items or only active items.
  • In the Rush Type Master, you can search for all rush types or only active ones.
  • In System Preferences > General > Email, you can add Bcc email addresses to email profiles. If users choose to use their own email method instead of using the system settings, they can add Bcc emails to their email profile in their personal user preferences.
  • In System Preferences > Billing > Invoice > Email Settings, you can insert: Amount, Balance, and ClaimNo data fields into the Email Subject and Email Message.
  • PayInvoiceLink data field into the Email Message. This data field converts into a hyperlink in the email, which when clicked, automatically sends the user to RB Connect. After the user logs in, the related invoice screen appears for a convenient payment process.

New RB Connect features for clients

  • Clients can select either the current color scheme or a reverse/dark color scheme (Dark Mode) for their RB Connect viewing.
  • Checkboxes and Yes/No drop-downs have been changed to simple switch controls, so clients can easily select Yes or No with a click.
  • In Request New Job, day selections have also been changed to switch controls and the Type dropdown has been changed to option buttons for easier scheduling when requesting multiple job dates at once.
  • Confirmation emails to contacts scheduling multiple jobs show all related job numbers and dates.

New RB Connect features for resources

  • Resources can select either the current color scheme or a reverse/dark color scheme (Dark Mode) for their RB Connect viewing.
  • Checkboxes and Yes/No drop-downs have been changed to simple switch controls, so resources can easily select Yes or No with a click.
  • The Turn In screen’s title bar displays the entire turn-in process graphically with the current step highlighted to help resources better understand the progress.
  • When uploading exhibits, resources can select which exhibit stamp to use for automatically numbering PDF exhibits from a set of stamps that you designate in System > Exhibit Stamps if you allow resources to stamp exhibits.

For more details on the 2021 Q4 update, visit the updates page of our website.

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