Lesson #129
Setup – System Preferences function
MR9 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 MR9 system.
These global preference settings are used throughout your MR9 system by all users. Because of this, authorization to change System Preference settings should typically be limited to users in the Administrators group.
System preferences can be customized at any time. The only one you need to set before using MR9 is entering your company’s email settings in General > Email.
Options you can customize in System Preferences include:
- Company email address(es)
- Text of “Forgot Password” emails
- Which credit card to use for your MR9 subscription payments. You can also view your billing history and pay overdue invoices. (Credit cards used to pay custodial fees are stored in individual users’ personal preferences.)
- How many Named User Licenses access your MR9
- Login security — such as requiring strong passwords and 2FA verification — and whether users can sign in using their social media accounts
- How long MR9 saves messages sent internally
- How long a period of inactivity allowed before MR9 logs a user off automatically
- Company time zone default & daylight savings time option
- Content — including merge fields — and layout for federal, state, and local case documents
- Holidays observed
- New order starting number
- Order and part status colors
- Default updated part status for each completed tracking step
- Worksheet email contents, styling, and attachment option
- Envelope printing specs
- FedEx & UPS account information
- Repository publishing default & tracking options
- Invoices, statements, payment receipts, and related emails’ contents, plus other invoice and statement options
- LEDES 1998B options
- Reward points options
- Check printing setup
- Bank statement importing setup
- QuickBooks settings
- Outgoing email logging and purging options
- Default settings for new firms and contacts
System Preferences sections
With so many options to describe each section is broken out into a separate lesson:
System Preferences vs. Lists
MR9 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. Most other options are grouped by module under System Preferences. Some customization options have their own Setup functions, such as the Service Item Master and Form Types and Groups.
Personal preferences
Some system preferences can be overridden by personal preferences set by individual users. Preferences that only affect your individual MR9 setup are available under User Preferences.
TL;DR: Use MR9’s default options or customize these systemwide options to match your company.
MR9 concepts in this lesson
Administrator: MR9 user who has access to and control of all areas of MR9. You can have any number of administrators but each MR9 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 MR9 and what kinds of notifications and messages they receive), and setting global system preferences.
Users: You and your staff who directly access MR9.
