Tag Archives: MR9

Turning in parts & preparing invoices

A complex process made easier with guided turn-in and time-savers like prefiling order parties and services ordered

Lesson #20
Production – Turn In function

MR9 Turn In is a 2-part process. First, production staff compiles invoices for all parties ordering services on an order. Then billing staff fills in the financials and finalizes the invoices.

In Turn-in, you:

  • Enter information about records (parts), attending parties, firms to bill, and services ordered. You can have multiple parts on the same invoice.
  • Upload files, such as records, to the repository.
  • Grant clients access to records, related files (like records), and invoices online through MR Connect. You can control which contact can access which file. Send contacts email alerts that files are ready for download. MR9 records the emails sent in the Email Log in Tools, so you can refer back to them later.
  • Access the Shipping function to generate FedEx & UPS labels, then track shipments.
  • Add explanations about specific services that will appear on the related invoice.
  • Generate invoices with custom headers and messages you select from a list or create on the fly.
  • After your production staff produces all service items requested, finalize invoices by applying billing rates, pay rates, and rush charges. Then calculate and post invoices.

While turn-in is a complex process MR9 makes it easy with powerful search tools, guided turn-in, and other time-saving features.

Powerful search tools

There is no default search in Turn In. You choose your search criteria including:

  • Order number
  • Order part number
  • Part order date or date range
  • One or more part statuses
  • One or all tracking items
  • One or more tracking steps
  • One or more of your business units

Search results are color coded by part status and display their information that matches the search categories. To help you identify the correct part to turn in the results also show:

  • Part due date
  • If a part is a rush order
  • Patient name
  • Location of the records
  • Type of records
  • Ordering client

You can sort your results in the grid by one or more columns in ascending or descending order — but when you exit the function MR9 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.

Guided turn-in

After selecting a part in the results grid the turn-in process starts with the essentials, then reveals additional steps as you progress. This means:

  • Less errors. You won’t overlook important steps in turn-in due to information overload.
  • Quicker turn-in. Less second-guessing the process since you are lead through it automatically.
  • Easier training. Process is easy to understand and master.

Time-saving features

In addition to guiding you through the turn-in process MR9 Turn In includes other features to make it more convenient and faster.

The first step — adding records — includes these time-saving features:

  • You don’t have to be in Turn In to start turn-in. If you handle both order intake  and turn-in you can turn in a part from its part window in Orders functions.
  • You don’t have to know the order number to start turn-in. You can search Turn In by part order date(s), part status, tracking item/step, and/or the associated business unit(s).
  • Parts are color coded by status. When searching for parts, results are color coded so you can quickly see which parts in the list have already been turned in, billed, shipped, canceled, etc. You can export the list if desired as an Excel or CSV file to save, share, print, or use in other applications.
  • Order & part information accessible in screen. If you want to view or edit the related order or part information it is all accessible from the Turn In window. You do not have to go into separate functions to look up or update related info. Similarly Remarks are included in the Records grid so you do not have to go into a record to see notes about it.
  • Enter attorneys and services with one click. Instead of adding attorneys or services one at a time to invoices, add an entire group at once with MR9’s Prefill concept. Multiple ordering parties can be added from the order. When prefilling parties you can have the services they ordered previously included too. Additionally services can be added from clients’ standing orders, their requests as parties to the order, or a set menus of frequently billed together items (Billing Sets). When prefilling you can also choose to consolidate invoices for the parties so that each firm’s orders on a part will be billed on a single invoice.
  • Uniform list of services customizable to your unique business offerings. Clients’ online requests and in-house production and billing are all consistent because users choose items from lists instead of typing in information.
  • Customizable records list. If you have multiple records for a part you can enter the information in any order that’s convenient. Then you can easily shuffle the order of the list to change how it will appear on the invoice. You can export the list if desired as an Excel or CSV file to save, share, print, or use in other applications.
  • Other invoice options: You can create multiple invoice messages in addition to a default message to select from for different occasions such as a holiday greeting. You can edit the chosen message on individual invoices and write something from scratch too. You can also have additional information appear on invoices to third-party payers — such as insurance companies — that will appear along with the claim number, name of insured, and date of loss. The contents of both the invoice message and additional billing information can be as long as you want and you can style the texts’ appearance.

The next step — calculating invoices — speeds up your work process even more:

  • Set rates directly. Within an invoice you can select billing rates in a fly-out panel — instead of opening additional windows on top of the invoice that obscure the invoice’s details. And if you already defined billing rates for your clients in their accounts MR9 will select those for you.
  • Re-organize services list: Just like with the records list if you have multiple service items for a part you can enter them in any order, then shuffle their order to appear differently on the invoice. You can also provide explanations on invoices about specific service items if you think something requires more detail.
  • Locate invoices in a part easily. It is not uncommon to have multiple invoices for the same part (original and copy clients). Since each invoice listed also lists the services being billed, the background color for the invoice line is yellow while records and service line items have white backgrounds so it is easier to scroll to each invoice. (You can “collapse” an invoice to hide the services so the list is shorter.) Also the invoice line text color indicates invoice status: black for invoices in progress, green for posted invoices, and red for voided invoices to quickly differentiate them from each other. You can export the invoice list if desired as an Excel or CSV file to save, share, print, or use in other applications.
  • Send invoices immediately. When posting invoices from Turn In, MR9 will ask if you want to send the invoices to the clients now. If you do, MR9 will open the Send Invoices function with the posted invoices already selected so you only have to choose whether to email from within MR9 or print them out for regular mail. If emailing you can also attach other related files from your Repository.

TL;DR:  A 2-part process where your production staff compiles invoices for all parties ordering services on a part. Then after producing service items ordered, billing staff fills in the financials and finalizes the invoices.

MR9 concepts in this lesson

Billing Sets: Like a fast food combo meal, MR9 Billing Sets are preset groups of service items. Selecting billable services by set, instead of individually, speeds up the billing process. More >

Business Unit (BU): One of your company’s revenue centers or any entity in your business that you want to track separately.

Order: An order in MR9 is usually a request for all records related to a case or to serve a subpoena for an appearance at a legal proceeding. This is different from a work order which is called a part in MR9 as it is part of an order. You can have multiple parts/work orders for a single order/case.

Part: A part of an order is a separate work order/record that is being sought that is included in the entire body of records for a case or patient.

Prefill: Save time when invoicing by having MR9 enter parties to an order and entering services billed from set menus of frequently billed together items.

MR Connect: Online repository, orders, and access to your office for clients and others. More >

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Production

Production is where you turn in orders, fulfill client requests, prepare invoices, and ship products

Lesson #19
Producing records & more

In the Production module, you turn in order parts, archive records and other files, prepare files and invoices, and send out and track your products.

Production is where you:

  • Turn in parts: Enter information about records, attending parties, firms to bill, and services ordered.
  • Create invoices and apply billing rates and rush charges, then calculate and post invoices.
  • Fulfill client requests.
  • Ship out produced service items. Track UPS & FedEx shipments.
  • Upload records and related files to the repository.
  • Alert clients to files uploaded to their repository on MR Connect.
  • Restrict individual parties from accessing specific files in their online repository in MR Connect.
  • Generate production sheets to tell staff what service items are needed and how many units to produce.
  • Produce labels and envelopes with information from your MR9 database automatically merged in.
  • Archive and manage files in the central repository.

Production functions by name

TL;DR: Production is where you turn in orders, fulfill client requests, prepare invoices, and ship products.

MR9 concepts in this lesson

MR Connect: Online repository, orders, and access to your office for clients and others. More >

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What is MR9?

MR9 is an online application used by records retrieval businesses and process servers to manage their business and provide services to their clients

Lesson #1
MR9 overview

MR9 is an online application used by record retrieval businesses and process servers to:

  • Manage and communicate with clients, staff, and others
  • Produce products
  • Ship finished products to clients
  • Store case files and other documents
  • Bill clients
  • Pay custodians for providing records
  • Receive payments
  • Document activities in reports
  • Perform miscellaneous tasks, such as tracking orders, looking up information, and collecting on overdue invoices

MR9 includes over 100 functions to handle everything done in the different areas of records retrieval, production, billing, receivables, payables, client management, and other activities involved in running a legal support business. Functions are grouped by type and are interconnected: no re-keying information from one function to another.

MR9 comes with built-in defaults so you don’t have to start from scratch defining common items. These defaults incorporate business logic and best practices for legal support firms derived from our 40+ years of developing software for this industry. You can add to, delete from, or edit defaults, such as services offered, to customize MR9 to your unique business needs.

MR9 runs on any computer or tablet with internet access. Nothing to install. They require no other software or hardware. And they require no maintenance or backups.

MR9 is available by subscription only, month-to-month contracts, no long-term obligations, cancel anytime.

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What is MetaRecords 101?

Like the logo says, MetaRecords 101 is “All about MR9”

MetaRecords 101 is both a website and weekly emails that explain what MR9 software for managing court reporting and other legal support businesses is.

MR9 contains over 100 functions grouped into 13 modules of related functions. With such a large program, it takes a while to learn everything MR9 can do for your business. So MetaRecords 101 breaks down the program into manageable “lessons” that cover the capabilities of each function. It also defines MR9 concepts and terms that are unique to the program.

The site is titled “MR9 Primer” because it includes all of the lessons — like a textbook for an MR9 course. You can browse through the site to read MR9 lessons, or you can sign up for the convenience of receiving one lesson a week delivered to your inbox.

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