Firms are businesses that schedule or pay for services \u2014 such as law firms or insurance agencies.<\/strong> If a client has multiple locations\/branches, you can designate the company\u2019s headquarters as a parent firm for the other branches so they are connected in your MR9 database.<\/p>\n Maintain a deep database of these client companies in MR9 in the Firms function. If there is something you want to remember about a firm \u2014 whether it\u2019s contact info, their employees, financial history (including collections), or anything else \u2014 store it in their MR9 profile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You can enter firms from scratch in this function, import them from other applications, or add them on the fly within an order, part, or new contact<\/a> (someone who works at the firm). If you have an existing database of firms in another application, you can import the data into MR9 from an Excel<\/em> spreadsheet in the Bulk Import function<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before entering a firm into MR9 check to see if they are already there to avoid duplicate entries. MR9 does not prevent you from adding multiple instances of the same firm. If there are duplicate entries, you can merge them \u2014 however not all data will carry over from the firm that is being merged. The only information that will be saved from the merged entry is from their jobs and contacts, and the Tags, Collection Notes, Repository, and Notes Log panes.<\/p>\n To find firms in your MR9 database you can use the search criteria singly or in combination:<\/p>\n Each listing displayed in the results shows all of this info except any tags \u2014 and includes the firm\u2019s main street address, zip code, and any warnings about the firm. With so much information displayed in the results you might find exactly what you need without having to drill down further.<\/p>\n The grid in which you view firm listings is customizable to your individual preference:<\/p>\n You can save your custom grid as your default. Your customizations do not affect other users \u2014 and you can restore the original MR grid layout anytime.<\/p>\n From the Firms results grid you can view and update any listed firm\u2019s details by clicking its hyperlink in the grid, add new firms, and export the grid as an Excel<\/em> spreadsheet or a CSV(comma-separated values) file to save, print, share, or use in other applications.<\/p>\n Whether you are viewing an existing firm listing in your MR database or adding a new firm, the firm\u2019s detail window is broken up into a series of panes that contain related fields. The first pane, General,<\/strong> contains the firm\u2019s contact information, other basic information, and any warnings.<\/p>\n With 20 fields and options in the General information pane alone, it might seem overwhelming to enter firms into MR. However when entering a new firm, the only required information is the firm name.<\/strong> (If creating a new firm within a case, you will also be required to enter at least one contact for the firm.)<\/p>\n If you commonly refer to the firm by another name or an abbreviation, include that alias in the a\/k\/a (Also Known As) field. When looking up the firm, you can search by the alias instead of the firm name.\u00a0In search results, the alias will appear in parentheses after the firm name.<\/p>\n If you are entering the firm\u2019s street address or P.O. box number, skip the other fields and enter the zip code. MR9 will fill in the city, state, and country for you.<\/p>\n You can enter a second address for billing purposes\u00a0if the firm wants invoices and statements sent to a different address.<\/p>\n If you have entered firm addresses, you can view maps and directions to those addresses in MR9. You can also add your own directions to the firm\u2019s listing. Any instructions entered here will appear in the Directions field of a job if the job will be at the firm\u2019s office.<\/p>\n If you have information about a firm that users should know when scheduling or invoicing jobs, enter those notes in the Warning field. This information appears in red under Firm Warning in ordering clients and parties in jobs, cases, and in the Invoice panel in Turn In.<\/p>\n If a\u00a0firm is no longer scheduling jobs with you and you do not need to contact them anymore, you can deactivate their listing instead of deleting it so you retain all of your historical data about the firm but they will no longer appear in searches for active firms anymore. You can also deactivate all their contacts at the same time, if desired.<\/p>\n Store detailed billing information (including payment terms, fees\/charges\/rates, C.O.D status, and tax info), the client\u2019s preferences for invoices (list services or not) and statements (consolidated or not and sending method) in the Additional pane. You can set defaults for some of this information to save time when entering new firms. Then change the settings for individual firms as needed. (When you change a firm\u2019s Late Charge Rate or Finance Charge Rate, MR9 automatically records the change in the firm\u2019s Notes Log so you have a paper trail.)<\/p>\n You can also enter unlimited notes about the firm here for your calendaring and production\/billing departments. Style the text with different options \u2014 such as bold face, italic, text sizes, and colors \u2014 to enhance the readability of your notes. If this firm is a branch or subsidiary of another firm in your database, you can select that firm here as the parent firm\/headquarters.<\/p>\n Use the Marketing pane to specify what type of firm the entity is for marketing and billing purposes \u2014 including selecting default billing rates<\/a>. You can also designate which person is the sales representative on this client\u2019s jobs.<\/p>\n When setting up a new firm, you can assign one of your staff to be responsible for your collections efforts with the client \u2014 and designate the firm\u2019s credit status with your company, e.g., In Collection or COD (Cash on Delivery).<\/p>\n Once you save a firm in MR9 additional panes, fields, and functions become available. You can:<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to go into the Firms function to update a firm. Most MR9 functions that include a Firm field allow you to directly access that firm\u2019s listing which you can view and edit.<\/p>\n Also if you have multiple firms that you need to update the same information for \u2014 such as assigning a new sales rep or changing the billing rate \u2014 you can use Bulk Update<\/a> to change them all at once.<\/p>\n Additional panes in saved firm listings include:<\/p>\n If a firm has more than one email address you can designate which one(s) to use for:<\/p>\n If you use tags (keywords or phrases) to monitor and market to firms you add tags to firm listings \u2014 either by keying in tags or selecting them from the tag list you made in Lists<\/a>. Each firm can have an unlimited number of tags and you can delete tags from a firm when they no longer apply. (You can also use the Tag Manager<\/a> to add or remove tags quickly from multiple firms at once.)<\/p>\n Add your clients\u2019 standing orders to their firm profiles. Then you can use Prefill Services<\/a> on a case, job, or invoice to easily select all of the service items a client expects.<\/p>\n When listing which service items are included in a firm\u2019s standing orders, you can also include relevant details like how many units of an item they usually order, how many business days the order is due in (MR9 will calculate the due date for a specific job excluding weekends and holidays), the delivery method, their preference on rush deliveries, and any additional instructions for the service item.<\/p>\n (After saving a new firm its Collections pane expands to allow you to enter more information.)<\/p>\n If a client is in arrears you can record your collection efforts here \u2014 including when you made an effort, what type of effort (such as Call Made \u2014 you can create your own set of collection actions in Lists), and results or other notes about the effort. If you want to be reminded on a certain date to follow up on the progress of your efforts, you can set a date and time \u2014 plus the staff member to be reminded. (This information is used in Collection Follow-up<\/a>.)<\/p>\n If a client pays you an upfront deposit \u2014 i.e., a retainer \u2014 you can enter and track it in the Collections pane. You can view when retainers were entered in the system along with other details about the retainers \u2014 such as any notes made about a retainer and when retainers were applied to which invoices.<\/p>\n Keep files related to a firm in their MR9 listing. When viewing the firm\u2019s listing you can see information about uploaded files including their description in the Repository pane without having to click into each file\u2019s details. You can upload, download, or delete files here, and update file information \u2014 such as which groups can access the file (office staff only or office and contacts).<\/p>\n If you have MR Connect<\/a>, you can give contacts who work at the firm access to specific files in their repository. You can also view the download history of each file in the repository \u2014 including when it was downloaded and by which contact at the firm.<\/p>\n The system enters some notes about firms automatically in their individual Notes Logs and you can also enter notes yourself about a firm in their Notes Log for internal purposes. Some examples of automatic Notes Log entries are notes recording when a sales rep has been assigned, when statements are sent to the client, and if the client information was updated using the Bulk Update tool.<\/p>\n When you add a note to the Notes Log you can include what type of note it is, how you communicated with the firm, details about what occurred, and if needed designate who should follow up and set a date and time for a reminder to be sent to them via MR9\u2019s message system.<\/p>\n In these additional panes and the Collections pane, you can export the information as an Excel<\/em> spreadsheet or a CSV(comma-separated values) file to save, print, share, or use in other applications.<\/p>\n In a firm\u2019s Account Overview, highlights of their financial and job activity history, future projections, and trends are displayed visually. A table displays the firm\u2019s total receivables since they became your client and upcoming scheduled jobs. One line graph displays revenue generated, a second line graph displays\u00a0jobs scheduled\/canceled, and a third line graph displays jobs that have occurred.<\/p>\n The line graphs are interactive. Hovering over a point in a line on a graph displays that month\u2019s total $ amount or number. The line graphs default to the firm\u2019s trends over the last six months. You can also view the firm\u2019s trends over a year or 2 years.<\/p>\n From the firm\u2019s profile you can view the contacts who work for the firm (including inactive contacts if desired), update any contact\u2019s details, add new contacts, and add or delete notification email addresses for individual contacts at the firm.<\/p>\n TL;DR: Maintain a deep database of client companies in MR9 including contact, billing, and marketing information, collections history, files related to the firm, notes about the firm, and more. View interactive graphs of their financial and job activity trends.<\/strong><\/p>\n Business Unit (BU):<\/strong> One of your company\u2019s revenue centers or any entity in your business that you want to track separately \u2014 such as branch offices, other companies you own, affiliates, and profit-sharing operations.<\/p>\n Contact:<\/strong> Person who works for a firm you do business with \u2014 such as attorneys, paralegals, secretaries, legal assistants, claim adjusters, and court clerks.<\/p>\n Notes Logs:<\/strong> Un-editable internal-use only notes entered either by a user or automatically by MR9 appear in chronological logs in the database record where they occurred \u2014 such as a case, job, invoice, or entity. More ><\/a><\/p>\n Parent Firm:<\/strong>\u00a0Headquarters of a multi-branch corporation.<\/p>\n MR Connect:<\/strong> Online repository, order, and access to your office for clients and others. More ><\/a><\/p>\n Service items:\u00a0<\/strong>Regular charges that you bill to your clients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Add firms to your database<\/h2>\n
Search for firms<\/h2>\n
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Customize how you view firm listings<\/h2>\n
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Basic firm information<\/h2>\n
Other General information tips<\/h3>\n
Additional\u00a0information<\/h3>\n
Marketing<\/h3>\n
Collections<\/h3>\n
After initial setup, add more information<\/h2>\n
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Notification Email<\/h3>\n
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Tags<\/h3>\n
Preferred Services<\/h3>\n
Collections<\/h3>\n
Repository<\/h3>\n
Notes Log<\/h3>\n
Export firm data for other uses<\/h2>\n
View financial\/job trends<\/h2>\n
Manage firm\u2019s contacts<\/h2>\n
MR9 concepts in this lesson<\/h4>\n