Codes in Use Reports
/Here is a collection of 8 free Time Matters reports that list and total the Classification Codes currently in use in your Time Matters database. You may download and install these reports in your Time Matters database.
These reports are useful for several purposes:
Performing Year-End or periodic reviews of new Matter counts in various practice areas.
Performing Year-End or periodic reviews of the volume of new Clients.
Identifying Classification Codes that are seldom used and should be eliminated.
Contact us to obtain the Codes in Use Reports for your version of Time Matters:
Send us an email… or call us at 800.575.0007
Installing the Codes in Use Reports
These reports are distributed in a Feature Package that may be imported into Time Matters. To import the Feature Package:
Backup your Time Matters database: Main Menu | File | Backup Time Matters Data.
Download the correct Feature Package for your version of Time Matters.
Save it on your desktop or in a Downloads folder.
In Time Matters, go to: Main Menu | File | Utilities | Package Features.
Click Import.
Select the downloaded file, for example: CODE-REPORTS-TM11.TFX
Proceed through the wizard clicking Next, Next....
Caution: Please backup your Time Matters database before importing these reports. Try the reports promptly after importing them and check your database for proper functioning. Though care was taken in creating these reports, they are provided as is without any warranties.
Managing Classification Codes
Two actions are recommended for Classification Codes:
Clean up the existing lists of Classification Codes
Add any new Classification Codes that are needed
One of the first steps in overhauling a Time Matters database is to refine the list of Classification Codes for each of the record types in Time Matters:
Events (Calendar records), Contacts, Cases, Documents, Emails, Notes, ToDo's
Classification Codes are one of the keys to making Time Matters an efficient tool for your firm. They perform a number of important functions:
Codes control the special fields that are added to Matter Forms and Contact Forms for different types of cases and people.
Codes organize records so that similar ones can be viewed together on lists using Quick Tabs.
Codes can automate the creation of documents and records
It is important to pare down the number of Classification Codes in use so that the users are not overwhelmed when they need to select a Classification Code for a record.
It is also important to add Classification Codes that are important for each of the firms' main practice areas.
Consolidating and Deleting Existing Codes
Run the Codes in Use Report from each of these lists:
Contacts, Documents, Emails, Events, Matters, Notes, Phone Calls, ToDo’s,
Either print the reports or save them to PDF files.
The Codes in Use Report can only show Codes that are currently being used.
To Identify Codes Not Used At All
Compare the lists of Codes in Use with master list of all Classification Codes.
To create the master list of all Classification Codes:
Main Menu | File Reports | Features Setup | Classification Codes
List Format | Preview
Use the Printer or the Save button to print to paper or save to PDF
Look down the list of all Classification Codes for any that do not appear in your list of Codes in Use.
Each of the listed Classification Codes should be reviewed with an eye toward deleting those that are unnecessary. Codes that have fewer than 10 or so records may be candidates for elimination.
Inactive Codes
Recent versions of Time Matters have an excellent feature: Inactive Codes.
It is much easier to make a Classification Code inactive than it is to delete it. Deleting a Classification Code requires that all records using that code first have that code removed from each record’s Classification Code field.
To make a Classification Code inactive:
Go to: Main Menu | File | Setup | Codes | Classification Codes
Select the List
Double-click on the Classification Code
Check the box: Inactive
By making a Classification Code inactive you prevent it from being displayed in the drop-down list of Classification Codes for new and existing records. The code remains visible in any existing records to which it has been assigned.
Assigning New Codes
The Codes in Use reports have a column labeled New Code is available for writing in an existing or new Classification Code that can be used in place of a code that is to be eliminated.
You can clean up the codes in batches by using Time Matters Change Templates to reassign codes to records that have obsolete codes.
Some records have more than one code assigned to them. That is not a problem except for situations where one of the codes is to be eliminated. In those situations, a notation should be made showing the single good code that should be assigned to the records that have an obsolete code as one of their two codes.
