Billing, Amicus Anywhere, Amicus Attorney Small. Technical support for RTG software. Billing Program Amicus Attorney Troubleshooting Furnace. Contacting Technical Support. With the Amicus Attorney–PCLaw Link. • Deletions of Amicus Attorney task-based billing Task Codes are not.

A two hour flight delay, circling while they plow the runway and a long delay for cabs as they struggled through poor road conditions to reach the airport – March in Toronto! While I like Toronto, March is not its best season. However, the poor travel conditions and cold weather didn’t deter the Gavel & Gown Conference held last week. The conference was two days filled with information about the Gavel & Gown products.

While learning more about the recently released Amicus Attorney 2011 Premium Edition and Amicus Attorney 2011 Small Firm Edition was interesting, I think the highlight was the announcement of Amicus Premium Billing. Amicus Premium Billing Amicus Premium Billing is a full function billing solution tightly integrated into Amicus Attorney 2011 Premium Edition. While it is not yet available, we hope to see it released soon. Cessna 150 Propeller Installation on this page.

When you open Amicus Attorney 2011 Premium Edition with Amicus Premium Billing you get a second set of screens that are devoted to billing. You can quickly switch from the billing aspects to the practice management aspects of the program. If you are on the list of files and you switch to the billing tab you will see a list of your files with billing information including WIP, AR and Trust balances. The information you need for the billing part of your practice is immediately available, without even needing to run reports.

Billing is flexible and fairly powerful. If you want to run reports the program is reducing the use of crystal reports and focusing on the easier to use SQL Reporting Services. For accounting, Amicus Premium Billing will link to QuickBooks.

Since QuickBooks is the dominant player in the United States, this makes sense and is what many accountants prefer. However, those in Canada will find that the program does not link to the Canadian version of QuickBooks. In addition the link only supports cash or modified cash basis accounting. Form most US based law firms, this is not an issue. For those not using QuickBooks or located outside the US, Amicus Premium Billing will provide reports that list the journal entries to be posted. At this time Amicus Premium Billing does not offer support for e-billing, but that will be added in the future.

The program is only available for Amicus Attorney 2011 Premium Edition. Gavel & Gown will continue to support Amicus Accounting for Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition users and for those looking for a single billing and accounting solution. A release date has not been set as it is still in the testing stage.

Date Commitments The lack of date commitments was another interesting “theme” of the conference. While somewhat frustrating, in many ways it is very welcome. I’ve grown weary of software companies promising something will release by a certain date and then either missing the date or getting something out in time to meet the committed date, but without achieving the quality that is important to the users. Ron Collins, founder and CEO, appears ready to make sure the quality is there before the products are released and is therefore not willing to commit to dates “just because”. Cedenza For those consultants who had not seen it previously we got a good look at Credenza. We also got to see some of the enhancements that will be coming soon. If you have not heard about it, Credenza is practice management software integrated into Outlook.

It is a SaaS (software as a service) solution that you pay for on a monthly basis. It can be purchased for an individual or a team.

You can see an overview video by going to www.credenzasoft.com. If you would like more information or a demonstration, please contact me. There’s lot going on in Toronto and at Gavel & Gown.

The conference content was well worth the travel and contending with the cold and I look forward to providing you with more information as announcements are made. Recently, Amicus Attorney Software released their 2010 program versions.

If you are running older versions of Amicus that are no longer supported (versions ’07 or earlier) or if you plan to purchase a new computer with Windows 7, it is a good idea to upgrade now. New enhancements to the calendar, files and contacts are designed to make you more productive. Calendar: The ability to color code appointments and To Do’s allows you to quickly spot the information you need. Don’t miss a deadline with “Progressive Priority”: As a deadline nears, the priority level of the To Do will automatically increase. Track adjournments more easily with the new appointment adjournment history Ensure client privacy by allowing access to appointment details while limiting access to the files.

With Premium edition, calendar printouts have been improved Files: Automatically generate action items when opening a file – generate standard documents, or require an automatic check for conflict of interest. Contacts: Communicate with clients more easily by using a single click to generate an addressed envelope or letter Create contact records more quickly by copying and pasting information from a business card. Teamwork: Maximize staff availability through the new sign in/out monitor within Amicus Attorney 2010. Each staff member can record when they left the office, their availability and when they expect to return to the office. Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition: Immediately locate your key contacts, files, notes and documents through bookmarks. Additional enhancements to Amicus Attorney 2010 Premium Edition include: Easily change firm group assignments Preferences allow staff to open more than one office at a time when logging into their own Amicus Office. Filter contacts by multiple groups Easily change the type of an individual file while maintaining custom fields Enhanced right click menu allows you to quickly perform frequently used functions Customized phone dial settings from communications preferences.

If you are thinking about upgrading, please call us for a quote and/or a demonstration. By Caren Schwartz (from Solo Professional) Computers are a tool that can help you save time and money. They can also help you waste time and money. What Are Your Needs? In order for your computer and software to save you both time and money, you need to do three things: • You must first determine what you want and need to accomplish so that you purchase the right computer and software. • You need to setup and learn to use your tools.

• You must use the applications consistently so that you have meaningful information. Read the full “” article.

When news broke in August that Abacus Data Systems bought Amicus Attorney, we anticipated change would be coming. Business acquisitions and mergers are common place, this isn’t anything new. But for many of OUR clients, this news has caused panic and concern, frustration, and has even forced firms to make major decisions in short and even uncomfortable time frames. Here is a summary of the changes as of now. Amicus Small Firm Edition • As of August 5, 2016, you can no longer purchase Amicus Small Firm Edition or Credenza.

• As of August 5, 2016, existing Small Firm Edition users can no longer add a new license to their existing system • Current firms using Amicus Small Firm Edition will be supported through the end of their maintenance agreements. - Whether you are on a 1 year plan or a 3 year plan, you will have access to technical support through the duration of your original agreement with the former Gavel & Gown. • Firms using Amicus Small Firm Edition without any maintenance or technical support agreements in place with the former Gavel & Gown Software cannot get support from the vendor.

• Firms can get support from Affinity. - Affinity is thrilled to help, of course – but this option is risky and should be a short term solution for firms.

The product has reached its end of life. No more sales, no more development, it has effectively died. It is time to make a decision about where to go from Small Firm Edition. Amicus Premium Edition / Amicus Premium Edition plus Billing Prior to the acquisition of Amicus by Abacus, support for Amicus Premium Edition 2013 ended (June 30, 2016). It should come as no surprise, then, that Abacus will not support Amicus 2013. They are running an aggressive campaign to get people to upgrade to the most current version, Amicus Premium 2016.

By aggressive, we mean free if you upgrade in the next 90 days. Affinity can’t exactly compete with free, but we are offering to upgrade our clients for a much reduced fee. To see if your firm is a fit for the upgrade. Amicus Premium Billing is no longer being sold to new firms. Existing Amicus Premium firms can add it to Amicus, existing Billing firms can add licenses and get support. Otherwise, no new sales.

We knew change was coming, and here is another big one. Amicus Premium Edition will no longer be sold under a “perpetual licensing model.” In the past, you paid $849 (or something close to that) and you OWNED the license. You could purchase maintenance, or not, but at the end of the day – you owned a license to the software that lived on your server. With the acquisition came a switch to subscription pricing. $77 per user per month, to be exact. So, even if you already BOUGHT the software in a prior year, you can consider that a sunk cost, as you will be switched over to the $77 per month per user model. When will it switch?

A few things can trigger itfirst, when your maintenance or tech support agreement comes up for renewal, you will be converted to subscription pricing. IF you need to add a new license (even if that is PRIOR to your renewal), you will trigger subscription pricing for all of your licenses. And, if you take them up on their FREE offer to upgrade you from a prior version to Amicus 2016, you will convert to subscription. Now, we have been told that any balance of your maintenance or technical support agreement will be prorated and credited towards your subscription – but we don’t have the official word on how that will calculated. In any event, if you are talking directly with Abacus (we still want to be your Trusted Advisor and advocate – so please let us help with these conversations), be sure to know when you paid your maintenance, when it expires, and pay attention that you are getting the credit you deserve. The Reaction It’s not hard to image how the change, the speed of the change, and the financial consequences have affected our clients and others using Amicus.

The subscription pricing will increase some firm’s costs by 2-300 percent. We don’t love how things have gone down, but we want to try to bring some calm to the situation. $77/ month / user is more than you have ever paid, but you are getting a seriously powerful program for that amount. Converting to another PMP program out of anger, frustration, or spite is an expensive endeavor, and will likely cost more than the Amicus subscription.

Subscription pricing is new to a lot of people, but it isn’t a new concept. It is likely the wave of the future for software, and frankly – does provide firms with the ability to better anticipate and budget software maintenance costs while using the most up to date software. Other Confusing Distractions In addition to emails and letters about end of life, old versions, support, and scary letters about compliance and security, many firms are also asking “What is Abacus Private Cloud?” Abacus Private Cloud is a completely hosted infrastructure – it is not a replacement for Amicus Attorney, it is a replacement for your servers. All of your programs would be migrated to the Abacus Private Cloud, and it is a completely different offering than Amicus Attorney.

It isn’t a bad product – or a bad decision to go hosted – we recommend it all the time! Deciding to move your firm to a hosted infrastructure is NOT a decision to be made quickly or lightly, and certainly not because you have a coupon for $1500 off.

One last thing. Amicus Cloud is now called Amicus Online.

Because, well, that was the only product left that didn’t have some news attached to it! Let's Get Started Today with a plan that's right for your practice. Let Us Teach You Take advantage of our blog resources, sign up for our law office technology white papers, take a course from Affinity University, Attend all of our Live Events. Hire Us To Do It For You Hire Affinity Consulting Group to make your law office run more efficiently than ever We can deliver the hardware, the software, and the training that is perfect to make your law office more efficient.

Work With Us We can give you expert guidance, helping you make smart choices for your law firm. We can help you analyze your current situation and make suggestions that will point you in the right direction.