Misc Tab

The Misc tab contains firm-level settings that affect accounting periods, G/L posting, matter lists, locked periods, client and transaction folder creation, prebill proration, change logs, and archived bill images. Review these options carefully before changing them.

Use the Misc tab in Firm Options to configure accounting periods, G/L interface behavior, transaction and client folders, proration, change logs, and bill image archiving.

Click the Save icon to retain any changes made on this tab.

Accounting periods

Use How many accounting periods in your year? to select the number of accounting periods in the firm’s year.

Available options are:

These periods are used in Accounting Periods.

G/L profit centers by office code

Select Distribute to G/L Profit Centers based on Office Codes if the firm wants to distribute to G/L profit centers, such as accounting subaccounts, based on office codes.

This setting applies only to income and adjustment accounts.

If this option is selected:

G/L account numbers defined in Chart of Accounts maintenance must reflect profit centers.
Each profit center must have its own set of accounts, with each account having a 3-digit extension.
Profit centers must be defined in Profit Center maintenance.
Profit center codes must be assigned to offices.
Office codes must be assigned to client/matters.

When transactions are entered for matters, Juris obtains G/L income and adjustment account numbers based on the distribution method:

If the distribution method is...	G/L income/adjustment account numbers are obtained from...
Fee distribution by working, originating, or billing timekeeper	Timekeeper ID on time entries
Fee distribution by practice class	Practice class code assigned to the matter
Fee distribution by office	Office code assigned to the matter
Expense distribution by expense code	Expense code on expense entries
Expense distribution by office	Office code assigned to the matter

The G/L profit center number comes from the office assigned to the matter.

If this option is not selected, G/L account numbers, including base numbers and profit center numbers, are obtained directly from the applicable timekeeper, practice class, or office for fees, and from the expense code or office for expenses.

When distributing to G/L subaccounts based on office codes using segments, and expenses are on an accrual basis, the expense distribution method should be set to By Office.

G/L interface

Use Interface to G/L has been activated to determine whether the G/L interface has been activated.

After the G/L interface is activated, applicable transaction processing creates General Journal entries with automatic interfacing and posting.

Most firms do not activate the G/L interface until all beginning Time and Billing and General Ledger transactions have been entered and posted. For more information, see General Ledger Startup.

After the G/L interface is activated, it cannot be deactivated.

Closed matters and locked periods

Select Include closed Matters on master lists if closed matters should appear on master lists.

Select Do not allow transactions in locked periods if transactions should not be allowed in locked periods. This can help prevent unexpected changes.

Client folders

Select Create Client folders based on Client Nicknames if client folders should be created automatically when clients are added to Juris.

When this option is selected, Juris creates folders based on client nicknames.

For example, if clients are entered with the nicknames American Bank and Allied Finance, Juris first creates an A folder if one does not already exist. Then it creates AM and AL subfolders under the A folder. American Bank is placed in the AM folder, and Allied Finance is placed in the AL folder.

If the firm does not create client folders, all clients are added to the main Juris client folder.

Client and matter code changes

Select Allow modifications to Client and Matter codes if the firm wants users to be able to modify client and matter codes after they have been assigned.

Firms that use third-party interfaces may choose not to allow changes to client or matter codes, especially if the third-party interface does not allow client or matter code changes.

Fee and expense schedule mismatch notifications

Use Notify if Matter Expense/Fee schedule different from Client to control whether Juris displays a message when a matter’s fee or expense schedule does not match the client schedule.

These settings turn the messaging system on or off:

Checked: message is on.
Unchecked: message is off.

For more information about the message, see Create a Matter.

Transaction folders

Select Create Transaction Folders if transaction folders should be created automatically as new batches are added to Juris.

Transaction folders may include:

Journal Entries
Time Entries
Expense Entries
Cash Receipts
Manual Bills
Credit Memos

Automatically created transaction folders can be based on either:

User ID/Accounting Period
Accounting Period/User ID

The accounting period used for the folder is determined by the Current Accounting Period setting in Accounting Period maintenance.

For example, if the firm uses User ID/Accounting Period organization and new time batches are created during the January and February 2009 accounting periods by users AAA and BBB, Juris first creates folders for AAA and BBB if they do not already exist. Then it creates subfolders for 2009-1 and 2009-2 under AAA and BBB.

If the firm does not create transaction folders automatically, all batches are added to the applicable Juris transaction folder.

Proration options

Use Proration Options to determine how Juris handles changes to total fees or total expenses on a prebill.

These options control how changes to prebill totals are reflected in the individual time and expense detail entries.

Option	Result
Never	Proration is not allowed. Changes to fee and expense amounts on a prebill must be made on the detail fee or expense entries only.
Recalculate Rate	For time entries, Juris changes the amount and recalculates the rate so Hours x Rate = Fees Billed. For expense entries, Juris changes the units so Units x Multiplier = Expenses Billed.
Recalculate Hours	For time entries, Juris changes the amount and recalculates the hours so Hours x Rate = Fees Billed. For expense entries, Juris changes the units so Units x Multiplier = Expenses Billed.

Change logs

Use Change Logs to activate electronic change logs that track changes made to:

Timekeepers
Practice Classes
Clients
Matters
Addresses

Change Logs are intended for use by other software vendors who need to synchronize their software with Juris.

Unless the firm uses non-Juris software that relies on Change Logs, leave this option unchecked.

If Change Logs are activated, Juris creates starter logs. Periodic log updates are performed from the Tools menu of the Timekeeper table and the Client table. Each new log replaces the previous synchronization log.

Select the version based on whether the Matter Change Log output files require the fields for Require Task Codes on Time Entries and Require Activity Codes on Time Entries.

Version	Use when...
Version 1.0	Matter Change Logs should not contain the Require Task Codes/Activity Codes on Time fields.
Version 1.X	Matter Change Logs should contain the Require Task Codes/Activity Codes on Time fields.

The non-Juris software using the change logs should identify which Change Log version is required.

Archive bill images

Select Archive Bill Images if Juris should create PDF archives of bills that can be viewed from Client/Matter Inquiry.

A bill image is created when the final bill is posted. Printing is not required, but it is recommended.

If Archive Bill Images is used, bill images are placed in the JBills database. The JBills database is separate from the Juris database, but the images can still be accessed through Juris.

Include the JBills database in regular backups to help preserve archived bill images.

Search

Juris® Answer Center

In this article