Chapter 2: Standard Reports

Transcription

1 Page 1 of 20 Chapter 2: Standard Reports Needles has many built-in reports, called standard reports, which provide useful case management information. Some of the reports organize the information from a single case; other reports are system-wide. Standard reports usually available for all firm members to use. After you have entered a significant amount of Needles data, experiment with the Needles reports to become familiar with the features. This chapter describes the standard reports, which include the Checklist, Case, Pending, Case Listing, Value, Text Search, Settlement Memo, History Reports, Labels, and Marketing reports and further explains how to complete the report criteria. 2.1 Checklist Reports Checklist Summary Report Checklist Status Report Modifying the Checklist Summary Generating Documents and Forms From the Checklist Summary 2.2 Case Reports Case Facts Report Case Notes Report Case Status Report 2.3 Case Listing Reports 2.4 Case Status Tab 2.5 History Reports Adjuster History Report Insurer History Report 2.6 Import/Export Reports 2.7 Mailing Labels Party Mailing Labels Provider Mailing Labels Case Intake Labels Party Birthday Report 2.8 Marketing Reports Intake Listing Report Tally of Case Intake Notes List of Case Intake Notes 2.9 Reports Pending 2.10 Settlement Memo 2.11 Text Search Report 2.12 Value Reports Value Code Report Value Summary Report Value Listing Report 2.13 Search For Document Report 2.1 Checklist Reports The Checklist Reports summarize the status of the case checklists. From the main menu, select Report > Checklist Reports.

2 Page 2 of Checklist Summary Report The Checklist Summary Report consolidates information from the case checklists, assembling information from all cases into one report. You can review your entire caseload from the report and make modifications, such as staff reassignments and changes in due dates, from one screen. The Checklist Summary report retrieves the checklist items that meet the criteria, and that are both due and open in the case checklists. Staff The report defaults to your staff code. However, you can oversee the assignments of other staff by running the report using their staff code(s). Search Type One of the criteria in the Checklist Summary report is the search type. The personal search retrieves only those checklist items that are assigned to the staff that you select. If you run a case search, you will retrieve any checklist items assigned to any staff in a case in which the selected staff appears in staff code position number one on the case tab. Staff position number one is reserved for the person with supervisory responsibility for the case. For example, with the case option selected, if the attorney is entered as the staff in position one, and the attorney is selected for the staff in the report criteria, the report will retrieve the attorney s tasks, plus the tasks assigned to the paralegal and legal secretary on the case. TIP: Needles Today displays all open checklist items that are currently due in all the cases that you are working on your personal to-do list. This is the same as running the Checklist Summary report and accepting the default criteria. Due Date Range By default, the due date is set from 00/00/0000 to today s date. The report retrieves all past due items, regardless of when the item came due. When a checklist item in a case is due, it remains on the Checklist Summary report until it is marked Done. TIP: You will generally leave the start date at the default, but it is sometimes helpful to move the to date forward. For example, you may wish to see the assignments that will be coming due next week in order to plan your workload. Checklist Codes By default Needles searches for all checklist codes. In certain circumstances, it is helpful to enter just one particular code. You may wish to check the status of just one task for all of your cases (for example, search for the code corresponding to "Defendant Served? before calling the process server). Sort by While you can select from several sort options before running the report, you can also change the sort once the report output is displayed by clicking on the header of a column by which you wish to sort the information. Status You can select the status of the checklist items (Open, Open/Done, N/A or Blank) that display in the Checklist Summary report. Case Type

3 Page 3 of 20 By default, all case types are included in the checklist summary. You can also limit the report to selected case types. You can re-size the columns to view more information by dragging the vertical column separators in the column heading. You may need to scroll horizontally to display all columns Checklist Status Report The Checklist Status Report summarizes the status of the case checklist for a particular case,showing which items have been completed and which remain open. It also shows the actual date an item was marked Done, and which staff member was signed into Needles to make the changes. The Checklist Status Report can be a helpful tool for monitoring your staff s proficiency with using the checklists. You can compare the due date with the date an item is actually marked done, revealing instances in which a staff member is backdating a significant amount of work. This could indicate an overburdened staff, or the need for additional training in checklist management Modifying the Checklist Summary The Checklist Summary Report is your most important tool for managing the checklists. You can check the status of all cases from one screen and make necessary changes to the case checklists, rather than opening each case folder individually.

4 Page 4 of 20 To modify the Checklist Summary: Select the Edit Checklist radio button. Description Edit the description or re-enter a new description for the item. Customize the description to be more specific. For example, once completed, "Request doctor s bill should be changed to "Requested bill from Dr. Smith. Assigned Select the staff assigned to the task from the list. Checklist items can be reassigned to another staff at any time. They will appear on the Checklist Summary Report of the staff to whom they are assigned. Due Date Enter a different due date in MMDDYYYY format. Status Select Open, Done, or N/A (not applicable) to note whether an item from the list has been completed. If a repeating item is marked done, the Repeating Item dialog box is displayed. Click on Yes to reset the date. The item remains open with a new due date. Click on No to mark the item Done. To save the modifications: Click on Save. Select Yes to save the Checklist Summary Generating Documents and Forms from the Checklist Summary Checklist items with an asterisk in the # column have documents or forms attached. The number in the column reflects the number of times the document has been requested. To select documents or forms: Click on the Select Documents radio button. Select a checklist item with an asterisk in the # column. Click on Save. Click on Yes to generate the document.

5 Page 5 of 20 When you generate a document from the checklist summary report, the case checklist is automatically updated. The item is marked Done, your staff code is inserted in the staff field, and the current date is reflected in the date field. 2.2 Case Reports The Case Reports provide a summary of case information. From the main menu, select Report > Case Reports Case Facts Report The Case Facts Report gives a complete printout of a case, including all case, party, police, counsel, negotiations, and insurance information. Consider printing a portion of the case facts report as a portable hard copy of the file when you need to go to court or meet outside of the office. Notes You can elect to print all notes, or select specific note topics to include with the report. Print User Defined Fields tab If you elect to print the user-defined fields, they will not display in the report output, but will be included in the printed report Case Notes Report The Case Notes report provides the case notes for a specific case or for all cases. The Case Notes report is a helpful tool for reviewing notes taken when you were out of the office. When you return from vacation, for example, you can run a Case Note report using the date range of your vacation.

6 Page 6 of Case Status Report The Case Status Report indicates the completed phases and the current phase of the case checklist, as well as the number of checklist items left to be completed. It also lists the open checklist items that require action. 2.3 Case Listing Reports The case listing reports are very helpful for compiling a list of your clients or cases using various parameters, including Open, Closed or Dormant cases, by Staff, Class Code, Party Role, Case Type, or ID Code.. From the main menu, select Report > Case Listing Reports.

7 Page 7 of 20 The Case Listing Reports lists the cases by the following sorting options. Case Number Party Name Case Opened Date Statute Date The Case Listing by Statute Date should be run on a monthly basis to determine cases in which the statute of limitations is close to expiring. The report indicates the date litigation was begun, as determined by case date number selected in the Filed Suit Date tab. Staff Assigned

8 Page 8 of 20 Case Type Class Code Alternate Case Number Case Date 1-9 The Case Listing by Case Date report creates a list of cases based on the date entered in one of the case date fields. For example, if you enter the filed suit date in the third date field in the case tab, you can run the Case Listing by Case Date 3 report to list the cases by filing date. All case listing reports will denote whether a party is deceased or is a minor as shown in the example below:

9 Page 9 of Case Status Tab The Case Status Tab report allows you to run a report which displays the information from a case's Case Status tab. The report can be filtered using various parameters, including Open, Closed or Dormant cases, by Staff, Class Code, Party Role, Case Type, or ID Code.. From the main menu, select Report > Case Status Tab. After selecting the appropriate criteria for your report, the report will open in the display window from which you can view or print it. The Case Status Tab also has a Define Sort button.

10 Page 10 of 20 Click on the Define Sort button to change the sort order for the report. 2.5 History Reports Drag the field you wish to sort by from the Source Data column on the left to the Columns area on the right. De-select the Ascending button if you wish to change the order from Ascending to Descending. Click OK. The report will now be displayed in the order in which you specified. The History Reports track settlements or recoveries based on the adjuster or the insurer, comparing the suggested settlement amount (your Minimum/Maximum amount) with the actual recovery amount. You must complete the Minimum/Maximum fields in the Insurance tab of the case folder in order to utilize the History reports. From the main menu, select Report > History Reports.

11 Page 11 of Adjuster History Report In addition to the anticipated versus actual recovery amounts, the Adjuster History Report indicates the number of cases with the adjuster which are settled and unsettled Insurer History Report The Insurer History Report indicates the number of cases with the insurer which are settled and unsettled, as well as the anticipated versus actual recovery amounts. If an insurer has more than one branch office, you may need to combine the results of several Insurer History reports. 2.6 Import/Export Reports The Import/Export reports allow you to print reports of cases and intakes that have been either imported to or exported from your Needles system. Based on your selection criteria, the report lists the case, party name, staff 1, case type, import or export date, referred by or referred to, and the current status. From the Needles menu, click on Reports > Import/Export Reports.

12 Page 12 of 20 Exported Cases and Intakes Imported Cases and Intakes 2.7 Mailing Labels Use the Mailing Labels report to generate labels for mailing information, including announcements, notices, greeting cards, and newsletters, to selected parties or providers. From the main menu, select Report > Mailing Labels.

13 Page 13 of Party Mailing Labels The Party Mailing labels report provides a means of contacting all or selected clients. Party Info You can limit the report to names beginning with a selected letter or range of letters. Choice of Our Client Yes and No Minors - The party label report has an option to include minors on the Mailing Lists tab if the All Parties option is selected. Date of Birth - enter a range of dates of birth You can create a monthly birthday card mailing by entering the day and month in the range, and leaving the year blank (0000). You can also create a mailing for senior citizen clients, for example, by using the birth date field Mailing Lists Choose All Parties or parties from selected mailing lists Include or exclude minors Case Info To further delimit the report, enter a ranges of Case Numbers Referred By Names Case Open Dates Dates of Incident Case Closed Dates Choose Open, Closed, or Dormant cases Choose All or Selected Party Roles Staff Case Types Class Codes ID Codes Address Information You can limit the mailing to a specific city, county, state, or country, or enter a range of zip codes for the mailing labels. Sorting Choose up to 3 sort fields

14 Page 14 of 20 Layout Select and preview several different label layout formats. Click OK to produce the Label Report Provider Mailing Labels The Provider Mailing Labels can be used to contact experts, vendors, or other groups of providers. Provider Name You can limit the report to names beginning with a selected letter or range of letters. Expert Witness The Expert field on the provider entry determines the Expert Witness classification. Provider Roles The provider roles are mandatory, and are used to index all providers in Needles. Provider Specialties The provider specialties are optional within the provider entries. Address Information You can limit the mailing to a specific city, county, state, or country, or enter a range of zip codes for the mailing labels.

15 Page 15 of Case Intake Labels The Case Intake Labels Mailing Labels report provides a means of contacting all or selected prospective clients from your intakes based on various criteria, including whether Pending or Rejected, Intakes Taken within a date range, Intakes by Referred By, in addition to the other criteria used with the mailing label reports Party Birthday Report The Birthday Report provides a listing of parties whose birthday falls within the selected dates. You can select the party role, demographics, case type, and other criteria for the report. You can run the report to determine clients of a particular age (e.g. clients over 65) or clients celebrating a birthday in a particular month. The Party Birthday report provides similar information to the Party Mailing Label report, but lays it out in a list rather than labels. Birth Date You can create a monthly birthday card mailing by entering the day and month in the range, and leaving the year blank (0000). You can also create a list of senior citizen clients, for example, by using the birth date field. 2.8 Marketing Reports The Marketing Reports organize the Case Intake information. From the main menu, select Report > Marketing Reports.

16 Page 16 of Intake Listing Report The Intake Listing Report provides details on the Case Intake Sheets that were created within a specified period of time. It can be filtered by the referral source, the staff taking the intake, the staff assigned, and rejected intakes. Intakes that are deleted from Needles are not reflected in the Intake Listing report Tally of Case Intake Notes The Tally of Case Intake Notes provides details on Case Intake Sheets that were made into a Needles case. The case intake note is created from the information entered in the Comments field of the Case Intake Sheet. The report tallies the number of notes created by date and case type. The marketing reports are sorted by case intake date and time List of Case Intake Notes The List of Case Intake Notes provides details on Case Intake Sheets that were made into a Needles case. The report lists the date and time of the intake note, as well as the case type, staff, role, client name, and case status.

17 Page 17 of Reports Pending 2.10 Settlement Memo The Pending report summarizes which reports have been requested, but not yet received from a provider. It searches the value tab of specified case folders to determine instances where a report is requested, but not received. To utilize this report, you must update the value tab (in addition to the case checklist) when a report is received. From the main menu, select Report > Pending Reports. The Settlement Memo provides a final accounting of a case, divided into three parts: Recovery, Deduct and Retain to Pay, and Total Amount Due Client. If the value tab of the case is accurate, Needles will create a Settlement Memo suitable for final disbursement of the settlement recovery. For additional information on generating both standard and customized settlement memos, see Section 6, Chapter 6: Generating A Settlement Memo. From the main menu, select Report > Settlement Memo. Parties You will generally select your client as the party, since the value items are attached to your client in the case folder. Provider Options The report option displays One entry for each provider or One entry for each value item. The Deduct and Retain to Pay portion of the Settlement Memorandum alphabetically sorts by the Value item memo field. TIP: The language at the bottom of the Settlement Memorandum authorizing the disbursement of funds can be customized in the Utility menu under Properties. See Section 1, Chapter 3: System Default and Peripheral Settings for additional instructions Text Search Report The Text Search report searches the Notes area for a specific word or phrase. From the main menu, select Report > Text Search Report. Search String Needles will search for a text string, which may include all or part of a word or phrase.

18 Page 18 of 20 Notes Area You can search for text in either the case notes or the value notes Value Reports The Value Reports provide case-specific information about financial items in a case. From the main menu, select Report > Value Reports Value Code Report The Value Code report lists and totals value items by categories. It provides helpful subtotals for monetary entries using the user-defined value codes. Parties When you enter value items in the case, the value items attach to the party that is actively displayed in the party tab. In most cases, you will be attaching the value items to the party that is your client. Therefore, you will generally select only your client when running the value code report Value Listing Report The Value Listing report lists and sorts value items by party and Provider or date of service.

19 Page 19 of Value Summary Report The Value Summary report lists the payment status of the value items in a case, subtotaled by category. The report subtotals all items that must be deducted from the client s recovery Search For Document Report All of the data from the document profile screens of attached documents on the Document Tab (excluding the File Path field), can be searched by using the Search for Document Report. See Section 2, Chapter 12: Document Profile Setup for instructions on how to add user-defined fields to your document profile screen. These fields are searchable using the Search For Document Report. Search by File Type, Document Category, or search for text strings in the Notes or user-defined fields you may have added to the Document Profile screen. The report lists each case or provider where documents attached to the Documents Tab contain the search criteria you have specified. The File Path is generated as a hyperlink that you can double-click to access the document directly from the report. Double-clicking on any field other than the File Path field, will open the case to that document's profile screen.

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