PCLaw Version 14.1 Update Details

PCLaw has released an update to version 14 and the changes are pretty useful. Remember, you’re only eligible for this update if you’re within a current LexisNexis maintenance agreement. Also remember that LexisNexis will stop supporting version 11 of PCLaw very shortly. Below is a breakdown of all the new functions found in the PCLaw 14.1 release notes.

Dashboards

In the My Business Dashboard, you can now select which bank accounts to display in the Bank Balances area. If you have established user security for bank accounts, it will be reflected in the Bank Balances area as well. In the My Clients Dashboard, you can now restrict users from seeing matter balances in the Account Details area, by checking the Hide Matter Balances check box in the Advanced Security Settings window for a user account.

Purge Entries

The Purge Entries option has been removed from the “G/L> End of Month” and “G/L > End of Year” menus. The feature remains accessible from the “Tools” menu to allow greater control over users who have access. To satisfy jurisdictional requirements regarding the retention of accounting data, the purge data feature has been set with a default of 10 years from the last PCLaw Month-End. You can specify a shorter period of time by entering a different number of years to retain data in the Purge Entries option.

Time and Fee Entries

The Time and Fee entry sheets have both been updated to include a “Client Name” column. If you are upgrading from PCLaw 14 or lower can add this new column by right-clicking in any of the column headings, in the Time/Fee Sheet, and selecting “Restore Columns”. Alternatively, you can right-click the column headings and select Customize, to manually add the Client Name column.

Billing

The Bill and Request Bill windows now include options to include, exclude, or write off ‘Never Bill’ time entries. Billing templates now include a new “Trust By Account” section that can display transactions, running balances and totals by account. The “Trust” tab in the Bill and Request Bill windows now includes a new “One Account Per Page In Trust Statement” option to be used in conjunction with the new “Trust By Account” section.

Report Enhancement

You can now run a “Contingency Files Only” Work-in-Progress report. Reports and templates have been updated to make it easier to meet trust accounting obligations in Australia and New Zealand. For more information see the New Zealand or Australian websites.