Tip #45 - How to Use the
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Having an idea of the projected settlements for a specified time period is of utmost importance in effectively managing your firm – be it the number of cases you expect to settle over that time period or the fees (revenue) you expect to generate. Among the numerous reports available in SmartAdvocate, the “Settlement Forecast Report” was designed to give you such information. Furthermore, because it is a report, you can have it sent to you on a schedule you select by simply subscribing to the report.
For the “Settlement Forecast Report” to be effective, however, there are certain pieces of information that must be entered in your cases; key among them are (1) Expected Resolution, (2) Minimum Settlement Value, and (3) Retainer fee agreement (retainer structure).
The “Expected Resolution” and “Minimum Settlement Value” are entered by editing the case from the Summary Screen. To do so, click the “Edit Case” button on the right side of the Summary Screen, then enter the data in the fields as appropriate.
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The Retainer Fee arrangement is entered on the “Retainer/Referral” page. The Retainer Fee structure is used to calculate the expected/projected firm fee.
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The “Settlement Forecast Report” is available by going to Reports > Financial Reports > Settlement Forecast Report.
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Case Value Page in SmartAdvocate
Did you know there is a special page in SmartAdvocate that will display all your case expenses, outstanding medical bills, liens and other provider expenses? The “Case Value” page will display all the foregoing information on one screen. Here is an example:
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The Case Value page will display the information generally included in your “Specials” calculations (see Tip-Of-The-Week for May 6, 2019) plus your Disbursements (Case Expenses). If you want a quick view of your totals that need to be covered such as for negotiation purposes, for example, the Case Value page will give you that information with just one click! Naturally, you can use the various filters you have at your disposal to show only the specific value category or categories and sub-categories you are interested in. So, if you just want to see the total of all liens, you can filter just for liens. If you want to see medical bills, you can filter for that, or just for Case Expenses, etc. As you filter by category, SmartAdvocate will display the totals for the category or categories selected.
Here is an example of the Case Values page from our sample case shown above with values for household help and loss wages only:
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Here is an example showing Liens and Medical Provider bills only:
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[Note: If the “Case Value” page is not displayed on your left menu it simply means that item was removed or renamed by your SmartAdvocate Administrator]