The “Quick Add Button Bar” Allows Users to Add Simple Messages, Tasks, Appointments, Quick Notes from ANY Screen
Data Entry is one of the many areas where SmartAdvocate is clearly head and shoulders above all other systems on the market.
We have become creatures of instant gratification. In today’s world, we all want information and we want it now! The legal profession is no different. The problem is that most of us hate to do data entry. On the one hand, we want that nice formatted report with all the information at our fingertips, but we do not want to spend more time than is absolutely necessary to make the required data entry so that information is available when we need it. To be fair, however, quite often, the reluctance expressed by some staffers in entering data (especially in larger firms where the volume of calls, documents, and correspondence can be overwhelming) results more from the use of poorly designed case management systems rather than a genuine lack of effort on the part of the user.Data Entry is one of the many areas where SmartAdvocate® is clearly head and shoulders above all other systems on the market. Take SmartAdvocate’s® “Quick Add Button Bar,” for example. This ingenious feature allows the user to enter the most simple messages, tasks, appointments, and quick notes from any screen, with just three or four mouse clicks! And that includes the actual text of the message!
Let’s look at telephone messages for a moment. Anecdotal evidence shows that most calls a firm receives regarding a file are from the actual client. In SmartAdvocate®, one click on the “Message” icon brings up a “Telephone Message” dialog box, with the “From” filed already populated with the client’s name; the “Phone Number” field is already populated with the client’s telephone number; the “Subject” and “Description” fields are already populated with the message “Call [client’s name] back at [client’s telephone number].” A second mouse click will save the message, send an email to the appropriate staff member assigned to this file, and put a “Task” on that staff member’s “To Do” list to call the client. If you were counting, don’t be scared, you didn’t miss any steps. And, yes, this procedure only takes TWO mouse clicks!
The creators of SmartAdvocate® designed the system so that access to these features will always be available, regardless of what “page” the user is on. That way, there is no need to close the file you are working on or to exit from the function on your screen to go to the “Message section,” for example, to take a telephone message. Unlike other systems, with SmartAdvocate® you may have an almost limitless number of screens open simultaneously. Because SmartAdvocate® is browser based, each screen is opened in a different tab (or window) and the user simply toggles back and forth among the open screens, even in the same file. Neat!
SmartAdvocate® is a well-designed, thoroughly thought out system that places a premium on efficiency and ease of use. After all, a Case Management System should work for you and make your life easier, not the other way around.
