Getting started with Matters

A matter holds all the work you do for a client on one case: activities, bills, documents, deadlines and more. This article shows how to create, edit and delete a matter.

Table of contents

• Create a matter
• Edit a matter
• Delete a matter

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Create a matter

Go to Matters and click Add Matter. You can also click Add Matter in the Matters tab of a contact.

1. Select the Client (required), or click + to create a new contact. When you select the client, Maatdesk runs a conflict check and shows any potential conflicts in the panel, with the maximum severity (for example, Low CONFLICT DETECTED) and the related matters. See Getting started with Conflict Checks.
2. Select “Hidden” Matter to hide the matter from users without permission.
3. Under Permissions, select the Groups and Users who can access the matter.
4. Enter the Matter Name (required). Maatdesk fills in the matter number and client name; you only type the name.
5. Select the Jurisdiction Type and Jurisdiction, if needed.
6. Enter a Description (required).
7. Select the Office (required), or click + to add one.
8. Select the Matter Type (required), Practice Area (required) and Subject.

1. The Office.
2. The Matter Type: Standard (default), Class Action or Group Action.
3. The Practice Area. If it has a custom form, its fields appear in the panel. See Managing Practice Areas.
4. The Subject of the practice area.
5. When the practice area has templates, check Create default document folders to create its folders in the matter, and Apply Suggested Deadlines to add its suggested deadlines.
6. Select the Responsible Attorney (required), the Originating Attorney and the Paralegals.
7. Check the Open Date (required, today by default). Closed Date and Pending Date are optional.
8. Select Matter is billable to set how the client is billed. It is unchecked by default.

Billing preferences

1. Select Matter is billable.
2. Select the billing type: Hour (default), Flat Fee, Contingency Fee or Monthly/Retainer Fee, and fill in its fields (see the table below).
3. With Hour, click Add custom rate + to set a special hourly rate for a user or group.
4. Click Add Request to request a retainer from the client. See Getting started with Requests.
5. Click Save.

Method	How it works
Hour	The client pays for the time worked. Click Add custom rate + to set custom rates and Add Request to request a retainer.
Flat Fee	The client pays a fixed amount. Select the Fee Recipient and enter the Amount (both required); Maatdesk creates a flat fee and its bill. Click Add Payment to record a payment.
Contingency Fee	The firm earns a share of the amount recovered. Select the Fee Recipient (required), then choose Rate (a percentage) or Amount. The rate accepts formats such as 33, 33.33, 1/3 or 33 1/3. The matter gets a Settlement Ledger tab.
Monthly/Retainer Fee	Select the Biller and enter the Initial Amount and the Monthly Amount (all required), then the First Monthly Payment date. The matter list and dashboard show this type as Retainer Fee. See Generating Bills for Monthly/Retainer Fee matters.

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Edit a matter

1. In Matters, click the edit button of the matter or select Edit in its actions menu. You can also click Edit Matter in the Matter dashboard.
2. Make your changes. You can also change the Status here. See Matter statuses Overview.
3. Click Save.

1. The edit button and the actions arrow.
2. Edit.
3. Delete.

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Delete a matter

1. In Matters, click the actions arrow of the matter.
2. Select Delete.
3. In Delete matter (Are you sure that you want to delete this matter?), click Yes.

Otherwise, the matter goes to the Recycle Bin, where you can restore it. See Managing Recycle Bin.

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Related articles

• Matters module Overview
• Structure of the Matter dashboard
• Getting started with Conflict Checks
• Managing Practice Areas
• Getting started with Requests