This article covers information about the Legal Accounting / Practice Management integration. To learn more, contact your customer success manager or account executive.
The following tables cover the workflows that are common between Practice Management and Legal Accounting and provide details about how those workflows are managed when using Practice Management and Legal Accounting together.
Contact, Client, and Vendor Workflows
| Able to Perform in Practice Management | Data Flow | Able to Perform in Legal Accounting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create See Field Mapping, below |
✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Edit See Field Mapping, below |
✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Close contacts | ✅ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Legal Accounting billing / file defaults | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Legal Accounting tags | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Legal Accounting Contact Referred Info | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Vendor details (GL account and 1099 info) | Managed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Create/edit contacts for split billing | Managed in Practice Management via multiple clients on a matter | ➡️ | ❌ |
Matter Workflows
| Able to Perform in Practice Management | Data Flow | Able to Perform in Legal Accounting | |
|
Create a matter See Field Mapping, below |
✅ | ➡️ | ❌ |
|
Edit matter Syncs to Practice Management. See Field Mapping, below. |
✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Close matter | ✅ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Set responsible lawyer when creating matter | ✅ | ➡️ | ❌ |
| Set assigned lawyer when creating matter | ✅ | ➡️ | ❌ |
| Set lead lawyer when creating matter | ✅ | ➡️ | ❌ |
| Set matter introducing lawyer when creating matter | ✅ | ➡️ | ❌ |
| Change responsible lawyer on matter | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Change assigned lawyer on matter | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Change lead lawyer on matter | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Change matter introducing lawyer on matter | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Manage other matter participants | ✅ | Does not sync | ❌ |
| Manage multiple clients on matter | ✅ | ➡️ | ❌ |
| Set Area of Practice, Default Task, and Rate Group on Create Matter | ✅ | ➡️ | ❌ |
| Set Legal Accounting tags on Create Matter | ✅ | ➡️ | ❌ |
| Edit Area of Practice, Default Task, and Rate Group on existing matter | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Edit Legal Accounting tags on existing matters | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Split billing percent allocations | ❌ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Set electronic billing when creating a matter (LEDES) | ✅ | ➡️ | ❌ |
| Set contact to CC during billing and contact for billing address | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Change contact to CC during billing and contact for billing address | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Change electronic billing settings on a matter | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Matter billing arrangement | ❌ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Set matter billing settings when creating a matter | ✅ | ➡️ | ❌ |
| Change matter billing settings | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Matter workflow | ✅ | Does not sync | ❌ |
| Matter notes | ✅ | Does not sync | ❌ |
| Appointments | ✅ | Does not sync | ❌ |
| Tasks | ✅ | Does not sync | ❌ |
| Phone call management | ✅ | Does not sync | ❌ |
| Conflict search |
✅ (Search Practice Management) |
Does not sync |
✅ (Search Accounting Transactions) |
| Document management | ✅ | Does not sync | ❌ |
| Communications | ✅ | Does not sync | ❌ |
| Alerts | ✅ | Does not sync | ❌ |
| NetDocuments integration | ✅ | Does not sync | ❌ |
Time Entry Workflows
| Able to Perform in Practice Management | Data Flow | Able to Perform in Legal Accounting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record time | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Edit time | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
| Delete time | ✅ | ⬅️➡️ | ✅ |
Disbursement Workflows
| Able to Perform in Practice Management | Data Flow | Able to Perform in Legal Accounting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record disbursements | Managed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Edit disbursements | Managed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Delete disbursements | Managed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
General Accounting, Trust Accounting, and Billing Workflows
| Able to Perform in Practice Management | Data Flow | Able to Perform in Legal Accounting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts | Managed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Payments | Managed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Trust accounting | Managed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| General accounting | Managed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Accounts Payable | Managed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Bank reconciliation | Managed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Billing | Managed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
Reporting Workflows
| Able to Perform in Practice Management | Data Flow | Able to Perform in Legal Accounting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client reports (Ledger, Summary) | Accessed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| WIP reports | Accessed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Billing reports | Accessed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Client expense reports | Accessed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Bank journals | Accessed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Trust reports | Accessed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Receivables reports | Accessed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Payables reports | Accessed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Productivity reports | Accessed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Financial reports | Accessed in Legal Accounting | Does not sync | ✅ |
Other Workflows
| Able to Perform in Practice Management | Data Flow | Able to Perform in Legal Accounting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Users and permissions Must be maintained in both systems |
✅ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Timekeepers Must be maintained in both systems |
✅ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Rates Maintained in Legal Accounting |
❌ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Task and activity codes Maintained in Legal Accounting |
❌ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Matter types | ✅ | Does not sync | ❌ |
| Area of law | ❌ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Billing groups | ❌ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Case file groups | ❌ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Tax groups | ❌ | Does not sync | ✅ |
| Rate groups | ❌ | Does not sync | ✅ |
Field Mapping Between Practice Management and Legal Accounting
Contact Field Mappings
The following table shows how contact fields between Practice Management and Legal Accounting are mapped:
| Practice Management Field | Legal Accounting Field |
|---|---|
| Identity Type | Display As |
| Reference | Contact Number |
| Title | Title |
| First | First |
| Middle | Middle |
| Last | Last |
| Company Name | Company |
| Suffix | Suffix |
| Alias | Alias |
| Physical Address | Main Address |
| Mailing Address | Additional Address (Usage displayed as Billing) |
| Line 1 | Address Line 1 |
| Line 2 | Address Line 2 |
| City | City |
| County | --- |
| State/Province | State/Province |
| Zip/Post Code | Zip/Postal Code |
| Country | Country |
| Business (only the first business number in Practice Management) | Work |
| Mobile (only the first mobile number in Practice Management) | Mobile |
| Home (only the first home number in Actionstep) | Home |
| Other | Other (Additional communication methods) |
| Fax | Fax (Additional communication methods) |
| TXT/SMS | No mapping |
| Website | Additional Communication Methods |
| Additional phone numbers | --- |
Matter Field Mappings
The following table shows how matter fields are mapped between Practice Management and Legal Accounting:
| Practice Management Field | Legal Accounting Field |
|---|---|
| Matter Name | Description |
| File Reference | File Number |
| Assigned to | Assigned (These fields are mapped between Practice Management and Legal Accounting) |
| Responsible | Responsible (This Practice Management field sources the data from Legal Accounting) |
| Lead | Lead (This Practice Management field sources the data from Legal Accounting) |
| Introducing Lawyer | Introducing Lawyer (This Practice Management field sources the data from Legal Accounting) |
| Date | Open Date Note: Changes to the Open Date field will not be synced back to Practice Management. |
| Client | Contact |
| Multiple clients on a matter | Hidden Group Contact created in Legal Accounting with first Practice Management client set as the main contact in Legal Accounting. |
Additional Resources:
- About the Actionstep Legal Accounting and Practice Management Integration
- Working with Contacts in Practice Management and Legal Accounting
- Working with Matters in Practice Management and Legal Accounting
- Contact and Matter Field Mapping Between Practice Management and Legal Accounting
- Actionstep Legal Accounting FAQ
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