All time entry permissions used within the Legal Accounting integration are set in Legal Accounting. Permissions are applied to groups and users are then assigned to a group to complete the configuration.
Before you begin:
- Review how time entry permissions may affect your user groups. See Time Entry Permissions Overview (Legal Accounting Integration) to learn more.
To access Time Entry permissions:
- In Legal Accounting, go to Admin > Users > Security.
- Expand the Time Entry section.
- In the Groups list on the left, select the group whose permissions you want to adjust.
- Toggle Assign Permissions for Group so it's on.
- Review the permissions in the Own, Other Users Within This Group, Invoice Access Override, and Management of Other Groups sections. (Information about these different permissions is listed below.)
- When you're finished making changes, click Save.
Time Entry Permissions for 'Own' Group
Under Assign Permissions for Group > Own, the following permissions (when enabled) provide the following functionality for the user within the group. Permissions are cumulative. Each additional permission gives the user more control over time entries.
| Capability | View | + Create | + Edit Accounting & Edit Other |
+ Delete |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| View your time entries on the Timesheet and Matter Fees page | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open your time entries | Read only | Read only | ✓ | ✓ |
| Select yourself as the Fee Earner | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Create time entries | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Use Create time entry on the Timesheet | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Create time from the global Create menu and other areas | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Edit unbilled time entries | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Use the Edit option on the Timesheet and Matter Fees page | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Delete time entries | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Use the Delete option on the Timesheet, Matter Fees page, and Time Entry screen | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Change fee earner on time entry | — | — | — | ✓ |
Note: To change the fee earner assigned to a time entry, the user must also have the appropriate Delete permissions for their own entries and permissions for other users within the group.
The Hide Amount and Hide Rate permissions control whether users can see financial information associated with time entries.
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Hide Rate | Hides the Rate field on the Time Entry page, Timesheet, and Matter Fees page. |
| Hide Amount | Hides the Amount field on the Time Entry page, Timesheet, and Matter Fees page. |
A couple of additional rules apply:
- If Hide Rate and Hide Amount are disabled but the user does not have Create permission, the Rate and Amount fields are still hidden.
- If Rate or Amount is hidden and the user edits a time entry in a way that would change those values, Actionstep warns them that the change will affect the entry's rate or amount and asks them to confirm.
Time Entry Permissions for 'Other Users Within This Group'
The permissions under Assign Permissions for Group > Other Users Within This Group are cumulative. Each additional permission gives the user more control over time entries belonging to other Fee Earners.
| Permission: | ||||
| Capability | View | + Edit Accounting & Edit Other | + Create | + Delete |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| View other Fee Earners' time on the Timesheet | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Select another Fee Earner from the Timesheet | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Edit other Fee Earners' time entries | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Create time entries for other Fee Earners | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Change the Fee Earner on a time entry | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Delete other Fee Earners' time entries | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Use the Delete option on the Timesheet and Matter Fees page | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Use the Delete option on the Time Entry screen | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Change fee earner on time entry | — | — | — | ✓ |
Note: Even with Edit permission, users cannot change the Fee Earner assigned to a time entry unless they also have Delete permission.
The Hide Rate and Hide Amount permissions control whether users can see financial information associated with time entries.
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Hide Rate | Hides the Rate field on the Time Entry screen, Timesheet, and Matter Fees page. |
| Hide Amount | Hides the Amount field on the Time Entry screen, Timesheet, and Matter Fees page. |
A couple of additional rules apply:
- If Hide Rate and Hide Amount are disabled but the user does not have Create permission, the Rate and Amount fields are still hidden.
- If Rate or Amount is hidden and the user edits a time entry in a way that would change those values, Actionstep warns them that the change will affect the entry's Rate or Amount and asks them to confirm.
Access Permissions for 'Other Groups'
In the Management of Other Groups section, you can manage the following levels of access:
No Access:
- Restrict a group from seeing time entered by another group.
View Access:
- View time entered by another group, but do not have access to create, modify, or delete options.
Full Access:
- Access to view, edit, create, and delete time entered by another group.
Setting Invoice Access Overrides
Under Invoice Access Override (Preview), the following override settings have dependencies on permissions allowed in invoicing/statements and contact and case files:
-
Grant view ledger access for files user has Request Invoice Access; rate information access not granted:
- User will have access to view their own time.
- User will have view access to all other fee earners' time, but not the associated rates and amounts.
-
Grant access (add/view/ ledger/edit/delete) for files user has Approve Invoice access; Global access to all lawyer and rate information:
- User will have access to all time on the ledger.
For these settings to be applied, the following options must be enabled:
- Request Invoice (go to Admin > Users > Security > Invoicing/Statements > [select a group] > [toggle Assign Permissions for Group] > Contacts)
- View settings (go to Admin > Users > Security > Contacts and Case Files > [select a group] > [toggle Assign Permissions for Group] > Case Files )
Additional Resources:
Updated