Where the firm's work comes from

Record how a matter arrived

When you record a new matter, How the work arrived asks for the source: an existing client, a client's referral, another lawyer or accountant, a panel appointment, the website, and so on. Where the source names a person, Referred by appears: choose the person or organisation from the parties register, adding them first if they are new. Referral note keeps anything else worth knowing about the introduction.

A sub matter left without a source came the way its parent did.

To change it later, open the matter's Overview and choose Edit on Referral. Moving to a source that names nobody clears the referrer.

The firm's list of sources

Settings, Referral sources holds the list every matter chooses from. Each source has a short code for reports, the words a matter shows, and whether a matter from it names who sent the work.

• Add source to add one.
• Retire a source the firm no longer uses. Matters that already name it keep it.
• Delete is offered only for a source no matter names. A deleted source can be restored from Deleted records.

Every change is recorded in the audit trail.

Read where work comes from

Matters, Referrals lists the matters recorded in a period, one row per source, or per referrer when you set Group to By referrer. Each row shows how many matters came in, how many were opened, how many were declined and what they have billed, in each currency. The line above the table gives the whole period's figures, including the matters with no source recorded.

The period starts at the beginning of the year to today until you choose another under Recorded. Narrow it by practice area or responsible partner. Select a row to open the matter register narrowed to those matters.

You see only the matters you may read; a matter behind an ethical wall is never counted. The register itself can also be narrowed by How the work arrived and Referred by.