2011 Practice Management Annual Conference
Top 6 PCLaw Tech Support Issues
Steven J. Best, Affinity Consulting Group, LLC
Lawrence Beharry, LexisNexis
September 23, 2011
Agenda – Top 6 PCLaw Issues
Introduction
1. Balancing GL to Bank Journals
2. A/R Mismatch - Client Ledgers vs. Billing Journal
3. Books Missing or “Looping” on Update
4. Unable To Open Document Within PCLaw
5. Bank Reconciliation Inconsistency
6. Changing The Lawyer That Is Synchronized With Outlook
Bonus Tips (Time Permitting): Outlook Best Practices, SQL Login Errors
Questions & Answers
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Introduction
Steven J. Best, ESQ.
•Founding Partner of Affinity Consulting Group,
LLC
•PCLaw Consultant since 1999
•Time Matters Consultant since 2006
Affinity Consulting Group
(770) 998-3800
sbest@affinityconsulting.com
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Introduction
Lawrence Beharry
•Staff Customer Systems Engineer
•13 Years at LexisNexis
LexisNexis
(866) 654-2381 ext.3141
lawrence.beharry@lexisnexis.com
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Balancing GL to Bank Journals
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Balancing GL to Bank Journals
Why doesn’t my cash
balance equal my
General Ledger? There
is something very
wrong. Fix it!
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Balancing GL to Bank Journals
PROBLEM 1: General Bank Journal doesn’t equal the balance in the General
Bank GL account
• Reasons this can happen include:
− Making Journal entries to Cash
− Removing entries in a prior, reconciled month
− Posting an expense recovery to General Bank GL
− Entering a write off to the General Bank GL
− Posting an allocated Accounts Payable or General Bank to GL
• Corrective Actions:
− Remove the offending transaction if the month is open
− Enter a “reversing” transaction in the current month
− Encourage users to READ warning windows
− GL Adjustment – but monitor
− Use the GL Reconciliation Report monthly
− Create a Journal Entry to correct as a last resort
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Balancing GL to Bank Journals
PROBLEM 2: Trust Bank Journal doesn’t equal the balance in the Trust Bank
GL account
• Reasons this can happen include:
− Making Journal entries to Trust Bank
− Removing entries in a prior, reconciled month
− Posting an expense recovery to Trust GL
− Entering a WRITE OFF to the Trust GL
− Allocating a General Check to the Trust GL
− Posting an allocated Accounts Payable or General Bank to Trust GL
• Corrective Actions:
− Remove the offending transaction if the month is open
− Enter a “reversing” transaction in the current month if the problem month is closed and cannot be
reopened
− Encourage users to READ warning windows
− GL Adjustment – but monitor closely
− Use the GL Reconciliation Report monthly
− Create a Journal entry to correct as a last resort
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A/R Mismatch - Client Ledgers vs.
Billing Journal
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A/R Mismatch - Client Ledgers vs. Billing Journal
PROBLEM: When a client compares the Client Ledger to
the Billing Fees Journal, they see a mismatch in A/R
balances
Two Common Reasons For This Include:
• it’s possible that Running multiple reports on screen while billing
interrupts posting of transactions to tables; resulting in partial transactions
(eg. Partial write down, partial invoice, bad receipt entry)
• If un-doing an invoice when the network may be experiencing instability or
other environmental issues (appropriate records don’t follow through to all
of the relevant data tables)
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A/R Mismatch - Client Ledgers vs. Billing Journal
Lawrence
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A/R Mismatch - Client Ledgers vs. Billing Journal
Corrective Actions – First Steps:
• Compare both reports to find out what entry is causing the imbalance - make sure
dates are the same
• Determine which report is correct
• Ensure the invoice tags show on the individual entries and that those invoices exist
in the Billing Fees Journal
• A receipt could also cause a mismatch between the two reports. If it’s a receipt
mismatch, we need to agree that the ledger is always right, so one record in
GBRcptA table for the corresponding invoice needs to be reduced
− In some cases, the Reallocate Payment fix can be run with the assistance of Level 2 Support
to also address these types of issues particularly if this exact problem exists for multiple
matters
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A/R Mismatch - Client Ledgers vs. Billing Journal
Corrective Actions – Partial Invoice:
• CTREE database
− Use the Undo Bill function and type in the Matter and the problem Invoice Number
− Pretend to create a new bill with that problem invoice number, then when you reach the
Billing Information screen, Click CANCEL
• SQL database
− The two methods that work in CTREE will only work when there is a status “2” record in both
ARInv and TranIDX. Address this first with the assistance of Level 2 support.
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Books Missing or “Looping” on
Update
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Books Missing or “Looping” on Update
PCLaw Books do not show at workstation or PCLaw
LOOPS at “a newer version has been detected” upon
updating.
• Problem 1: After installing PCLaw at a workstation, you
open up the program and only the experimental books
appear. What happened?
• Problem 2: After updating PCLaw at a workstation, you
get a message that continually tells you that a newer
version has been detected.
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Books Missing or “Looping” on Update
Corrective Actions:
•Most likely a network permissions issue
•Check with IT person re: restrictions on the folder where the
PCLaw DATA folder resides
•Check network policies re: user permissions to C:\Program
Files\
•Check PCLawData\PCLaw.CFG file for proper paths
•Looping usually occurs when SOME workstations don’t point to
the correct common folder
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Unable To Open Document
Within PCLaw
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Unable To Open Document Within PCLaw
PROBLEM: When a client attempts to open a document in PCLaw, a pop-up
window appears asking which application to use. Even if you choose an
application it still is not able to open the document.
• Common Causes and Corrections Actions:
1.
The physical file does not exist in the location that PCLaw
expects it to be.
Corrective Action: If the document doesn’t exist: Using
Windows Explorer, search for the document by name. When
found move the document to the appropriate location inside
the PCLawDocs folder\Active\[Client Named]\[Matter Named]
folder.
2.
The Client name folder has been renamed
Corrective Action: In PCLaw, go to Document Manager and
check the Document Properties. Ensure the path in the Source
Path matches the actual document path. If it doesn’t match
then you will need to run “Fix Doc Paths” to rename the Source
Path to match the actual physical doc path – NOTE: For a single
matter only. If it doesn’t work then you need to call L2
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Unable To Open Document Within PCLaw
Common Causes and Corrections Actions (con’t):
3. The bookpathdocs string registry value is incorrect on that computer.
Corrective Action:
• Go to a workstation that can open the documents successfully and take note of the
bookpathdocs value in that station’s Registry
• Or open the docpath.ini file located in Statdata and take note of the bookpathdocs value
• Then on the problematic workstation go to the Registry and modify the bookpathdocs
registry string value to match the correct path.
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Bank Reconciliation
Inconsistency
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Bank Reconciliation Inconsistency
“An Inconsistency Has Been Detected….”
• PROBLEM: When beginning a bank reconciliation, the
user receives a message that an ‘INCONSISTENCY HAS
BEEN DETECTED, WOULD YOU LIKE PCLAW TO FIX THE
PROBLEM?’
• Common Reasons This May Occur Are:
− The User changes a previously reconciled item despite the
warning NOT to do so
− The User deletes a previously reconciled item
− The User back-dates a new item into a reconciled period
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Bank Reconciliation Inconsistency
Corrective Actions:
• IF THE PROBLEM ITEMS ARE IN THE IMMEDIATE PRIOR BANK RECONCILIATION
− MAKE A BACKUP and then reopen the bank reconciliation for the prior period and re-reconcile that period,
clearing the inconsistent items and then coming forward to the current bank reconciliation
• IF THE PROBLEM ITEMS ARE OLDER THAN THE IMMEDIATE PRIOR BANK RECONCILIATION
− Go past the inconsistency errors into the bank reconciliation
− Analyze if there are transactions that were cleared in a prior period that have now become un-cleared – this
typically represents the inconsistency
− Encourage “SHIRLEY” to reconcile all of the items that she can and have her identify the problem items
− Most likely, these items will cause the CALCULATED bank journal balance to NOT MATCH the ACTUAL bank
journal balance. Most times the difference here is equal to the total of the problem items
− Note the ENTRY NUMBERS of the problem items by looking them up in the Bank Journal
− Call L2 support with your findings. They will likely recommend you go into the GBANKCOMMINF/
TBANKCOMMINF tables and change the BANKRECID field to “1” on each of the problem entries
− Re-Enter the Bank Reconciliation and the inconsistency message should be corrected
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Changing The Lawyer That Is
Synched With Outlook
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Changing The Lawyer That Is Synched With Outlook
PROBLEM: When a lawyer is using a workstation that was
previously occupied by a different lawyer, the Outlook
Connection needs to be reset for the new lawyer to synchronize
appointments and contacts correctly.
• How do I do this?
− Support Center link: Article ID 10209
http://support.lexisnexis.com/PCLaw10/record.asp?ArticleID=10209
− Remove all appointments and contacts in Outlook for the lawyer you are removing from the
synch
− Remove any PCLaw Task Entry in Outlook
− Close Outlook
− Remove the registry entries pertaining to the Outlook Integration:
• Outlook_SpecialTaskID, Outlook_SpecialTaskStoreID Outlook,_StationIdentification
− Disable all PCLaw Connection Settings related to the synchronization of appointments and
contacts
− Re-enable the connection settings
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Bonus Tips
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Bonus Tips
Outlook Connection Best Practices
Prior to setting up Outlook Connection:
•
•
First ensure that the support positioning requirements are fully met (Article ID 9201)
Example: The Outlook Connection is not supported on Terminal Services – PCLaw Core
functionality only
Ensure that Outlook is not already synchronizing with another third party application
ex. BlackBerry or Google Calendar
• If so then you must discontinue synchronizing with those applications otherwise
this can cause duplication of contacts and/or appointments
While Using the Outlook Connection:
•
Anti-virus programs can cause interference
•
After the initial synchronization when inputting any new contacts/appointments tasks
it is a good practice to only enter them through PCLaw and allow them to get them to
synchronized over to Outlook
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Bonus Tips
Troubleshooting SQL Login (Error 8)
Problem: When logging into PCLaw SQL/Enterprise, you receive the following error message
“Error: 8 while trying to access PCLaw database” and then PCLaw closes.
Reason for the Error: Essentially PCLaw is not able to communicate with the SQL server database
Possible Causes and Corrective Actions
1. Incorrect SQL server name in the Geninfo file after migrating the SQL database from one
server to another.
Corrective Action: Contact 2L for assistance to change Geninfo to reflect the new server
name: NOTE: To prevent this from occurring it is best to use the PLSQLMOV.exe file located in
the PCLaw program file directory. This will prompt you to enter all relevant info about the new
server and take care of all necessary changes.
2. The SQL server authentication is not set to “Mixed Mode”
Corrective Action: Use SQL Server Management studio to change the authentication method
to Mixed mode. NOTE: Once this change is made you will need to restart the SQL services.
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Bonus Tips
Troubleshooting SQL Login (Error 8)
Possible Causes and Corrective Actions
3. TCP/IP and/or named pipes are disabled as SQL server protocols. It is a requirement for
these protocols to be enabled for PCLaw to function.
Corrective Action: Enable these protocols using the SQL Server Configuration Manager
NOTE: Once this change is made you will need to restart the SQL services.
4. In SQL, the PCLAWUSER_#####(serial#) user account does not contain the correct
configuration i.e. the correct password or the correct permissions.
Corrective Action: Ensure that the password for PCLAWUSER_##### is the same as the
Admin password for PCLaw and that it has DBOwner and Public access to the
PCLawDB_##### database.
5. The client’s firewall on the server could be blocking SQL traffic.
Corrective Action: The default TCP port for SQL Server is 1433 and the default UDP port for
SQL Browser is 1434. Configure the firewall to allow network traffic that is related to SQL
Server and to the SQL Server Browser service.
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Questions & Answers
Steven J. Best
Affinity Consulting Group
(770) 998-3800
sbest@affinityconsulting.com
Lawrence Beharry
LexisNexis
(866) 654-2381 ext.3141
lawrence.beharry@lexisnexis.com
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