Welcome to Connection!
Cycom is growing. Our case management system development (CityLaw / CountyLaw) is moving along at an unprecedented pace and we want to keep you abreast of the new services and enhancements relevant to your organization. This newsletter is how we intend to do so.
If you’re not already aware, Cycom Data Systems was founded in 1984 and for over 30 years has been progressively developing its case management software to serve your needs and streamline the way you work. Most of our new features come from your suggestions. Let us know if you have some ideas you want to share with us. We love getting your feedback.
News
So far in 2018, six new government agencies have signed on to using CityLaw / CountyLaw Web to manage their case work (3 in Wisconsin, and 1 each in Tennessee, Virginia, and Utah).
This month we’re starting our new webinar series. Check further down in this newsletter for that schedule, and call, email, or click the link to sign up for those that interest you or anyone in your office. If there are specific topics you’d like to request, send an email to training@cycominc.com.
New Features
This section describes features that have been recently added to CityLaw / CountyLaw. Email upgrades@cycominc.com or call our toll free support number 888-CYCOM-88 (888-292-6688) to discuss your next upgrade.
Workflow Management
Ever wish you could automatically create a calendar event or send an email when a new matter is created? Now you can, and much more. Our new workflow management tool allows you to define workflow rules so that calendar events, emails, and time entries can be automatically generated on the matter based on specific triggering events. Those could be creation of a new matter or entering a filed date on a matter. You can also specify that this conditionally happens depending on the category of the matter.
Deleted document recovery
The system can now be configured to keep a matter’s deleted documents in a “pending” deletion state for a predefined number of days. If a user inadvertently deletes the wrong document, you as the system administrator have the ability to select that document from a list and restore it to the matter with a single click. All metadata is restored as well.
Update to the Word and Excel Add-in
The Word and Excel add-in now allows you to save a document or spreadsheet directly to a matter, even if that document hasn’t been generated from within CityLaw / CountyLaw. There is an icon on the toolbar similar to the one in Outlook for exporting email messages. This option is also available on the File menu within Word and Excel.
Update to the Time Widget
If you record time in the system CityLaw/CountyLaw and need some shortcuts to make that task easier, the Time Widget is for you. Store your most frequently used entries as Favorites and recall them with a single keystroke, or keep multiple windows open, and switch between tasks and have the Time Widget start your timer on that project and automatically pause the others. With a single button you can open multiple favorites at once in prep for the day’s activities.
Category and Cause code link
Best practices for CityLaw / CountyLaw recommend using Cause codes to identify specific classifications for your categories – as the cause of action against the city/county. Now the system allows you to define a tight relationship between category and cause codes. A category of TRAF – "Traffic", for example, could be set to only allow the user to select traffic-related cCause codes. This will help eliminate some potential data entry errors in setting up yourwhen creating new matters.
On the Horizon
This section describes some of the features the development team is currently working on. Keep an eye out for these to make it to the New features section of the newsletter, or check our enhancement list page for details.
Online Help Center Launch with Live Chat Support
We’ve implemented a searchable help center and knowledge base, accessible from within the help menu of CityLaw / CountyLaw. You will be asked to create a login account on your initial visit. There you can find all our “How To” documents and handouts. We’ll also be implementing a Live Chat window option from that location, so if you don’t find what you’re looking for, open a chat window and get connected to a support specialist.
Document Approval Workflow
Need to route a document through several staff members to ensure the proper approvals have taken place? You can do that electronically with our document approval workflow process. You can track who is responsible for the next approval in line, when it happens, see comments from them, and run a report showing all its progress (or lack thereof!). The system sends email messages automatically as the document progresses through the approval cycle (and records those messages to the respective matters).
Azure Cloud Services
CityLaw / CountyLaw is compatible with Microsoft’s cloud environment – Microsoft Azure. There are many options that Microsoft provides with Azure environments, and therefore different ways this can be used with our system. If your IT infrastructure is moving towards the cloud, contact us at upgrades@cycominc.com to discuss how we can assist with that migration. to discuss how we can assist with that migration.
Beyond the Horizon
This section gives you a glimpse into the visioneering that’s happening with your case management software. Where is the system headed in the next one to five years?
Project NG (Next Generation)
Development of the next edition of CityLaw / CountyLaw is underway! Scheduled for release by the end of 2019, CityLaw NG will be a platrform-independent HTML 5 version of the system. It will run on any smart device connected to your office network.
* Work in progress.
New Module: Debt Collections
Cycom is developing a new module, called Debt Collections. It will be used to track a citizen’s obligations to a client department or agency, referred to the legal department for enforcement. This module tracks fines, judgements, payments, and interest. Report progress back to the various agencies from the module’s print outs.
E-filing
Wouldn’t it be nice to click a button on your documents page in CityLaw / CountyLaw that says “E-File” and have a PDF copy of the highlighted document be e-filed with the associated court on the matter? We’re working to make that a reality. As you can imagine, every jurisdiction will have their own standards for how that connection is made, so this will become available on an ad hoc basis, as those jurisdictions make the necessary connection details available to us.
Document versioning
Robust document versioning will allow you to revert back to previous iterations of a document and maintain various draft versions during the authoring process.
Best Practices
Document Audit
Run your document audit report on a regularly scheduled basis to verify the integrity of your organization's file share.
Disaster Recovery
It is imperative that any organization have a disaster recovery plan in place. Data and file backups should be automatically executed on at least a daily basis.
Upcoming Webinars
Best Practices: Opening & Closing Matters
2:00 – 3:00 PM, May 1, 2018
Join us for a discussion of best practices for opening and closing Assignment and Litigation matters. Ensure that management reports are complete and meaningful by setting your required and restricted fields.
Templates 101
2:00 – 3:00 PM, May 8, 2018
Take your existing form letters and turn them into templates for use with CityLaw/CountyLaw. Include macros to automatically pull in case or matter data fields, eliminating the need to retype or copy and paste from the matter.
Advanced Document Management
2:00 – 3:00 PM, June 12, 2018
A discussion of all document functions, including creation of Microsoft Word documents from CityLaw/CountyLaw, importing documents, and Full Text Document Search. Organize your documents into custom folders. Color code documents / emails that you need to follow up on or find more easily. Did you know your templates can be set to have Word automatically save the template as a PDF and close Word after document creation?
Outlook Calendar Integration
2:00 – 3:00 PM, June 19, 2018
Geared specifically to system administrators, this is a discussion of calendar integration between CityLaw/CountyLaw and Microsoft Outlook. This can be configured as a bi-directional synchronization, or simply a push from Outlook to CityLaw. There are pros and cons to each. This session describes how the integration works and looks for general users, and how to maintain that for system administrators.
Calendaring 101
2:00 – 3:00 PM, July 10, 2018
An introduction to the functions and use of the CityLaw/CountyLaw calendar, and its reporting ramifications. This session describes most of the various views (monthly, weekly, daily, class), and their options.
Automating Calendar Entries with CalendarRules
2:00 – 3:00 PM, July 17, 2018
An introduction to automating the creation of calendar events using the CalendarRules integration. This will discuss associating jurisdictions with courts or judges in CityLaw / CountyLaw, and a look at the details available in the Auto Calendar view. It will also briefly touch on setting specific triggered events to be defaulted off (for those not part of your standard operations).