Happy Holidays! By now we’ve finished our Halloween treats and Thanksgiving feast, and are heading for the home stretch amidst the end-of-year holidays. This is an excellent time to reach out to our clients; yet we hear from many how time consuming that can be.
Timeslips users have known for years that their time tracking and billing program can print client addresses on a variety of envelope and label sizes. But with the release of Timeslips 2012, users can also craft custom letters to send with those envelopes and labels. Here’s how:
Step 1: Categorize your clients into groups for your special communications
Many years ago I was talking with the representatives of a law firm about Timeslips’ custom client fields. The administrator said, “Don’t laugh, but we created a list-type field called “Greeting Cards”. The choices were “Christmas”, “Chanukah” and “Kwanzaa”. I didn’t laugh – it was a brilliant idea! When this firm was ready to send their greeting cards, they used that field to sort mailing labels into those three areas so each client would get a greeting that was relevant to them.
Step 2: Decide what size labels or envelopes you will use
Timeslips default label size is a sheet that contains 3 labels across and 10 rows down. If you use label sheets other than that, use the Label Designer to create a size that matches what you use. Ditto for envelopes – the default envelope size is Standard #10.
Step 3: Create your custom greeting or communication
Here’s where Version 2012 shows off! Use the new Mail Merge feature to keep in touch with your clients.
Click here for our detailed step-by-step “How To” on using the new Timeslips 2012 Mail Merge feature
Step 4: Now print your labels
- From the Reports menu, select Client; then Label
- On the Selection Filters tab, choose the filter for individual Client Selection, or the custom field you created in Step 1 to choose a group whose names and addresses you want to print
- You have the option under the Sort and Subtotal tab to choose the sort order for the labels
- Now print your labels – it’s that easy!
If you’d like to print individual envelopes, select Envelopes instead of Labels from under the Client tab under Reports. Follow the steps under Step 4 to generate them.
Be sure to contact us at 1-877-ELS-0555 if we can help you with this project, or to learn more about generating labels and envelopes using the other programs we support. Happy Holidays and Best Wishes from Eastern Legal Systems for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Dana Riel is President and Founder of Business Solutions, Inc., serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area since 1985. Her firm is the authorized training center for the region for Time Matters and PCLaw by PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC; Timeslips and Sage 50 Accounting by Sage Software; and QuickBooks by Intuit Corporation. She also serves as a consultant for Caret Legal (formerly known as Zola Suite), CosmoLex, Soluno & TimeSolv. As a trainer, Dana has provided training services to organizations such as the DOD Defense Logistics Agency, Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAG)/Department of the Navy, University of the District of Columbia School of Law, U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as with small‐ to mid‐size law firms in the Baltimore‐Washington D.C. area. In 2009, she participated in the series of day‐long seminars sponsored by the District of Columbia Bar Association Practice Management Section, titled “Basic Training: Learn About Running a Law Office”. Ms. Riel also served as an Adjunct Professor in Georgetown University’s Paralegal Studies Program, having taught the course, “Legal Ethics/Legal Technology” in 2009; and “Legal Technology” for the Spring and Summer Semesters of 2010. She presently serves on the Advisory Board for PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC.