Practice CS Custom Formatter

Creating custom invoices and statements:

Under Help | Practice CS Help Topics | Index | Type in Custom Formats

 Creating

 Customizing

 Exporting

 Fields

1. Open the Custom Formats setup screen by choosing Setup / Custom Formats.

2. Right-click in the Custom Formats list and choose Add Invoice or Add Statement from the context

menu.

Note: You can build a new custom format from an existing format. To do this, right-click on any

custom format in the list and select Copy Format from the context menu. A new custom format is

added to the list with the name “Copy of <Name of the format you copied>.” You can change the

name of the new format by right-clicking it, selecting Edit from the context menu, and then

clicking the Format Wizard button in the toolbar.

3. Use the tabs or Next and Back buttons to navigate through the Format Wizard. When you are

finished making selections on all tabs, click Finish to exit the Format Wizard and proceed to the

menu. If the format was selected for any saved invoices or statements, you will not be able to delete it.

Main tab

In the Main tab of the Format Wizard, enter a description to identify the custom format you will create. The

description can be up to 50 characters.

Heading Information tab

In the Heading Information tab, select information to print in the header of the invoice or statement. The

information you select in this tab prints only at the top of the first page.

Firm information

In this section, mark checkboxes for firm information you want to add to the header. This data is drawn

In this section, mark checkboxes for client information you want to add to the header. This data is drawn

from corresponding fields on the Clients setup screen.

Invoice / Statement information

In this section, mark checkboxes for the information you want included in the header. For statements,

only the Divider Line and Statement Date checkboxes are available. Mark the Lead In Text checkbox to

add the text "For professional service rendered as follows" at the bottom of the header.

Billing Information tab (invoices only)

In the Billing Information tab, select how you would like billing information represented on client invoices.

You can group billing information according to certain criteria, and include specific field details from the

billed entries to provide additional detail on the invoices.

Entry detail fields

You can include specific fields on the invoice if you want to provide your clients with additional details.

Select a field in the Available pane on the left and click the button to move the field to the Selected pane

on the right. Field information will appear below grouped time and billing information on the invoice.

A/R Information tab

The A/R Information tab enables you to include different types of accounts receivable information in the

statement or invoice.

Checkboxes

 Mark the A/R Recap checkbox to provide a recap of the client's A/R activity. The following

information will be displayed:

 A/R balance

 Mark the A/R Ledger checkbox to include more detailed information about the activity related to

the accounts receivable balance.

 Mark the A/R Aging checkbox to add a five-period aging section to the invoice or statement.

 Mark the Dunning Messages checkbox to include the dunning messages from the Billing and

A/R tab of the Firm setup screen.

Include A/R Information through

This field allows you to select the cutoff date for accounts receivable information. Choices are Invoice

Date, Month End Date, Period End Date, and Last A/R Entry Date. This will be the cutoff date used for

A/R Recap, A/R Ledger, A/R Aging, and Dunning messages.

Pay Stub Information tab

In this section, mark the checkbox for each item you want to include on the pay stub. Client information is

drawn from the Clients setup screen, and will include the phone number designated as primary.

If you mark the A/R Terms checkbox, Practice CS will add the text from the A/R Terms field in the Billing

and A/R tab of the Firm setup screen.

In the Statement Format Wizard, the Invoice Number, Invoice Due Date and Reference Number

checkboxes are not available, and the Invoice Date checkbox is replaced by a Statement Date

checkbox.

Designer screen

When you have finished the initial steps of creating a custom invoice or statement format — using the

Format Wizard to select the data that appears on your custom statement or invoice — you can customize

File menu, where you can adjust page setup, printer settings, styles, and global settings for custom

formats.

Toolbars and menus

The designer screen's toolbars provide various commands for working with the layout and appearance of

your custom format. You can move these toolbars around by clicking and holding the left edge of a

toolbar and dragging it to a new location. If the destination is not part of an existing toolbar, the toolbar will

become a free-floating window.

In addition to the toolbars, the designer provides an additional Format menu, which appears only when

you are using the Custom Formats screen. This menu provides alternate means of access to most of the

commands from the Formatting and Layout toolbars, as well as a command for opening the Format

Wizard.

workspace. Click a button name below for information on that button.

Select

Textbox

Shape

Image

Formatting toolbar

The Formatting toolbar provides commands for customizing the look of text, lines, and shapes. Click a

Selecting images

Another function of the attributes pane is to select images for new image objects you add to the custom

format. After adding the box that will contain the image, click the button to open the Open dialog,