Submission Tutorial Help - Bottomline Technologies

Legal-X Help
Submission Tutorial
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of Bottomline Technologies (de), Inc. which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other trademarks, trade names or service marks
referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.
Table of Contents
Vendor Submission Tutorial ........................................................ 2
Step 1 - Setting up your Firm ....................................................... 2
Step 2 - Submission Queue ......................................................... 3
Step 3 - Review Statistics for Overall Submission .................... 4
Step 4 - Matching Your Submission to the Appropriate Case . 4
Step 5 - ABR Results Screen ....................................................... 4
Step 6 - Viewing the Invoice Analysis Summary Screen .......... 5
Step 7 - Viewing the Line Item Detail Screen ............................. 5
Step 8 - Editing a Line Item .......................................................... 5
Step 9 - Tracking Your Submission ............................................ 6
Step 10 - Manual Submissions .................................................... 6
Step 11 - Reviewing Prior Submissions ..................................... 6
Step 12 - Appealing Deductions (Request for
Reconsideration)........................................................................... 7
Step 13 - Entering/Editing Case Information ............................. 8
Step 14 - Creating a Budget/Revising a Budget ........................ 9
Help Desk Contact Information ................................................. 11
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Vendor Submission Tutorial
Please follow this step-by-step process to submit your bills through Bottomline Technologies' esubmission portal. Each section below contains an explanation of the specific steps to take during
that stage of the submission.
We recommend that the people at your firm who are primarily responsible for using Legal-X
attend a training session prior to using the application. Please contact us at
[email protected] to set up a time to attend the training class.
Step 1 - Setting up your Firm
When you log in with your user name and password, the system shows your home page.
Note: The first time you log in, you should enter your firm's timekeepers and their rates. After your
client has approved your firm and your rates, you may begin submitting invoices.
To input timekeepers:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Click on the Admin menu.
Click Edit Timekeepers.
Click [Add] and enter the requested information.
When you have entered all the information, click [Submit].
Note that an email address is required.
Please make sure to add all the timekeepers that appear in your firm's invoices. You may add,
delete or edit the timekeepers at any time by returning to this page and clicking on the appropriate
button. We recommend that you do not delete a timekeeper who has left the firm, as he/she may
still have outstanding time that needs to be billed.
To input rates:
1. Click on the Admin menu and select Edit Rates.
2. Select the appropriate program, then click [Add Rate] and select the timekeeper rank from
the pick lists.
3. Enter the start date for the rate and the specific rate to be applied. (If case categories are
applicable to drive a rate, select that from the pick list as well.) (Do not enter an end date
for the rate unless you want that rate to become ineffective as of that date, and you have
another active date set up).
4. Next, assign the rate to specific timekeepers. To select multiple timekeepers for whom the
rate will apply, hold down the [Ctrl] key on your keyboard and click on the appropriate
timekeepers from the list displayed. You may select as many timekeepers as you wish and
then click [Add].
5. When you have finished selecting all the timekeepers, click [Submit].
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You may add new rates at any time by returning to this screen and clicking [Add Rate]. You may
edit the rate until your client has approved the rate. Once the rate has been approved, you can edit
the rate only to add new timekeepers; the new rate created with the new timekeeper will have to be
approved before the new Timekeepers time will be allowed. The old rate will remain in effect until
the new rate gets approval. If the rate itself needs to be changed, you should enter a new rate, and
put an “end” date on the old rate.
Note: The Edit Rates page can displays rate statuses by color by selecting the “color highlights
feature” and clicking [Apply Filter]. The rates will now appear color-coded: active rates in green,
inactive rates in gray, rates that have not been approved in blue and disabled rates in yellow. You
can filter your display of the rates by Program, Active Date, Rate Status, Timekeeper or Case
Category.
Step 2 - Submission Queue
The Submission Queue lets your firm upload or submit files containing invoices generated by your
time & billing software. The submission site offers a choice of formats: LEDES1998B or LEDES
2000. You may also manually enter your invoices if your time & billing software does not support
these formats. Manual Submission is discussed below in Step 10.
1. Use your time & billing software to generate LEDES1998B or LEDES 2000 billing files.
Note the full name and location of the generated files.
2. Go to Legal-X Submission menu. If there are any invoices in the queue, they will be listed.
Legal-X allows you to maintain up to 250 active invoices in the queue.
3. From there you can upload invoices, using the “upload” button. This will take you to the
invoice locator screen.
4. Select the button for the desired format: LEDES1998B or LEDES2000. Please make sure
you select the correct file format so the system can recognize your billing entries.
5. Click the [Browse] button to list the files on your system and select the billing file generated
by your time & billing software, or type in the full billing file name.
The system lets you upload up to 3 files at one time (for a max of 250 invoices in the queue).
To upload additional files, complete your initial upload,
1. Click the [Upload Invoices] button again or if you made a mistake, click [Return to
Submission Queue].
If your file cannot be formatted for either LEDES1998B or LEDES2000, you may manually input an
invoice. To do so, proceed to Step 10 - Manual Submissions.
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Step 3 - Review Statistics for Overall Submission
When you have finished selecting the files to send, and have clicked [Upload Invoices], the
system shows the Statistics page. This page shows the name of the submitted file(s), the number
of invoices, the good line count, the bad line count, any ambiguous lines, the total billed and the
total parse time. (Note that “bad lines” must be put into corrected format in your LEDES file or they
will not be part of your submission).
Click [Continue] to proceed to the Submission Queue.
Step 4 - Matching Your Submission to the Appropriate Case
In the Submission Queue, the system matches your uploaded invoices with cases based on your
firm file number. If the suggested case is incorrect, click the ellipsis
(…) to select the correct
case from the list. The list contains all the cases that have been entered by your firm or carrier.
If the correct case is not in the list, click
(+) to add it. Select the appropriate Program and fill in
all the information to set up a new case. Required fields are indicated by a notation in red. When
you have input all the relevant information, click [Submit] to return to the Submission Queue.
Each of the invoices in the queue will have a status indicator in the right column: red stop sign,
yellow yield sign, or green checkmark. The red stop sign indicates that there is an error for that
invoice that MUST be corrected before it can be submitted. Errors include: no case name selected,
budget missing (for programs which require budgets), invoice has missing or conflicting dates, bad
line items, no line items, negative amount. The yellow yield sign signifies a warning that there are
errors that SHOULD be corrected, but do not prevent submission. These warnings include: case
selected is closed, invoice fails to meet minimum billing requirement, and invoice violates billing
frequency. The green checkmark indicates the invoice is ready for submission. To view the errors,
hover over each line item indicator.
Invoices are submitted from the Queue by checking the checkbox next to the invoices that are
ready and clicking [Submit]. The system then reviews the line items in each invoice against the
rules established by your client. The review process is an automated bill review ("ABR") that
determines if there were any billing compliance violations.
Step 5 - ABR Results Screen
After comparing your invoice line items via ABR, the application displays the applied deductions
that have been taken for each invoice. From this page, you can return to the Submission Queue,
get more details about the deductions, and/or get a tracking number for your submission. (“Getting
tracking number” is what finally submits the invoice).
To view/edit your invoice in its entirety, click on the “Return to Submission Queue” button, and click
on the blue invoice number of the invoice you wish to view. This will display all of the line items (not
just those with violations). It is from this screen that you can remove a line item.
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Step 6 - Viewing the Invoice Analysis Summary Screen
To see the specific details of the compliance review, select the case name by clicking the radio
button (circle), then click the [Details] button. The specific line items with applied deductions AND
deduction flags for that invoice are displayed with the task codes, the specific timekeepers, the
dates, the description, the number of units, the rates, the total amounts billed and the type of entry
(fee or expense). (It is advisable to look at the details even when it appears that there are no
applied deductions, as there may be recommended deductions (flags) on your invoice that you can
correct prior to submission.) The adjustment appears below the line item indicating the nature of the
violation and the adjusted amount.
Step 7 - Viewing the Line Item Detail Screen
To view the details for a specific violation, click on [Details]. The Line Item Detail page displays the
date of the line item, the description, the task code, the specific timekeeper, the number of units,
the rate, the total amount billed, a description of the rule violated, the status of the deduction, the
deduction amount and a description of the nature of the violation.
Step 8 - Editing a Line Item
Click [Edit] if you would like to edit this line item. The system opens the Item Edit page in a pop-up
window. You may change any of the displayed information. Please note, however, that any
changes made here will not appear in the invoice on your system, i.e., your original LEDES file.
Therefore, you may wish to click [Cancel], edit the bill on your system, and then resubmit. In the
alternative, you should note any changes made and input those changes into the original invoice on
your system.
After you have entered all of your changes, click [Save], and then [Back]. The system returns to the
Invoice Analysis Summary page where you can choose other line items to review and/or edit. Once
you have finished making changes, click [Back to Results] in order to return to the Results page. If
you have made changes, you need to go through the ABR review process again for the system to
review your edited line items. Click [Re-review] on the Results page.
The system reviews the invoices with your changes, then returns to the Invoice Analysis Summary
page so you may review any remaining violations. You can make further changes if necessary. If
you do not wish to finalize your submission, click [Return to Submission Queue] to return to the
Electronic Submission page, or navigate to another tab in the system. If there are no additional
changes, and you wish to submit the invoice as is, click [Get Tracking Number] to finalize your
submission.
Note: After you click [Get Tracking Number], there is no way to retrieve your invoice. Since it is a
web-based electronic submission, your carrier has received your invoice in their mailbox. Only click
this button if you are ready for the carrier to review your invoices.
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Step 9 - Tracking Your Submission
The Tracking Number page lets you view the tracking number issued for your submission, the
invoice number(s) for the invoice(s) submitted, the invoice count, the item count and the total
amount billed. If you have elected to receive your messages in your email folder, you will receive an
email containing your tracking number.
If you would like to attach any supporting documentation (e.g., expense receipts, work product, etc.)
to your invoice, click the specific invoice number link to get to the invoice status page. The place to
attach supporting documentation is the last item in the list of invoice details. Click [Browse] to locate
your document, double-click your document file, then click [Upload] in to attach the document to the
invoice.
Step 10 - Manual Submissions
If your file cannot be formatted for either LEDES 1998B or LEDES 2000, you may input an invoice
manually. To do so, click the [Enter Invoice] button in the Submission Queue. The system proceeds
to the Create Invoice Page. Please find (“…”) or create (“+”) a case. Then, enter your firms invoice
number, the date of the invoice and select the auto-calculate feature which will automatically
ascertain the start and end date of the invoice from the invoice entries. Then enter any applicable
sales tax for fees and expenses. If payment of this invoice is to be shared among entities, put your
client shared percentage here. If this is a "final" invoice for this case, you should indicate that here.
After you have entered all the invoice information, click the [Save] button. You will be brought to the
View Invoice Page, where you can add all the line items of the bill. Click [Add Item] to enter
individual line items one at a time until the invoice is complete; Click [Done] then proceed with step
4 above in the Submission Queue.
Step 11 - Reviewing Prior Submissions
Click Prior Submissions under the Submission menu. The system shows a list of your prior
submissions by tracking number, number of invoices, the submitting user, and the date of
submission.
Click on the tracking number link to show the Invoices for this submission with all the invoices
submitted as part of this tracking number, including the invoice number(s), invoice date(s), amount
billed, and the adjusted amount.
The Prior Submissions tab provides ease of use in tracking invoices that have been reviewed and
released by your carrier. This tab helps you locate released invoices with adjustments so you can
appeal the deductions. Please check with your carrier as to the time frame within which you can
appeal a deduction.
The Search tab provides an easy way to locate invoices or cases that have been entered. You can
search for invoices by Program, Case Name, Invoice Number, Invoice Date or Release Date. You
can search for cases by Program, Case Status (open or closed), Case Name, Claim Number, File
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Number, Claim Office or Claim Professional.
Step 12 - Appealing Deductions (Request for Reconsideration)
The appeals process is the process by which firms may request reconsideration of the adjustments
taken on invoices processed through Legal-X. Once the company has released an invoice, the law
firm may appeal. Appeals are submitted in the same manner as an invoice, and are received by the
company in the Mailroom.
There are several ways to locate an invoice that has been released:
1. Click on 'Prior Submissions' and locate the tracking number which contains the released
invoice.
2. Click on 'Referenced Information' in the message list or in the email message that tells you
an invoice has been released.
3. Go to your 'Cases' tab,' find the invoice for the specific case and click on the invoice
number.
4. Go do the Search Tab/Invoice Search and filter for released invoices for a certain date
range.
From the Invoice Status screen, you can click the 'Create Appeal’ button. If there is no button
available, check to make sure that the invoice has been released and that there are deductions that
were taken on this invoice, and that you are not past the grace period during which you are
permitted to appeal.
After you click the ‘Create Appeal’ button, the deduction category screen will appear wherein you
can check the deductions that you would like to appeal. The deductions are broken down into their
deduction category. Check all or some of the deductions and then click the 'Appeal these
deductions' button.
To draft your appeal letter:
1. Enter your text for your general comments paragraph in the first section of your appeal
letter;
2. Verify the amount that you would like to appeal; the application defaults to the entire
amount of the deduction so if you would like to appeal a portion of the deduction
amount, delete the default amount and enter the desired amount. You can enter a
dollar value between zero and the appeal amount;
3. Enter your specific text to explain why the company should issue a credit for the
amount deducted; and
4. Click 'New Draft Appeal' button.
5. A spell check button is provided to review your text.
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When the draft of your appeal letter appears, you can attach any supporting documentation that
you would like the company to have along with your appeal letter. Click the 'browse' button to locate
your documentation and then click 'Upload' to attach the documentation to your letter. Once you
have reviewed your appeal letter, click 'Finalize Appeal' in order to send it off to the company for
their review. If you would like to edit your letter, click 'Edit Appeal', make your changes and then
click 'Finalize Appeal.' You can print your appeal letter by using the 'Print' tab in the top left-hand
corner of the screen. Once you click 'Finalize Appeal,' your appeal letter will be immediately
forwarded to the company so do not click the finalize button until you are ready for the company to
receive your appeal letter.
Step 13 - Entering/Editing Case Information
Click the Cases menu.
The system shows the List of Cases page with links to [New Case], [Edit], [Budget], [Invoices], and
[Search].
Click [New Case] or [Edit Case] to open the Case Setup page and add or edit case information. In
both instances:
1. Select the appropriate Program. Enter all pertinent information in the first section, i.e., case
name, firm file number, case start date, and so on.
2. Choose [Add] Claim Number(s) - Click on the link and input/edit the claim number, the
insured's name and the shared percentage if this is shared among claim numbers, in the
claim pop-up window. If a shared percentage exists, input only the number (i.e. do not use
a "%" sign).
3. Choose Claim Office - Click on the ellipsis button to bring up the claim office pop-up
window. Select one claim office and click [Choose]. If you make a mistake in your selection,
simply click [Cancel] to start over. If you have already made your selection and you wish
instead to leave the field blank, you can click “[Clear]. If your desired claim office is missing
from the pop-up window, please contact the carrier so that he/she can add the additional
claim office.
4. Choose Claim Representative - Click on the ellipsis button to bring up the claim rep
selection pop-up window. Select one claim rep and click [Choose]. If you make a mistake in
your selection, simply click [Cancel] to start over. . If you have already made your selection
and you wish instead to leave the field blank, you can click “[Clear]. Again, if your desired
claim office representative is missing, please contact your carrier.
5. Choose Case Type - Click on the link and select/edit the case type by clicking on the
applicable choices in the pick list pop-up window. Once you click on a choice, the item is
immediately selected and added. If you make a mistake in your selection, simply click
[Reset] to start over. Once you have made all applicable selections, click [Done] to return to
the Case Setup page.
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6. Choose Venue - Click on the link and select/edit the case venue by clicking on the
applicable choices in the pick list pop-up window. Once you have made all applicable
selections, click [Done] to return to the Case [Edit] page. If you do not know the county for
which the matter is venued, but you know the city, the field to the right of venue is a
“lookup;” type the name of the city, and it will populate the “venue” field for you.
7. Choose [Add] Property Damage Type - Click on the link and edit the property damage type
by clicking on the applicable choices in the pick list pop-up window. Once you have made
all applicable selections, click [Done] to return to the Case Setup page. You may select
more than one Property Damage Type.
8. Choose [Add] Injury Type - Click on the link and select/edit the injury type by clicking on the
applicable choices in the pick list pop-up window. Once you have made all applicable
selections, click [Done] to return to the Case Setup page. You may put in more than one
Injury Type.
Note: Some of the pick list pop-up windows are drill down windows, which require you to keep
making additional selections until the box is empty, which indicates that there are no more
selections to be made. This applies to the fields for case type, venue, property damage type, and
injury type.
When you have selected/edited all of the information, click [Submit].
Step 14 - Creating a Budget/Revising a Budget
Click the Cases menu. The List of Cases page displays the list of available cases with links to [New
Case], [Edit], [Budget], [Invoices] and [Search].
Click [Budget] to open the Budget Revisions page. Once a budget has been created, this page
shows the name of the case, the budget revision ID, the author, the total budgeted, the date, the
source, whether or not the budget has been approved, the status of the item, and whether or not it
has been enforced.
A Finalized budget can no longer be edited and is sent to your client for approval. An Approved
budget is one your client has agreed to. An Enforced budget is approved, plus the system deducts
billed amounts that exceed the budget amounts.
If you click on the link to the Budget ID, the Budget Details screen appears. This screen identifies
the total amount budgeted for all categories of expenditures related to the case (see "Total
Budgeted" field); the applicable date range, fees/expenses to date (see "Preexisting Expenses"
field which include fees and expense), incurred budget percentage amount to receive warning and
any comments on the budget.
Adding a Total Budget
If a budget does not appear on the Budget Revisions page and you wish to create one, click the
[Create] button. Enter in the total amount budgeted for the case in the "Total Budgeted" field; add
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the total preexisting fees and expenses in the "Preexisting Expense" field; and enter in the date
range during which the budget will apply. Click the [Add] checkbox on the right and click [Submit].
When you click [Submit], the page displays the budget broken out into the phase level. Fill in the
phase-level budgets if desired or mandated by your specific carrier. To see the budget broken out
into more detail, click the [Show Task] button. You may fill in the task-level budget, which may help
in creating the phase-level budget and the overall total budget, although this level of detail is not
mandated by the carrier. Task code budgeting is detailed below. You may revise the information as
often as necessary, until [Finalize] is selected. If you do not wish to allocate the total budget by task
code, finalize the budget as instructed in the Finalizing the Budget section below.
Note: If you leave the starting or ending date blank or leave the "MM/DD/YYYY" text unchanged,
the system will interpret this as an unspecified date. As a result, the range will be considered to
extend infinitely into the past and/or future. This is the way to specify task code limitations for a onephase case, or an initial or final phase of the case.
Insert the date range during which the budget will apply and click the [Add] checkbox on the right.
When you have inserted all the information, click [Submit]. Task-code limits are added one at a time
by filling in the requested information for each specific or general code, clicking [Add], and clicking
[Submit]. You may revise the information as often as necessary, until [Finalize] is selected.
When you have added all the task code budgets, finalize the budget as instructed below.
In the range detail section, the columns are as follows:
Columns
Description
Actual Costs
The actual amount of previously invoiced line items that match the date
range and task-code. Note that this value will not be updated until you
click [Submit].
Preexisting Actual
A purely informational column that is not used in budget calculations.
Here you may record expenses that have already been incurred on the
case but were not submitted electronically or otherwise entered into
Legal-X.
Budgeted Amount
The billing limit for the corresponding task code or task-code pattern.
Task Code
Described above.
Delete/Add
Checkbox
Indicates to the system that the corresponding row is to be
deleted/added. Note that a row cannot be added unless the [Add] box
is checked.
Note: If line items in a submitted invoice do not correspond with any particular task-code limit within
a date range, those items will be allowed as long as they do not exceed the overall budget for the
case. If a submitted line item matches more than one task-code pattern or date range, it will be
compared against all relevant limits and the most restrictive possibility will apply.
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Finalizing the Budget
When you are finished entering the desired budgets, click [Finalize] to register them. Finalizing the
budget submits the current changes and marks the revision as complete, preventing any further
edits and allowing the revision to be approved and enforced by the carrier, if desired.
Managing Finalized Revisions
When viewing budget revisions created by someone else, or revisions that have been finalized, you
will be presented with a completed budget details screen. The same information is displayed, in a
read-only format, with the following buttons potentially available, depending on your level of
permissions:
Buttons
Description
Revise
Creates another revision, available for editing. After clicking [Revise],
the Edit screen will appear.
Approve
Flags the revision as approved for enforcement, and sets the revision's
approval date. This does not actually enforce the budget. This option is
only available to the case owner or program supervisor.
Enforce
Creates rules which check that submissions fall within the budget. Only
one revision may be enforced at any given time. This option is only
available to the case owner or program supervisor.
Unenforce
Removes the rules described above from the Enforce option. Incoming
submissions will not be checked for budget limitations. This option is
only available to the case owner or program supervisor.
After entering the information in the fields, click [Submit] and finalize the budget as instructed
above. The budgets entered must be approved by the insurer. To determine whether or not the
budget has been approved and enforced, check the Budget Revisions screen. To access the
budget revisions screen, click the cases tab, highlight the appropriate case by clicking on the circle
to the left of the case and click the budgets button.
Help Desk Contact Information
Phone: 1-866-645-7444 or 1-603-501-5430
Email: [email protected]
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