How do I track billable activity by client?

Before You Begin: Before tracking billable activity, you must store IDs for your clients.

As an aid in determining client billing charges, the PatentOptimizer service provides a tracking mechanism for certain analysis and report activities performed by the service on a given day. In tracking billable activity, the PatentOptimizer service interfaces with the PowerInvoice service, from which you can generate monthly reports detailing the following information:

• Web ID of the staff member who performed the activity
• ID of the client for whom the activity was performed
• Date of service
• Service used to perform the activity
• Billable analysis activity or report activity

Activity is tracked on a daily basis, with activity for a given date, Web (user) ID, client ID, and task on a given date being combined into a single report record for that date.

Important: Whenever you perform a billable activity using the PatentOptimizer service while online, tracking information is sent to the PowerInvoice program in real time. If for some reason during a given month you elect to use the PatentOptimizer service offline, billable-activity information will be stored locally until you again use the service while online — which you must do before 10:00 p.m. E.S.T. of the last day of the month if you want the stored information to be included in the report for that month.

To speed entry while also ensuring consistency and, thus, accuracy of client matter IDs from session to session, the program provides for storage of this information. Once stored, client matter IDs can be modified as necessary. Should a client matter ID for some reason become obsolete, you can delete it from storage.

1.Open the desired document in Microsoft® Word, Microsoft® Edge, Firefox, or Adobe Acrobat® as you normally would.

2. Initiate the activity tracking process in one of the following manners, as applicable:

• If your lexis.com® ID is configured for mandatory entry of client matter IDs, and you have not previously selected a client matter ID against which to track activity since last opening the Microsoft Word, Microsoft® Edge, Firefox, or Acrobat program, click the toolbar button for the billable activity that you want to perform [i.e.,  (Check References),  (Check Terms),  (Mark Terms),  (Check Measurements),  (Check Parts),   (Check Claims),  (Compare Docs),  (Patent Citation), or  (Mark Claims Wizard)]. The Client Matter ID Selection dialog is displayed.
• If your lexis.com ID is configured for mandatory entry of client matter IDs, and you have previously selected a client matter ID against which to track activity since opening the Microsoft Word, Microsoft® Edge, Firefox, or Acrobat program on the given day, or if your lexis.com ID is not configured for mandatory entry of client matter IDs, click Assign Applicable Client Matter ID() on the toolbar. The Client Matter ID Selection dialog is displayed.

Note: By default, client matter IDs are listed in reverse chronological order, that is, with the most recently stored client matter ID listed first.

4. Click OK. The Client Matter ID Selection dialog closes, and you should proceed as applicable.

• If at step 2 of this procedure you clicked the toolbar button for the billable activity that you want to perform, proceed directly with the activity. The service will track the activity being performed against the chosen client matter ID.
• If at step 2 of this procedure you clicked the Assign Applicable Client Matter ID button, now click the toolbar button for the billable activity that you want to perform [i.e., (Check References), (Check Terms),  (Mark Terms),   (Check Measurements), (Check Parts), (Check Claims), (Compare Docs),(Patent Citation), or (Mark Claims Wizard)]. The service will track the activity being performed against the chosen client matter ID.