Matter Number Configuration

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Matter Numbers Custom Configuration

Following customer feedback, Acuity has developed a feature to automate and standardize the generation of matter/claim numbers. This enhancement is intended to improve efficiency, reduce potential errors, and enhance search ability for our clients who do not utilize integrated systems.

Select the SETTINGS link at the top of the page
Now you are on the Matter Number Formatting Sub-Navigation page

The configuration pre-fills based on the existing settings, and can be edited
If you have not changed the original base settings or are a new client, the configuration will initially be empty
Click Edit to create or change the number format

Select Matter Specific Field 1
The value selected for Matter Specific Field 1 will be grayed out as an option in the Matter Specific Field 2 drop down
When you select Matter Open Date, an additional date field will appear
A Prefix option is available, but not required
Select your preferred Separator
Check PA Specific Sequential Number box if you’d like the sequential numbering to reset for each Practice Area,
- If there are already matters set up for the Practice Area, the sequential numbering will account for them
- If you do not check the box, the system will follow a global incremental numbering scheme
As you build your number format, the Pattern will begin to display
At the end of the Pattern, you’ll have an option to select the preferred number of leading zeros, current default is 5
Click on the hyperlink next to Preview to get a sample view of the new format
After the initial preview, if you make additional changes, simply click the refresh button to see the new pattern

Note: When the configuration is changed, only new matters will have the updated format. You can reach out to Acuity Support by opening a case if you would like us to help clean up historical matters.

Further Details:

If you already have matters in the system, please note:

The matter numbering system is designed to continue from the next available number in the sequence
It does not reset to 1 when you update the existing format
When generating a matter number, the system uses either Practice Area increment or global increment placeholders

For Practice Area increment:

The system counts existing matters in that practice area
Then the system checks if that number is already taken and increments until it finds an available number

For global increment:

The system returns the next sequential number across ALL matters
Similarly, it checks for collisions and increments if needed
This means, for example, if 4000+matters already exist, the next matter will be 4001 (or higher)