What’s New with Zola Suite?
While we’re often celebrated as the “most robust” cloud-based practice management solution, we refuse to rest on our laurels. Every year, we make hundreds of updates and enhancements to Zola Suite (836 in 2021, to be exact). While our platform evolves, our goal remains the same: To empower your firm to be more efficient and profitable with a single source of truth across everything you do.
Sub-accounting
- Accounts can be sub-divided for detailed reporting and easier reconciliation
New filters added to the time list
- Users can now filter the time list by originating attorney
Filters and export option added to the payment tab
- Within the matter dashboard, the payments tab now offers filters and export options
APX integraton
- Accept credit card, ACH and e-check payments
- Save credit card information to Caseway portal for recurring payments
APX integration - beta
- Zola Suite will soon integrate with APX, AbacusNext's integrated payment processing system
HotDocs integration - beta
- HotDocs beta testing is well underway with an expected launch in early Q2
1099 NEC 3-Up export
- Users can generate 1099s filings in the new NEC 3-Up format
Closing entry option on journal entries
- Firms can mark journal entries as closing entries, allowing them to close their books while still able to report on the transactions that took place in the fiscal year
New Zola Suite support hours
- The Zola Suite Support team extended their hours to Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 9 PM ET
AI-enabled OCR
- Ability to read street signs and car license plates
- Recognizes paragraph text
- Handwriting recognition
- Works with virtually all file types including PDF, JPG, PNG, TIFF
Additional customizable dashboard widgets
- CRM Overview, Tasks Overview and My Goals
Configurable dashboard
- Users can now customize their dashboard page, selecting any of the available widgets
Split Payout report
- With this report, users can see Payout Amounts grouped by Matters and Users
Total Billings report
- A perfect complement to the Billed & Collected report, users will now also be able to view all of their billed fees and expenses grouped by matter in one comprehensive report
Calendar-rules event search
- Users can filter for calendar rules events within Zola’s calendar search functionality
Send one-off invoices as attachments with links
- While this capability exists in Zola Suite’s Bulk Billing Center, users can now send one-off invoices with a Payment Link included in the body of the message
Ability to reset Caseway™ invitation period
- This new option under Contacts allows users to extend their Caseway invitation period
Zoom Meeting integration
- Users now have the ability to add a Zoom meeting link into a calendar event
Document previews for email communications
- Users now have the ability to preview documents that are saved in a matter’s Communications tab
Notification preferences
- Users can choose the notifications/methods you wish to receive within User Settings
Trust Retainer replenishment on invoice
- Incorporate a minimum Trust Retainer balance into your Total Amount Outstanding
Trust Ledger updates for split matters
- When viewing the Trust Ledger on split matters, you can now view a breakdown of each child matter’s trust activity
Interest for late payments
- irms can now set up interest to be charged on the matter-level
General deposits
- With this new billing option, Zola Suite users can choose to only apply discounts to fees, not time entries
Configurable invoice discounts
- With this new billing option, Zola Suite users can choose to only apply discounts to fees, not time entries
Scheduled reports
- Users can configure and schedule reports to be received via email in desired intervals (daily, weekly, monthly or yearly)
- With this feature, available to EnterprisePlus users, you can also send the report to multiple users in PDF and/or CSV format
Alphanumeric Client ID
- New Matter numbering options have been added, allowing you to assign an alphanumeric Client ID to new clients
Updated email interface
- A sleeker, more user-friendly design when composing an email
Vendor credits
- Keep track of money that is owed by vendors until it is paid, refunded or applied to a bill
- These credits will reduce the amount of money owed to a vendor for a future bill
Z-Editor
- Edit Microsoft Word (docx) files without having to leave Zola Suite
- Once you open Zola's Z-Editor, a time entry will start running so you can capture the time it takes to edit your documents
- Once you save the document, it will upload as a new version
Updated intake form interface
- Review intake forms in a streamlined interface that allows you to quickly toggle between different forms
Preview audio and video files
- Users can now preview audio and video files both in documents and in email (inbound and outbound)
Preview attachments
- Preview outbound and inbound attachments within Zola's email client
Export Contact Tags
- When exporting contacts into a CSV file, Contact Tags will also be displayed
NetDocuments Workspaces
- When converting leads into a Matter, you now have the ability to create a NetDocuments Workspace within Zola Suite
Overall performance update
- Users should notice a 50% improvement in load times when navigating through Zola Suite
In-document search
- Zola Suite will now index all documents uploaded to the platform, so in-document searches can easily be conducted by users
Document previews
- Easily preview a document stored within Zola Suite without having to download it to the appropriate program
- Also available in email attachments for both inbound and outbound messages
In-browser editing of .DOCX files
- Edit documents (in .DOCX format) without ever leaving Zola Suite
- Zola will continue to create a new version with each round of edits to ensure no information is ever lost
Portfolio generator
- Easily merge files of virtually any type into a single PDF Portfolio document which can easily be shared with clients and colleagues
Worldox integration
- With this new document management integration, users can easily upload and access all documents stored with Worldox directly through Zola Suite
Contact custom field search
- Pull a contact list based on a custom field value
Quick navigation tools added to My Settings
- Easily jump to specific sections with User Settings, helping to save time when updating various settings within your Zola Suite account
Remembering accounts
- When creating transactions via check, journal entry, Download Bank Activity, etc., the last account used for the selected vendor will be auto-populated (subject to user privileges)
Profit and Loss by Location report
- Administrators can view a Profit and Loss report where each column displays the numbers for each firm location
Segment Revenue option on the Profit and Loss report
- Administrators can now see Professional Fees broken down by Location, Practice Area, Primary Responsible Attorney, Primary Originating Attorney and Timekeeper
User bank account permissions
- Administrators can assign users to specific bank accounts, restricting access to the bank register and limiting the ability to create new checks
Updated AR Aging Summary report
- Firm administrators can view AR grouped by Client, Timekeeper, Practice Area and Location
Worldox integration
- Worldox users can automatically integrate Client and Matter data from Zola Suite
- Existing matters can be integrated with Worldox and Clients/Matters can be created in Worldox through Zola Suite
Matterscapes enhancements
- Default 50 records, up from 20 records, on one page
- Matter Status is now an option, supporting multi-select
Email enhancements
- Set custom font family, style and size for composing email messages
- Pane sizes for folder/email list section is customizable and persistent
- Folder open/close status is now remembered
- Email addresses can now be dragged between TO, CC and BCC
Firm budgeting
- Create firm-wide budgets to estimate revenue and expenses on a monthly, quarterly and/or yearly basis
Print 1099s in bulk
- Firms can bulk print hundreds of 1099-MISC and/or 1099-NEC forms for all of their vendors
Updated Billed and Collected report
- This report now includes a "Display Hours and Rate” filter so your firm can view billed hours and an average Rate for the specified date range
Firm User Custom Fields
- "Firm User" has been added as a field option to the Person/Company Custom Fields list
Settlement Management Tools for PI and Contingency Firms
- Efficiently manage settlement allocations and seamlessly generate settlement memos for all parties, even referring attorneys
- An accompanying customizable Settlement Statement is also generated with each Settlement Memo
- Conveniently track all expenses incurred by the firm and external parties
New BI Metrics on the Admin Dashboard
- Income and Expense trends for a set period of time
- Previous Year Income Comparison
- Previous Year Expense Comparison and Expense Breakdown
Billing Group filter
- A Billing Group filter has been added to the invoice list so you can more easily sort during your billing cycle
Bulk Time Entry Rates
- Admins can change Time Entry Rates in Bulk, saving a great deal of time when updating many entries at once
Invoice templates
- Enterprise and Enterprise Plus users can now create multiple invoice templates that can be applied on the Contact/Matter level
Split Billing update
- When assigning split billing percentages, Fee/Expense splits can be set using up to 4 decimal places
Vendor Reimbursement report
- A listing of unpaid Vendor Bill Expenses that have been marked as billable can now be generated with a click of a button
Document Assembly and the Zola Suite/NetDocuments integration
- When generating a document via a template in Zola Suite, NetDocuments users can now quickly save the file to the corresponding Workspace
Copitrak Importer
- A list of all Soft Costs (in XLSX format) can now be imported via Copitrak
Invoice Unbilled Activity filters
- New filters on the Unbilled Activities page allow you to filter for matters which have a Total Time Greater Than and/or Less Than the entered amount
zDrive for Mac
- This tool allows users to edit documents and save them back to Zola Suite automatically (no uploads required)
- Once downloaded to a user's Mac device, files stored in Zola are browseable directly in Finder and can be quickly accessed in the Task Bar
LEDES budgeting
- Set a budget for individual LEDES codes within a LEDES-based matter
- See billed amounts against the total budget as the case progresses
Effective Rates report
- This report showcases a list of all users along with hours worked, fees collected and the effective rate for each
Matter User Rate report
- This report shows, by matter, the Responsible, Originating and Billing Attorneys rate along with any additional Matter Collaborators
Dedicated Timekeeper Goals setup page
- There is now a dedicated page to help you quickly create, edit and delete Timekeeper Goals for your firm
Default time list option for non-staff accounts
- Users with Non-Staff permissions can now pre-filter the timelist for their own time entries
Ability to sort notes
- Users can quickly sort Notes by created time
Updated user list
- We've redesigned the Users & Groups page in Firm Settings
Dedicated subject and body for State of Account emails
- Set a default email subject line and body copy when sending Statements of Account emails to clients in bulk
Expanded Matterscapes billing options
- Customize your matter views with Origination Splits, Responsible Splits, Billing Type and Billing Group
Default worktype
- Define a default worktype that will pre-fill when entering time entries
Soft Cost quantity update
- When entering the quantity for a Soft Cost, Zola Suite now supports two decimal places to support fractional quantities such as mileage
Mobile App updates
- Updates and enhancements to iOS and Android apps
Bulk Billing Center
- Print and/or blast Invoices or Statement of Accounts in bulk more efficiently
Color-coded matter-related contacts roles
- Customized color codes can now be applied to each Matter Role
- Matter-related contacts can also be favorited, floating them to the top of the list
Matter option on Billed and Collected report
- View Billed/Collected amounts grouped by Matter
Credit card expense updates
- When creating and editing Credit Card Expenses, you now have the ability to assign a User, as well as Expense and Task Codes
Configurable discount column
- Additional customization options when it comes to generating invoices
Updated custom date ranges
- Custom Date Ranges can now be typed directly into the From and To date fields when publishing invoices or generating reports
Revamped phone call notes
- Add tags
- Create a new task
- Option to open in a new window
- When you select a contact under the "Spoke With" dropdown, the contact's business, mobile and fax numbers appear
- Filter phone call notes by tags with advanced search functionality in the Matter's Communications tab
Vendor Bill updates
- Ability to assign User, as well as Expense and Task Codes when creating/editing Vendor Bills to facilitate LEDES billing
Efficient document uploading
- Faster upload speeds when uploading documents via Zola Caseway
- Upload files up to 4 GBs
Flat Fee Productivity Report update
- Flat Fee Productivity Report can now show data for individual services to enable firms to identify best and worst performing flat fee services, independent of a matter
Additional submatter billing options
- For Split Fee Matters, users can now adjust Matter Number, Matter Name, Billing Notes, Invoice Note and LEDES information for submatters
NetDocuments integration
- Access matter-related files stored within NetDocuments right in Zola Suite's platform
- Upload/download document, perform advanced searches and access workspaces
Email management enhancements
- Auto-selection of matters for inbound emails from matter-related contacts
- Prompt to create a time entry upon saving an email to a matter (to capture time spent reading messages)
- Blue dots more clearly display unread emails
- Firm contacts are automatically added to the suggested recipient list and float to the top, right after matter-related contacts
Timekeeper Goal Report
- Firm admins can set, and track billable hours and/or total billing goals for members of their firm
- Metrics can be viewed year to date or by prior month and prior week’s progress toward those goals
Custom payment allocations
- Firms can now specify how incoming payments should be applied
Secure payment links
- Invoices sent via email can now include payment links that allow clients to make payments (through LawPay) without the need to log into Caseway, Zola Suite’s client portal
New LEDES formats
- Zola Suite now supports 1998B Alpha, Case Litigator and a Tymetrix version
UniFLOW expense importer
- If you use devices that output Uniflow format, Zola Suite can now import those expenses under the Time/Expense section
Faster intakes
- Fields for first name, last name, company, email and phone can be entered directly in the New Lead window
Favorite reports
- Favorite reports that you view several times a week
- Available from any page of your Zola Suite account
Manual entry for credit card transactions
- Credit card entries can now be recorded manually
Create expenses from credit card transactions
- Record Costs charged to Credit Card Accounts (via manual entry or through downloaded bank activity)
- Option to pass the expense along to a client
Bulk download LEDES invoices
- LEDES invoices can now be downloaded in bulk, allowing you to process invoices across matters with one click
Billing contact available on printed invoices
- When printing an invoice, the Billing Contacts Name/Information is now included on the invoice
Edit contact tags
- Contact Tags can now be edited under Firm Settings (limited based on permission level)
New task status
- A Task can now be labeled as “Not Started”
- Users can also now search by assigned date and completed date
Vendor Box dropdown
- When adding a Vendor, you will now find there is a new Vendor Box dropdown field to indicate the corresponding Box for 1099 filings