First, a disclaimer, I have absolutely no relationship with the companies or products I’m about to recommend. Well, other than the fact that I use them. I’m talking about these two products because I want you to try them out. If you’re using Outlook as your case management, contact management and calendaring system, I can practically guarantee that they will make a huge impact on your productivity and your bottom line. Both of these products are plug-ins for Outlook. They are incredibly simple to install and use and insanely cheap. And once you try them out, you’ll probably feel like that woman up there on the right!
SimplyFile
Its name implies exactly what it does. SimplyFile helps you organize your inbox by automatically filing your incoming emails and replies. Here’s the cool thing about SimplyFile: It uses an algorithm to analyze your inbox and your folder system. Then it “learns” how you file your emails. The process of analyzing your inbox can take several hours depending on the number of emails and folders you have. So install it when you can be away from your computer for a few hours.
Once SimplyFile has analyzed your inbox, you’re set. The next time you reply to an email and hit send, you’ll get a pop-up dialogue box prompting you with the appropriate folder for filing. Of course, you can select another folder, but SimplyFile is usually correct in its suggestion. In addition to “simply filing” your email, you can also choose to automatically create an appointment or task from the email. And here’s the really cool part, you can set up SimplyFile to automatically file the email you’re replying to when you hit the send button. Result? As you reply to emails you clean up your inbox by filing the emails you’re replying to in the appropriate folder. It is fantastic!
Download a 30-day free trial of SimplyFile at: www.techhit.com
Credenza
Credenza is a new Outlook plug-in from Gavel & Gown, the makers of Amicus Attorney. It is designed as a case management tool that works within Outlook. Here’s just a short list of what it can do for you – right in Outlook:
- Create a file in Outlook for all of your clients, matters, cases and projects.
- Organize emails, appointments, tasks, phone calls and notes for each file.
- Allow you to see all of your documents on the file.
- Create a complete chronology of the file: emails, phone calls, notes.•Bill your time for emails and phone calls with one click.
Outlook can function as a very effective case management tool. If you’re already using Outlook to manage your calendar, contacts and email, Credenza will take you to the next level of productivity. Credenza works seamlessly with Outlook to make your case management and billing simple. You can try out Credenza for free. Then once you’re hooked – and you will be – it costs – are you ready? $9.95 a month per user. That’s a couple of lattes!
You can download a 15-day free trial of Credenza at: www.credenzasoft.com