AJS has even more to offer! Upgrade to Version 4.5

03 May 2023

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any better….

It’s funny how – as winter comes along – we all feel the need to hunker-down. To get cosy. Get safe. And often, this means putting a hold on things. Waiting until temperatures thaw. Well, at AJS we approach things a little differently. Just as the Southern hemisphere starts its hibernation period, this is when we ramp things up.

Our philosophy? If you’re going to hunker down for the winter, why not do it with the absolute best-in-class product that has its latest additions and features ready to go?

It does seem like an almost obvious sentiment – get yourself the best you can, with the latest tech, to ensure that the “winter months” (whether it be literal or figurative) aren’t lean, aren’t sparse and haven’t left you out in the cold “high and dry”.

And let’s just add – this isn’t just us being “too big for our boots” (our boots fit fine thank you), nor is it a shameful brag on how amazing we think our service offerings are (which they are of course). This is us being extremely proud of our products. This is us sharing information on products that we honestly believe will add immense value to the lives of legal practitioners, not only in South Africa, but around the globe – our products really do have worldwide application (and appeal).

So, without further pomp and pageantry, let’s introduce you (at least at a high-level) to the features in our latest Version 4.5.

Things just got (a whole lot) better!

We did say at the very beginning of this article – just when you thought things couldn’t get any better…. Well, they can.

In our next imminent release – Version 4.5 – we have amped things up, seeking as always, to offer our clients (and would-be, should-be clients) the absolute best-of-the-best.

So, let’s take you through some of the amazing additional features that are now included in Version 4.5 of AJS software packages.

DocFox & Lexis Nexis KYC Provider Integration

We all know that the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 as well as the amendments to Schedules 1, 2 and 3 (which came into effect on 19 December 2022) require, amongst other things, the obligation to undertake a Know Your Client or “KYC” exercise. This is especially the case for any financial institution that deals with customers while opening and maintaining financial accounts, but will also include attorneys, trustees and executors, estate agents, trade and stock brokers, and management companies (LexisNexis).

For law firms, AJS has teamed up with DocFox and Lexis Nexis KYC Providers to make the KYC process easier –

• When a client is loaded onto a law firm’s system, or when conducting a query on the status of a client, that “Provider KYC status” is automatically updated on the AJS system.
• The DocFox integration can create a KYC application, provide a summary report, and flags any risks associated with a particular client.
• Finally, you’re able to view a full audit log of KYC status changes, dates, and user changes together with the source of the change.

Making account enquiries and quick view even better  

• We have added information specific to General Ledger Accounts, Trust and Trade Creditors Accounts, including month-to-date and year-to-date budgets.
• With an additional 11 colours added to the account enquiry settings tab, your accounts have been made rainbow bright – allowing for the easy identification of different transaction types.

Enhance your “workspace”!

• We have added default queries for Matters Due, Overdue and Due in Future, with the option to add any query to the top of the list.
• To help you save time, we have added the option to create a view at the same time as creating a query.
• You also have the option of making a “Tag List” that can either be private (my user only) or public (all users).
• You can also toggle between worked and non-worked accounts, to easily see what is still on your to-do list.
• Lastly, we have added an admin feature so that you are able to manage a staff member’s tasks. There’s also the option of reassigning tasks “in bulk”.

Personalise your workspace jobs

• Sometimes a scheduled job needs to wait. To pause for a minute. We recognise this and have created the option to “Pause a job”.
• You can also now download filtered outputs, for example, selected statements only instead of all documents generated.
• New Job items for HP scanning, and FTP & SFTP files
• Crystal reports jobs can output in multiple formats in one job – there’s no need to set up duplicate jobs for different formats – taking the “uggh” out of the job altogether.
• You can now also set up multiple schedules per job.

Even more support

• You now have two additional options – you can log a support request directly from AJS and you can book for free online training directly from AJS. Two ways we are making using the AJS system even simpler.

Fees and how you view fees

• To ensure both accuracy and to create a shorter list (do we hear a “whew”?), you can now hide the button that shows “all billing codes”, allowing users to only select from the codes on their own list.
• To easily track your billing progress, you can set targets on the fee-book, taking measurable progress and putting it into the easy-to-understand “View Fees” graph. It makes it so easy, right?
• Need to do an account enquiry or edit an account from the fee popup – sure! With no need to navigate away or open a new tab to view something (or make a change).
• There’s now a public holiday/weekend day indicator when selecting a date.
• As well as an option to set a default for the View Fees period date picker to drill down per day or go back one level on View Fees Graph. Easy to navigate. Easy to understand.

A new menu – for payment history

• A new user interface to view requisitions per bank and by date range – making searching for released payments or deleted requisitions a one-minute undertaking.
• You also have the option to download attached supporting documents and review requisition details.

Improved payment requisitions and release of payments

• We have added a “popup” of all requisition details (including supporting documents) when authorising or releasing a payment. Making the navigation between requisitions and payments easy.
• A notification will be sent to the requesting user if any changes are made to payment requisitions as well as the reason and name of the user who rejected the payment requisition (making tracing the hold-up simple) – it will be shown on the “release payment screen”.
• To further enhance security measures (and for ease of tracing payments) the bank EFT number field is now shown on the release of the payment. This can be made mandatory, if required.
• We have also added a new column to show if a requisition has already been exported, thereby eliminating any duplication.

Enhanced branch checking

• Think of this as the “what happened in Vegas stays in Vegas” approach. There’s now the option of making the branch selection mandatory (if there’s more than one office location) when opening accounts. Keeping everything that occurs in one branch separate from what occurs at another. The same will apply when creating or updating a fee-book.
• To further enhance separation of accounts, there’s now the option to force a matching account with a Fee-book branch when posting a fee.
• We have also included default branch values when doing payment requisitions, releasing payments and online receipts.

An exciting new product from AJS is coming soon….

And it’s super-cool. If we do say so ourselves.

So, stay tuned – you won’t want to miss this!

We say it on our website, and we will stand by our statement here – AJS offers something that’s more than just software….

We offer the whole package – the best legal tech software solutions that money can buy – at prices that you can afford. All according to your own individual needs and wants. We take your feedback to heart, always seeking to improve on the things that require improvement. We offer outstanding customer support – always there when you need us. And what’s more – we are not always improving on something that’s already “pretty amazing”, but we listen to you – our clients – ensuring we provide you with exactly what you asked for.

As we said – we offer the whole package.

So, give us a call, get-in-touch and let’s see how we can take your software solution from good to phenomenal. Also, if you don’t yet have any software supporting your legal practice, fret not. We are here to help you from scratch too.

See also:

• FICA Handbook for Law Firms
• The future of tech law in South Africa
• Digitisation transforms document collection management
• Practice management – AKA project management for law firms

(This article is provided for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. For more information on the topic, please contact the author/s or the relevant provider.)