NetDocuments Integration

For firms wishing to use NetDocuments for document management, Centerbase now offers an easy-to-connect integration with NetDocuments. From the System Settings > NetDocuments tab, users can easily connect their NetDocuments and automatically create workspaces based on existing matters in Centerbase.

Configuring the Integration

To enable the integration, you need to log in with a NetDocuments account that has rights to view and create all necessary workspaces.

To connect NetDocuments with Centerbase, go into the System Settings > NetDocuments tab, and select "Connect with NetDocuments". This will open another tab that will allow you to log into your NetDocuments account.

Once logged in, the following settings are available:

• Repository: This shows all repositories the connected user has rights to.  Choose which one will be used when viewing and creating workspaces through Centerbase.
• Cabinet: This shows all cabinets in the selected repository the connected user has rights to.  Choose which one will be used when viewing and creating workspaces through Centerbase.
• Parent and Child Attribute: This shows the custom attributes available in NetDocuments. These are used to determine how the integration determines which matters in Centerbase are connected to which workspaces in NetDocuments.

In a typical setup, the parent attribute would represent the Client's ID Number, and the child attribute would be the Matter's Sequence Number.  The Parent Client Attribute would typically be bound to the CB Client.Client Number field and the Child Matter Attribute would usually be bound to the CB Matter.Matter Sequence Number field. 

An alternate setup is specifying only a parent attribute.  In this case, you would choose a single attribute in NetDocuments that uniquely identifies the matter.  This would typically then be bound to the CB Matter.Matter Number field.  

Centerbase stores matter/client numbers in the following fields:

• Client Number - This field is on both the Contact and Matter record and stores the Client's ID Number
• Matter Sequence Number - This field stores the matter's number without the client number.
• Matter Number - This field stores the Client Number + Matter Sequence Number for this matter.
• So if the Matter Number is 123.003, then the Client Number would be 123, and the Matter Sequence Number would be 003.

As mentioned previously, most NetDocuments implementations store the Client Number (123) and Matter Sequence Number (003) in two separate attributes, one being the child of the other.  This is why this is the most common integration setup.

View Workspaces on Matters

Once connected, a NetDocuments tab will appear on matters, opening a direct view into the NetDocuments workspace.  Individual users will log in with their own NetDocuments credentials when viewing workspaces on the NetDocuments tab. 

After the integration is configured, when a new matter is created in Centerbase, it will automatically create a new workspace in NetDocuments with the appropriate attributes and use the Name in Centerbase as the Name in NetDocuments (if the workspace does not already exist).  The user used to connect the integration in the settings is used when creating new workspaces in the background when new matters are created.

If the data is in the correct fields in Centerbase, the workspace already exists in NetDocuments, and the settings are correctly configured in the NetDocuments Integration Settings, it is ready to go.  You can immediately go to a matter in Centerbase that has a corresponding workspace already in NetDocuments and click on the NetDocuments tab to view the workspace. 

When clicking on the NetDocuments tab on a matter, you will see the workspace for that matter in NetDocuments.  There are two buttons in the upper right of the tab:

Sync with NetDocuments : If a workspace has not been created for this matter, pushing this button will make the workspace.

Refresh to home view : This button will refresh the NetDocuments view to the main page for this workspace.  This can be used to see recent changes made to that workspace since you opened the tab.

Importing/Syncing

If NetDocuments is empty and you want to populate it with Matter data in Centerbase, you can click the "Sync all with NetDocuments" button in the NetDocuments Integration Settings.  This will create workspaces for each matter with the proper attributes and use the Name of the Centerbase matter as the name of the workspace.  This will only create workspaces that do not already exist in NetDocuments.  This will neither send nor receive files to/from NetDocuments; it will only create workspaces.

NOTE: if there are already workspaces and files in NetDocuments, you should think twice before clicking this button.  If you have improperly configured the settings, duplicate workspaces with the wrong attributes set might be created.  If you have verified that the settings are correct and there are still some matters in Centerbase that need workspaces in NetDocuments, you can use this tool to create them.

For details on how to import data into NetDocuments, please get in touch with them directly.

 

Troubleshooting

If you see the following error when clicking on the NetDocuments tab for a matter:

This can be caused in a few different ways:

• The settings for the NetDocuments Integration are wrong.  This can happen if you point an attribute in NetDocuments to the wrong field in Centerbase.  Such as choosing to use Matter Number instead of Matter Sequence Number when doing a client/matter parent/child setup.  If this is the case, fix your settings and refresh this view to see if the workspace shows up correctly.
• This particular matter is not in NetDocuments yet.  This can happen if matters have been created in Centerbase after doing an import to NetDocuments but before setting up the integration. To resolve this, you can click the Sync with NetDocuments button to create a new workspace for this matter.
• This can also happen if data was imported to the wrong field in Centerbase or was incorrect in their old system.  If this is the case, fix the data in the appropriate fields in Centerbase and refresh this view to see if the workspace shows up properly.

If you notice the below error message in one of your NetDocs windows within Centerbase, it means your NetDocs account has been connected for an extended period of time and needs its login credentials refreshed.

 

This can be done by going into the System Settings > NetDocuments, turning it off and back on, and reconnecting your account. Please note this will reset all of your NetDocs settings in this area back to the default, so we also advise taking a screenshot of your "Settings" so that you can enter them in exactly as they were before you disconnected.