Macro merge and visual basic

Most people have at least an understanding of the concept of merging in Word and Excel but too often have not tried it. The combination of macro, merge and Visual Basic makes it possible to create custom software for yourself if you can simply imagine what you would like to have happen.

You can merge from an assortment of data sources. In Microsoft Office, the most direct way is a Word text file or table, an Excel spreadsheet, or an Access database. And those are in reverse order of how I would recommend you try it.

That way you don't have to conform what you need to the reports and formats that are available, you can have something that is exactly what you want and need and it will not have a learning curve to use it.

What software do you really need to run an office?

Microsoft Office Suite has Access, a wonderfully powerful database that is a great solution for the small business. Working with a database is very simple and comparable to a spreadsheet. Using a spreadsheet instead of a database is a path many people choose to take, mostly because they feel more comfortable with the layout and functionality of the spreadsheet.

However, importing/exporting to between the two is very simple and creating a database is easier than most people would believe. Maintenance is simplified and use of the database with other Microsoft Office Suite programs is very straightforward and quite powerful.

The combination of Outlook/Word/Access/Excel/PowerPoint covers nearly anything you might want to do in your office. To round out the list I would include Adobe Acrobat Professional, a photo editor that can create transparent .gif files as well as .jpg and other formats, and potentially some sort of accounting software (Quicken or Peachtree).

The ability of the programs to work together makes purchasing packaged software an unnecessary expense for most small businesses.

Standardized forms

Most businesses employ some number of standard forms. The most common practice is to find a completed form and gut it to create a new form. The most common problem with this approach is overwriting the old form unintentionally.

When the form is more complex than a simple letter the mistakes get worse. The worst culprit in my experience is a will. The basis of a will is pretty straightforward. You change the names of the parties involved, their children but most people have the same estate plan. Give my stuff to my spouse and kids. You write one for him and one for her and the pronouns change. Using old wills to create new wills causes weird problems. A special clause that you forget is in there, pronoun agreement mistakes, missing a switch of a name of a spouse.

Creating documents with userforms and document variables means you can create a fresh document every time and not risk overwriting old documents or making stupid mistakes. It doesn't take long to create the templates and once you have them they are available immediately and permanently. They are also very easily edited and updated.

Use styles to make editing easier

When writing documents, each paragraph can be though of as a single line. It curls between established margins. Few people that use word processing put a return at the end of each line and have learned that you simply type and the line wraps when it reaches the right margin. The reason typing a paragraph as a single line works is because it allows for more simple editing of the paragraph.

However, there are several things about a paragraph that can be standardized to make it easier to edit the paragraph. Should it begin with a number? Should it be bolded? Should the margins be further in? When multiple paragraphs share the same traits and require changes each must be changed individually.

Use of styles bypasses that tedious editing. If styles are used then simply editing the style edits any paragraph that used that style.

Tracking your time

Many professions track their time for billing purposes. While there are several packages for tracking time available to you, you really only need to know where to look to track your own time effectively and with no additional cost.

Tools required:
Outlook	set Journal to track your Word and Excel (PowerPoint and Access) usage
Browser	History
Phone	Call log

With this information you could reconstruct your day and if you are diligent about logging your Journal entries (Outlook) you can simplify your billing and capture your time with greater accuracy. That will allow you to gain insight about how you spend your time and become more efficient in your work.

Why buy custom software? You have everything you need.

Many solo lawyers or small firms are buying custom software for case management, billing, practice management, client relations and even document creation, document management and timekeeping. Why? You probably have everything you need already on your desk. Let's talk about that.