Troubleshooting Smokeball Matters Not Appearing in Efimis
Overview
This guide explains how to troubleshoot a Smokeball matter that:
- Does not appear in Efimis
- Appears in Efimis but is missing time or WIP
- Is not receiving cost recoveries
- Is not receiving disbursements
Applies to: Firms using the integration between Smokeball Desktop (EvolveGo) and Efimis Accounts.
How the Integration Works
Matter and contact information is entered in Smokeball Desktop and synchronised to Efimis.
Before a matter can sync successfully:
- The required matter fields must be completed
- Every linked client must contain the required information
- Linked employees must exist in Efimis
- The matter must be available for new activity
If the matter cannot sync, its related financial activity may also be unavailable in Efimis.
Required Matter Fields
Open the matter in Smokeball Desktop and check the following fields.
| Field | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Division/Branch | Confirm that the matter has a valid Division/Branch. If none is supplied, Efimis attempts to use the default Branch. An invalid Branch can prevent synchronisation. |
| Description/Title | The matter must have a value in either Description or Title. Efimis uses Description first and Title as a fallback. |
| Person Responsible | A Person Responsible must be selected and the corresponding employee must exist in Efimis. |
Required fields may be highlighted in red in the Matter Information form.
Complete any missing fields and save the matter.
Required Client Details
A matter must have at least one client.
For each client linked to the matter, confirm that:
- The client exists in Smokeball Desktop
- The client has a valid email address
- The client exists or can be synchronised to Efimis
- The client record contains all other required information
If a matter has multiple clients, these requirements apply to every linked client.
Enter a valid email address for every linked client. The current Efimis client form requires an email addresss, and incomplete contact details may cause source-side synchronisation issues.
After updating a client, save both the client record and the matter.
Check Linked Employees
The employees selected on the matter must exist in Efimis.
| Matter Field | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Person Responsible | Must be selected and exist in Efimis. |
| Supervisor | If selected, the employee must exist in Efimis. |
| Person Assisting | If selected, the employee must exist in Efimis. |
Check that each selected employee exists in Efimis.
Check Whether the Matter Is Closed
Review the matter’s status and Closed Date in Smokeball Desktop.
New or updated activity will not be imported while the corresponding Efimis matter is:
- Closing
- Closed
- Archived
If further activity must be recorded:
- Reopen the matter in Smokeball Desktop and remove the Closed Date, where required.
- Confirm that the matter status has returned to Open.
- Save the matter and allow the matter update to synchronise.
- Edit and resave, or re-enter, any missing activity.
- Confirm that the matter is Active in Efimis.
- Check the resulting time, cost recovery or disbursement entries.
Reopening the matter does not automatically replay activity that was rejected while the matter was closed. The missing activity may need to be edited and resaved in Smokeball.
Missing Matter or Missing Activity?
Use the following table to identify the most likely cause.
| Issue | Check |
|---|---|
| The matter does not appear in Efimis | Check Division, Description and Person Responsible. |
| The client does not appear in Efimis | Check that the client has a valid email address and all required details. |
| A matter with multiple clients does not sync | Check the details for every linked client. |
| The matter has an assigned Supervisor | Confirm that the Supervisor exists in Efimis. |
| The matter has a Person Assisting | Confirm that the Person Assisting exists in Efimis. |
| Existing matter activity has stopped syncing | Check whether a Closed Date has been entered. |
| Time, costs or disbursements are missing | Confirm that the matter itself has synchronised successfully and is not closed. |
| Matter is configured as a template | Matter templates are not imported as ordinary matters. |
| A time entry is missing | Confirm that the employee who recorded the time exists in Efimis. |
| Activity was entered while the matter was closed | Reopen the matter, then edit and resave the missing activity. |
| Division/Branch is blank or invalid | Confirm the source Division/Branch is valid. Efimis may use a default where none is supplied, but an invalid code can stop the matter from synchronising. |
Troubleshooting Checklist
Complete these checks in order:
- Open the matter in Smokeball Desktop.
- Confirm that Division, Description and Person Responsible are completed.
- Open every linked client record.
- Confirm that each client has a valid email address.
- Confirm that each linked client exists or can be synchronised to Efimis.
- Confirm that the Person Responsible exists in Efimis.
- Check the Supervisor and Person Assisting, where selected.
- Check whether the matter has a Closed Date.
- Save any changes in Smokeball Desktop.
- Allow the normal synchronisation process to complete.
- Search for the matter in Efimis using its matter number.
- Avoid creating a duplicate matter while the synchronisation issue is being investigated.
Related Transactions
If a matter has not synchronised successfully, Efimis may also be unable to receive its associated transactions.
This can affect:
- Time entries and WIP
- Cost recoveries
- Disbursements
Correct the matter, client or employee information before investigating the individual transactions.
Contact Efimis Support
Contact Efimis Support if the matter or its transactions remain unavailable after completing the checks above.
Include:
- The firm name
- The matter number
- The matter description
- The linked client name or names
- Whether the matter is missing completely or only missing activity
- The type of activity that is missing
- The date and time the information was saved in Smokeball Desktop
- Confirmation that the required fields and client email addresses have been checked
This information will help Support investigate the synchronisation records.