How do I add UTBMS (Task/Activy/Expense) codes to QuickBooks and get them to come into my LEDES file?


UTBMS (Task/Activy/Expense) codes may or may not be required in your situation. If any combination of Task, Activity or Expense codes are required you will need to enable (check-box) all appropriate boxes. Some processors (such as Serengeti) may only require Expense codes in which case you would only need to check the Expenses check-box (in which case Task & Activity codes are left blank in the LEDES file).


A standard list of UTBMS codes may be found a various places online. One such list is:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Task-Based_Management_System


There are several ways in Medusa to incorporate UTBMS codes (Task, Activity, & Expense codes). One way that works well (if it is not already being used for another purpose and is enabled in QuickBooks) is to use the Class field with Task Codes as a Main Class and Activity Codes as its Sub-class. The Class field allows you to have a drop-down list to select your code(s) from as opposed to other methods such as the built in Other 1 & Other 2 columns, which work fine but require the code to be typed in each time. In some cases where you always are using the same code, an unchanging Fixed Value may be used where the value (e.g. L190) is entered directly and then is always used for the Task code.


Note: If you are using the standard Litigation Task Codes along with Activity and the original Expense Codes (beginning with E), and would like a full list (IIF format) you can import into your Class field without needing to do your own data entry, please submit a ticket to request this.


The LEDES file will only require the code itself (i.e. A123) and not the wording/description after (although it may be included in the QuickBooks Invoice and will be ignored by Medusa).  The mapping of the code(s) from the QuickBooks Class field to LEDES is configured in the following screen.



In the example above the Class field in QuickBooks has been used for both the Task (Litigation) code, and the Activity code, as well as the Expense code. Your Invoice may look something like the following:



Note that in this case where both Task & Activity codes are required, you must have a pair of both (and this will need to be consistent across the invoice). However in the case of the Expense code, you only need just the Expense code (and usually no Timekeeper). If you use the provided/imported list, you will see a drop-down like the following in the Class field, in which case you will select the appropriate Activity code under the appropriate Task code (all Activity codes are repeated as a group for each Task code).




Non-standard Expense Codes

 

Some clients do not use the standard set of expense codes that typically are in the form E123 .  If this is the case for your client, simply specify the beginning part of the expense code so Medusa can identify it as an expense, e.g. if the custom expense code looks like 00-123 or 00-234 (if it always starts with specific characters), you'd then enter 00- in the Expense Code Prefix box.  These types of codes would then work in addition to the standard codes that start with E or EE.