Migrate from LawPracticeZA to HighLevel

LawPracticeZA clients map to HighLevel contacts as the primary party record. Client name maps to contact name fields, email maps to contact email, and phone maps to contact phone. Primary matter association is preserved as a tag or custom field on the contact for quick reference.

Corporate law firm clients with a registered company name map to HighLevel companies. The company name maps to the company name field, and the contact is linked via a company-contact relationship. Sole practitioners and individuals create contacts without a company association.

LawPracticeZA matters have no direct HighLevel equivalent because HighLevel has no native concept of a legal matter. We create a Matter custom object in HighLevel with custom fields for matter number, client reference, practice area, fee structure, and current status. Each matter custom object is linked to the primary contact (client) via a relationship field.

LawPracticeZA fee earners map to HighLevel user accounts by email address. The user role (partner, associate, paralegal) is preserved as a custom picklist field on the user record. Unmatched fee earners are flagged before migration and either assigned a fallback user or converted to an inactive reference record.

Billable time entries map to a MatterActivity custom object linked to the Matter custom object. Fields include date, duration, description, hourly rate, and total value. WIP totals per matter are preserved as aggregate fields on the Matter record for reference at billing time.

LawPracticeZA invoices migrate as Invoice custom object records with line items. Each invoice line maps to an opportunity product or a custom line item record on the invoice object. Paid status and payment date are preserved; outstanding balance maps to a custom field since HighLevel has no accounts receivable tracking.

Trust account records have no functional equivalent in HighLevel because HighLevel lacks a trust accounting engine. We preserve trust account name, account number, client ledger balance, and transaction history as a TrustLedger custom object with transaction line items. This serves as a reference record for compliance audits, not a live accounting record.

Business account (operating account) balances and transaction histories migrate as a BusinessLedger custom object. Similar to trust ledger preservation, this is reference data for reconciliation rather than live accounting. Firms must maintain their trust and business accounting in dedicated legal accounting software post-migration.

Documents attached to matters in LawPracticeZA (briefs, contracts, correspondence) migrate as file attachments on the corresponding Matter custom object in HighLevel. File size limits apply per HighLevel's storage configuration. Inline images in documents are rehosted as separate attachments. We also preserve document metadata such as creation date and author to aid future retrieval.

Disbursements (out-of-pocket expenses incurred on behalf of clients) migrate as Disbursement custom object records linked to the Matter. Fields include description, amount, date, and reimbursement status. Disbursement totals aggregate to the Matter record for billing reconciliation. Each disbursement also records the fee earner who incurred the expense and the client matter reference for audit trail.

Fee earner expense claims map to an ExpenseClaim custom object linked to the submitting user. Status (pending, approved, paid) is preserved as a picklist field. Approved expense claims aggregate to the firm's business ledger reference record. The claim also captures the date submitted, total amount, and any supporting attachments such as receipts for verification.

Client communication preferences (email, WhatsApp, phone) map to corresponding custom fields on the HighLevel contact record. WhatsApp contact information maps to a phone field with WhatsApp link format preserved. Multiple contact methods per client are supported via additional custom fields.