Migrate from LawPracticeZA to Nutshell

LawPracticeZA clients map to both Nutshell Person (the individual contact) and Nutshell Company (the law firm or organization they represent). If the client is an individual sole practitioner, only a Person record is created. We preserve the original Client ID as Source_System_ID__c on the Person record for traceability.

Each LawPracticeZA Matter becomes a Nutshell Deal. The Matter reference number maps to Deal name; Matter status (Active, Closed, Archived) maps to Nutshell pipeline stages. If a client has multiple matters, each becomes a separate Deal linked to the same Person/Company. Matter description and practice area migrate as custom text fields on the Deal.

LawPracticeZA Fee Earners (lawyers and candidate attorneys) map to Nutshell Users. Matching is done by email address. Unmatched fee earners are flagged before migration — your team either creates Nutshell user accounts first or assigns their records to a fallback owner. Fee earner role (Partner, Associate, Candidate Attorney) migrates as a custom field on the User record.

LawPracticeZA WIP records (unbilled time entries) have no direct Nutshell equivalent. We migrate WIP as Nutshell Activity records with type 'Note', capturing date, fee earner, hours, and rate. The financial value of WIP is preserved in a custom currency field on the related Deal for reference — actual billing must be handled outside Nutshell or via a third-party accounting integration.

LawPracticeZA Disbursements (out-of-pocket expenses charged to the client) migrate as Nutshell Activity Notes on the related Deal, preserving date, description, amount, and fee earner. Actual expense recovery tracking requires accounting software outside Nutshell. These activity notes are linked to the Deal and can be referenced in future client communications or billing discussions.

LawPracticeZA Invoices cannot be recreated in Nutshell (no invoicing module). We create a Deal-level custom field 'Original Invoice Reference' storing the invoice number, and an Activity Note with invoice date, total amount, and VAT. Your team generates new invoices in your accounting tool and links them by reference number.

LawPracticeZA Trust Accounts (IOLTA-compliant ledgers) have no Nutshell equivalent. We export trust account balances, transaction history, and client trust ledger entries as a structured CSV file. Your accounting team uses this for IOLTA reconciliation in a compliant accounting tool post-migration.

LawPracticeZA Proforma Invoices (pre-billing previews without VAT/tax consequences) migrate as Activity Notes on the Deal with type 'Other'. Proforma totals are preserved in custom number fields on the Deal for reference during client discussions. These notes retain the original proforma amount and can be retrieved for comparison with final invoices.

LawPracticeZA document attachments on Matters (briefs, correspondence, contracts) are downloaded and re-uploaded to Nutshell Files linked to the corresponding Deal. File size limits (Nutshell's hosting constraints) apply. We recommend linking the most recent 50 documents per Matter and archiving older documents to a shared drive referenced in the Deal description.

LawPracticeZA Departments (billing departments, practice groups) have no Nutshell equivalent. We create a 'Department' custom field on Nutshell Users and map department assignments during user migration. If Nutshell Teams are enabled on your plan, departments can alternatively map to Teams for reporting segmentation.

LawPracticeZA's internal communication notes on Matters map to Nutshell Activities (Notes). Original timestamps and fee-earner authors are preserved. Automated email logging requires Nutshell's email integration to be configured post-migration. You should configure the integration early to ensure ongoing communication tracking aligns with historical records.

LawPracticeZA client email, phone, physical address, and WhatsApp contact fields map directly to Nutshell Person standard fields. Multiple contact numbers collapse to Nutshell's single phone field with additional numbers in custom fields. The client's physical address maps to Nutshell Person address fields.