We're excited to announce two features that will save you even more time, and make it easier to get paid!
ServeManager has integrated with Stripe, the payment platform that companies like Lyft, Twitter and Squarespace rely on for their payments. When sending an invoice or statement, your customers will now have a "Pay by Card" option if you enable this feature.
Switching from my old credit card processor to Stripe with ServeManager has been great. The processor I was using quoted me a low rate, but after all the fees were added on I was paying them between 25% and 40% of my credit card sales! Take a close look at your statements. With ServeManager Payments my fees are much lower, and the integration has been great for me and my customers.
-Tony Helferich, Alacrity Legal Services
Mobile, AL
To take advantage of these features, you'll first want to authorize the Stripe integration inside ServeManager. To do this, go to "Settings" then scroll to the bottom of that page
"My Account" --> "Settings" --> Click "Manage" next to "Accept Online Payments" - or just click here (if you're logged in to ServeManager)
When you get to this page, you'll be prompted to connect your Stripe account. If you don't already have a Stripe account, you'll be sent to a page to create your account (see below). If you already have a Stripe account this step will allow you to connect your account.
Please have the routing and bank account number for your business handy so you can get paid. You'll also be asked for your FEIN, but that field is optional.
Here's what your invoices and statements will look like with the "Pay with Card" button.
After they click the "Pay with Card" link, they are presented with a simple credit card form to enter their payment details.
As previously mentioned, Stripe is the payment platform that major technology and internet based companies rely on. There are numerous benefits to using Stripe and funds are usually available in your Stripe account within 48 hours of receiving payment from your customers. Having a Stripe account means you don't have to have a merchant account. Stripe is a secure vault for your customer's payment information. You can use Stripe to process payments via their interface if you have a client that's paying outside of ServeManager or your website form. It's an extremely powerful platform.
The fees for processing these payments are as follows:
So, if you charge $50 for a serve, $2.25 will be deducted. As the volume grows within the ServeManager application as a whole, we'll be able to reduce the transaction fees. Down the road, we'll also consider other payment platforms (i.e., Paypal, etc).
Website order forms.
We can also set up an order form on your website that takes payment and creates a job in ServeManager. Set-up fees may apply.
If you have any questions, or would like us to walk you through the Stripe connect, please contact us.
Every time you create a new job in ServeManager, the due date can automatically be added as an event on your calendar. This is a great back-up for reminders outside of ServeManager.
Google calendar also has the option for email reminders, which can be set up as part of this integration.
It should be noted that this integration can only support job due dates when new jobs are created. If you were to change the job due date (or add the due date later) this would not reflect on your Google calendar.
Step 1: Register for a Zapier Account
As with many of the 3rd party applications you can integrate with ServeManager, this integration requires a Zapier account. Some Zaps require a paid account, but since this one is pretty straight forward (only two steps) you can get away with the free account.
Step 2: Connect your ServeManager Account in Zapier
Before you connect your ServeManager account in Zapier, you will need to request an API key from us. Once you have that, navigate to the "Connected Accounts" page in Zapier and search for "ServeManager".
From there, you'll be shown a screen where you'll have to enter the ServeManager API key.
Step 3: Connect your Google Calendar Account
Just like in the above step, you'll want to connect your Google Calendar account in Zapier. Go to the "Connected Accounts" page in Zapier and search for "Google Calendar". If you're logged into your Google account already, you'll be asked if you want to connect that Google account. From, there you'll want to "allow" Zapier to connect to your account.
Step 4: Set up your Zap's "Trigger"
Now that you have your accounts connected, the fun part begins! Click "Make a Zap!" and you should see the accounts that you've connected in Zapier. The first step of setting up your Zap is choosing the application that will be your trigger. In this instance, our trigger app is ServeManager since every time we're creating a new job it will then create an event in your Google Calendar.
After selecting ServeManager as your trigger app, you'll want to select the "New Job" trigger.
From there, click continue and verify that your ServeManager account is the selected account.
Then you'll want to test that this step is actually working. If you click "Fetch and Continue", Zapier wil look for a recently created job in ServeManager for using in testing this Zap.
Assuming everything is connected properly and Zapier can find your most recent job, you'll see a "Test Successful!" message and you can then move on to the final step.
Step 5: Set up your Zap's "Action"
Now we're ready to set up the Action portion of the Zap. Just like you did in the trigger step, you'll need to find the correct app -- Google Calendar in this instance. From there you'll want to choose what type of calednar event you want to create. You can certainly select "Quick Add Event" under "Choose Action", but we recommend the "Create Detailed Event" and this is what we'll be referring to in the rest of this post.
The next portion of the Action step can get a little tedious, but that's because you can make this calendar event as detailed or as basic as you want. In the first field, you'll want to select the appropriate calendar you want your ServeManager jobs to show up on. All other fields will be pulling data from ServeManager. To find these fields, click the + icon to the right of each field.
You'll see in the summary field we have [Recipient Name] / Job #[ServeManager Job Number] Due. When this populates into your calendar with live data, it'll look like:
John Doe / Job #123456 Due
You can get even more fancy in the details of the calendar event but linking to the job, including the address, etc. There's a ton of data that can be pulled in here. It just depends on the level of detail you'd like to include.
There will be a number of other fields you need to complete in order to finish up the Zap. You can enter the address variables in the "Location of new event" if you like. You'll be required to have a start and end date for the event. You'll want to enter the ServeManager job "Due Date" here.
Pretty much everything else is optional.
Just like you did in the Trigger step, you'll need to test the action step by clicking "Create & Continue" to make sure there are no errors.
After you've tested the Action step, you'll be asked to name the Zap and select which folder (if applicable) you want your Zap in, and MOST IMPORTANTLY if you want to turn the Zap on - this part can be easy to miss.
If you’re having trouble getting this set up, please contact us.
You can now save plaintiffs and defendants in the same manner you can save document titles.
To manage these saved entries login to ServeManager and click My Account. Then click on the settings tab and look for the Manage button next to Auto-Complete Fields.
On this page you can create a New Value. Choose what type of value you'd like to create, a document title, plaintiff, or defendant. Enter your value in the text field below and save. When you access this field on the New Job screen and begin typing your saved entry it will be suggested to you, just as Document Titles works now.
Recent developments within ServeManager are allowing us to do some pretty cool things with other popular applications. You probably already know about "ServeManager Payments", which allows your clients to pay your invoices via credit card.
If you do any email marketing, or would like to start, we can now help automate your list building in one of many popular email marketing programs. Our preferred email tools are MailChimp or Campaign Monitor, but there are literally dozens out there we're able to integrate with.
How it works
If you're interested in this service, there will be some prelimary set-up with a couple third-party applications that we'll walk you through. Once you're set up, every time you add a new company to ServeManager, it will automatically add those contacts to your email marketing list. Most programs make segmenting your lists pretty easy. So you can send emails to clients and other process servers.
Email Marketing Programs
As mentioned earlier, our team is most familiar with Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor, but there are literally dozens of options on the market. If you're using one of the following programs, we can set up the email marketing integration in ServeManager for you.
Interested?
Currently we're not charging to set this up, and it won't increase your monthly subscription fee. If you're interested in taking advantage of this integration, please contact us via email.
We've updated our mobile site to be faster and easier to use, while keeping the same great features and workflow in place and largely unchanged.
Now users will be able to navigate more quickly between jobs, attempts and routes.
It's also easier for servers to view important job details and actions which were not as obvious before.
To access the mobile site on your smartphone, just open an internet browser and go to servemanager.com. After logging in you will automatically be redirected to the mobile site. Just like before, there's no app to download, and it works across every major smartphone platform.
If you need to access the desktop version from your phone, just click the Desktop link at the bottom of the page. You can always toggle between the desktop and mobile versions regardless of what device you're using.
These updates will also make it easier for our development team to improve the mobile site and add new features in the future.
In the last few weeks we have added several new forms to the program. The most broadly useful form is Exhibit 5-2b, Request for Change of Address of Boxholder Information Needed for Service of Legal Process. This form can be used to request new address information on difficult to track down recipients from the United States Postal Service. The majority of the form will autofill based on your job details.
To generate the form open any job or create a new one. When in the job press New Affidavit and use the template drop down to find the Nationwide section, you'll find the change of address form listed here.
Additional forms we've added are CH-200 for California, CCDR 055 and CCDR 056 for Maryland, and MC01 and MC11 for Michigan. All users may access these new affidavits by using the above instructions. These particular forms will be listed under the appropriate state.
You've long been able to create products and select default products from the Products page and also set invoice terms in the Settings page, but up until now these have been limited to account wide selections. Now you can assign these based on an individual company.
Over time or in order to secure a client you may agree on unique service prices or terms with your clients. Once you have several clients with their own unique terms it can become a task in itself to remember how everyone is charged. By being able to set these terms and default products per company you no longer need to worry about charging everyone the right price.
You'll still create your products in the same manner. To do so click Accounting on the left and then the Products tab. Any default products you set here will still be your general default set for companies that don't have specific defaults.
Once your products are created you can now set defaults on an individual company basis by opening the company from the Companies page. Click the Edit button on the top right of the Company page to access these new options.
From here anything you enter in the Terms boxes will be used for invoice terms for this particular company. Anything you check off of the Products list here will be set as the default products for new invoices for the selected company.
You can now remove and reassign jobs between collaborators on jobs that you've created. Previously you were locked into a company once a job was assigned to a collaborator. This situation was fine when the server you were working with was able to complete the job, but if you had to switch servers in the middle of the job you were not able to do so.
When you unassign a job from a collaborator any work they've completed and shared with you will still be present. They will retain a read only copy on their end for the records. Once you've removed them from the job you can assign the job to another server whether they be an employee or another contractor. If you've accidentally assigned a job to the wrong collaborating client company you can now also remove and reassign the job to a different client.
To reassign a job from a collaborator, open the job and click Edit in the upper right. Next to the selected company there is a Remove link. Click this and it will remove the company from the job, freeing you up to assign it to someone else.
A couple years back we added a directory to make it easy for our customers to find other ServeManager users. With the directory, not only can you find other servers to forward work to, but it also gives you an opportunity to be found by your colleagues and major process serving firms.
From a growth and marketing perspective, the directory has made ServeManager increasingly more valuable to our customers. ServeManager is the fastest growing, and closing in on being the most widely used, software for process servers. More servers using it means more potential work for our customers. In addition, several major Nationwide companies have connected to our API so they can easily send work to their affiliates via ServeManager. They're often using the directory to find new affiliates.
When two companies are on ServeManager, it makes forwarding and receiving work effortless. Major efficiencies come with forwarding jobs inside the ServeManager network.
To accesss the ServeManager Directory click the Companies menu on the left. Look for the ServeManager Directory tab to view the list.
From here you can initiate contact with a company by calling the listed phone number or by clicking Send Message to send an email. After you've made contact and discussed working together you can collaborate as you would with any other company by creating an entry for their company and then inviting them from their company page.
To list your own company in the ServeManager Directory click My Account on the top right and then click the Settings tab. Toward the bottom there is a checkbox to list your company within the directory. This will use your Company email and phone number which can be viewed and edited by clicking My Account.
Once you're listed you may be contacted about potential jobs from other process servers and forwarding companies that utilize the ServeManager Directory. Please be respectful of your fellow ServeManager users and only contact them should you have work to send their way.
Only paying servers can view or be listed in the directory.
We're constantly improving functionality, adding features and building new affidavits into ServeManager. Our customers now have nearly 40 affidavits available to them by default.
Recent affidavit additions are California forms DV-200 and SC-104A. We've also added a form for Illinois, form CCG N060. To access these new forms or any other available affidavit in ServeManager open a job and click New Affidavit. Using the dropdown menu up top you can generate an affidavit using any template in the list.
The latest affidavits and their uses are as follows:
DV-200
California Proof of Personal Service
SC-104A
California Proof of Mailing
Illinois CCG N060
Affidavit of Special Process Server (Rev. 8/07/09)
If your state has an official form that we don't have available within ServeManager please let us know. Contact us and provide a link to the official form from the court's site and we'll look into adding it as a future addition.
Need a custom affidavit? ServeManager's robust document management system allows you to fully edit your affidavits in the app, or contact us if you have the need for a completely custom affidavit.
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