Managing Undertakings in Matters.Cloud
Overview
Undertakings are formal commitments made or received during the course of a matter. They require careful management to ensure obligations are recorded, monitored, and completed appropriately.
Matters.Cloud provides tools to help firms manage undertakings throughout the lifecycle of a matter, offering a centralised way to record, monitor, and report on commitments given or received.
Users can manage undertakings directly from individual matters and access a firm-wide view of all undertakings requiring attention, helping improve visibility, accountability, and risk management.
Understanding Undertakings
An undertaking is a formal and binding commitment made by a lawyer or firm to carry out, or refrain from carrying out, a specific action.
Undertakings are commonly used in legal practice to provide assurance that certain obligations will be completed within an agreed timeframe. Examples include:
- Confirming that funds will be paid or transferred
- Providing or filing documents by a specified date
- Completing agreed actions on behalf of a client or another party
- Satisfying specific conditions as part of a transaction or legal matter
Effective management of undertakings is important to ensure commitments are appropriately recorded, monitored, and fulfilled.
Pre-requisites
Users must have the appropriate permission assigned to their role to access and manage undertakings.
For further information, please refer to the following article: Understanding Role-Based Permissions and How to Manage Them in Matters.Cloud
Note: Only administrators can enable this permission. If you do not have administrator access, please contact your internal administrator to request access.
Creating a New Undertaking
There are two ways to create a new undertaking:
Option 1: Create an undertaking from the Undertakings menu
- Select Undertakings from the left-hand navigation menu.
- Click New undertaking.
- Complete the undertaking form.
- Click Submit.
Option 2: Create an undertaking from a Matter
- Open the relevant matter.
- Select the Undertakings tab.
- Click New undertaking.
- Complete the undertaking form.
- Click Submit.
Undertaking Fields
When creating a new undertaking, complete the relevant fields to record the commitment, assign responsibility, and track progress.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Matter | Select the matter the undertaking relates to. This links the undertaking to the relevant client or case record. |
| Type | Select whether the undertaking is Given, Received, or Not applicable. This identifies whether your firm has made or received the commitment. |
| Description | Enter a clear description of the undertaking, including the agreed commitment, conditions, and required actions. |
| Amount | Record any financial value associated with the undertaking, such as payments or settlement funds. Leave blank if not applicable. |
| User | Assign the user responsible for managing the undertaking and ensuring required actions are completed. |
| Given to | Enter the person, firm, organisation, or party the undertaking was given to or received from. |
| Date | Record the date the undertaking was created, given, or received. |
| Due date | Enter the date by which the undertaking must be completed. This helps monitor deadlines and outstanding commitments. |
| Status | Select the current status of the undertaking, such as Outstanding, Discharged, or Cancelled. |
| Notes | Add any additional information, updates, or context relating to the undertaking. |
Editing an Existing Undertaking
Existing undertakings can be updated to reflect changes or additional information.
Users can edit the undertaking details, including the description, amount, assigned user, recipient, dates, status, and notes.
To edit an undertaking:
- Open the undertaking from either:
- Undertakings in the left-hand navigation menu; or
- The Undertakings tab within the relevant matter.
- Click the Edit icon.
- Update the required details.
- Click Submit to save the changes.
Note: The Matter field cannot be edited after an undertaking has been created. If an undertaking has been created under the incorrect matter, cancel the existing undertaking and create a new one under the correct matter.
Viewing Undertaking History
Users can view the history of an undertaking to review changes, updates, and activity recorded throughout its lifecycle.
The undertaking history provides visibility into key actions, including updates to undertaking details, status changes, and other related activity. This helps maintain an accurate audit trail and allows users to track progress over time.
To view the undertaking history:
- Open the Undertakings list from the left-hand navigation menu, or access the Undertakings tab within the relevant matter.
- Click the History icon. This will display all changes, updates, and activity associated with the undertaking.
Cancelling an Undertaking
An undertaking can be cancelled when the commitment is no longer required, no longer applicable, or will not be completed.
Cancelling an undertaking updates its status to indicate that it is no longer an active obligation while retaining the record for tracking purposes.
To cancel an undertaking:
- Open the undertaking.
- Click the Edit icon.
- Change the Status to Cancelled.
- Click Submit.
Before cancelling an undertaking, ensure the commitment is no longer required or that the cancellation has been agreed where applicable.
Discharging an Undertaking
An undertaking can be discharged once the required commitment has been completed or fulfilled.
Discharging an undertaking confirms that the obligation has been satisfied and updates the status to show that no further action is required.
To discharge an undertaking:
- Open the undertaking.
- Click the Discharge icon.
- Add discharge notes (optional).
- Click Discharge to save the update.
Importing Undertakings
Matters.Cloud supports the bulk creation and migration of undertakings using import templates. This allows firms to efficiently add multiple undertaking records at once, making it easier to migrate existing undertakings from another system or create new records in bulk.
Supported Import Formats
The following file formats are supported:
- Microsoft Excel (.xlsx)
- Comma Separated Values (.csv)
Import Process
Step 1: Download Import Template
To download the undertaking import template:
- Go to Setup > Import data.
- Locate the Undertakings import option.
- Download the available template.
Step 2: Complete the Template
- Populate the template with the undertaking details to be imported.
- Ensure the data is entered in the correct format to support a successful import.
Step 3: Import the File
Once completed:
- Select the file using the Choose File button.
- Click Import.
Imported undertakings will then be available for review and management from the relevant matter or firm-wide undertakings view.
Undertakings Reports
Matters.Cloud provides reports for undertakings, allowing users to monitor and review undertaking activity, including outstanding commitments and key undertaking details. For more information on available undertaking reports and how to access them, please refer to:
Availability and Enablement
- Existing clients: This functionality must be enabled by assigning the relevant permission to user roles.
- New clients: This feature is enabled by default.
Licensing
- This feature is available to both Standard and Advanced licence users.
- The API is available to Advanced licence users only.
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