The records your firm manages
Leads
A lead is a prospective client before your firm has opened active case work. Leads are useful for qualification, consultation booking, follow-up, and conversion reporting. Keep an enquiry as a lead until your team has decided to engage it.Clients
A client is the durable relationship record. One client can have more than one case over time. Store client-level contact information here; put matter-specific work, documents, and deadlines on the case.Cases
A case is one immigration matter. It gives the work a shared context: client, case type, assignees, forms, files, notes, drafts, tasks, financial activity, and client-facing visibility. Create a separate case when the work needs a separate process, deadline set, or document trail.The case workspaces
Questionnaires and forms
Questionnaires collect structured information from the client. They are the best place for information you need to review, reuse in documents, or use for supported autofill. A questionnaire is not a general chat thread; use comments for clarification and tasks for internal follow-up.Files
Files are the supporting evidence and generated outputs for a case. Use folders and consistent names so a staff member can tell whether a document is source evidence, a working draft, a signed output, or a submission copy.Tasks, reminders, and workflows
A task has an owner and an action. A reminder keeps a time-sensitive item visible. A workflow is a reusable pattern of tasks for repeated work. Use all three together: workflow for the repeatable process, task for the owned action, and reminder for the deadline.Drafts, templates, and signatures
Templates provide a reviewed starting structure. Drafts are the working document. E-signature requests are the final client action after the content is correct. Do not treat a template or an AI-generated draft as final without case-specific review.The client-facing surfaces
Client Portal
The portal is a controlled view of client work. It is appropriate for requests, updates, and case information your firm intentionally makes visible. It is not the place for internal notes, working comments, or unreviewed drafts.Invitations, shared links, and payment requests
Use an invitation when the client needs to complete a questionnaire or access a portal workflow. Use a shared link for a deliberately selected document set. Use an invoice and payment action for payment collection. Each surface has a different purpose; avoid using a broad shared link as a substitute for a specific client request.A simple decision rule
Ask where the information should still be useful six months from now:- Relationship-level information belongs on the client.
- Matter-level work belongs on the case.
- Client-provided structured facts belong in a questionnaire.
- Source and output documents belong in files.
- An owned next action belongs in a task.
- Team-only context belongs in an internal note.