Matter Numbering System

Welcome to our online Matter Numbering System — the replacement for the old Excel numbering books. This guide shows every member of staff how to open file numbers and manage their matters, and shows administrators how to run the system. The platform is available at book.satha.co.uk.

About the system

The Matter Numbering System gives every department its own running series of file numbers and keeps all matters in one secure place. It replaces the Excel numbering books completely.

1. Signing in & getting approved

1. Open book.satha.co.uk in your web browser (Chrome or Edge).
2. Click “Sign in with Google” and choose your office email address (your @satha.co.uk account).
3. Your account is created instantly, but starts as Pending — you can’t create numbers yet.
4. An administrator approves your account and adds you to your department(s). You’ll then have full access.

2. Finding your way around

Once approved, you’ll see a menu down the left-hand side:

Dashboard	Your overview — quick stats and recent activity.
New Matter	Open a brand-new file number.
My Matters	The list of matters you have created (and any shared with you).
My Reports	Summaries and exports of your own matters.

Administrators see additional menu items (Users, All Matters, Manual Entry, Number Setup, Reports, Deleted Matters, Activity Log, Transfers, Company) — covered in Part 2.

3. Creating a new file number

1. Click New Matter.
2. Choose the Department (you’ll only see the departments you’re assigned to).
3. Check the Fee Earner — it defaults to you, but you can pick a different fee earner from the dropdown if you’re opening the file for someone else.
4. The File Reference is generated automatically as firm / fee earner’s initials / next number — you don’t type it.
5. Enter the Date, Client details, and the Matter Type.
6. Fill any department-specific fields (see the table below).
7. Click Create / Save. The number is reserved and the matter is saved.

Fee Earner vs Created By

Every matter records two people: the Fee Earner (whose initials appear in the file number and who the file “belongs” to) and Created By (whoever actually opened it). By default they’re the same — you. If a secretary or colleague opens a file on someone’s behalf, they pick that person as the Fee Earner; the number then uses the fee earner’s initials, while their own name is still kept as Created By.

Matter Type — “Other”

If the type you need isn’t in the list, choose “Other (specify)…”, type the new type, and click Save & use. It is added to the list for everyone next time.

Department-specific fields

Immigration / Civil / Family	Matter Type (dropdown), matter details.
Conveyancing	Matter Type, property address, post code (with postcode helper), transaction amount, completion date.
Crime	UFN, URN, DSCC number, offence, funding, outcome — see section 4.

Postcode helper (Conveyancing)

On Conveyancing matters, start typing the post code and a list of matching UK postcodes appears — click one to fill it in (it’s also auto-capitalised). The street and house number are still typed by hand.

4. Crime files — UFN, URN & outcomes

Crime files have a few extra fields, in this order: UFN → URN Number → DSCC → Offence → Funding → Outcome.

UFN — the Generate button

The UFN box is empty to begin with. When the client brings the papers, click the maroon Generate button — it stamps a UFN using that day’s date in the form ddmmyyyy/001 (the second file generated that day becomes /002, then /003, and so on). You can also generate it later from Edit Matter.

Outcome — sets the matter’s status automatically

Choose an Outcome Category (PSTN, Mags Court, Crown Court or Auxiliary) and then a Sub-category. Some outcomes close the file automatically:

Closes the matter (→ Completed)	NFA, Caution, Charge & Remand Closed (CR&C), Mags Sentence, Crown Sentencing, Sentenced.
Keeps it Open	RUI, BTR, PSTN, First Appearance, CMH, Trial, PTPH, Appeal, TFL, Advice/Drafting, Licensing, etc.

5. My Matters & statuses

The My Matters page lists everything you’ve created. Tabs across the top let you switch view:

My Matters	Files you created.
Department Matters	All files in your department(s). If you belong to more than one department, a department summary appears with a card per department — click a card to filter.
Shared with me	Files other staff have given you access to (see section 6).

The four statuses

To change a matter’s status, use the — Status — dropdown on its row. Use Edit to change details and Del to remove a matter (it goes to Deleted Matters, where an admin can restore it). The person column shows the Fee Earner by their initials.

Seeing the dates — click the matter

To keep the table tidy, the dates live inside each matter. Click any row to open it and you’ll see the full date trail for its status: Opened is always shown, plus Completed, Archived and/or Not Proceeding dates as they apply (e.g. an archived file that was completed first shows both the completed and archived dates).

Long lists — “Load more”

Lists load 25 matters at a time so the page stays fast. Use the Load more button at the bottom, or the Show 1–25 / 1–50 / 1–75 / 1–100 / Show all selector at the top of the list. Search and the status/department filters always cover every matter, not just the ones currently on screen.

6. Sharing access to your matters

You can let a colleague see all of your matters at once — no need to share file by file.

1. On the My Matters page, click 🔑 Manage Access (top-right of the tabs).
2. Pick the staff member and choose what they may do: View only, View + change status, or Full control.
3. Click Grant access. They’ll instantly see your matters under their “Shared with me” tab — current and future.
4. Remove access any time from the same screen.

7. My Reports

Open My Reports to see totals of your matters by status, and to export your list. Administrators can run firm-wide reports from the admin Reports page.

Administrators have everything above, plus the tools below. There are two admin roles: Admin (full control) and Office Admin.

8. Approving & managing staff

Open Users from the admin menu.

Approve a new (pending) member

1. Find the person in the Pending list and click Approve.
2. Assign their Department(s), their Role, and their Fee-earner prefix (their initials, e.g. SN, KP).
3. Save. They can now create file numbers in their department(s).

Other actions

Edit user	Change a person’s departments, role or prefix.
Reject / Delete	Decline a pending account or remove an account.
Reinstate	Re-activate a previously removed account.
Department access	Allow a user to view all matters in their department, not just their own.

9. Number Setup

Open Number Setup to set the next file number for each department. The system always issues numbers in sequence from here, so new files continue your existing series (for example Civil continues 51xxx, Crime continues 47xxx).

10. All Matters & dashboard

Open All Matters to view and manage every matter across all departments.

• Dashboard summary at the top: a card per department (totals, open, done) and a staff breakdown. Click a department card to filter the list.
• Search and filters: by text, department and status.
• Per-row actions: change status, Edit, or Delete any matter.

The Analytics page gives firm-wide charts: total matters, department split, monthly trend (with a 12-months / by-year toggle and a fee-earner filter), top fee earners, and a “files opened by fee earner — monthly” table.

Changing or transferring the fee earner

Admins can change a matter’s fee earner in Edit Matter. Pick the new fee earner from the Fee Earner dropdown — the file number’s initials update to the new fee earner (the number itself never changes). Two options then appear, and you must choose one:

Manual Entry — backfilling old paper-book files

Use Manual Entry (admin menu) to add a file that was opened the old way, before going online. Unlike New Matter, here you set the values:

• Pick the department, then enter the fee earner prefix (the file number stays hidden until you do).
• Type the actual matter number from the book, and the real opening date (so it sorts in the right place).
• It blocks duplicates and warns you if the number looks outside that department’s current series (e.g. a wrong leading digit).
• Leave “advance the next number” unticked when backfilling old gaps; tick it only when entering the very latest number.

11. Reports, Deleted Matters, Activity & Company

Reports	Firm-wide reports and exports across departments and fee earners.
Fee Earner Transfers	A report of files moved from one fee earner to another — date, from → to, and who did it. Admin corrections are excluded.
Deleted Matters	The “trash”. Matters staff delete land here; an admin can restore them.
Activity Log	An audit trail of who did what and when (approvals, edits, status changes, transfers, deletions).
Company	Firm branding (name and logo), and the optional postcode-helper setting, shown across the platform.

12. FAQ & help

I signed in but I can’t create a number.

Your account is awaiting approval, or you haven’t been added to a department yet. Contact IT.

The file reference / number — do I type it?

No. It is generated automatically from the firm prefix, your initials and the next number.

My matter type isn’t listed.

Choose “Other (specify)…”, type it, and click “Save & use”. It’s added for everyone.

How do I record that a file is finished?

Set its status to Completed — the completion date is recorded automatically and shown when you click the matter open. For crime, choosing a “closing” outcome does this for you.

Why does a file number show someone else’s initials?

The number uses the fee earner’s initials. If a colleague opened the file for that fee earner, their own name still appears under Created By when you open the matter.

I need to move a file to another fee earner.

Admins: open the matter → Edit → change the Fee Earner → choose Transfer. The number’s initials update and it’s logged in the Fee Earner Transfers report. Choose Admin error / correction instead if you’re only fixing a mistake.

Where did the Completed / Archived date columns go?

They moved into the matter pop-up to keep the table tidy — click any matter to see its full date trail.

Can a colleague cover my files?

Yes — use Manage Access to give them View, Status, or Full control over all your matters.

I deleted a matter by mistake.

Ask an administrator — it’s in Deleted Matters and can be restored.