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Status & Sub-Status Architecture

Main Statuses and Sub-Statuses

The platform uses a dual-layer tracking system to manage the lifecycle and audit trail of every client.

A. Main Statuses (Lifecycle & Visibility)

Controlled via the Status dropdown in the Overview tab. These determine which Dashboard List the client appears in.

Status Definition Visibility Rule Automation Triggered
New Enquiry Fresh lead from website. Stored in Pending List in the Laravel layer. Not yet present in BackOffice (BO). None.
Created Lead assigned (if Regular). Telephone/email initially hidden until engagement. Appears in the Current Clients list. Initial contact-timer stops; client expects contact.
Preparing Consultation Paid Consultation only. Admin is drafting the Preliminary Email. Appears in the Current Clients list. User notification sent when the draft is ready for review or when approved by the client.
Ongoing Client has engaged services (retainer agreed/paid, though payment may not yet be added to record). Appears in the Current Clients list. Monthly inactivity checks and other workload monitoring may apply.
Hibernated Recurring services only. Principal file “sleeps” between periods while any delegatee handles day-to-day work. Visible in All Clients but hidden from Current Clients. Automatic wake-up to Ongoing based on recurring due-date rules.
Completed Work finished and full payment recorded. All Clients (archive lists, not Current Clients). “Rate Your Lawyer” survey sent to client.
Closed Admin has verified completion, handled survey logic and updated Intelliquote/reporting. All Clients (archival/historical). Anonymisation timer starts (approx. 6 months).
Non Responsive System-driven state after repeated failed chasers with no reply. All Clients, hidden from Current Clients. Chaser emails and non-response sequences stop.
Eliminated Lead is dead (e.g. price too high, ghosted, explicitly not proceeding). All Clients (archive). Chaser emails stop; may trigger a “Rejected” survey depending on config.
Rejected Admin review state for eliminated leads, used to decide whether a survey should be sent. All Clients (archive). Anonymisation timer starts (approx. 6 months).
Unsuitable Enquiry Lead invalid (spam, wrong jurisdiction, outside AA scope). All Clients (archive). Chaser emails stop.

B. Sub-Statuses (Action Audit Trail)

Sub-statuses are set automatically by the “All Actions” workflow or system events to track specific interactions and follow-up steps.

  • Another Person Answered – Admin Reminder Sent: Set when a non-client answered a scheduled call; records that admin-level follow-up has been requested.
  • Another Person Answered – Email Sent: Follow-up email sent after someone else answered the phone; indicates phone contact failed but email contact is in progress.
  • Change To Consultation Requested: User has requested to switch from full Direct Service/regular service to a Paid Consultation only, typically because the client mainly seeks information.
  • Client Record Postponed: System flag used when the scheduled call is beyond 24 hours (e.g. late Friday lead, Monday call), suppressing “slow response” reminders.
  • Consultation Offer sent – Pending Client Response: Consultation Offer Email sent; system is waiting for client’s decision and/or payment.
  • Meeting Confirmation Email Sent: Offer/confirmation email sent with date/time of appointment; next step is the meeting itself.
  • No Reply To Offer – Admin Reminder Sent: Used when there has been no reply to an Offer Email and admin has been reminded to review or adjust strategy.
  • No Reply To Offer – Professional Reminder Sent: Client has not replied to an Offer Email and a follow-up reminder has been sent by or on behalf of the professional.
  • Non-Responsive – 24h Email Sent: First non-responsive follow-up email sent approximately 24 hours after a failed contact attempt.
  • Non-Responsive – Admin Reminder Sent: Client remains non-responsive after chasers and admin has been reminded to review or decide on elimination/strategy change.
  • Offer Email Sent – Pending Reply: Direct Service or quotation email sent; system is waiting for client’s reply.
  • On Recurring Payments: Client configured for recurring service (monthly tax, accounting, annual returns, etc.); recurring payments are expected and tracked.
  • Pending Anonymisation: Record has met GDPR criteria and is queued for anonymisation but not processed yet.
  • Phone Out of Order – Admin Reminder Sent: Phone number invalid/unreachable and admin has already been reminded to correct details or switch channel.
  • Phone Out of Order – Email Sent: After discovering the phone is out of order, an email has been sent instead; email becomes primary channel.
  • Preparation – Pending User Review: Preliminary email drafted by Admin and sent to User for review before sending to client.
  • Requested Contact By Email: Client explicitly requested email-only contact; requires Admin approval and, if accepted, usually leads to Ongoing status with email access only.

1. Created

What it is

First live status for a client record. The lead has moved beyond the New Enquiry intake tag and is now an active case, often under a named professional.

For some Paid Consultations and Direct Services, a client record may remain unassigned if a Preliminary Email can be sent without lawyer review and the client never responds.

When it is used

  • Set when Admin converts an intake lead into a working file by assigning it to a specific User as a Regular Enquiry.
  • Set when Admin registers a Paid Consultation or Direct Service enquiry (with or without immediate assignment to a specific User).
  • Used immediately after assignment (or after resolving an NPD state) once the lead is considered “taken in charge”.

How it differs from New Enquiry

  • New Enquiry is a system-level intake tag for fresh, unworked leads and for populating the “New Enquiries” list.
  • Created marks the point where the lead becomes part of the lawyer’s workload and enters the main lifecycle (Created → Ongoing / Hibernated / Eliminated, etc.).

Main behavioural effects

  • Moves the record out of the Pending list in Laravel into the Current Clients list.
  • While status is Created, the assigned User can still correct Enquiry Type via the Change Enquiry Type workflow; after Ongoing/Hibernated/Completed/Closed, ET changes are more restricted and may require Admin.
  • Acts as launch point for downstream flows: User can send Offer Emails, Paid Consultation or Direct Service offers, or move to Eliminated if clearly not proceeding.
  • Until status changes to Ongoing, direct email-from-BO remains restricted; certain events (client reply, payment entry) may promote to Ongoing.

Sub-status behaviour (Created)

Consultation Offer Sent – Pending Client Response

Used in the Paid Consultation workflow when Admin or User has sent a Consultation Offer Email and the system is awaiting the client’s reply/payment.

Offer Email Sent – Pending Reply

Used for regular enquiries when an Offer Email has been sent; status remains Created while the system waits for a response.

If there is no response and no payment within a defined window, reminder emails are sent; ongoing silence typically leads to Eliminated, often with a feedback survey.

Change To Consultation Requested

Used when, after speaking with the client, the User believes the engagement should be limited to a paid consultation and requests Admin approval to switch format.

Preparation – Pending User Review

Indicates Admin has drafted a preliminary email (Paid Consultation or Direct Service) and is awaiting User confirmation before sending to the client.

2. Contacted

This legacy status appears in older descriptions as “User has sent the first email or made the first call”, but is rarely used in the current system.

Modern flows rely on Created/Ongoing plus the Record Contact Results audit trail instead; Contacted should be treated as deprecated with no new behaviour added.

3. Ongoing

What it is / when used

  • Main active-work status once the client has instructed and the professional is carrying out work.
  • Initial status for some Additional Services where no sales strategy is required.
  • Used on delegatee records for recurring services while the principal record is Hibernated.
  • Appears in Current Clients and is heavily used across all Enquiry Types.

Main behavioural effects

  • Enables the User to access the client’s email address and send emails from within BO.
  • Included in workload/statistics; drives dashboards and reporting.
  • Allows transitions to Completed, Hibernated (for recurring), or Eliminated.
  • Admin can create blocking tasks (e.g. Add Payment) that must be completed before moving to completion or closure.

Sub-status behaviour: Call outcomes and non-response

The Strategy Guide “Contact” step and Record Contact Results modal (via All Actions) drive several non-responsive and phone-problem sub-statuses.

  • Client Didn’t Answer → sends a non-response email and sets a Non-Responsive sub-status.
  • Phone number provided doesn’t work → sends an email and sets Phone Out of Order – Email Sent.
  • Someone else answered → sends an email and sets Another Person Answered – Email Sent.

Further lack of response can trigger admin reminders and ultimately automatic movement to Eliminated plus a survey email.

Requested Contact By Email

When a client explicitly asks for email-only contact, the User can set Requested Contact By Email; Admin approval typically moves the case to Ongoing with email access but no scheduled calls.

4. Hibernated status

What it is

The Hibernated status is used for clients who receive recurring services (for example, annual non-resident tax, quarterly rental tax, annual income tax returns), where no further work is required until a future period.

When to use Hibernated

  • The client has instructed the User and the current-period service has been fully provided.
  • The payment for the current period has been added in the Payments tab of the client record.
  • The service is expected to repeat (typically yearly or quarterly) and the client is likely to use the same service again.

In these cases, instead of setting the status to Completed, the User sets the client record to Hibernated so that it is removed from the normal Current Clients list until the service is next due.

How Hibernated works

  • Admin configures, at Enquiry Type level, the “wake-up” month/day for each recurring service (for example, IRNR in September, IRPF Rentals each quarter, annual Renta in May, etc.).
  • After the User has provided the service for the current period and added the corresponding payment, the User changes the status from Ongoing to Hibernated.
  • While in Hibernated, the record is hidden from the User’s standard Current Clients list, but can still be accessed via filters such as “All Records” or specific recurring-service filters.
  • A scheduled background process runs before each configured due date and:
    • Changes all relevant Hibernated records for that Enquiry Type to Ongoing.
    • Updates the Next Progress Date appropriately.
    • Sends a notification to each User with a list of their reactivated recurring clients.
  • Once reactivated (status = Ongoing), the client records automatically reappear in the Current Clients list so the User can begin preparing the next period’s work.

Typical recurring cycle

  1. Client is assigned and the User receives instructions.
  2. User provides the service for the current period and records the client’s payment.
  3. User sets the status to Hibernated so the file is removed from the active list until the next period.
  4. On the configured date (with some lead time - set by Admin at ET level in 'Recurrence' Section), the system automatically:
    • Returns the status to Ongoing, and
    • Notifies the User with a list of all such clients to start work again.
  5. After the new period’s service is delivered and payment is recorded, the User again sets the client to Hibernated, and the cycle repeats.

Relation to recurring services

For services marked as “On Recurring Payments” or otherwise defined as cyclical, Hibernated is the standard status between service periods: the recurring behaviour begins as soon as the first period’s work has been completed and its payment added, at which point the record is moved to Hibernated instead of Completed.

5. Completed

What it is / When it is used

Completed is the status used when all work for the current engagement has been carried out and the essential financials are in place, but before the final administrative closure in Closed.

Use Completed when:

  • The agreed service has been fully delivered (consultation held, procedure finished, document drafted/drafted or executed, tax filing done,completed, etc.).

  • All payments for that service have been entered in the Payments sectionsection; (if a required payment is missing, the system can block changing to Completed).Completed Users(users often report “case is terminated but I cannot click on the completed button” until payments are added.

    added).

  • The matter is effectively finished and only survey/feedback or admin review is pending; Admin often confirms “this service is completed… you will be able to change to completed now.”

    pending.

  • The service is one‑off, not recurringrecurring; (recurring yearly/quarterly matters should generally go to Hibernated instead so they re‑activate automatically).

    automatically when due.

Main behavioural effects (what Completed means)

Setting a client to Completed has these main effects:

  • The file is removed from active day‑to‑day worklists for the user and becomes a finished job awaiting feedback/feedback and/or admin processing.

  • A survey decision is required (via the wizard)Completed Survey Wizard and, depending on the choice, a feedback or review email is sent (or deliberately not sent) to the client.

  • For non‑recurring work, Completed marks the practical end of the service; the next lifecycle step is normally an Admin movechange to Closed after surveys and reporting (e.g.for example Intelliquote, commission checks) are handled.

  • For KPI and reporting, Completed contributes to statistics about finished matters, fees,fees and client satisfaction; mis‑using Completed (e.g.for example without recording payments) leads to Admin queries from Admin and incorrect figures.

Before changing to Completed, the user should:

  • Add all client payments in the Payments tab for that record.

  • Leave a short comment in Updates Record confirming that the work is finished and adjust the Next Progress Date if requested by Admin practicepractice, (even if the file is about to be closed).

    closed.

Completed Survey Wizard

When the user changes Status to Completed in the client record, a Survey Wizard pops up and guides them through a series of mandatory choices and confirmations. ThisThe wizard has been iteratively refined (per Trello discussions) so that every Completed file results in one of a small number of clearly logged outcomes.

text

Step 1 – Confirm service really is complete

  • The wizard first asks the user to confirm that:

    that
      all

    • Allagreed work agreedfor withthis the clientenquiry has been completed forand thisthat enquiry, and

    • Allall payments due (for this service) have been added to the Payments section.

  • If payments are missing, the system may either block the transition or warn the user to add them first; Admin messages show that problems changing to Completed are often resolved by re‑adding missing payments.

User action:

    tick

  • Tickthe confirmation checkbox(es). and, ifIf blocked, cancel, add payments, then repeat the status change.

Step 2 – Choose survey type or opt‑out

The wizard then forces the user to choose one of the following options:options.

  1. Standard internal survey

    :

    • Sendssends the normal Advocate Abroad feedback survey by email.

      email,

    • Usedused when the service was delivered as planned and the user expects a reasonable to good rating.

  2. Google review survey (where available)

    :

    • Forfor some clients (typically with Gmail addresses), the wizard offers a Google review option.

      option

    • Thisthat sends a link that letsso the client can leave a public Google Business reviewreview. for the lawyer/location.

    • Internal guidance (in email and Trello‑style notes) stresses that this should be used only whenwhere the lawyer is very confident the client is delighted and will leaveof a 5‑starhighly positive review, because public criticism can seriously damage future enquiries.

  3. No survey – opt‑out (with reason)

    :

    • Allowsallows the user not to not send any survey in sensitive or borderline situations.

      situations;

    • Thethe wizard requires a reason, chosensuch from or entered into a brief text field, for example:

      as:

      • “I did not in fact deal with this client” (file handed back or never really started).

      • “Service partly delivered / atypical outcome – survey not appropriate.”

        appropriate”.

      • “Client potentially unhappy or conflictive – high risk of negative or unfair review.”

        review”.

    • These reasons are stored so Admin can see why no survey went out (“Opted out from sending survey, reason I did not deal with the client.”).

    out.

User action:

  • Selectselect Standard survey, Google survey, or No survey, andsurvey; if No survey is chosen, select or type the reason before proceeding.

Step 3 – Confirm client contact address

To avoid bounced surveys and complaints“I that “the link doesdid not work” or that emails were never received,receive the wizardlink” (orcomplaints, the workflow around it) includes a validation/check that the client has a usable email address:address.

  • If the email field is empty or clearly incorrect, the user is prompted to update Client Details before confirming the survey choice.

  • This is particularly relevantimportant for Google survey links, which require the client to be able to access the email reliably and, ideally, be logged into the correct Google account.

User action:

  • Reviewreview the client’s email, correct if necessary, then continue.

Step 4 – Record survey choice and update status

Once the above choices are made, the wizard:

  • The

    Recordswizard records the survey type or opt‑out and reason against the client record for later reporting (who received which survey, who was excluded, and why).

  • It

    Confirmsconfirms the change of Status to Completed, so the file moves into the “finished work” pool.

  • It

    Maymay log a short automatic comment in Updates Record summarising the change (e.g.for example “Service has been completed… survey: Standard” or “Completed – survey not sent, reason: did not deal with client”).

User action:

  • Clickclick Finish/Confirm in the wizard. No further manual email sending is required;wizard; the system then queues and sends the chosen survey automatically.automatically (no manual sending needed).

Step 5 – Admin follow‑up (context for users)

While not part of the user’s actions inside the wizard, its outputs drive later Admin tasks:

tasks,
    such
  • as

    Admin monitors Completed files, survey responses, and opt‑out patterns to:

    • Decidedeciding when to move the record to Closed.

      Closed,

    • Investigateinvestigating missing or problematic surveyssurveys, (e.g.and client reports that the Google link does not work).

    • Feedfeeding satisfaction data into performance management and potential de‑selection of underperforming professionals.management.

For the user, the key requirement is: do not bypass the wizard; always make a deliberate survey choice and ensure payments and Updates are correct before completing the status change.

5.6. Closed

What it is / when used

Closed is an administrative closure state used after Admin verifies that work and payments are complete, survey handling is done and Intelliquote or other reporting has been updated.

Admin does this in the Daily Updates List 

Main behavioural effects

  • Closed records are removed from Current Clients and other active worklists but remain visible in All Clients for historical reference.
  • Closed marks the start of GDPR retention periods: anonymisation after roughly 6 months and deletion after roughly 12 months (configurable).

Sub-status: Pending Anonymisation

The Pending Anonymisation sub-status indicates that a record has met GDPR criteria for anonymisation and is queued for anonymisation but not yet processed.

6. Eliminated / Rejected / Unsuitable Enquiry

What they are / when used

  • Eliminated: lead is dead (price too high, client ghosted, user cannot assist, or client chose another lawyer).
  • Rejected: Admin-level review of an eliminated lead, used to decide whether to send a survey.
  • Unsuitable Enquiry: invalid lead (spam, wrong jurisdiction, clearly outside scope).

Main behavioural effects

  • Moving to Eliminated always shows a “reason” popup; reason stored for reporting.
  • Chaser emails and non-responsive sequences stop.
  • For Direct Service enquiries, Eliminated stops Direct Service follow-ups but retains the isdirectservice flag.
  • Eliminated/Rejected/Unsuitable are excluded from Current Clients and subject to GDPR anonymisation after retention.

Sub-statuses & NPD linkage

NPD – Client Not Proceeding is used when a client declines before proper assignment; status becomes Eliminated but the NPD flag is kept for reporting.

7. NPD states

What they are / when used

  • NPD – Awaiting Assignment: no user assigned or auto-assign failed; client not yet allocated.
  • NPD – Unassigned: previously had a professional who was removed (left network, ET change, manual override).
  • NPD – Client Not Proceeding: client declined while in NPD; status becomes Eliminated but NPD flag remains.

Main behavioural effects

  • Orange NPD badge in list views and red “No professional designated” banner on the client record.
  • Admin can Assign User or Mark Not Proceeding from the banner.
  • NPD – Awaiting Assignment for 72h triggers an Expired badge and inclusion in “Expired Clients”; status itself does not auto-change.

8. Freeze client

What it is / when used

A conceptual status/flag to pause reminders and status checks without marking the enquiry as Eliminated, typically used when clients explicitly ask to put matters “on hold”.

Exact implementation (dedicated status vs flag), permitted transitions and related sub-statuses are not fully defined in current documentation.

9. Meeting / Consultation / Preparation Sub-status group

  • Preparation – Pending User Review: covered under Created; draft email awaiting User approval.
  • Meeting Confirmation Email Sent: User has sent an email confirming date/time of a consultation/meeting; next step is to hold the meeting.

These sub-statuses differentiate “offer sent”, “meeting scheduled” and “meeting held”, though detailed triggers and list effects are not fully specified.

10. Requested Contact / Client Record Postponed Sub-status group

  • Requested Contact By Email: client explicitly requests email-only contact; requires Admin approval and typically moves to an email-only Ongoing state.
  • Client Record Postponed: used when a lead is assigned but the scheduled call is beyond the standard 24-hour response window, suppressing slow-response reminders.

11. On Recurring Payments

Indicates that the client is configured as a recurring service (such as monthly tax or accounting) and that recurring payments are expected and tracked.

In practice, it is used together with Hibernated/Ongoing to mark cyclical services; detailed technical rules for when it is first applied are defined at Enquiry Type and workflow level.

12. Daily Updates List

12. Daily Updates List (Admin Review Queue)

The Daily Updates List is the Admin’s working queue for reviewing and correcting client files that reach key “end of lifecycle” or risk states. Admin checks this list every day and applies the actions described below.

1) Files set to Eliminated by the User

Purpose: ensure Eliminated is appropriate, reasons are correct, and survey logic is applied properly.

  • Check the Updates Record and email trail to confirm the client really is not proceeding (price issues, ghosting, unsuitable, duplicated enquiry, etc.).
  • Verify that an appropriate Elimination reason was selected and adjust if necessary so reporting and Intelliquote remain accurate.
  • Decide whether a “rejection” style survey should be sent and, if so, trigger or re‑trigger it; alternatively, mark cases where a survey would be unhelpful (conflictive client, mis‑assignment, spam).
  • If a file was Eliminated in error (for example the client later engages), restore to an active status (typically Ongoing) and update the Next Progress Date.

2) Files set to Completed by the User

Purpose: confirm that Completed has been used correctly and that the Survey Wizard outcome and payments are consistent.

  • Check that the service is genuinely finished for that enquiry type (no obvious pending actions in Updates or recent emails).
  • Verify that all expected payments are recorded and that declared fees match the work done; if not, query the user before allowing the file to move forward.
  • Review the survey decision stored by the Completed Survey Wizard (Standard, Google, or Opt‑out with reason) and correct clearly inappropriate choices (for example high‑value, obviously happy client marked as “no survey” without justification).
  • Once satisfied, move the file on to Closed at the appropriate time, which then starts GDPR retention/anonymisation timers and ensures reporting and commissions are finalised.

3) Files with NPD set to > 2 weeks

These are “No Professional Designated” (NPD) or related states where the Next Progress Date has been pushed more than two weeks ahead.

  • Identify NPD files where the Next Progress Date is unusually far in the future (for example > 2 weeks), especially “NPD – Awaiting Assignment” and “NPD – Unassigned”.
  • Decide whether the delay is justified (client asked to wait, seasonal matter, waiting on documents) based on the Updates Record and email history.
  • If unjustified, either assign a professional directly (resolving NPD) or shorten the Next Progress Date and instruct Admin/User to contact or formally close as Not Proceeding.
  • Monitor NPD files that combine long delays and repeated client contact to avoid “forgotten” or “Expired” experiences without a clear Admin decision.

4) Anonymised files with many emails exchanged

Purpose: detect cases where a record has been anonymised but the interaction level suggests it should have been retained longer for audit, complaint handling, or ongoing relationship reasons.

  • Review anonymised records flagged because they contain many emails or long conversations despite being anonymised under GDPR rules.
  • Check whether anonymisation timing was correct (for example more than 6–12 months after Closed/Eliminated with no ongoing obligations) or whether the case involved complex, high‑risk, or complaint‑type interactions that merited longer retention.
  • Where patterns show that high‑interaction matters are anonymised too early, adjust anonymisation rules and internal guidance (for example require explicit Admin review before anonymising certain categories).
  • If anonymisation clearly happened too soon on a still‑active or sensitive matter, investigate how to mitigate the operational impact (for example rebuilding context from the professional’s own records) and log the incident for process improvement.

Overall, the Daily Updates List is the main control point where Admin ensures that user‑driven status changes (Eliminated, Completed, long‑dated NPD) and anonymisation decisions are consistent with business rules, reporting needs, and GDPR/audit obligations.

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