Creating your first matter

A matter is the central organizing unit in BopSuite — every doc request, task, calendar event, message, and invoice attaches to one. Here's how to create your first one.

Step 1 — Make sure the client exists

Matters require a client. If you haven't added the client yet:

1. Sidebar → Clients
2. Click New client
3. Fill in: full name + at least one email
4. Save

Pro tip: a single client can have multiple matters over time (e.g., a CPA client returns for tax prep every year — same client, new matter each year).

Step 2 — Open the matter

From the client's detail page, click + New matter in the Matters panel.

You'll fill in:

• Name — How you'll refer to this matter internally. Examples: "2026 Individual Tax Return," "Divorce — Smith," "LLC Formation — Acme Inc."
• Vertical — Pick Law (Case), CPA (Engagement), or Other (Matter). This drives terminology + workflow availability throughout the app.
• Practice area (optional) — A free-text descriptor like "Family Law," "Tax — 1040," "Real Estate" for your own organization.
• Responsible (optional) — Who on the team owns this. Defaults to you.

Save and you're in the matter detail page.

Step 3 — Apply a workflow (optional but recommended)

This is the moment BopSuite saves you the most time. From the matter's Tasks panel, click ⚡ Apply workflow and pick a preset.

For each preset, you'll see a preview of the steps. Examples:

For a CPA's individual tax client:

• Apply "New-client tax prep" → 10 tasks generated, with realistic due dates relative to today.

For a family-law attorney's new divorce intake:

• Apply "Divorce intake" → 8 tasks generated covering conflicts, engagement letter, retainer, document request, marriage certificate upload, initial strategy call.

For a real estate closing:

• Apply "Real estate purchase" → 11 tasks from intake through deed recording.

We ship 19 preset workflows out of the box. If none fit, you can build a custom one.

Step 4 — Send the first doc request

If your workflow has a "Send doc request" step (most do), click Send on that task. The doc-request form opens with the matter and client pre-filled, and the right starter template pre-selected.

Review the pre-filled merge fields, optionally tweak the due date, click Send. Your client gets a branded email; the task auto-completes when the request is sent.

What you'll see going forward

The matter detail page is now your hub. From here you can:

• Track open tasks (Tasks panel)
• Send messages to the client (Messages panel — toggle internal/client visibility)
• Send doc requests (Doc Requests panel)
• Log time and create invoices (Time Entries + Invoices panels)
• Send documents for e-signature (Signatures panel)
• See activity (Activity timeline at the bottom)
• Generate an AI briefing on the matter's current state (Briefing panel — Firm tier)

Everything lives at one URL. No more digging through Gmail and Dropbox.