Clio’s Outlook Add-in is an integration between Clio Manage and Outlook that makes it easy to file email correspondence to Clio Manage. Emails and attachments can be found in your Clio Manage Documents and Communications.
With the add-in, you can file emails, threads, and attachments, see which emails have been filed with a Filed to Clio tag, organize your filed emails in a matter-based organization system, create time entries and track billable communications, and file emails without creating contacts.
Note: The add-in is only available on Outlook 2016 or later with any Microsoft 365 Business subscription on Microsoft-backed email accounts. Internet Explorer 11 is not supported. If you are using Office 2016 or 2019 versions on Windows, it may help to install Edge Webview2. Learn more about browsers and webview controls used by Office Add-ins here.
Additionally, the add-in will not work on Firefox or Safari by default since these browsers have enabled enhanced security for third-party cookies. To use the add-in on these browsers, you will need to disable the enhanced security. See Firefox and Safari's help resources to learn how to do this.
Install Clio's Outlook Add-in
You can download Clio’s Outlook Add-in from the Microsoft add-ins for Outlook page in either Outlook on the web or Outlook desktop (Windows and Mac). When added to one platform, the add-in will automatically be available in the other. See the steps below to install the add-in on each platform.
Tip: After installation, click the Clio icon in Outlook to file emails and attachments more quickly.
Step 1: Go to the Microsoft Add-Ins for Outlook page
- Go to the Home ribbon.
- Click Get Add-Ins.
- Click the three dots in the Toolbar.
- Click Get Add-Ins.
- Select New message or open an existing email.
- Click the three dots in the message and select Get Add-ins.
Step 2: Add Clio’s Outlook Add-in
- Use the search bar to search for Clio’s Outlook Add-in. Click the search result.
- Click Add.
- Click Get Started for a short tutorial on using the add-in.
- Close the add-ins window.
Pin the add-in
After installation, you can pin a Clio icon to your Home ribbon or Toolbar and each message. You can also pin the email filing window. The email filing window will then automatically open each time you click an email.
Pin the Clio icon
By default, a Clio icon will be visible in the Home ribbon or Toolbar in Outlook desktop, and the same icon will be attached to email messages in Outlook for the web. If you do not see the icon attached to your messages in Outlook for the web, follow these steps to add it:
- Open an existing email or begin composing a new message.
- Click the three dots in the message and select Customize actions.
- Under Toolbar, check the box for Clio’s Outlook Add-in if you want to see the icon when composing a message.
- Under Message surface, check the box for Clio’s Outlook Add-in if you want to see the icon when reading a message.
Pin the add-in window
You can also pin the add-in’s email filing window. When you pin the window, it will automatically appear when you open an email.
- Click the Clio icon and select File Email.
- Click the pin icon to pin the window.
- Open an email.
- Click the Clio icon and select File Email. You can also click the three dots, click Clio’s Outlook Add-in, and select File Email.
- Click the pin icon to pin the window.
Connect to Clio Manage
Before filing your first email, you need to connect Clio’s Outlook Add-in to your Clio Manage account.
- Click the Clio icon and select File Email.
- If you see a prompt, click Allow. Follow the sign-in directions to stay signed into your Microsoft account.
- Select the region for your Clio Manage account and click Connect to Clio Manage.
- If you see a prompt, click Allow. Follow the sign-in directions to stay signed into your Clio Manage account.
- Click Next.
- Confirm that your Outlook inbox and Clio Manage accounts are connected.
- Click Next.
Note: Australian accounts are created on the Australia server by default. If you are unsure of your Clio server region, check your Clio Manage browser window URL.
- US: app.clio.com
- Canada: ca.app.clio.com
- APAC: au.app.clio.com
- UK and EMEA: eu.app.clio.com
Understand the add-in settings
- Time entry template
- Toggle the Time entry template to On to create a time entry every time an email is filed. Learn how to create a time entry.
- Matter folders in Outlook
- Toggle the Matter folders in Outlook to On to organise filed emails by firm, then by matter status, then by contact, then matter. When the setting is turned Off, filed emails remain in your Outlook Inbox. Learn more here.
- Filed to Clio category
- Clio and Outlook syncs on a regular schedule rather than at the time emails are filed. To help you keep track of the emails that have successfully synced to Clio, turn this setting On to allow your filed emails to be tagged as Not yet filed or Filed to Clio. Learn more here.
Personalise emails
While connecting your account in Clio Manage, you can turn on the email personalisation feature. With this feature, you can send bills to clients from your Microsoft email address. This allows clients to see that you sent the bill rather than Clio. You will also receive an immediate notification if the bill bounces back or is blocked. Once sent, you can view sent emails in the sent folder of your email inbox. If you do not enable this feature, your bills will continue to send from notifications@clio.com.
If this feature is turned on, the following automated emails will be sent from your Microsoft email address: bill emails, calendar events, Clio for Clients email messages, task notifications, user invitation emails, and share emails.
- Go to Settings > Apps > Microsoft.
- Scroll down to the Email integrations section and click Connect.
- Sign in to your Microsoft email address.
- In the same section, check that Send emails from your own email address is toggled to the on position.
File emails, threads, and attachments
With Clio’s Outlook Add-in, you can file incoming and outgoing emails, email threads, and attachments. Outgoing emails will automatically be filed when a matter is selected and the email is sent. In Clio Manage, filed emails can be found in Communications and filed attachments can be found in Documents. If the matter-based organization setting is turned on in the add-in, you can find the filed email nested within the Clio Manage folder located on the left navigation pane. Learn more about folder management below.
Note: If the matter-based organization setting is turned on, outgoing emails will appear in their matter-specific folders. If the setting is turned off, outgoing emails will be in the Sent Items folder.
Tip: In your Clio Manage settings, you can enable the Filed to Clio category to help you understand when an email has been filed (since Outlook and Clio syncs on a schedule rather than at the time of you filing your emails to Clio). Additionally, you can enable in-app push notifications to be notified when an email log could not be filed successfully. To do this, in Clio Manage, go to Settings > Notifications > Integrations.
- Open an email.
- Click the Clio icon and select File Email.
- Click the down arrow to show emails and attachments in the thread. You can select and deselect which ones you want to file.
-
Optional: Toggle on Add a time entry to capture billable time.
- If you previously created a time entry template, the fields you completed will automatically populate. You can change your selections.
- When adding a time entry, you can enter the description, select whether the time entry is billable or non-billable, select the firm user on whose behalf you are filing the email, select the activity category and UTBMS task code, and file the time entry with the current date or the date the email was received.
Note: The rate field will populate automatically when you choose a matter or firm user according to the rules specified in your rate hierarchy. You can still manually adjust the rate after you've chosen the matter and firm user.
- Optional: Check the box for Move email to matter folder in Outlook.
- Click File Email.
- In Clio Manage, the filed email will be available from the matter’s Communication tab under Logs > Emails and in the matter’s Document tab. If you enabled the Matter folders in Outlook setting in the Outlook add-in, a matter folder will be created in your Outlook folder hierarchy.
- In the Clio Outlook Add-in Settings toggle the Matter folders in Outlook to On.
- Then, toggle File all emails in folders to On.
- In the Clio Outlook Add-in, select File email by folder.
- From your inbox, multi-select all emails you want to file to the same matter.
- Select Move from the Outlook ribbon, then select the matter folder. You can also right-click and select Move or Copy to Folder, or drag the emails into the corresponding matter folder.
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Optional: Toggle on Add a time entry to capture billable time to create one time entry per email filed.
- If you previously created a time entry template, the fields you completed will automatically populate. You can change your selections.
- When adding a time entry, you can enter the description, select whether the time entry is billable or non-billable, select the firm user on whose behalf you are filing the email, select the activity category and UTBMS task code, and file the time entry with the current date or the date the email was received.
Note: The rate field will populate automatically when you choose a matter or firm user according to the rules specified in your rate hierarchy. You can still manually adjust the rate after you've chosen the matter and firm user.
- Compose a new email.
- Click the Clio icon and select File Email.
- Select a matter.
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Optional: Toggle on Add a time entry to capture billable time.
- If you previously created a time entry template, the fields you completed will automatically populate. You can change your selections.
- When adding a time entry, you can enter the description, select whether the time entry is billable or non-billable, select the firm user on whose behalf you are filing the email, select the activity category and UTBMS task code, and file the time entry with the current date or the date the email was received.
Note: The rate field will populate automatically when you choose a matter or firm user according to the rules specified in your rate hierarchy. You can still manually adjust the rate after you've chosen the matter and firm user.
- Send the email. It will automatically be filed to Clio.
- In Clio Manage, the filed email will be available from the matter’s Communication tab under Logs > Emails and in the matter’s Document tab. If you enabled the Matter folders in Outlook setting in the Outlook add-in, a matter folder will be created in your Outlook folder hierarchy.
Configure folder management system
The add-in has a built-in inbox management system that organizes emails by a matter-based structure. This setting is turned on by default and can be turned off. Emails are nested in folders as follows: Clio Manage > matter status > contact folder > matter folder.
- Go to Outlook.
- In the left navigation pane, open Folders.
- Look for the Clio Manage folder. Open folders until you find your matter.
- Open the add-in and select Clio Settings.
- Toggle off Matter folders in Outlook.
- When the warning prompt appears, click Turn off matter folder.
Manage Filed to Clio tag
By default, filed emails will have a Filed to Clio tag that indicates whether an email has already been filed to Clio Manage. You can also create a favourites folder for filed emails, change the tag’s colour and name, and turn the feature off.
Favourites folder
To easily access all your emails with the Filed to Clio tag, create a folder under the Favourites section of your Outlook mailbox.
- Go to Favourites and select Add favourite.
- Search for or select Filed to Clio.
Note: This functionality is currently unavailable in Outlook desktop for Mac.
Colour and name
You can edit the appearance of the Filed to Clio category tag by changing the tag’s colour and by changing the tag’s name in your Outlook settings.
- In the Home ribbon, click the Categorize dropdown, and select All Categories.
- Check the box next to Filed to Clio.
- Click Rename to change the name.
- Click the Color dropdown arrow to change the colour.
- In your Mac’s menu bar go to Outlook > Preferences.
- Under Personal Settings, click Categories.
- Click the coloured icon to change the tag’s colour.
Note: The tag cannot be renamed in Outlook desktop for Mac.
- Click Settings (gear icon) and select View all Outlook settings.
- Select General > Categories.
- Click the pencil to edit the category.
Turn off tag
- Open the add-in and select Clio Settings.
- Toggle off Filed to Clio category.
Create time entry template
If you attach time entries to your filed emails, you can also create a default custom template for a common rate for billable work.
Note: You can only save one time entry template.
- Open Clio’s Outlook Add-in and select Clio Settings.
- Toggle on Time entry template and choose default settings.
- The selections will appear every time you file an email and add a time entry, but you can still modify them when filing the email.
- Click Update template.
Uninstall Clio's Outlook Add-in
Step 1: Go to the Microsoft Add-Ins for Outlook page
Note: You will not lose your emails and matter folders if you uninstall the add-in. Filed emails will remain where they are. The Filed to Clio category tag will also remain on filed emails.
- Go to the Home ribbon.
- Click Get Add-Ins.
- Click the three dots in the Toolbar.
- Click Get Add-Ins.
- Select New message or open an existing email.
- Click the three dots in the message and select Get Add-ins.
Step 2: Uninstall Clio’s Outlook Add-in
- On the left pane, click My add-ins.
- Find Clio’s Outlook Add-in.
- Click the three dots and select Remove.