Certum Draft Documentation

Start here

Installation

Download and install on macOS 27+

First Time Setup

Configure paths + Notion the first time you launch the app

Quick Start

Five-minute walkthrough — first matter, first document

Day-to-day work

Dashboard

The home screen — Key Dates, the Today card, recent matters, open leads, institution notifications, proposals to review

Tasks

Capture, delegate, tick off — one-line entry, the firm’s lists, delegation, repeating tasks, and your tasks on your iPhone

Create a Matter

The New Matter wizard — client details, matter type, verified addresses

Generate Documents

The document wizard — precedent picker, preview, generate

Invoices

The Invoices tab — bill composer, GST handling, generated-bills register

File Notes

PDF notes into Correspondence — six types, timed attendances rounded to billing units, a next step that becomes a task

Leads

Track enquiries before they’re matters — capture, triage, convert, decline

Editing Matter Details

The matter workspace — overview sheet, details, checklist, proposals, settlement, institutions, documents

Finding Matters

Search, table and palette — matters, contacts, documents and tasks by number, name or address

Finder Integration

macOS Services + Quick Actions — open matters and create documents from Finder

Specialised workflows

Settlement

The settlement workspace — live adjustment ledger, business-day dates, statements

Institutions

Estate institution lifecycle — notification to funds, the contact log, follow-up tasks

Document Intake

AI document reading — drop a scan, review the values, apply

Compliance

AML/CTF Tranche 2 workflow — identity verification, risk assessment, CDD reports

Reference Tools

The Reference destination — processing times, date calculator, probate costs, screeds

Reference

Settings

Every preferences pane — General, Matters, Reminders, Paths, Notion, Updates, Automation, Diagnostics, Firm Setup, Legal

Automation & AI

The agentic API — local, audited, every proposal reviewed; connect Claude in one command

Notion Integration

Token setup, database schemas, watchers, sync

Keyboard Shortcuts

Every shortcut at a glance — global, workspace, navigation

Troubleshooting

Common issues and fixes — Notion errors, lock files, missing fields

vs LEAP vs Clio

An honest comparison — what each tool is for, what each costs, how they fit together

For template authors

If you’re maintaining the firm’s precedent templates rather than just using the app, the Admin section covers the JSON schema, field types, conditional logic, and the legacy-conversion workflow:

• Understanding Templates — how the ten template packs hang together
• Template Reference (in-app) — the built-in browser with the copyable {{ variable }} lookup
• Creating Templates — the minimal matter.json + a real example
• Template Fields — every field type, every property
• Conditionals — visible_when, the boolean-string gotcha, the safe negation patterns
• Field Codex — the canonical naming conventions
• Matter Configuration — matter.json top-level config
• Template Conversion — converting legacy PascalCase placeholders to dot-notation
• Template Author’s Guide — the big picture

Need help?

• Check Troubleshooting first
• Email [email protected] for support