Quick Start

This guide walks you through creating your first matter and generating documents.

The Basics

Certum Draft helps you:

1. Create matters with consistent folder structures
2. Fill in client details once
3. Generate documents that automatically include those details

The Dashboard

When you open Certum Draft, the dashboard is your home base.

From the toolbar you can:

• + New Matter — open the new-matter wizard (⌘ + Shift + N)
• New Lead — log a new enquiry from a phone call or email before it becomes a matter (⌘ + Shift + P) (only visible once your Notion Leads database is configured)
• New Doc — generate documents for an existing matter (⌘ + Shift + D)
• Open — open an existing matter folder (⌘ + Shift + O)

The sidebar on the left switches between the app’s main destinations: Dashboard (⌘ + 1), Matters (⌘ + 2), Leads (⌘ + 3) and Reference (⌘ + 4).

The three signal columns (Open Leads, Recent, Recently Updated in Notion) and the bottom row (NSW Processing Times, By the Numbers) give you a quick read on what needs attention.

Create Your First Matter

1. Press ⌘ + Shift + N or choose File → New Matter
2. Select the matter type (e.g., Estates, Conveyancing)
3. Enter the client details:
   • Client name
   • Address
   • Contact information
4. Add any matter-specific details the template requires
5. Choose where to save the matter
6. Click Create Matter

A new folder is created with:

• A unique matter number
• The folder structure for that matter type
• A matter file containing all the details you entered

When you open a new matter for the first time, Certum Draft offers a guided interview — a step-by-step walkthrough that asks for the essential information. You can skip to the full form at any time.

Generate Documents

1. Open your matter folder
2. Press ⌘ + Shift + D or choose File → New Document
3. Select which templates to generate
4. Review any missing information and fill it in
5. Click Generate Documents

Your documents appear in the matter folder, ready to review and use.

Tip

You can also right-click a matter folder in Finder and choose New Certum Document from the Services menu.

Key Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
New Matter	⌘ + Shift + N
New Lead	⌘ + Shift + P
New Document	⌘ + Shift + D
Open Matter	⌘ + Shift + O
Search Matters	⌘ + K
Matters / Leads / Reference	⌘ + 2 / 3 / 4
Preferences	⌘ + ,

Next Steps

Creating Matters

Learn about matter types and client details in Creating a New Matter

Generating Documents

Understand templates and missing fields in Generating Documents