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Get Started With Clio's Outlook Add-In

Clio's Outlook Add-in is a connection between Clio Manage and Outlook that makes it easy to sync essential email activity to Clio Manage. When you file your emails using the add-in, you can find the filed emails and any attachments in your Clio Manage Documents and Communications tabs. 

With Clio's Outlook Add-in, you can:

    • File emails, threads, and attachments to Clio Manage from a single tab much more quickly.
    • See which emails have been sent to Clio Manage with a Filed to Clio tag in Outlook.
    • Organize your Outlook inbox with a matter-based folder organization system.
    • Easily create time entries to track billable communications.
    • File emails to Clio Manage prior to creating contacts.

Questions? See the Outlook Add-In FAQ or contact Clio Support.

Warning: If you are using Clio's previous Outlook Add-in (legacy add-in), remember to uninstall the add-in before downloading and using Clio's Outlook Add-in. Using both add-ins simultaneously can result in filing issues. See this article to uninstall the legacy add-in.


Install Clio's Outlook Add-in

Step 1: Go to Microsoft's Add-Ins for Outlook page

Clio's Outlook Add-in can be downloaded from the Microsoft Add-Ins for Outlook page. You can install Clio's Outlook Add-in in either Outlook on the web or Outlook desktop (Windows or Mac). The add-in will automatically be added to the other. The steps to reach Microsoft's Add-Ins for Outlook page vary depending on the Outlook platform you are using.

Note: Clio's Outlook Add-in is available on all of Clio's subscription plans. The add-in is only available on Outlook 2016 retail or later with any Microsoft 365 Business subscription, on Microsoft-backed email accounts. Internet Explorer 11 is not supported. The Outlook Add-in is not compatible with Exchange Servers or third-party Microsoft 365 accounts.

Outlook desktop for Windows:

  1. Go to the Home ribbon.
  2. Click Get Add-Ins.

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Outlook desktop for Mac:

  1. Click the ellipsis (three dots) in the Toolbar.
  2. Click Get Add-Ins.

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Outlook 365 for the web:

  1. Select New message or open an existing email.
  2. Click the ellipsis (...) in the message and choose Get Add-ins.

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Step 2: Install Clio's Outlook Add-in

  1. Use the search bar to search for Clio's Outlook Add-in, and then click the search result.
  2. Click Add.
  3. Once installed, click Get Started for a short tutorial on how to use the add-in.
  4. Close the add-ins window.

By default you will see a Clio icon in the Home ribbon/Toolbar in Outlook desktop and attached to your email message in Outlook for the web. This Clio icon makes it easier to file emails and attachments.

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Pin Clio's Outlook Add-in

Pin the icon for Clio's Outlook Add-in

If you are using Outlook desktop for Windows or Mac, the icon for Clio's Outlook Add-in is attached to your Home ribbon or Toolbar by default after installation. The icon will also be attached to each email message in Outlook for the web. If you do not see the icon attached to each message on Outlook for the web, follow these steps to add it:

  1. Open an existing email or begin composing a new message.
  2. In the message, click the ellipsis (...) and click Customize actions.
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  3. Under Toolbar, check the box for Clio's Outlook Add-in if you want to see the icon when composing a message.
  4. Under Message surface, check the box for Clio's Outlook Add-in if you want to see the icon when reading a message.

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Pin the email filing window

You can also pin the email filing window for Clio's Outlook Add-in. When you pin the window, the email filing window will automatically appear when an email is opened. To pin the window in Outlook desktop:

  1. Click the Clio icon in the Home ribbon (Windows) or the Toolbar (Mac) and select File Email
  2. Click the pin icon once to pin the window. Click it again to unpin the window.

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In Outlook for the web, you can pin the email filing window by clicking the Clio icon or by clicking the ellipsis (three dots).

  1. Open an email, click the Clio icon, and select File Email. You can also open an email, click the ellipsis (...), hover over or click Clio's Outlook Add-in, and select File Email.
  2. Click the pin icon once to pin the window. Click it again to unpin the window.

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Connect to Clio Manage

Before filing an email for the first time, you need to connect Clio's Outlook Add-in to your Clio Manage account.

  1. Open an email, click the icon for Clio's Outlook Add-in, and select File Email.
  2. If prompted to either allow or ignore Clio's Outlook Add-in to display a new window, click Allow. Follow the sign-in directions to stay signed in to your Microsoft account.
  3. Use the dropdown arrow to select the region for your Clio Manage account, and then click Connect to Clio Manage.

    Note: The region for your Clio Manage account is not necessarily the region that you physically reside in. By default, North American accounts are created on the North American server, not the Canadian server. If you are unsure which server your account is on, check by viewing the URL in your Clio Manage browser window:

      • North America: app.clio.com
      • Canada: ca.app.clio.com
      • UK and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa): eu.app.clio.com
  4. When prompted to allow or ignore the add-in to display a new window, click Allow. Follow the prompts to sign in to your Clio Manage account.
  5. Click Next at the bottom of the add-in window.
  6. Confirm that your Outlook inbox and your Clio Manage account are connected. You should see your connected accounts under Connect your Outlook inbox to Clio and Connect Clio to your Outlook inbox.
  7. If your Clio Manage account is not connected to your Outlook inbox, click Connect to Microsoft from Clio. This will take you to your Clio Manage account settings, where you can connect your Outlook account.
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  8. Go back to Clio's Outlook Add-in and click I have already connected from Clio. If the connection is successful, you will see a green checkmark. You can change the Outlook account that is connected to your Clio Manage account by clicking Change account.
  9. Click Next to finish.

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Personalize Emails

After connecting Clio's Outlook Add-in to your Clio Manage account, you may want to turn on Clio's email personalization feature in your Clio Manage settings. With this feature enabled you can share bills from your personal Microsoft email address instead of the automated alias notifications@clio.com. 

Why should I use this feature? Clio's email personalization feature has the benefit of:

    • Improving the client experience by providing clients with a frictionless communication path. 
    • Greater visibility on important client communication by seeing sent bills, bill reminders, and attachments in both Clio Manage and your "sent" mailbox folder.
    • Better bill deliverability (you get an immediate notification if a bill bounces back or is blocked).
    • Greater peace of mind when clients get bills from a sender they recognize and trust.
    • Opportunity to reinforce your firm's brand through consistent personalization. 
  1. In Clio Manage go to Settings > Apps > Microsoft.
  2. Check that Clio's Outlook Add-in is connected. If it is not, click Connect and follow the connection directions.
  3. Toggle on Send emails from your own email address.

Note: When this feature is turned on, some other automated emails sent from notifications@clio.com will be sent from your own email address. This includes bill emails, calendar events, access granted emails, client portal message emails, Clio Payments bill sharing, email change, task notifications, and user invitation emails. See this article for an exhaustive list.

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Did you know? If you are already using your Microsoft account for contact and calendar sync, you can use the same email address for the Outlook Add-in and sending personalized emails. You can also connect a second Microsoft email address to the Outlook Add-in. What this means is that you can use X email for contact and calendar sync and then use Y email for the Outlook Add-in and sending personalized bill emails.


Time entry template

Once your Clio Manage and Outlook accounts are connected, you have the option to turn on the time entry template feature before you begin filing emails. If you enable this feature, you can create one default, custom template for common rates and durations for billable work. This makes it faster to file emails and add time entries. To turn on this feature:

  1. Click an email and open Clio's Outlook Add-in by clicking the Clio icon.
  2. Select Clio Settings.
  3. Toggle on Time entry template.
  4. Choose default settings for your time entry template. These selections will automatically appear every time you file an email and add a time entry. Since these selections are not locked in, you can still change them when you file the email.
  5. Save the template by clicking Update template.

Note: You can only save one time entry template. 

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File emails, threads, and attachments

After connecting your Clio Manage and Outlook accounts and adding a time entry template, you can begin filing emails, threads, and attachments, and adding time entries.

  1. If the window for the add-in was previously pinned, it will automatically appear when you click an email. If it does not appear, open an email, click the Clio icon, and select File Email.
  2. Click the dropdown arrow to reveal the emails and attachments in your thread. You can select and deselect which emails and attachments you want to file. 
  3. Under File selected emails to, search for a matter to save the email and any attachments. You can search by contact name, matter description, or matter number.
  4. To add a billable or non-billable time entry, toggle on Add a time entry. Scroll down to complete the time entry.

    Note: If you previously created a time entry template, the fields that you completed will automatically populate. You can also change your selections.

  5. Check the box next to Move email to matter folder in Outlook if you want the add-in to automatically move the email to a mirrored matter folder in Outlook. The matter folder will be located under the Clio Manage folder in your Folders section of your mailbox.
  6. Click File Email.

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In Clio Manage, the filed email and any attachments can be found under Communications and Documents. Here you can edit or add a time entry, download the original email and attachments, add and remove a contact, and view any documents in Clio Launcher.


Folder management and Filed to Clio

Clio's Outlook Add-in has a built-in simplified inbox management system. Emails are organized by a matter-based structure. To find your email in Outlook after it has been filed:

  1. Find the Clio Manage folder in the left pane under Folders.
  2. Click the arrow to the left of each folder to open the collapsed sub-folders.
  3. Find your contact and matter sub-folders under either the Closed, Open, or Pending, depending on the status of your matter in Clio Manage.
  4. When you open the matter sub-folder and find your filed email, look for the Filed to Clio tag.

Tip: Filed to Clio is a category tag that visibly indicates whether an email has already been filed to Clio Manage. Keep this setting turned on to easily see which emails have already been filed. 

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If you do not want your emails to be automatically filed in Outlook, the matter-based folder organization system can be turned off in Clio Settings. If you turn off this setting, your emails will remain in your inbox and will not be automatically sorted. You can also turn off the Filed to Clio tag. If you turn off this setting, you will not see the tag on filed emails. 

  1. Open an email, click the icon for Clio's Outlook Add-in, and select Clio Settings.
  2. To turn off the matter-based folder organization system, toggle off Matter folders in Outlook. Click Turn off matter folder when the warning prompt appears.
  3. To turn off the Filed to Clio tag, toggle off Filed to Clio category.

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Note: If you turn off both settings, your emails will remain in your Outlook inbox with no visible indicator of whether your emails have been filed to Clio Manage.


Personalize Filed to Clio

Filed to Clio favorites folder

To easily access all of your emails with the Filed to Clio tag, create a folder under the Favorites section of your Outlook for Windows or Outlook for the web mailboxes. 

  1. Go to Favorites and select Add favorite.
  2. Search for or select Filed to Clio.

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Note: This functionality is currently unavailable in Outlook desktop for Mac.

Filed to Clio tag color and name

You can also edit the appearance of the Filed to Clio category tag by changing the name and the tag's color in your Outlook settings. Finding the settings varies depending on whether you are using Outlook desktop for Windows, Outlook desktop for Mac, or Outlook for the web.

Outlook desktop for Windows:

  1. In the Home ribbon find the Categorize dropdown and select All Categories.
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  2. Check the box next to Filed to Clio.
  3. Click Rename to change the tag's name and click the dropdown arrow under Color to change the tag's color.
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Outlook desktop for Mac:

  1. In your Mac's menu bar go to Outlook > Preferences.
  2. Under Personal Settings click Categories.
  3. Click the colored icon to change the tag's color.

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Note: The "Filed to Clio" tag cannot be renamed on Outlook desktop for Mac

Outlook for the web:

  1. Click Settings (gear icon) and select View all Outlook settings.
  2. Select General > Categories.
  3. Click the pencil to edit the category.

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File an outgoing email

After composing an email, you can choose to file the email to Clio Manage once the email is sent. In Clio Manage, the sent email and any attachments can be found under Communications. Attachments are also saved under Documents. To file an outgoing email:

  1. Select New message, compose your message, open Clio's Outlook Add-in, and select File Email.
  2. Under File the sent email to, search for the matter you want to file the email to. The email will not be saved to Clio Manage unless a matter is selected.
  3. Toggle on Add a time entry to create a time entry for the outgoing email.

    Note: If you previously created a time entry template, the fields that you completed will automatically populate. You can also change your selections.

  4. Check the box next to Move email to matter folder in Outlook if you want the add-in to automatically move the email to a mirrored matter folder in Outlook.
  5. Check the box next to Save all attachments in this email if you want the add-in to file the attachments you are sending.
  6. Click Send.

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Note: In Outlook, the outgoing email will appear in the matter-specific folder if the matter-based organizational setting is turned on. If the setting is turned off, the outgoing email will be located in the Sent Items folder.


Uninstall Clio's Outlook Add-in

Step 1: Go to Microsoft's Add-Ins for Outlook page

    • In Outlook desktop for Windows, go to the Home ribbon and click Get Add-Ins.
    • In Outlook desktop for Mac, click the ellipsis (three dots) in the Toolbar and click Get Add-Ins.
    • In Outlook 365 for the web, select New message, or open an existing email, click the ellipsis (...) in the message, and choose Get Add-ins.

Step 2: Uninstall Clio's Outlook Add-in

  1. On the left pane of the add-ins window, click My add-ins.
  2. Find Clio's Outlook Add-in, click the ellipsis (...), and choose Remove.

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Note: If you uninstall Clio's Outlook Add-in, your previously filed emails will remain in their current folders and the Filed to Clio tag will continue to be applied if this setting was turned on.

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