First, before you create a Bill List (or Report) for Clients, make sure you've created Tags for your Clients, Issues, Positions, and more.
Next, Navigate to the Library ("Lists") page from the navigation bar on the left. In your Library, your Bill Lists, or Reports, are saved. You can also create folders in your Library to organize your Bill Lists.
To create a Bill List, click the "Create New" button, and select "Bill List". Name your Bill List and click Create.
You will be redirected to your new Bill List. Here, you can edit the title and add a description. You can also upload a logo and attach files to the top of your list.
To start adding bills to your list, first click “Add Section." Once we’ve created our section, we can rename it to represent the bills that will be shown. Next, click Edit Settings to add bills to our section.
In the Edit Settings panel, you can choose the bills that appear in your Bill List based on keywords, filters, and more. In this example, let’s create a section for bills Introduced in the past month and Tagged for a client:
First, use the Date filter (which is set to Introduced by default, but can be toggled to select other bill statuses), and select the "Past Month" checkbox.
Next, open the Tags filter and select the Client Tag of your choosing (in this example, we use Client A). Then click Save.
Only bills that have been Introduced in the Past Month and Tagged for Client A will be shown.
You can also sort your Section by a Tag, such as Subject. To do so, click Edit Settings, click on the "Sort by Tag" dropdown menu, and select "Subject". Then, click Save. All of the bills you've tagged for your client will be organized under each Subject.
Note: ensure that your relevant Tags are Selected to be displayed using the "_ Tags Selected" button, as shown below. Learn more about Tags here.
Sharing Options:
Static Export options:
Once your Bill List is ready to be shared, there are four ways to share it. First, you can click on the PDF Export button to download your List as a PDF.
From Export, you can also select "Export CSV" to export this list in spreadsheet format. From there, you can upload to your software of choice (Excel, Google Sheets, etc.).
Before you export your Bill List, be sure to create a template (or edit the default template) to suit your needs. Use the six dots to the left of each piece of bill information to drag into "Include" or "Don't Include." You can also upload a personalized header and adjust the appearance of your report. When you're finished, click Save and Export.
Live Sharing Options:
Additionally, you can share your Bill List through a LiveLink, a secure, view-only version of your List that gets updated in real time.
By default, your Lists are private, only viewable by those in your workspace. To share a link to your Bill List, click Share in the top right corner of your screen, click the "Private" dropdown menu, and select Shared. A LiveLink for your Bill List will be generated, which you can copy by clicking on the "Copy Link" button. You can then paste and share this link with anyone, whether or not they have an Abstract account. This link will show your List in an uneditable, view-only mode that updates in real time. This link is both mobile and desktop friendly, and allows non-Abstract users to click on a bill to view bill text and info as well.
If you want your members or anyone outside of your Abstract workspace to leave comments on bills with their thoughts or analyses, you'll want to use Public Comment.
Like the Shared Live Link, Public Comment Bill List can be shared with and viewed by anyone, whether or not they have an Abstract account. While the Shared version only requires a link to view, Public Comment also requires viewers to input their email, name, and the password you set.
You can view comments from within your Bill List using the View Analytics page. From here, you can see all comments in one place, who left them, and how long they viewed your page. You can even export your comments to CSV to share and synthesize commenter opinion.