Pick a guide on the left. Links inside Settings and Readiness open the matching section here.
YOUR WORKSPACE
One place for every file.
Follow assignments, arrange signing coverage, and see what needs your attention.
Live workload
Upcoming closing workload
Files closing per person per week, next 6 weeks (live Qualia + pending Desk decisions). The engine balances new files against these same numbers.
⚖ Fairness & balance
Assignments vs the even share, the fairness ledger (− owed work, + ahead), high-value spread, how often each person was explicitly requested, and the next 4 closing weeks — cells go amber at the weekly cap so stacking is visible before it happens.
Recent decisions
1 — Email & documents
Up to 30 files, 50 MiB total, and 100 pages per PDF. Large contracts are read in sections. Check the reading report before assigning. Legacy .doc/.msg files are best-effort; export to PDF if anything is missing.
Drop anything here — contracts, intake emails, title docs, photos of paperwork — or click to browse.
PDF · photos & scans · Word · Excel · Outlook .msg · .eml · HTML · RTF · text — it figures out what each file is
PDF · photos & scans · Word · Excel · Outlook .msg · .eml · HTML · RTF · text — it figures out what each file is
What do you need assigned?
No template required. One or two closer names are ranked preferences; three distinct names form a shortlist. A named closer only gets the file while they have room, and a name in a time out or inactive is read as blank. Include the email subject when it contains the address. Attach the contract to read terms and parties that aren’t in your message.
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Qualia links to check
Files the Desk has assigned that it still cannot find in Qualia. A file drops off when linked to a Qualia order. Administrators can also dismiss its warning or acknowledge it is already open; both stop link reminders and can be undone under Resolved warnings. Closest closing first.
Coverage gaps
Everything here is read live from what Qualia says today — not from what the Desk decided. It answers one question: which open files are quietly wrong right now?
💬 Ask the Desk
Answers come straight from live Desk data — workloads, matters, PTO, rules. The commands below are instant (no AI); anything free-form is answered by Claude.
What you can ask
Click any of these to run it.
People & workload
Files & status
Rules & setup
Commands
These are answered instantly from the database — no AI key needed. Type help in the box any time to see them.
| Type… | You get… |
|---|
Activity & email
See recipient addresses, actions and send outcomes. Accepted by Microsoft does not confirm delivery. Failed or uncertain messages are not automatically resent.
Matters
Staff roster
| Name | Role | Office | Level | Files / cap | Qualia link | Status |
|---|
Import the capacity sheet
How this worksThe closer/AIT capacity spreadsheet, as it is emailed. Upload the .xlsx or paste the table; the Desk matches each surname to the roster and proposes caps, levels, new people and role changes. Nothing changes until you tick and apply.
Or paste the table
Found in Qualia, not in roster
People seen on open-order settlement teams. Import to start counting their workload.
| Name | Suggested role | Office (dominant) | Open files |
|---|
Pairings
Manage main processors, backups and assignment preferences as your team changes.
Closer → processor pairings
One processor is assigned to each file. Processor #2 is a backup when #1 cannot take it. Availability, workflow eligibility and existing capacity rules still apply.
Active pairings
| Closer | Processor #1 | Processor #2 / backup | Further backup |
|---|
Processor preferences
Per processor: the offices whose closers they work with (blank = their own office; some only want one or two offices), whether the cap is strict (never exceeded — new hires), and the closers paired to them. Changes save as you tick. A closer's file goes to their named pairing first, then to a processor who works with the closer's office, then anyone.
| Processor | Office | Works with closers in | Strict cap | Paired closers |
|---|
Assignment rules
Find the rule you want to change
Each area shows the controls for one part of the assignment. Changes to live rules affect future decisions. Use Try changes to preview without saving a matter or sending email.
Your rules
Your IF / THEN rules apply at the relevant eligibility or selection stage, below originating ownership. Drag ⠿ to reorder — when two custom rules compete, the higher one wins. The switch disables a rule without deleting it. The decision trail names every rule that fires.
| # | Rule | On |
|---|
Replay recent matters
Replays your real matters from the last days through today's rulebook and shows exactly which assignments would change. Edit a rule or flip a step, run this, and see the blast radius before anyone's workload moves.
Assignment priorities and eligibility
This guide explains which preferences win and which eligibility checks apply; it is not a literal execution trace. Required intake and address checks come first, then originating ownership takes priority. Open a rule for its exceptions. Switches affect future decisions; ordinary closer caps remain mandatory. Each matter’s decision trail shows what actually happened. Limits come from Caps & workload.
Try it — what-if tester
Preview only — nothing is recorded, no email is sent.
Closest-office routing — verified property address and current office locations
Every new file uses the property's verified street address and the six office addresses. The Desk compares straight-line distances and selects the closest office. County, address-keyword, originating-office, escrow mailing-address and custom office rules do not choose it. If the address or an office cannot be verified, the file waits for review with no automatic team. AI is not used to invent a location. Signing coverage can require a closer in a specified office without changing the property's closest-office result.
Counties
| County | Office | Note |
|---|
Address-keyword fallback (when county is unknown)
| Address contains… | Office |
|---|
Workflows — who can handle what — file types (FIN, CASH, REFI…) and which people take them, plus rush
This table defines who can take each workflow. It filters assignments only while Decision rules → Workflow filter is on; that step is off by default. If it is on, unchecked people cannot receive that workflow and a file with no eligible person needs review. Rush capability applies separately. A person with every box checked handles every listed workflow.
Workflow types
Who can handle what
Referral-source exceptions — suggest a closer for a matched referral when higher-priority requests do not decide
These choose a closer for a matching originator or referring party after the file's own originating closer and eligible named closer requests. PTO, eligibility and roster caps still apply.
| Originator | Referral source | Closer | Active |
|---|
Effort weights — not every file is the same amount of work
A weight of 1.0 means "one normal file". Set a commercial deal to 2 and it counts double when the engine compares who's busiest; set a simple refi to 0.5 and it counts half. Types below are the ones actually present in your synced Qualia orders. Capacity limits still count real files — weights only affect who looks busier when balancing.
| Qualia transaction type | Open orders | Weight |
|---|
Caps, dates & balancing settings — including the three-closer hard buffer
Each field below says what it affects. The roster holds each person's file cap; the three-closer buffer allows that many extra files for a qualifying three-name request. If none of those closers can take it, the file waits for review. Saving here changes future decisions.
Offices & name matching — office directory, nicknames, never-a-person blocklist
Offices
Name matching
Short names the matcher understands — Will, Wm. and Bill all read as William. A name that could mean two people on the roster is reported rather than guessed.
Never treated as people (blocklist):
Add your own
Qualia role titles that count as…
🧭 Setup wizard — a guided walk through connections, data, sign-in, email and automation. Re-run it any time; it edits the same settings below.
File number registry
One central counter serves every practice area. On a saved matter, open File number, search and review the client, then request a number. Returns both Qualia and Clio formats. Desk never maintains a second counter.
Applies only to the new File number workflow. Test previews are not saved, do not reserve numbers, and do not send email or change Qualia/Clio. Existing email intake continues under its separate Email & reports settings. Turning the connection off disables registry requests. Live use remains subject to registry issuance checks.
Create a dedicated Assignment Desk service token in the registry’s Settings → Assignment Desk. It is stored only on this server. New number requests require Desk administrator access and the registry’s issuance checks.
Testing checks authentication and issuance readiness; it does not allocate a number, create a source-system matter or send email.
COVERAGE DESK
Coverage settings
Manage who can cover, how signings are scheduled, and the Outlook connection.
What the saved settings add up to. Each step needs the one before it.
Request & assignment rules
Changes apply when you save. Regular intake line 13 assignments are managed separately. Read the coverage guide →
Microsoft Outlook
Reads Outlook free/busy through a Microsoft 365 app: either a separate, calendar-only app or the sign-in app, using the switch below. Tenant: . Entra setup steps →
The outside services the Desk reads from — Qualia for live workload, Claude for reading contracts, OCR for difficult scans.
🔌 Qualia connection
Powers live workload. The key is the pre-encoded Auth Basic API Key from Qualia → Admin → App Settings → API Keys.
🤖 Claude (document reading)
Reads the intake email as a human meant it, and the property address off the contract. Without a key the labelled lines are still parsed and manual entry works.
Document OCR
Native reading splits PDFs and prepares images for Claude. For difficult scans, Azure Document Intelligence reads the text first and Claude interprets it. Enabling Azure sends uploaded PDFs and images to your Azure resource and incurs its OCR charges.
Use the paid S0 tier for full contracts. Azure F0 processes only the first two pages. This app accepts up to 50 MiB total and 100 pages per PDF. Outlook attachment limits are smaller; use New assignment for large packages.
🌐 Connectors
Outside services that make decisions smarter. More can be added over time.
The matters@ mailbox: what the Desk reads, what it sends back, and the availability report email.
📬 Email intake — matters@
Email is running
Pull the emergency stop to halt every email — intake, replies, notices and forwards — instantly, without a redeploy. Nothing is lost: mail waits unread in the mailbox.
Pull the emergency stop to halt every email — intake, replies, notices and forwards — instantly, without a redeploy. Nothing is lost: mail waits unread in the mailbox.
Watches the mailbox for the intake template, assigns, and replies with the decision. Unread = queue; marking a message read pauses it. Needs Graph Mail.ReadWrite + Mail.Send (application) on the same app registration. Go-live checklist →
Open Inbox review to inspect messages and retry a missed intake.
📋 Intake email template
Paste this into a new email (or save it as an Outlook Quick Part) and fill in what you know. Numbering is optional — bullets, dashes or plain lines all read the same. Leave anything you don't know blank; the Desk reads the rest from the attached contract.
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🧩 Outlook add-in
Download the installation file while signed in as a Desk administrator. In Microsoft 365 Settings → Integrated apps, update the existing Assignment Desk app by uploading this XML file and assign it to staff. The Outlook pane then opens without a password while reading or composing email. The full Desk still requires sign-in.
The XML contains read-only dashboard access for the installation; share the file only with your Microsoft 365 administrator. Upload the file, rather than providing the protected download URL to Microsoft.
Recent panel loads
Only browsers and Outlook are recorded; uptime checks and deploy probes are not.
| When | Verdict | Host | Framed by | Build | Detail |
|---|
Who can open the Desk, who can change things, and the address people reach it at.
🪪 Microsoft 365 sign-in
Real staff logins via the firm's M365 (Entra ID). Everyone at the firm can sign in; the admin emails below decide who can change things. Needs the Entra app registration — How to set it up → — and the public URL from the Site card.
🔑 Emergency access codes (break glass)
Day-to-day sign-in is Microsoft (card above): everyone at the firm can sign in, and the people listed as admin emails can change things. Codes are the break-glass way in when Microsoft sign-in is down or not yet configured. Admin codes can do everything; Staff codes are view-only. Every code use is audited. Keep one admin code somewhere safe and offline.
| Label | Access | Code |
|---|
🌍 Site address
The public https address of this Desk. Microsoft uses it for the sign-in redirect and for the mail webhook, so it has to be the address this service really runs at.
What the Desk does on its own: syncing Qualia and reading time off out of the Buzz.
🔄 Sync & automation
Always automatic: incremental sync on the schedule above · live team refresh on any order the moment a new file matches it · roster ↔ Qualia user auto-linking · email intake replies (when enabled) · decision trail on every assignment.
📅 PTO from the BPE Buzz
Every hour the Desk looks for new emails whose subject starts with the text below and turns their time-off lines into pending PTO suggestions on the PTO tab. How it works →
Starter data, the server itself, and the logs that show what happened.
📦 Starter data
Load the real BPE roster — the March 2026 employee list plus the September newcomers: 24 closers (three in training), 14 processors, 23 attorneys (two in training) with emails, initials, and nickname aliases. Existing people are never overwritten. After a full sweep, everyone auto-links to their Qualia user by email.
🖥️ System
What you would otherwise open Render to check. Refreshes when you open Settings.
🩺 Diagnostics — live application log
Everything the server is doing (sync, mailbox, Qualia calls, errors) without leaving the browser. Also written to data/logs/app-*.log and the host's console log.
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📜 Recent activity (audit log)
Availability report
| Team email | The closing team — closers, with CIT and AIT tagged in the list | every weekday, to the team list |
| Ops email | Processors and attorneys | once a week, to the ops list |
Simple is the file count on its own — what the team email carries. Everything adds the numbers behind it: what Qualia shows, files on hold, closings that have passed, and the rest of the transaction types.
Closers
AITs
Processors
Attorneys
Team email
Ops email
Every role Qualia uses, and which ones count
Straight from this firm's open files. A file count only counts the titles marked counts; the rest are on nearly every order and are somebody else's job.
Open to load.
Average file count by closer
The long-run answer to "how many files does each person actually carry". One line per person: the average number of open files they hold at a time, how many new ones arrive, and how that compares with everybody else — so a performance conversation starts from a number rather than an impression.
Suggested from the BPE Buzz
Time-off lines from HR's daily Buzz, waiting for your review. Nothing here counts until you accept it. Processors need opening-day coverage; closers are checked against the closing week. Fix dates before accepting.
Paste a Buzz, or lines copied off the PTO calendar
One person per line. Calendar style works too — the last day is the last day out, as the calendar bar shows it: Ariane Connor PTO Sep 8–11, Morgan Wolf 9/17 - 9/28, Amanda Morrissey Oct 26 to Nov 2, Justin Carone PTO 10/2. Full names avoid a "which one?" question.
PTO / out of office
PTO records when someone is away. Use the roster to put somebody in a time out, with or without an end date. The return date is the first day back, not the last day out.
| Person | First day out | First day back ⓘ | PTO status | Reason |
|---|