1) Introduction

The LegalSuite program is a desktop-based app which allows attorneys to manage their legal practices.

Among its many functions, it allows the user to provide their clients with an estimate of the costs involved in transferring a property or registering a mortgage bond. Although this is useful, it is only available from within the LegalSuite program and some of our clients have asked if we could replicate this functionality in a web-based format so they can offer it to their clients on their websites.

In response to these requests, we have developed a system which uses our API to return the HTML via an HTTP request which can be embedded in any website using an iframe. Below are the instructions to achieve this.

2) Getting Started

Step 1 - Add an iframe element to the website with the src attribute set to https://widgets.legalsuite.net/transfercostcalculator.

For example:

<iframe src="https://widgets.legalsuite.net/transfercostcalculator?firmcode=ACME01" height="100%" width="100%" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Note: All LegalSuite clients have a firm code which is used to uniquely identify them on our API and retrieve their SQL login details. The firm code will be provided to you on request.

This will display the Transfer Cost Calculator inside the iframe which should look like this:

Step 2 - Test it by entering a Sale Price and clicking on Calculate.

This will display the results which should look something like this:

3) Adding the Bond Cost Calculator

Add another iframe element but with the following src attribute:

<iframe src="https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?firmcode=ACME01" height="100%" width="100%" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Note: All LegalSuite clients have a firm code which is used to uniquely identify them on our API and retrieve their SQL login details. The firm code will be provided to you on request.

This will display the Bond Cost Calculator inside the iframe which should look like this:

The Bond Cost Calculator works in the same way as the Transfer Cost Calculator, but you can test it by entering a Bond Amount and clicking on Calculate.

Note: The Transfer Cost Calculator and Bond Cost Calculator have been separated into two iframes to enable the web designer to place them separately or together. One possible (recommended) layout could be to put them in separate Tabs, for example:

4) Customizing the output

Some attorneys charge different rates for the sundry items such as the Postage & Petties, FICA Verification Fee and Deeds Office Search Fee. The other figures are all calculated according to the tariffs stipulated by the Law Society and cannot be changed. They may also want to include additional items to the results and some attorneys may not charge Vat or may charge Vat at a different rate.

To accommodate this, parameters can be added to the urls above to customize the results shown.

Parameter	Description	Example
postage	Sets the amount of the Postage & Petties	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?postage=123.45
fica	Sets the amount of the FICA Verification Fee	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?fica=123.45
search	Sets the amount of the Deeds Office Search Fee	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?search=123.45
vat	Sets the amount of the Vat (Note: No Vat will be charged if set to zero).	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?vat=0

Please note:All parameters can be added using the standard HTML syntax. For example:

https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?postage=100.00&fica=34.67&search=563.12&vat=0

Additional items can be added to the Cost Estimates using these parameters.

Parameter	Description	Example
1st Additional Item
custom1description	The description of the first additional item	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?custom1description=Electronic Document Fee
custom1amount	The amount of the first additional item	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?custom1amount=100.00
custom1vatable	Flag to indicate if the amount attracts Vat or not (1 or 0)	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?custom1vatable=1
2nd Additional Item
custom2description	The description of the first additional item	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?custom2description=Origination Fee
custom2amount	The amount of the first additional item	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?custom2amount=200.00
custom2vatable	Flag to indicate if the amount attracts Vat or not (1 or 0)	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?custom2vatable=0
3rd Additional Item
custom3description	The description of the first additional item	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?custom3description=Credit check
custom3amount	The amount of the first additional item	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?custom3amount=300.00
custom3vatable	Flag to indicate if the amount attracts Vat or not (1 or 0)	https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?custom3vatable=0

Please note: All 3 parameters for each item must be specified. For example:

https://widgets.legalsuite.net/bondcostcalculator?postage=100.00&fica=34.67&search=563.12&custom1description=Electronic Document Fee&custom1amount=100.00&custom1vatable=1

5) Conclusion

Inserting the Cost Calculators into an existing website should be a simple process of adding an iframe with the appropriate src url. The iframe contains all the UI and logic required and keeps the styling separate from the hosting website.

The UI is created using Boostrap 4 and cannot be modified but it is fairly generic and should not clash too much with the hosting website's look and feel.

If you need assistance, however, please contact LegalSuite Software and we will be glad to help.