Hona for Smokeball firms

Hona works alongside Smokeball. Smokeball stays the system of record for every matter. Hona is the system of action: its AI case agent, Lia, runs your firm's playbooks to do the follow-up work of personal injury pre-litigation, from intake through treatment, records, settlement and payout, and logs what happened back to the Smokeball matter.

How does Hona work with Smokeball?

Hona connects to your Smokeball account, reads each matter, works it with the client and their medical providers, and writes the results back to the matter as memos and documents. When a matter changes stage, Hona moves the client's case tracker, sends the update you wrote for that stage, and starts the playbook for that phase.

Smokeball stays the source of truth for case and contact data. Your team keeps working in Smokeball, and the matter gets more complete, because every client conversation lands on it. For intake, Hona can also create new leads in Smokeball.

What syncs between Smokeball and Hona?

What is a Hona playbook?

A Hona playbook is your firm's standard operating procedure, written so Lia can run it. It says when it starts, such as a matter entering a stage; what Lia does, in plain language; and when it stops, such as records received or a person on your team taking over.

Escalation rules live inside the playbook, written the way you would say them: "Escalate to the case owner, high priority, when the client mentions a new injury."

Hona ships standard playbooks for care coordination, provider follow-up and escalations. Hona's forward-deployed team builds custom playbooks with your firm, and your team can read and change any playbook in plain language.

How does Hona work alongside Smokeball at each stage of pre-litigation?

1. Intake and sign-up

The jobs are to answer every call, qualify the lead, capture the facts, get the retainer signed, and open the matter.

• Hona's AI Receptionist answers calls around the clock in 31 languages, screens new injury callers, and sends your team a transcript and summary of every call. Call summaries for an existing client land on their matter as a "Hona Notification" memo.
• A Hona lead automation can create the new client as a contact in Smokeball and open a lead matter for them, with the matter type, status, Person Responsible and Person Assisting you choose, so nobody types it in twice.
• Intake forms go out by text with e-signature, and Lia's intake playbook follows up until the documents you need arrive.
• Once the matter is open in Smokeball with a matter type you have mapped, it syncs into Hona under that project type.
• If your firm tracks more than one client on a matter, Hona can bring in each client with the role they hold on the Smokeball matter. Your Hona team turns this on.

2. Onboarding the client

The jobs are to explain what happens next, gather the accident details, insurance information and list of providers, and get authorizations signed.

• Forms collect the details by text. Answers you map update fields on the Smokeball matter, and each submission is logged as a "Hona Notification" memo.
• Photos, police reports and signed documents upload to the matter's documents.
• The client gets a case tracker that shows their Smokeball matter stage in plain language. No app is required. Updates arrive by text with a link.

3. Getting the client through medical treatment

The jobs are to remind clients about appointments, confirm they went, catch new providers, check in between visits, and catch gaps before they form.

• Lia's care coordination playbook texts and emails clients appointment reminders, follows up after each visit to confirm attendance and pick up new providers, checks in between visits, and can call a client to schedule an appointment when your firm turns calling on.
• If a client misses an appointment and cannot be reached, or mentions symptoms nobody is treating, Lia escalates to your team with the reason, what she already tried, and a priority.
• Every text Lia sends and receives is logged to the Smokeball matter as a "Hona Message Sent" memo, so anyone who opens the matter sees the conversation.

Treatment is where case value is built. In an Insurance Research Council study of auto injury claims published in July 2026, total payments ran about $2 for every $1 of medical bills. In Lia's beta, appointments Lia tracked to resolution had 86% attendance, against a typical healthcare rate of about 70%.

4. Collecting bills and records from providers

The jobs are to confirm visits, request itemized bills and records, and follow up until everything arrives.

• Lia's provider follow-up playbook emails provider offices for attendance, itemized bills, balances, CPT and ICD codes, letter of protection status and medical records, using the client's signed HIPAA authorization.
• She keeps following up until the office answers. Results land on the Treatment tab in Hona, and when your firm wants, the playbook has Lia update the Smokeball record too.

5. Client updates when a matter changes stage

The jobs are to tell the client when the case moves, answer "where's my case?", and keep them engaged through the long quiet stretches.

• When a matter moves to a new stage in Smokeball, the nightly sync picks it up. Hona moves the client's case tracker, sends the update you wrote for that stage, and starts the playbook for that phase.
• When a client should hear right away, staff can sync that one matter by hand for an immediate update.
• Firms that run matters on tasks can have the case tracker move on Smokeball tasks instead of stages.
• Lia answers client texts at any hour from your FAQs and phase descriptions.
• Drip messages keep clients engaged while a matter sits in one stage.

6. Building the demand

The jobs are to confirm treatment is complete, gather final bills and records, and collect anything else the demand needs.

• When a client texts that they are done treating, Lia records it, and the text is logged to the matter.
• The provider follow-up playbook collects final bills and records.
• Lia chases the client for what is still missing, and the files upload to the Smokeball matter's documents.

7. Negotiation

The jobs are to keep the client informed while offers go back and forth, and get the client's decision on each offer.

• Stage updates keep the client informed without a phone call.
• Questions about case value, settlement or timing go to your attorney every time. Lia escalates them and does not answer them.
• Your attorney talks the client through each offer in the same text thread, which is logged to the matter.

8. Settlement payouts

The jobs are to pay the client, pay medical providers and lien holders, and answer "where's my money?"

• Hona Disbursements, powered by Confido Legal, pays your client, medical providers, lien holders and other vendors from Hona.
• Drafting and approving a payout are separate permissions, and an approver at your firm releases every payout.
• The client gets a secure link in the same text thread, verifies their identity, and chooses an instant payout to a debit card or free direct deposit.

9. Closing out

The jobs are to ask for a review and measure how the client felt about the case.

• Review requests and NPS surveys go out automatically when a case reaches the phase you choose.
• A reputation dashboard tracks the results.

How do you set up Hona with Smokeball?

An admin with access to both Smokeball and Hona sets up the integration.

• Connect. In Hona, open Company Settings, then Integrations, and click Connect on the Smokeball tile. Choose your Smokeball region (United States, Australia or United Kingdom), click Connect, and sign in with your Smokeball admin credentials.
• Check the status. The tile shows Connected, Inactive. Hona can read your Smokeball data, but nothing goes to clients yet.
• Map two fields. Click Map Fields on the Smokeball tile and map project type to Smokeball matter type and phase name to matter stage.
• Choose stages or tasks. For each project type, choose whether the case tracker moves on matter stages or on Smokeball tasks. Firms that do not use matter stages can run on tasks.
• Set up project types and phases. Under Company Settings, then Project Types, edit each project type and add the Smokeball matter types it covers under Mapped Project Types. Then give each phase at least one Smokeball trigger. A trigger can belong to only one phase in a project type, and trigger names must match Smokeball exactly.
• Know which matters sync. Smokeball has no Hona Enabled custom field, so every active matter with a matter type you have mapped syncs into Hona. To keep one client from getting automated messages, set that contact's notification preference to None in Hona. You can still text them from Hona.
• Test a matter. Open the matter in Smokeball on the web and copy its ID from the URL, the part after view-matter and before /dashboard. On the Projects page in Hona, click the + button, paste the ID and sync from Smokeball. Check that it lands under the right project type and phase.
• Go live. When you are ready, your Hona onboarding or account manager sets the integration to Active, and nightly syncs begin.
• Add the browser extension, if you want. The Hona Browser Extension recognizes Smokeball matter pages on the web, so your team can open the matching Hona project, its messages and its forms without leaving Smokeball.
• If the connection stops working. If Smokeball stops accepting Hona's sign-in, the tile shows Connected, Unauthorized and syncing stops. Click Update Connection on the Smokeball tile and sign in again.

How does Hona keep your team in control?

Lia works alongside your staff, never around them.

• Lia tells clients she is an AI.
• Lia texts and emails clients, and she can call a client to schedule an appointment when your firm turns calling on.
• She never gives legal advice, medical advice, or an opinion on case value or settlement. She escalates those questions, and any client in distress.
• Proactive messages go out only between 9am and 7pm in your firm's time zone. Lia answers incoming texts at any hour.
• Your team can review Lia's work, pause her, or take over any conversation.
• Lia updates Smokeball records only as part of a playbook, and only when your firm wants her to.
• Every text, Lia's included, is logged to the Smokeball matter as a memo, so the record shows what was said.
• Hona is SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA compliant.

The takeaway

Keep Smokeball. It is the record of every matter, and it is good at that. Add Hona to do the work a record cannot: reach out first, follow up, notice when a client goes quiet, and hand your team what needs a person. Every text, notification and client file lands back on the Smokeball matter. Your playbooks already describe the work. Lia runs them.

Book a demo to see Lia run your playbooks on matters from your Smokeball account.

Frequently asked questions

Does Hona replace Smokeball?

No. Smokeball stays the system of record for every matter. Hona connects to Smokeball, does the client and provider follow-up through its AI case agent Lia, and logs texts, notifications and client files back to the matter.

What does Hona write back to Smokeball?

Every text with the client, Lia's included, is logged as a "Hona Message Sent" memo on the matter. Notification history, AI Receptionist call summaries and form submissions are logged as "Hona Notification" memos. Client files upload to the matter's documents, and form answers you map update matter fields. Lia can also update Smokeball records as part of a playbook when your firm wants her to.

Which Smokeball matters sync to Hona?

Every active matter with a matter type you have mapped to a Hona project type. Smokeball has no Hona Enabled custom field, so the matter type mapping decides what syncs. Each matter's stage sets its Hona phase and the client's case tracker. Firms that run matters on tasks can have the case tracker move on Smokeball tasks instead of stages.

How do I keep one client from getting automated messages?

Open the contact in Hona and set their notification preference to None. The matter keeps syncing, automated messages stop, and your team can still text the client from Hona.

How quickly does a stage change in Smokeball reach the client?

Hona picks up stage changes on its nightly sync, and the update goes to the client the next day. Staff can sync one matter by hand for an immediate update.

Does Hona work with Smokeball in Australia and the UK?

Yes. When you connect, you choose your Smokeball region: United States, Australia or United Kingdom. Client phone numbers from Australian and UK accounts are formatted for their country when they sync.

Can Hona create leads in Smokeball?

Yes. A Hona lead automation can create a new contact and open a lead matter in Smokeball, with the matter type, status, Person Responsible and Person Assisting you choose. The status can be Open, Pending, Closed or Rejected.

Does Lia give legal or medical advice?

No. Lia never gives legal advice, medical advice, or an opinion on case value or settlement. She escalates those questions to your team, and she tells clients she is an AI.