I Simply Can’t Do Without Lawyer Billing Software

A lawyer's life is always busy. On the one hand, as a lawyer I have to handle cases in the courtroom, prepare the matter and have time for new clients. On the other hand, and this what irked me the most in the past was that I had to spend a lot of time in keeping track of billable hours, expenses and accounting in respect of each case for each client. I considered this activity unproductive but could not delegate the work to anyone else. Mix-ups in billing also led to some misunderstanding with a few clients. That's when I started looking around for the right lawyer billing software to take care of all these matters and save me time as well as hassles. Lawyers are cautious and I was no different. I asked my colleagues whether they were using any software and took time off to explore each one. I had to look around quite a bit. While most of the software in use could do a lot, there was something or the other missing that meant I would have to take care of it manually. Until I came upon this legal billing and accounting software that seemed to do everything that I was doing manually. I double checked it in detail before deciding to buy it and I was glad I came across this attorney billing software .

What does this legal billing software do for me? It does everything I used to do manually covering the following functions:

• It handles and maintains records of each client and each case separately. In cases taken on a retainer cum billable hour's basis, it keeps track of the advance amount and issues a billing notice when the amount falls below a preset limit. The attorney billing software also keeps track of expenses incurred in each case separate. I can see at a glance the billable hours, advances and the expenses.
• The lawyer billing software handles billable hours beautifully. It maintains separate records for each client and for each case of each client in case I handle more than one case for the same client. Billable hours are kept separate from expenses and invoices can be issued in time as the software automatically issues alerts for outstanding issues. This has helped in a healthy revenue flow.
• When I enter details of a case I can put it down as a contingency case and that means I raise a bill only when I win the case.
• What I liked about this legal billing and accounting software is the way it handles trust funds and advance/retainer amounts that have to be accounted in compliance with state and federal laws. Now I need not fear any audits; the records are maintained immaculately.
• Another factor that impressed me was the way it handled matter based record keeping—no mixups, no confusions even when there were multiple cases for each client.

These are the main points. What particularly impressed me was the way it compiled all documents relating to my cases in separate folders and archived them for printing, conversion to Word or PDF facility, emailing from within the software and porting to mobile phones for review while on the go. Now I know all my records are in perfect order and accessible anytime in the future.
Needless to say my life has become less stressful in a way and more productive as well as satisfying. I can now focus more on existing clients and take on new clients. With the additional revenue I expect, the cost of this lawyer billing software will soon be recouped.

Attorney Billing Software Reduce Stress and Increase Productivity

As the number of clients increase, the stress levels and time consumed in keeping track of billable hours and back office accounting increases in proportion and some lawyers might very well find themselves spending as much time on accounting and billing as they do on their cases. This situation causes stress; stress because they have to account rigorously in order to keep perfect accounts that stand up to any future audits and also stress because they worry that they are not being as productive as they would want. Attorney billing software helps lawyers drastically cut down on the time they spend on keeping track of billable hours and accounts, leaving more than enough time to either relax or take on more cases. Stress, as a result, vanishes.

The right legal billing and accounting software takes on complete responsibilities and carries out all functions in respect of billing and accounting, particularly from a lawyer's view point in conformity with federal and state laws. Comprehensively designed, structured and easy to use lawyer billing software covers all aspects of billing and keeping track of each client. This includes:

• Keeping track of billable hours for each client and maintaining a separate record for each case for each client and a separate record of the expenses incurred against each case.
• Where cases are handled on fixed fee basis the attorney billing software automatically issues a bill when notified of a completion, showing the fees amount and the expenses separately, posting these amounts to account heads by itself.
• In the same way, cases handled on contingency basis will be handled by the legal billing and accounting software accordingly, issuing a bill for the fees once the case is shown as complete and won.
• In cases of retainer plus hourly basis cases, lawyers can set the limit below which a billing alert will be issued by the lawyer billing software . Again, in this case, the advance, hours billed and expenses are accounted separately for each case, even though a lawyer may handle several cases on behalf of a single client.

A comprehensive and well designed legal billing and accounting software considers billing and matter based record keeping as integrated aspects of the software. With such software, it is easy for attorneys to maintain separate accounts for each case even though he may be handling several cases for one client on different billing basis. There is no confusion and distinct records are maintained according to each matter in hand.
Since a lawyer's accounts are subject to audit and query at any time, leading to severe penalties if there are discrepancies, the attorney billing software should as a matter of course include a provision for compiling complete records and accounts of a case under one single head that can be accessed at any later date. Useful features like outputting to Word, Excel or PDF files and portability to mobile phones improves functionality.
In the main, by reducing the work load on an attorney, the lawyer billing software frees attorneys of stress in this direction and helps them utilize the time freed up to concentrate on present cases or take on more cases and generate more revenue.

My Search For The Right Attorney Billing Software

A lawyer never has any spare time. The more cases I take on, the more work I have to do in the background. Billing and accounting take up more of my time that I could profitably spend on cases. I had heard of attorney billing software but was a bit confused as to which one to select for my needs. For me the right legal billing and accounting software would have to include everything I did manually. I short listed a few popular law firm billing softwares available and considered their features and compared them against what I needed. For me the ideal software would have to include features I listed below.

Billing
I compared legal time and billing software for the billing features. I looked at the software's capability to keep track of each client and hourly billing with expenses shown separately for each case I handle on behalf of each client. Then I considered whether the attorney time billing software had a provision for fixed fee billing showing the fees and expenses separately. The attorney billing software I wanted to buy should have these facilities as also account retainer based cases separately, issuing a bill automatically when the retainer amount fell below a predefined limit. I also wanted the legal billing and accounting software to maintain records of cases taken on a contingency basis and issue a bill only on successful completion. I wanted software that could do all these and maintain the billable amounts and expenses amounts separately. I also wanted it to maintain trust based accounts separately where needed according to State laws. I did not want to spend a lot of time in case of future audits, searching for causes of discrepancies and satisfying queries.

Matter Based Record Keeping
In my line of work it is important to maintain perfect records of billing and accounting for each client and in case of multiple cases on behalf of the same client, separate accounting and record keeping of each case. I wanted a comprehensive, easy to use lawyer billing software that would automatically maintain matter based records individually for each case even though multiple cases were connected with a single client.

User Friendliness
Since I had only a passing familiarity with computers and did not have time to spare to learn complicated procedures I searched for legal time and billing software that was user friendly, with an easy menu system and a short learning curve. It had to be intuitive, well designed, fast and easy to use from day one.

Record Keeping
I specially looked for a feature in the lawyer billing software that would maintain complete records of each individual case, cross searchable and linkable with client name, all in one folder and save these in Word or PDF format for printing or emailing any time in the future.

Mobile Portability
Though not absolutely necessary I looked to see if any of the best billing software for lawyers that I had short listed had mobile portability features.
Luckily for me, I happened to come across one such lawyer billing software that had all these features and was affordably priced too. What is more the developer has agreed to give one on trial so I can explore it before committing my accounting and billing tasks to this software.

Points to Look For When Choosing Attorney Billing Software

Accounts and billing are important for any attorney just as much as the legal practice is. Unfortunately the complicated maze of record keeping can eat into his time. Time spent on accounting and billing is not billable time and hence not profitable. This procedure can be done manually, using a worksheet or by going in for a sophisticated, automated attorney billing software. The best billing software for lawyers reduces time and provides full functionality. With so many vendors offering law firm billing software , a lawyer can find it difficult to make a choice without knowing in depth the features of the legal billing and accounting software . A lawyer's choice becomes easier when he checks the software to see if it includes all the features required for accounting, billing and record keeping. Accounting and billing related to a lawyer's activities are quite different from other services and moreover, they are governed by State laws.

A lawyer's accounting and billing covers the following functions and a law firm billing software should desirably include all these. These are :

Billing

The legal time and billing software should have an easy provision to bill on an hourly basis for each client and if a lawyer is handling more than one case for one client, accounts and records should be kept separately. If a lawyer is working on a fixed fee basis as happens in mundane traffic violation matters, the attorney time billing software should have an easy method to generate bills and a list of expenses separately. Lawyers usually work on a retainer cum billing basis and would naturally expect the software to have a provision to bill when the retainer falls below a pre-determined figure. In cases where lawyers work on a contingency basis, the legal billing and accounting software should be able to maintain expense list and billable amount separately and then issue a bill only on successful completion of the case.

Matter Bases Records

An important and must-have feature of any legal billing and accounting software is that it should keep separate accounts and issue separate bills for billable hours and expenses in respect of each case, even when it relates to a single client. A helpful feature of the software is that it should be able to keep records of all pertinent documents and forms in a single folder that can be accessed individually at the click of a button at any time in the future.

Retainer and Trust Accounts

Any lawyer billing software must have a provision to maintain accounts in respect of retainers deposited in attorney trust accounts according to local State laws so that in case of any audit in future, there is no discrepancy or a query against the lawyer.

In addition to these basic requirements, the best billing software for lawyers usually has a provision to compile all documents, forms and papers related to a single case in a single folder, save them in Word or PDF format. Any lawyer billing software not having these features would be incomplete and only complicate tasks so look for these before deciding on one.

Comprehensive Attorney Billing Software

Lawyers and attorneys are busier than ever and to help them maintain records and account, they have access to attorney billing software . However, not all software includes the needed features. A law firm billing software needs to comprehensively cover all the specific requirements of record keeping, billing and accounting that are specific to legal practice in the United States , in consonance with its laws, further complicated by the fact that each state may need a lawyer to comply to local rules too.
Before choosing a lawyer billing software , attorneys need to check and consider whether that particular software offers them what they need. If one important part is left out, then the utility of the software reduces dramatically and may even be worthless as a lawyer will have to maintain the record manually. Billing and accounting are inter-related and if an important element is left out it does not serve the purpose at all. When considering a legal billing and accounting software , attorneys need to consider the features and scope for future upgradeability.
Minimally, a lawyer billing software should cover the basic requirements of billing and software. Lawyers follow different billing methods for each client and one particular client may be billed on an hourly basis in one particular matter while the same client may be paying him a fixed fee for another matter.
Consider the desirable features of a law office billing software:

• A facility to bill according to arrangements with clients either on an hourly basis, on a fixed fee basis, on a retainer plus hourly and on a contingency basis as may be previously agreed upon. The legal billing software keeps track of each individual case and related expense for each client. In case of retainer plus hourly billing basis, the software automatically creates an alert when funds fall below a defined level.
• A feature that keeps track of each individual case, billable hours and related expenses in respect of multiple cases for a single client on a matter based record keeping basis.

• An ability to keep track of all monies received towards billable hours and for expenses according to State defined code of ethics to answer all audit queries when raised.

• A feature that keeps perfect trust accounts in respect of retainers paid by clients to comply with existing federal and State laws, keeping lawyers safe from any charges of negligence in case of audits in future.

• A lawyer may need reports and statements at any time and the law firm billing software easily provides this. An attorney may wish to be alerted to the outstanding receivables and have weekly, fortnightly or monthly statements to ensure that cash flow is maintained through regular billing.

As a practice grows, an attorney needs a software that does virtually all the back office functions for him. Moreover, it should be easy to operate, be very user-friendly and provide a variety of statistics and reports when needed besides archiving old cases and making them available whenever needed in future. A legal billing software like this saves a lot of time for lawyers and lets them focus on their cases and clients.

Maintain Accurate Records with Attorney Billing Software

An attorney's billing, accounting and book-keeping procedures are different, complicated, extended and time consuming. Moreover, attorney billing practices are governed by laws. An attorney with a bare minimum of staff would find it easy to maintain records, accounts and bill clients with the use of a law office billing software .
Developers of the law firm billing software have thoughtfully considered all aspects connected with a lawyer or a law firm's billing methods, accounting practices and record keeping in a comprehensively designed lawyer billing software . It is possible to maintain accurate records with the legal time and billing software . This is a great relief for all practitioners of the law since random audits are conducted and if there is a discrepancy in the trust accounts, it may render a lawyer liable to disciplinary action and even disbarment.
The importance and benefits of accuracy in trust account transactions is well known to lawyers. However, with a lot of work load, a number of clients and a number of cases per client, it is obvious there is a possibility of an error if accounting is done manually. For all trust account transactions where the advance deposit is maintained in a separate account and monies withdrawn according to hours billed, the law office billing software automatically adjusts each account, bills the client and also generates reports for greater transparency in dealings. An audit will never show up a discrepancy with the software handling each transaction with perfect accuracy.
Other than trust accounts where lawyers have to be extra careful, the attorney time billing software maintains matter based records with accuracy and zero errors. Successful lawyers have clients who entrust them with various matters. In each case relating to a client, the software maintains detailed and itemized account and bills the client separately according to the matter handled. This matter based record keeping and billing keeps every dealing transparent for both parties. Handling such detailed matter based record keeping and billing with ease, the software frees a lawyer to focus on handling cases in hand and in taking up additional cases to generate more revenue. The payback period of a law firm billing software is quite short considering the accuracy, enormous ease and convenience it brings to a lawyer's billing and accounting operations that follow state law defined code of ethics. In all cases the legal firm billing software keeps a separate account and track of lawyer's fees and itemized expenses related to each case.
These features are included along with easy billing and reporting according to billable hours method, contingency method, fixed fee and retainers method. In each case, accuracy in maintaining records and accounts without making any demands on the lawyer's time and in addition, presenting him with reports on demands mean a smoother cash flow and very few outstanding receivables.
Over and above being accurate in all accounting matters, the lawyer billing software gives lawyers great peace of mind and freedom. In a way the software, indirectly, helps lawyers earn more money and becomes an indispensable part of his legal practice.

Attorney Billing Software Syncs BackOffice Ops Seamlessly

Ask any lawyer or attorney what he dislikes the most about his work and he will say that keeping track of billable hours, accounting, retainers and expenses is the most bothersome. It eats into his time, keeps him away from important work on which he needs to concentrate but it has to be done nonetheless. Computer technologies and sophisticated software development resulted in the development of attorney billing softwares for lawyers and this has made life oh-so-much easier for them in more ways than one.
With a plethora of billing softwares, the best billing software for lawyers is undoubtedly the one that incorporates all features an attorney needs, plus it should be easy to understand and easy to use. Some of the best billing software for lawyers incorporates features such as tracking billable hours for each client and also where a single client have multiple matters. It tracks the expenses under various heads, tracks retainers and billable hours deducted from the advance, gives a notice when the advance paid is nearing depletion levels, maintain separate accounts for retainers as per laws of the State, generate reports in word and excel or PDF format and prints.
Attorney billing software for lawyers and attorneys, if developed by competent and knowledgeable software development firm, takes into consideration not only individual state laws for accounting and retainers, it also considers the various types of accounting a lawyer has to maintain according to established practices. The best billing software for lawyers incorporates various billing practices. The billing is usually done on any one of the following basis:
•  Fixed fee basis: The lawyer and client agree on a pre-determined fee in addition to expenses incurred relevant to the case. This arrangement works in case of traffic violations that are relatively simple affairs.
•  Hourly billable basis: Lawyers in family law, real estate, commercial litigation, etc, work on hourly billing arrangement where the software keeps track of the number of hours the lawyer has dedicated to the case in and out of court. Related expenses are accounted and shown separately.
•  Contingency billing: This works in case of motor accident claims, personal injury claims, debt collection, etc. The lawyer agrees to bill and ask for payment only if the case is resolved successfully in favor of the client. If not the client pays nothing, not even costs and expenses.
In a lawyer's firm one or more of the above billing systems may be in use with the same client or for different clients. A lawyer can generate a report immediately if a client requests it and this promotes transparency in attorney-client relationships. Since accounting laws pertaining to lawyers may vary from state to state, the attorney billing software needs to factor in all these to avoid any issues.
At the same time, by keeping a close watch on accounts receivable and making efforts to collect due payments, an attorney's firm has cash in hand instead of on paper and thus, the costs of a billing software are easily repaid.

Billing Software for Lawyers Keeps Track and Frees You to concentrate on Work

If there is one thing attorneys dislike but find it unavoidable, is to keep track of the hours they have put in for each client, the money received and associated with book keeping. As clientele grows, they have to devote more time to such book keeping activities and find it clashes with their main work: legal practice. If done manually, it involves long hours of work. An attorney billing software or a lawyer billing software, as it is known, uses computerized technology to help lawyers.

Most lawyers usually operate on an hourly billing model. If he has only a few clients, it does not take much time to keep track. However, as clients grow the work load increases. A legal time and billing software is just what a busy lawyer needs to remain up to date on the accounts side without losing focus of his practice.

Some lawyers work on a fixed fee basis, regardless of the number of hours or days a case takes up, with incidental expenses charged separately as they crop up with the progress of the case. In such cases too the legal billing software proves invaluable, keeping the fee separate from the various expenses that are all accounted separately. A lawyer can easily generate reports and print these for his and his client's convenience and for transparency in dealings.

Some lawyers work on a retainer plus hourly billing basis with expenses accounted for separately. A retainer or advance needs to be accounted for under a separate head and might complicate matters were it not for the sophisticated facilities of the legal billing and accounting software so easily available these days. At any point in time an attorney can review account status and if need be call for funds to top up the account.

Law office billing software is just as useful for those lawyers involved in personal injury cases, working on a contingency billing method. The law firm billing software has inbuilt utilities that permit him to calculate the claim amount, his percentage if he wins and the costs that he incurs, all under separate heads.

In each case, the lawyer simply enters the figures in a menu-based screen and the software takes care of most of the things in the background. Since accounts are always current, he never faces any problems with audit and can devote more time to working on cases, gaining more cases and generating more revenue. A well thought out and designed legal billing software will integrate all financial transactions in an easy to use interface with facilities to generate reports, bills and statements at the click of a button. In today's busy environment, the software is indispensable.

Billing Software for Lawyers Keeps Track and Frees You to concentrate on Work

If there is one thing attorneys dislike but find it unavoidable, is to keep track of the hours they have put in for each client, the money received and associated with book keeping. As clientele grows, they have to devote more time to such book keeping activities and find it clashes with their main work: legal practice. If done manually, it involves long hours of work. An attorney billing software or a lawyer billing software, as it is known, uses computerized technology to help lawyers.

Most lawyers usually operate on an hourly billing model. If he has only a few clients, it does not take much time to keep track. However, as clients grow the work load increases. A legal time and billing software is just what a busy lawyer needs to remain up to date on the accounts side without losing focus of his practice.

Some lawyers work on a fixed fee basis, regardless of the number of hours or days a case takes up, with incidental expenses charged separately as they crop up with the progress of the case. In such cases too the legal billing software proves invaluable, keeping the fee separate from the various expenses that are all accounted separately. A lawyer can easily generate reports and print these for his and his client's convenience and for transparency in dealings.

Some lawyers work on a retainer plus hourly billing basis with expenses accounted for separately. A retainer or advance needs to be accounted for under a separate head and might complicate matters were it not for the sophisticated facilities of the legal billing and accounting software so easily available these days. At any point in time an attorney can review account status and if need be call for funds to top up the account.

Law office billing software is just as useful for those lawyers involved in personal injury cases, working on a contingency billing method. The law firm billing software has inbuilt utilities that permit him to calculate the claim amount, his percentage if he wins and the costs that he incurs, all under separate heads.

In each case, the lawyer simply enters the figures in a menu-based screen and the software takes care of most of the things in the background. Since accounts are always current, he never faces any problems with audit and can devote more time to working on cases, gaining more cases and generating more revenue. A well thought out and designed legal billing software will integrate all financial transactions in an easy to use interface with facilities to generate reports, bills and statements at the click of a button. In today's busy environment, the software is indispensable.

Attorney Billing Software For Higher Productivity and Profits

When you started your career as an independent attorney, you may not have anticipated it. Back office operations including accounting, bookkeeping and tracking of billable hours can actually eat into your time and keep you from concentrating on the important task of handling clients' cases. Have you considered using attorney billing software to take care of all the complex and time consuming accounting tasks? Legal billing software takes care of all the back office operations and frees you to concentrate on your legal profession, handle more cases profitably, and yet be relaxed.

As an attorney, you would be handling cases on a variety of payment options. One very popular method is the billable hours basis. It does involve your having to keep records of the number of hours worked and then issue invoices, keep track of payments received and balance outstanding while preparing the next invoice and related issues. In addition to billable hours, there is the matter of keeping track of expenses that need to be included in the bill yet maintained separately. Legal time and billing software handles all this effortlessly. If you have agreed to work on a retainer-cum-billable hours basis then your invoice for replenishment shows how the advance is used. As if this is not enough, there is the matter of trust bookkeeping and legal billing concerning trust accounting and bank reconciliations. A negative balance in trust accounting means you have used trust funds and this could reflect adversely on you, that could very well be prevented by using legal billing and accounting software. Why let all this happen, when a fully integrated lawyer billing software works seamlessly in the background to handle everything, generate reports and keep you updated of each client's account and each matter in a very easy and time-saving way?

When you are so busy with your professional life and handle so many clients, it is not easy to keep track of each one manually or by using a spreadsheet—both are laborious and time-consuming. You may overlook so many small outstanding amounts that add up to a sizeable sum. Law firm billing software improves your cash flow by generating reports of such unpaid amounts periodically. The law office billing software is a computerized process with no margin for error and perfect accuracy in generating invoices, detailed statements and records for audit and in case of disputes. This also enhances your image with a client since there is transparency and accuracy in billing and accounting.

The beauty of this attorney accounting software is that it keeps accurate track of all your various bookkeeping, billing and accounting methods, generates reports for you, automatically generates bills periodically, payments statements, bank reconciliations, collection reminders and the important matter of trust bookkeeping and billing, in compliance with existing laws of your state.

The Right Attorney Billing Software Makes Life Easier For Lawyers

Unlike other countries, attorneys in the States operate on billable hours, quite different from methods employed in other businesses. In today's hectic world, as the workload on an attorney increases, he finds it difficult to keep track of the advances and the billable hours he has worked for each client. The best solution is an attorney billing software. The right legal billing software will take care of all financial related activities of a lawyer's firm. The right software handles matter based record keeping, trust activities, integrated billing, reports and summaries efficiently and in a user-friendly way so that even those with passing knowledge can use it personally.

Legal billing is done in a variety of ways:

• Fixed fee basis.
• Hourly billing is another method in use where the time an attorney spends on the matter along with incidental costs are recorded and a lawyer bills his client accordingly.
• In a retainer based hourly billing method, the advance paid by the client is adjusted against the hours a lawyer puts in and deducted from the retainer with additional requests for funds.
• In personal injury cases, most lawyers will usually work on a contingency billing basis where the amount of costs and fixed percentage previously decided upon are deducted from the settlement amount and paid to the lawyer. If he loses, he gains nothing.

If a mistake occurs in the billable hours then either it results in the lawyer incurring a loss or the client raising doubts, resulting in loss of goodwill. Legal time and billing software eases the burden of bookkeeping. The convenience of such law office billing software can be gauged from the fact that even if one client entrusts the law with separate legal matters, each is tracked and accounted for separately, avoiding confusion, disputes and doubts. A positive balance in one matter cannot be offset against a negative balance in another matter without the client's consent and thus the legal billing and accounting software keeps financial matters transparent for both the lawyer and the client.

A further benefit of using the law firm billing software is that it keeps complete audit track of all billing and related matters to comply with existing laws in each state. In the right lawyer billing software the client's advances are accounted for separately in attorney trust accounts to comply with laws. This relieves lawyers of this concern, helps them concentrate on their profession and generate more revenues. It is obvious that the benefits of using the right lawyer billing software with all the desired functions soon repay the costs of investing in one.

Legal Billing Software - Are Your Numbers Growing…for the Wrong Reasons?

It's the end of the month. Time to review your accounts receivable. If you compare the numbers to last month: they've definitely grown.

The good news? The firm's doing great, and work shows no signs of slowing down.

The bad news? Too many of your numbers are simply carried over from last month. What this means: there are balances going into arrears by 60 days, 90 days, and more.

If this happens once a year, it's no big deal. If this happens consistently from month to month and client to client, then it represents a waste of time, effort, bank account interest, and business proactivity. It increases stagnation, and decreases client commitment. What's more, the longer it takes a client to pay his or her bill, the more likely that bill is to go unpaid.

If this is you: don't panic. You're in good company. Regardless of size, law firms all across the country struggle with collections. You can throw manpower and energy at the problem. But if you haven't got a system in place to usher in your cash, then you're fighting a slow-and losing-battle.

We can help. Easy Soft's comprehensive legal time and billing software, Easy TimeBill, is designed to send out periodic and accurate reminders to your clients for balances due. In other words, the software does the work for you: it determines what the balance is, how many days your client has fallen behind, and any interest charges that apply. You simply click a few buttons-and off go your invoices: by email or printed snail mail.

Rig your collections system like a well-oiled machine. And your clients will start falling in line.

To learn more about any of our attorney time tracking software, call us at 800 905 7638.