The Bill4Time Blog

As an invoicing software company, more invoicing flexibility has been an in-demand feature that our development team has been working on for quite some time. Although they are still working on it, they’re soon coming to a point where you can already benefit from their ongoing development.

Extra Invoice Layouts

In a short time, you will see an extra feature in your invoice setup. You will have other invoice layouts to choose from. All layouts will contain the same information, including company logo and contact information. However, you can now choose which one best fits the needs of your company and your client. Any of the layouts can be applied to a specific client or used as the default.

Invoice Detail Columns on the Client Level

Just like in the Firm/System Settings’ Invoice Setup, you will be able to decide how detailed you want your invoice to report: date of service, hours, services by, rate, activity type, amount, service summary, and labor start/end time.  This is particularly useful when one client wants a more detailed invoice than another client.

Future Invoicing Software Features

There will be more invoicing features to come. This is just the first ones amongst many this year. Expect more invoice layouts, image options for the header/footer, and font styles. We’re looking forward to future ones and will keep you informed when they soon are ready for the public.

Your Feedback

We’re releasing the new invoice layouts in batches. If you would like to be in the first batches, just let us know in the comments. Have any layouts you’d like to see in the future? Let us know at ideas.bill4time.com or in the comments of this blog post.

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Bill4Time is proud to be part of the Kennedy & Mighell Report by Legal Talk Network. Here’s a little commentary to give you some insight into one of their podcasts.

Listening to the latest podcast by the Kennedy-Mighell Report, I realized the usefulness of lists. But more important is the usefulness of following. People can take this for granted, but if you think about it, it can save us a lot of time on the internet. One can easily be overwhelmed by the massive amounts of information on the internet. There are so many articles out there. And what about the amount of Twitter users?

• Who should you follow on Twitter?
• What articles should you read?
• What sites should you go to?

Try Following Others

Go to someone that you trust on the internet. Someone who knows what they’re talking about. Find those who have been on the internet long enough and have established themselves as an authority in their field.  Wouldn’t you want to just go to the place where they go? Wouldn’t you just want to read what they read and know what they know? Sure you can’t begin where they began, but what they value is what keeps them more informed and enriched in their profession, in the internet , and in the news.

That’s where you want to be.

Why Reinvent the Wheel?

For some it’s a fun journey to scour the internet, but for others, it’s not so fun of an exploration. Use your thought leaders as your guide. Who do you trust as a blogger, as an online writer, as an authority in your interests? Find out what they read, whom they look up to, whom they reference. It will save you a lot of time and you find the gold nuggets quicker that way.

When you go to Twitter, go to those that you follow the most and follow their Twitter lists. Check out their Follow Friday recommendations. Look into who they retweet. Maybe this is someone you should follow.

If you bookmark sites in Delicious or Digg, find those that bookmarked a lot of your same sites and then look through their bookmarks for anything interesting. One good indication of a thought leader is one who leaves an informative note/comment to a bookmark.

In the podcast, Kennedy and Mighell can give you more tips to following your thought leaders using lists. They will also show you how to get a group of relevant and useful information all at once. Even if you get one idea from this, it will save you a lot of time searching, and help you keep your thumb on the latest news and updates to what matters most to you on the internet.

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Easier on the Eye

The eye naturally moves left to right. It’s what’s most comfortable to us. That lead to the developer’s decision to move the navigation menu from the left side of the Dashboard to the top of every screen. There is nothing wrong with a vertical list, but when it comes to looking at organization, a horizontal layout is easier on the eyes.

Read more…

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Bill4Time is proud to be part of the Kennedy & Mighell Report by Legal Talk Network. Here’s a little commentary to give you some insight into one of their podcasts.

Click here to listen to the podcast!

The legal technology duo is at it again! In this podcast, they respond to the reality of how most lawyers are still not using computers for note-taking. The legal pad is still prominent in the court houses and conferences. Maybe touch screen technology is a good contender.

In Defense of the Computer

The greatest benefit to using a computer when taking notes is the fact that your notes are already digitalized. And this opens a flood of benefits:

• You don’t have to go back and retype your notes.
• You can quickly copy and paste little tidbits of the conference and Tweet them.
• You can quickly extract the most important parts of your notes.
• You have all your information condensed in a single place.
• You can transfer your notes quickly to a spreadsheet, a flash drive, email, etc.
• And if you’re tracking your time, you have it right there on your screen!

Read more…

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The creators and developers of Bill4Time’s time tracking software have been working feverously for many moons to bring you the 2.0. And it is almost here! Around the office, we are doing some internal beta testing – and that includes everybody! Now I’m not a web architect or a developer. I’m just a regular user who’s attention span is only so long (or short). If I find something beneficial, such as good time management, I will take the time to learn something. But after a while, I’d need a little rest. Sound familiar?

However, the new version of Bill4Time is pretty easy to navigate through! I actually had a bit of fun with it. A lot of it is pretty straight forward, though there will be upcoming video tutorials, articles, and tips to help everyone become familiar with it. With only one session with the beta version, I feel like I’ve had a deeper understanding of this time tracking software. It does more than just track your billable time, it’s a project management tool, an invoicing machine, and a valuable business efficiency assistant.

Mind you, this is only a peak into the 2.0. It’s not at its final stage but I’m far too excited not to let you in on the great things to come.

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Bill4Time is proud to be part of the Kennedy & Mighell Report by Legal Talk Network. Here’s a little commentary to give you some insight into one of their podcasts.

Click here to listen to the podcast!

Lawyers are pretty fearless. They do a lot of the dirty work that we find intimidating in the courtroom. It can be pretty cut-throat and ruthless out there. For the rest of us non-lawyers, those tough dramatic scenes you see in the movies is enough to make your blood pressure go up a few notches.

But there are only a few things lawyers find a bit intimidating. One of them is technology (so I’ve been told). It encompasses the complicated – such as HTML, C++ and JavaScript – to the very simple, namely social media. Or is it that simple? Not according to thousands of lawyers who have talked to Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell, legal technology experts from LegalTalkNetwork.com. Each social media site seems like a completely different social planet: you have different configurations, features, and communicating vehicles to new a few.

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Did you know that the difference between a bike ride and a car ride over a 4 mile commute is 15 pounds of pollutants? That’s right, according to the League of American Bicyclists, a single person can make this kind of impact on the environment. And a realization of this kind of environmental influence has been spreading to more people through the years. According to the Seattle Department of Transportation, the number of U.S. bicyclists has increased by 100% since 1985. As it continues to rise, the need for more bike lines, trails, and facilities also rise.

And Morris is at it again! Well, it’s more like one more charity before the ALYN Hospital Wheels of Love Bike Ride. If we could integrate our time tracking software with his bike, I’m sure he’d be riding 24/7. This time, the charity was to help Transportation Alternatives in New York City, a bicycling advocacy group. Last Sunday, September 13th, the NYC Century Bike Tour held its annual event. Proceeds from it will go to improve and develop new bike lanes and greenways in the city. New York City is notorious for bumper to bumper traffic so every cyclist counts!

We at Bill4Time encourage you to do your part in helping your community – whether it be taking alternative means of transportation, volunteering, or donating to a nonprofit organization. Every effort counts.

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When it comes to time or money, you can always give either one for a worthy charity. Morris Tabush, founder of Bill4Time, is going to take a step back from the business of time and billing, and spend some of his time helping others.

Morris is currently training for the 10th Annual ALYN Hospital Wheels of Love Bike Ride. And he should be training, as this ride spans several days across more than 300 miles of Israeli terrain. People from all around the world come together in November and help raise thousands of dollars for the children’s hospital in Jerusalem. For Morris, this will be his fifth year participating in this charitable cause.

The proceeds of this fundraiser go to the children of ALYN Hospital who are diagnosed with a physical disability. The medical staff takes tremendous care to treat each child with the latest technology and methods that best suits each patient’s diagnosis.  They create a safe and fun experience for their young patients.

Visit their website at www.alynus.org to see how ALYN fulfills its mission “to support Israel’s premiere rehabilitation center for physically disabled children.” And please help the ALYN patients by supporting the Wheels of Love Bike Ride by sponsoring Morris!

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I was thinking the other day about smartphones and how things have evolved from the Game Boy to the iPhone. But if you think about it, those kids that sat there with their mobile Zelda are now adults with their mobile MSN News. Technology has grown with its users, and the legal profession is not an exception.

The American Board Association calls them “mobile lawyers.” They are the attorneys on the go, barely at their desk, and running from one appointment to the other. But that shouldn’t be at the expense of their administrative obligations. You know that old debate about a tree falling and no one to hear it? Well, it’s an inarguable fact that if a lawyer worked and that hour was not accounted for, no one is going to pay for it.

The solution lies in your cell phone holster or your PDA pouch. What accompanies the mobile lawyer is the mobile legal billing software. If you can send a text message, you can bill your time. One of the most convenient things about a mobile legal billing system is the fact that it’s a system – not a device. In the not-too-distant past, professionals were walking around with a cell phone, a palm pilot, and a little pager attached to their belt. With technology today, attorneys can consolidate their applications to one device. As the years progress, there is this growing trend of mobile lawyers using their PDA/Smartphone for office purposes. According to the ABA, there has been a steady growth from 53% in 2007 to 82% in 2009.

Who would have thought that a legal billing system could start with a ledger, advance to an electronic file, and end up on your phone? And it all started with video games. Technology may be taking us places, but it’s good to know that it can keep up with us as well.

Jessica Eballar is a writer and time-enthusiast at www.Bill4Time.com – a time billing software company.

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Time is Money

There once was a wise man who said, “Remember that time is money.” We remember it every time we look to the clocks in the office. But let’s take it a step further – time is more important than money. With money you can always get it back somehow.  With time, it’s never the case.

In a recession like this, you need to take inventory of your assets.  One of your greatest ones is time. It’s something no one can ultimately take away from you since we’re all given the same amount. In a way, it’s the great equalizer. No one is given more or less than 24 hours a day.

Now, let’s assume that you are using it wisely. Let’s skip to the part where you already know your priorities and are practicing good time management.

The next question is: how do you account for the time? Just as it takes money to make money, it takes time to manage time. But if this discourages you, think of it this way: the more strategic your time accountability, the less time it takes to maintain it! If time is money, better efficiency means more money.

Now let’s take this a step even further…

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