Running a Conflict Check

February 24, 2017 By Bill4Time Staff 4 Comments

A conflict of interest can emerge from any facet of your practice. These risks, whether anticipated or realized, may be obvious or hidden to the practitioner. Identifying a compromising influence, and doing so early on, is fundamental to the health of the lawyer/client relationship. Checking for a conflict of interest situation should be a routine risk management exercise in every lawyer’s practice. The consequences of eschewing this responsibility can be costly and severe. However, with Bill4Time Legal — you’re able to search through every bit of data you’ve input into your account.

Bill4Time understands that attorneys need the ability to quickly and effectively scan for potential conflicts of interest across their practice’s entire database. With this in mind, we’ve designed our system to perform a conflict check with just one click of a button and the entering of a name to search for in the database.

The highlighted section contains a new button used to access the Conflict Checker.

The results of the Conflict Check pull from every field in Bill4Time that contains text matching the search phrase. Clicking one of the listed results will open that item for further review.

At this time, the Conflict Checker is an exclusive feature for our Legal plan subscribers.

To access the Conflict Checker, a user must have the following User Permissions enabled: “Create/Edit clients”, “Create/Edit/Close Projects”, and “View other users’ time/expenses”.

Release Notes: February 2017

February 10, 2017 By Bill4Time Staff 7 Comments

The Bill4Time product team releases new and enhanced features, system improvements, and bug fixes several times per week. We’re thrilled to announce a new series called Release Notes. Every month Release Notes will highlight all the changes we’ve implemented, so you can easily stay up-to-date on what’s new.

Take a look at what we’ve released this February:

Updated 2/24/17

New and Improved Schedule Report – We have completely overhauled the Schedule Report. This was the final report to transition from the Legacy version of Bill4Time to our new reports engine. This new report includes all the same functionality as before, and we’ve also added a filter for Project Type.

User Hours Summary Invoice Template Add-On – We’ve fixed a bug that was causing extraordinarily long project names to format incorrectly.

Added Server Capacity – We’ve more than doubled our server capacity. This change was made in an effort to improve load speeds and decrease latency for users.

Favorite Report Filters – There is now a new Date Range option when saving filters to a Favorite report. You may now select ‘Last Month’ and the report will pull data using a date range spanning from the first to last day of the month preceding the current month.

Project Type Filter – We’ve added a new filter to the Project Management page, which allows you to filter results for one or more Project Types. (Project Type column is coming soon!)

A/R Balances Summary Invoice Template Add-On – The A/R Balances Summary add-on is now available when using the ‘Official’ design template.

Trust Payments by Batch – We’ve resolved an issue where the Trust Account dropdown list was not always populating appropriately when making trust payments within a batch.

Updated 2/17/17

Conflict Checker – Advancements to the Conflict Checker have been released. Top right, click the check mark icon to access your Conflict Checker from any page. Full post here

The highlighted section contains a new button used to access the Conflict Checker.

Invoice Email Popup – We’ve resolved a small display bug where the Invoice Email popup was not formatted using the same size when opened in various places in the program. This popup is now consistently formatted throughout the program.

Updated 2/15/17

Invoice Status Report – We’ve added the option to group by Project and Account Manager when running this report.

Streamlined Setup Wizard – The Setup Wizard has been updated to make it easier to customize your Activity Types when first setting up your Bill4Time account.

Updated 2/10/17

Attach/Hide Trust Accounting Summary – We’ve enhanced this feature to allow the Trust Account Summary Add-On to be hidden when there is no new transaction data to display.

WIP Summary Report – We’ve added the option to group by Account Manager when running this report.

Project Type Report – The filter option for Project Type now allows you to select multiple types when running this report.

iPad app Data Download – We’ve resolved an issue for users downloading an extraordinarily large volume of data.

Tax Report Update – This report now groups by currency symbol by default.

Bill4Time Desktop Widget for Mac – Full post here

This post will be periodically updated throughout the month to reflect new releases.

The Business of Effective Timekeeping

February 6, 2017 By Jeremy Diviney Leave a Comment

Today, successful law firm owners have to start thinking less like lawyers and more like business owners. These leaders are looking beyond billable hours, implementing business practices and metrics to increase time-billing productivity and the bottom line.

Why You Should Measure Utilization Rates, Not Just Billable Hours
The utilization rate is the measurement law firms use to assess staff productivity. Every lawyer has a capacity for hours worked but utilization rate is a measure of how much time is actually spent on work that is billable to clients.

Utilization rate is calculated by dividing a lawyer’s billable hours by the lawyer’s maximum capacity of hours to work. So, if a lawyer works 2,500 hours in a year and bills 1,800 hours, her utilization rate for the year is 72 percent. While this sounds like a reasonable example, recent studies indicate that utilization rates may actually be much lower, especially at smaller firms. One industry study found that only 20% of time worked is actually being billed in the solo and two-attorney practices.

Billable hours should be evaluated in the context of utilization rate to compare employees, clients and overall firm performance.

What are the main causes of low utilization rates? Fifty percent of respondents (both big and small firms) in the industry survey found administrative and practice management tasks as the number one or two activities making up the bulk of non-billable work hours. Another consideration: attorneys may not be sufficiently recording and capturing their billable time.

One universal truth: lawyers gripe about filling out time sheets. “Many lawyers today just do not understand the impact of effective time keeping on the firm’s business,” notes Aileen Leventon, Principal of Edge International, a law firm consulting firm.

Increasingly, however, law firms are taking another look at time keeping, from management practices that encourage greater and faster compliance with time keeping tasks, to making staffing and expansion decisions based (in part) on time sheet data.

Make Timekeeping Relevant
Most law firms’ compensation structures are linked not to profits but revenues (explaining the need for more billable hours). Law firms generally do not have a strong handle on the costs of underlying legal work (or costs of working on specific clients or matters). This is a backward-looking focus that needs to change, says Leventon. “There’s nothing wrong with billing by the hour but you want to make sure everyone is productive. If everyone is only focused on how many hours they are billing, they are only looking at one part of the business equation.”

Effectively tracking time is the only way to understand the “cost of the sale” to a law firm. Leventon explains that if you spent 100 hours on a client but were only able to bill 10 hours, you have to evaluate whether this is a good use of firm time. You have to evaluate how you spent the other 90 hours. Was it business development, a write off or something else? Lawyers need to understand the relationship between revenues vs. costs. Lawyers also need to understand the value of keeping timely, detailed information and how it will ultimately impact their own compensation. “If lawyers are not compensated on their contribution to profitability, you can’t change their behavior.”

Using Time Data to Make Smart Business Decisions
“Timekeeping can be a useful tool when you are at a critical point with your business,” added Leventon. “Lawyers often take on all the cases they can and then decide whether or not to hire. When you feel you are at a break point, you can look at your data. Timekeeping data is invaluable when you are making business decisions about your firm.”

This point goes back to importance of accurate utilization rates. Leventon notes that looking at timekeeping helps firms determine whose time is frequently being written off or who does not have enough work. This information can help firms decide whether or not to hire and can also help assess staff performance.

With profit-level analysis, lawyers can answer tough questions like ‘do I need more people, or do I simply need more efficiency from my current staff? Do I need to raise rates, or should I just get rid of one unprofitable client.

Analyzing time billing records also lets firms strategically decide when (or if) to suggest flat-fees on certain routine tasks or transactions. Even when a client is not pushing for alternate fee arrangements, recognizing that fixed fees for certain routine services or matters can be more profitable and could result in a win-win.

“You can’t run your law firm like a business unless you are on top of your timekeeping. The whole house of cards falls if lawyers do not enter their time sheets in real time,” noted Leventon.

Updated Custom Fields Available!

February 1, 2017 By Bill4Time Staff 2 Comments

In this modern age, there’s no such thing as tracking too much data. In fact, one of the most common missteps even the best firms make is simply not tracking enough. Your firm shouldn’t miss out on key insights just because you’re unable to track the data point needed to fuel your analytics solution. The right analytics tool should give you the capacity to track whatever data point you want. Bill4Time’s Custom Data Fields are the perfect solution for firms who need more flexible data tracking. And with our recent update – managing your custom fields has never been easier!
With custom fields, you can define unique fields that can appear in different areas of the program. You may create, remove, and update these fields as needed, and also make fields optional or required when users are on that desired page.

One or more custom fields can be added to the following pages: Time Entry, Expense Entry, Client Details, Project Details, Invoice Details, and the User Information tab. These custom fields can be configured to allow you to select a date, enter text or numbers, select from your list of clients or users, or a completely unique list of custom-defined options.

With this new update, your custom fields can all be managed from one place, allowing you quick and easy access to review and update components of this feature.

Tracking the right metrics is the cornerstone of good analytics. Custom Fields are the perfect solution for more flexible content and allows you to take control over your data. You can upgrade to the Enterprise plan under your Settings – Subscription tab to take advantage of this feature!

Bill4Time Desktop Mac & PC Updates!

January 13, 2017 By Kristin O'Neill 1 Comment

Bill4Time has released many updates to the Mobile & Desktop applications recently including the new macOS download!

The Desktop application allows you to track time and expenses both online & offline. If you track time offline, the application will store the entries and automatically upload the data to the program as soon as you have an internet connection. You can also view Client information, Projects, recent entries, and Balances. Add Clients and Projects from the desktop application and have it sync to and from the program!

To download the applications, log into Bill4Time and click the “Downloads” link at the bottom of any page. From there, choose the PC or Mac download option.

With the Bill4Time Desktop Application, managing your data has never been so simple!

Download Now!

Bill4Time 2016 Year in Review!

December 30, 2016 By Kristin O'Neill 4 Comments

With 2016 coming to a close, we can reflect on the past year and look forward to the future!

Throughout this year, we have a released many updates including a new design!

Here is a list of features released in 2016 just in case you missed them!

Monthly Productivity Report – The Monthly Productivity report will show billable and non-billable hours and amounts based on a per user per month format. https://www.bill4time.com/blog/just-released-new-monthly-productivity-report/

Finalize/Unfinalize All Invoices – When invoice batching you have the ability to view, print, and create a pdf of all the invoices in your batch. With this feature, you can choose which invoices you would like to Finalize or Unfinalize all at once instead of individually which saves time and money: https://www.bill4time.com/blog/tips-tricks-new-finalize-allunfinalize-feature/

Invoice Discount Default – Set a default discount to automatically calculate on each client or project. https://www.bill4time.com/blog/just-released-new-invoice-discount-feature/

Automated Late Fees – Set Late Fees to automatically calculate each past due invoice. https://www.bill4time.com/blog/just-released-late-fee-advancements/

Account Manager Features – With the Account Manager feature you can set certain permissions to manage clients on a per user level. https://www.bill4time.com/blog/just-released-account-manager/

Custom Invoice IDs – You can customize your Invoice IDs with this new feature. https://www.bill4time.com/blog/tip-of-the-week-customize-ids/

Bill4Time New Design – The Bill4Time New Design has been a successful update as we continue to improve the design and functionality of the software. Click here for a list of new features added to the new design. https://www.bill4time.com/blog/bill4times-new-design-list-of-updated-features/

Invoice Line Items – Pick and choose what entries are billed at the time of invoicing with this new feature. https://www.bill4time.com/blog/new-invoice-line-item-feature/

Bill4Time Desktop & Mobile Updates – We have released many updates to the Desktop & Mobile applications over the past year. Updates consisted mostly with the new design also with the addition of a Balances section per Client. https://www.bill4time.com/blog/manage-your-business-via-a-smartphone-with-b4t-mobile/

Invoice Email Link Expiration – Customize when your invoice links will expire with this new update. https://www.bill4time.com/blog/bill4time-client-portal-update/

Default Project Selection – Choose to default your invoice emails on a per project level. https://www.bill4time.com/blog/bill4time-client-portal-update/

Thank you to everyone for an amazing 2016 with Bill4Time. We could not be more excited for the updates to come in 2017 and we would like to share a quick sneak peak of some of the updates to look forward to:

Simplify receiving & applying payments to invoices
Invoice & Statement improvements
LEDES 2000
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