Search Results for: trust accounting

CPA Practice Advisor Review of Bill4Time

December 23, 2015 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

Best Fit: Professional firms that want cloud-based time and expense management for time and expense tracking and billing, along with mobile apps that simplify daily use.

Strengths

Integration with QuickBooks, Outlook and Google
Apps for Apple and Android devices
Online payment acceptance
Management at the client, project and activities level
Features for accounting and legal firms

Potential Limitations

No accruals management

The cloud-based Bill4Time system offers flexible web-based management of time and expenses, which can be tracked against hourly billing, flat fee billing, projects, or staff. The program also includes accounts receivables management and invoicing features, strong reporting, easy time entry tools, and mobile apps. The system’s project management features give firms the ability to budget and track due dates, along with project and activity-based management tools that can track multiple engagements per client.

Basic System Functions:

The web-based Bill4Time system can be accessed via major browsers and
mobile devices, and is designed to track time, projects, activities and expenses, then includes AR management tools and invoicing functions. System interfaces are user friendly, and the program includes user-level security functions.

Mobile access tools make it easy to management time entry and expense functions, including adding markups and assigning expenses to specific clients, tasks and expense categories. Images of receipts can be uploaded into the program from either the user’s desktop or the mobile apps. Scanned or photographed copies of other documents, such as contracts, can also be attached to client engagement files.

Bill4Time offers versions for accounting or law practices, with WIPs and trust accounting options. Users can easily oversee the status of projects and client billables, with the system offering easy access to scheduling, reporting, accounting and other core function areas.

Users can select projects, staff, work codes and other settings from intuitive screens, and the client selection screen provides a sortable summary of client data, account balances and staff members engaged on a client engagement.

Time Management Capabilities:

Bill4Time provides several methods of time data entry, including timers, summary or detailed data sheets, widgets or the mobile apps. Billable and non-billable time can be entered and tracked, and the program can convert appointments from the calendar into time data entries that are logged against client engagements. The system also includes group calendaring functions. Professionals in areas that have sales taxes on labor can assign and track those taxes automatically.

Project management tools let users create and manage budgets at the client or project level, with showing progress against budgets and offering users the option of setting up alerts that notify them when budgets or client credit limits have been hit. Project-level billing features simplify tracking of multiple engagements per client, with each detailed separately on consolidated invoices. The program allows setting default billing rates at the client, project or staff levels. A separate contact management feature allows having multiple contacts at clients, prospects and vendors.

Bill4Time can also be used to track non-billable tasks, such as staff training and firm development, as well as vacation, sick leave or other PTO, but it does not offer true accruals management capabilities.

Invoicing Functions:

Invoices created through the system can be fully customized with firm logos, and can be electronically delivered (the preferred method, since this system is web-based). Online payment acceptance streamlines receivables management and usually speeds the time in which clients pay invoices. The program also includes client portals that can be customized, allowing clients to log in and securely access related files and documents, as well as paying invoices. The system includes multi-currency support. Expense tracking features enable flat fee or percentage-based markups, as well as tracking travel time. Users can control the level of details, account histories, billing rates and other information that is included on the invoices.

Management Features:

Client budgets and credit limits can be created, and reporting options allow comparisons of budget to actual, WIP summaries and other options. Accounting functions include AR management with WIP reporting, collections, payments and account activity.

The Bill4Time system offers dashboards that provide key business indicators, including pending time entries, projects, billable hours and other information. A broad collection of reports are available from a library that includes options for detail and summary activity, balance and payment reports, as well as WIP summaries, AR aging, collections, write-ups and write-downs, and trust and tax reports. Reporting can be focused on users, clients and projects, expenses, client histories, budgets, and user productivity and efficiency.

Integration & Data Management:

The reports and invoices generated through the program can be saved as PDF, directly emailed to clients, sent to the client portal, or exported to Excel for customization. The program integrates with QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online to transfer labor, expense, payment and adjustment transactions and entries. The system’s scheduling system integrates with Outlook and Google. Client data can also be imported from CSV or Excel format.

Firms can accept online payments from clients via PayPal or credit cards, and payment links are included on digital client invoices.

Help/Support:

Bill4Time includes ample built-in support including field-level help options and links on each page of the program. The company’s online support center includes a knowledgebase, video tutorials, user manuals, webinars and how-to articles. Live technical support is included in system pricing, including email support, a t
icket-response system and by phone.

Summary & Pricing

Bill4Time is a user-friendly web-based time and expense management system that provides additional project and engagement tracking functions. The system integrates with QuickBooks and Outlook, and streamlines online payment acceptance.

The system is available in three general versions, with pricing starting at $15 per month for the Solo version which supports up to two users with 100 clients, 100 projects and 2GB of cloud data storage. The Pro version is $30 per month, with unlimited clients and projects, and 10GB storage, plus additional import and coversheet options. The Enterprise version is $75 per month, with unlimited clients, projects and cloud storage, plus additional reporting, data import and custom invoice template options.

Read the review in CPA Practice Advisor.

Bill4Time Releases Legal Firm Manager with New IOLTA Features

November 18, 2015 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

Washington and Florida Bar Associations Offer Members Premier Time Billing Software

Bellevue—November 18, 2015—Bill4Time®, a leader in time billing practice management software for attorneys, announced today the release of Bill4Time Firm Manager with new IOLTA (Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts) features. A collaborative effort between the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) and Bill4Time, the new IOLTA features are based on and comply with general accounting principles and WSBA rules. Bill4Time Firm Manager with IOLTA significantly reduces the level of complexity for solo practitioners managing IOLTA, eliminates over drafting and provides a complete digital audit trail for client accounts.

IOLTA is a program in all 50 states to increase access for individuals and families unable to afford legal services. Client funds, held in a trust account for future legal use and that would normally not earn interest are set up as an IOLTA account. The interest earned is then pooled, together with state and federal appropriations, and private grants and donations, to fund civil legal aid to the poor and support improvements to the judicial system. IOLTA trust accounts are regulated by each state so it is important that every lawyer comply with the individual state rules. Bill4Time Firm Manager aids in compliance and simplifies the accounting process by providing an easy, accurate and transparent method to segregate and account for client funds in an interest bearing IOLTA trust account.

“Bill4Time IOLTA [Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts] is a key feature as it makes managing trust accounts simple by automatically tracking every transaction,” said Talis Abolins, a partner at the Advocates Law Group in Washington. “Plus, key to managing IOLTA accounts is to never go into the negative. Bill4Time prevents this, ensuring strict compliance and control.”

Bill4Time Firm Manager Features
Bill4Time Firm Manager is a cloud-based legal management software, eliminating the need for servers and IT staff to maintain software. Bill4Time provides on- and offline time tracking and billing, along with a convenient online payment portal. The software includes ABA Task codes, case/matters management, LEDES export, trust accounting and integrates with QuickBooks, Box and others to provide a complete end-to-end solution for attorneys. The new IOLTA trust accounting provides:

Credit/Deposit Clear Date & File Upload. Reconcile account statements in minutes by quickly adding a “clear date” next to each credit/debit. Scan and upload copies of checks and cancelled checks for future reference and validation.
Voided Checks and Notes. Quickly learn the status of every entry. Click “Void Check” and enter the date and explanation in one step so the check is clearly marked. Create automatic triggers to hold a credit or debit until a clear date has been entered and easily scan for any status update.
Detailed Reporting. Easily reconcile IOLTA accounts in one step, in one place with the Trust Reconciliation Report. Review audits with time entry and time stamp of each transaction. View payments, voided checks and checks that have yet to clear. Provide a complete digital audit trail to maintain client confidence and avoid any claims of financial impropriety.

“Trust accounts are to protect client funds; however, attorneys need to be aware of the liabilities and rules involved in managing these accounts,” said Jeremy Diviney, president of Bill4Time. “With Bill4Time, we help reduce the complexity of managing trust accounts by creating a streamlined and transparent process that is easy to use, instills confidence and trust, and mitigates exposure to false claims. Our end-to-end firm management software helps legal practitioners focus on the client, not back office administration.”

Both the Washington and Florida Bar Associations join the National Association of Legal Professionals (NALS) in announcing a relationship with Bill4Time to offer members lifetime discounts for Bill4Time Firm Manager. Bill4Time Firm Manager is a comprehensive, end-to-end legal practice management system offering enhanced security, ease of use, is platform agnostic so it is accessible anywhere, anytime on any device, including Apple® iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry smartphones and tablets.

For more information on Bill4Time Firm Manager with the new IOLTA features, please visit http://www.bill4time.com/legal-billing-software or view the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a51n2SkX2NU. To learn more about IOLTA programs by state, visit the ABA Directory of IOLTA Programs.

Contacts:
Chérie Wentz Blehm
cwblehm(at)bill4time.com
425.559.9790

Alex Trautt
atrautt(at)bill4time.com
425.559.9789

Bill4Time Review: Timekeeping & Billing Software for Law Firms

May 10, 2014 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

Published by Jurispage | May 2014 by Andrew Cabasso

First up in our attorney-tested law firm timekeeping and billing software comparison series is Bill4Time. Bill4Time helps attorneys keep time on their matters and bill clients. Bill4Time is cloud-based, allowing you to easily take a free trial, try out their software, create your matters, log time, and bill your clients – from any computer, tablet, or phone.

About Cloud Based Timekeeping Software

As I’ve mentioned before, I generally prefer cloud-based software for timekeeping and billing (software you access via the Internet rather than software installed on a server in your office). It’s secure, easy to use, easy to scale if I ever have more users, and the support is fantastic. Some attorneys have irrational fears of cloud-based software, worried about the security or potential ethical issues. While I am not your attorney and am not offering you legal advice, law firms are generally in compliance with the ABA model rules when they take “reasonable” precautions to protect their information (a good password helps). Realistically, it’s more likely that the server you installed in your office with out-of-date software and security updates is more vulnerable to attack than cloud-based software.

There’s also a very small learning curve with this and other cloud-based timekeeping / billing software. It was fairly easy for me to get started. I didn’t need a “consultant” to train me how to use Bill4Time. Though, when I had a question about a particular feature, their support team was incredibly responsive.

Features

Bill4Time was created with attorneys in mind, offering features that many attorneys would find helpful, and possibly essential. Bill4Time is definitely the most feature-rich software for timekeeping and billing clients.

Bill4Time operates a lot like more full-featured case management software. Each individual matter has a dashboard screen where you can see not only related time entries, but schedules, documents, accounting and trust accounting, attorneys assigned to the matter, and their associated billing rates for the matter. While you may not need all of these features, they are at your disposal.

Regarding timekeeping, you can batch your time entries (this is something not many of the others seem to have). From one screen you can create multiple time entries. This is particularly useful if you are the type of user who creates entries all at once at the end of the day rather than keeping time as you go. In the competitors’ applications, you have to create each time entry one by one.

Bill4Time can integrate with the QuickBooks desktop and online versions. How this works is that you can export Bill4Time entries as a file type that QuickBooks can read, and then import it into your QuickBooks software. One issue though is that Bill4Time cannot transpose trust account information. Your trust account tab in Bill4Time stays where it is. If you want to keep tabs of your trust accounts, you need to do it manually in QuickBooks. Also, Bil4Time works one-way with QuickBooks – you can export Bill4Time info to QuickBooks, but not send QuickBooks information to Bill4Time. The two-way sync is something Ebillity has that Bill4Time doesn’t.

One interesting feature of Bill4Time is the scheduling ability. Attorney users can schedule calls with clients and have the related information become a time entry.

Bill4Time can be used offline. Bill4Time has an offline-enabled desktop widget. From your computer desktop, you can track your time (even when offline), start and stop your timer, and even add expenses.

Bill4Time is very attorney-friendly. Some other attorney-related Bill4Time features include:

·ABA Activity, Expense, and Task Codes
·LEDES and Litigation Advisor Exports
·Trust Accounting with Summaries and Reports
·Easily Check for Conflicts of Interest

Bill4Time touts its document storage ability that effectively turns Bill4Time into a Dropbox-like service, allowing users to store documents in the cloud and sync documents to particular matters. This may not be necessary for your needs.

Batch billing and invoicing with Bill4Time lets you create multiple time entries for different clients all on one screen, saving you time from clicking “New time entry” several times over.

For invoicing, you can customize the layout, add your own logo, batch invoice multiple clients at once, create PDF bills to send via snail mail, or send bills via email to your client so they can pay online if you choose.

Down the road, Bill4Time is working on creating a “pay with credit card” without having the user go through PayPal.

User Permissions

Bill4Time has more features than competitors when it comes to user permissions and reports. Admin users can see all users’ login history with extensive, custom reporting features so you can see how productive particular users are (e.g. is a user billing as he/she goes or just logging in once a week to come up with hours?). These reporting features are by far the most comprehensive of any of the timekeeping applications out there. It goes beyond the standard reporting features of the other software providers.

Bill4Time also lets you set whether users can see their billing rate or any invoices. You can set billing rates per attorney or override to create new billing rates on specific matters.

Drawbacks

One potential drawback with Bill4Time is that if you are looking to receive invoice payments using this platform, you’re limited to using PayPal only (as of May 5, 2014 – it should be noted that Bill4Time’s staff is working on accepting credit cards without PayPal, but that’s not a released feature yet). I dislike this for two reasons – the first is that I’ve had PayPal freeze funds received, preventing them from getting into my account. I’ve also heard of similar stories others have had. PayPal claims it’s trying to crack down on fraud, but I’ve heard of no issues like this with any other payment gateway. The second issue with PayPal: when the user is billed and pays their bill, the payment screen has PayPal’s branding on it. Personally, I don’t like having PayPal branding on user payments because I think it’s unprofessional – I think there is an amateurish mental association with PayPal from the client perspective, as PayPal is primarily used for collecting donations, paying for eBay items, or paying for crafts from small online stores; PayPal doesn’t really have a “professional” association. However, to be fair, this may just be me and many clients may not see an issue with paying for legal services via PayPal. In fact, they may be impressed that they can pay for legal services online to begin with and not make much of the fact that it’s via PayPal.

Note: Following this publication, Bill4TIme launched a client payment portal with the option to pay online via credit card or PayPal. This integration offers clients to brand the portal and create a gateway for customers to pay for services easily online.

Another drawback, as mentioned above is that QuickBooks is one-way integration, requiring that you export your data to QuickBooks when needed, but if you’re doing accounting at the end of each month it may not be so burdensome.

Pricing & Support

Bill4Time has a straightforward per user cost:

$39.99 per month for your first user;

$9.99 per month for any additional user.

Regarding support, Bill4Time does a decent job. There are many user help videos and a large knowledge base. There’s also a live chat program so you can ask questions of a support staffer while in your client dashboard. Bill4Time does have a support line that had a bit of a wait when I did call, but they answered all of my questions fairly quickly. If you’re interested in trying it out, you can get a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.

About the Author: Andrew Cabasso
Andrew Cabasso is a practicing attorney and co-founder of JurisPage, an Internet Marketing firm specializing in online presence solutions for law firms including website design, SEO, and search marketing. He has given many lectures and CLEs on website design and Internet marketing to legal professionals. He is the author of Search Engine Optimization for Lawyers and The Complete Guide to Attorney PPC. Follow Andrew on Google+ or Twitter.

Bill4Time Review: Time Tracker Reviews

April 15, 2014 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

Summary
Bill4Time is a time tracking and invoicing software product that works well for a variety of professional services, such as lawyers, and accountants. It has quality mobile friendly apps that make tracking time on the fly easy, and it has easy to use features for scheduling tasks and gives users the ability to upload documents.

Features
Time Tracking
Bill4Time is built around tracking time for various clients and projects for business professionals. It can be configured for your particular business (for example CPAs or lawyers). The time tracking fits this theme and makes it easy to allocate hours worked to a specific client or project.

One feature they could add to time tracking would be the ability to upload hours worked from an excel sheet. This only is an issue when first migrating to the system, since anything after that will be added as worked, but for professional businesses trying to keep their records ordered this could be important.

Invoicing and Billing
This software is perfect for accountants and lawyers who need to bill clients based on hours worked, contingencies or on a flat rate. The system is compliant with Legal Electronic Data Exchange (LEDES), which makes it the choice for many legal professionals. Gives users the ability to customize invoices with text and upload logos. Bill4Time has integrations for Quickbooks, PayPal and credit card processors.

Not intuitive for billing prepaid hours.

Projects
Bill4Time allows you to create multiple projects under a client, and then tasks under each project. Each task can be assigned to a specific user to be completed by. Again for lawyers Bill4Time distinguishes itself by incorporating American Bar Association (ABA) Task Codes directly into its task menu, making it simple and intuitive to bill clients for services rendered.

Pricing
Bill4Time has pricing plans for regular users and legal users. For regular users they are:

Solo – one user $9.99/month
Pro – one user $19.99/month includes all features, can add additional users at $5.99/user
Enterprise – one user $59.99/month includes all features plus unlimited storage and premium support, can add additional users at $5.99/user

For legal users there are several added features that are available for every user level including, ABA activity expense, and task codes, LEDES and litigation advisor exports, trust accounting with summaries and reports and the ability to easily check for conflicts of interest. The pricing plans are:

Solo – one user $19.99/month
Pro – one user $39.99/month includes all features, can add additional users at $9.99/user
Enterprise – one user $99.99/month includes all features plus unlimited storage and premium support, can add additional users at $9.99/user

Conclusion
If I were a lawyer or accountant this would be the time tracking and invoicing system I used, bar-none. However since I’m not the features were a bit of overkill for what I need, and the pricing was prohibitive.

New Feature: Invoice Add-Ons

June 4, 2010 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

If take a look at your Bill4Time invoice templates, you’ll notice some new features at the bottom of the window. These add-ons consolidate the extra information that is usually attached to the invoice.

6 Advantages of Digital Time Tracking for Lawyers

November 16, 2021 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

Legal professionals are always up against the clock – there’s always more that can be done in a day, but not enough time to do it all. As a result, many lawyers just put in the time instead of finding more efficient methods, like digital time tracking. The most common challenges law firms face are time wasted on administrative tasks, new client acquisition, cost control, and expense growth. Many of these challenges can be corrected with modern legal technology. As an industry that bills by the hour, these inefficiencies can mean significant revenue loss.

Lawyers do a lot of work on computers, so adopting modern technology practices only makes sense. Time-tracking software can run in the background to properly track time and improve law firm processes.

Here are the 6 advantages of digital time tracking for lawyers.

1. Tracking Potential Lost Revenue

Automated timekeeping tools take a lot of the error, stress, and time out of the tracking process. These solutions can track both billable and non-billable hours, so lawyers can see where they’re losing valuable time on unrelated tasks that impede the workflow.

Data is important for improving law firms as a business. For example, a lawyer charging $200 an hour may not bill for an hour of overtime, which is $200 a day lost. Assuming that happens at least once a week, that’s a potential loss of over $10,000 a year! Time tracking can ensure that this time is billed, and paid for, for more accurate revenue.

2. Revealing Inefficiencies

Timekeeping software not only tracks the billable time that isn’t billed, but it reveals what lawyers spend their time doing. Many law firms have lawyers spending time on non-legal business activities, such as marketing, accounting, and administration.

If the digital time tracking shows a lot of time spent on non-billable activities, leading to a loss of revenue, a law firm can outsource those activities. For example, law firms can hire an accountant, administrative assistant, or marketing professional for in-house work, or delegate tasks to contract workers during busy periods.

Many tasks can be automated with technology solutions as well, such as electronic payment processing software for time and billing and bookkeeping services to generate invoices. Ideally, law firms will choose software specifically designed for legal professionals to maintain compliance with rules of professional conduct.

3. Improved Billing Accuracy

Lawyers at both boutique and large law firms typically bill by the hour, but the time spent on client cases doesn’t always consider face-to-face meetings with defined timeframes or scheduled phone calls that run over.

Proper time tracking and billing must include the time spent on tasks like:

Telephone calls
Case research
Emails
Lead follow up
Witness interviews
Trial preparation
Travel to and from meetings

Without clear and organized time tracking, lawyers may struggle to create accurate timesheets. This not only ensures that lawyers are billing for all their time but offers a detailed invoice for transparency and trust with the client.

4. Mobile Access

Many legal software solutions include mobile apps, which are perfect for on-the-go lawyers. Depending on the nature of a case, a lawyer may be running between the courtroom, the law office, lunch meetings, or the library for research.

On-the-go lawyers struggle more with timekeeping, but legal software solutions offer mobile apps to help with tracking time outside of the firm. Whether in the office or in the field, timekeeping apps track hours accurately and update in real-time in a secure, centralized cloud database.

5. Customizable Reporting

Different law firms face different challenges with efficiency and accuracy, so a one-size-fits-all approach may not work. Time-tracking solutions offer customizable reports to pull data and view it in simple visualizations for managers and team members to interpret.

Managers can view just about any aspect of the firm’s performance, including work-in-progress, outstanding balances, time spent with a specific client, all calculated by user, client, or project.

6. Time-Saving Features

Legal timekeeping software offers many features to improve efficiency and workflow, such as:

Automated timers that allow users to start and stop time, rather than tracking it manually. Meetings run over and people forget to stop the clock, so having an automated system ensures that the tracking is as accurate as possible. Some systems also allow tracking multiple tasks, so users can easily stop tracking time for one task and toggle to another quickly and easily.

Voice commands that allow users to stop or start timers without needing to be near the computer. Most people speak faster than they type, so having voice commands captures time quickly and easily. Entries can be edited and synced to client management systems as well.

Built-in payment processing is included with Bill4TIme, while many software systems use integrations or costly third parties. If a law firm devotes a lot of time to billing and processing without a dedicated accounting process, having these features makes the processes smoother and more efficient.

Customization features that allow lawyers to create detailed, custom reports and invoices for consistency and continuity. Custom reports offer virtually limitless options for time and billing data, all with custom filters and optional views to get a holistic picture of the firm’s operations.

Make the Switch to Digital Time Tracking

Though many law firms prefer traditional, manual methods of timekeeping, digital time tracking for lawyers offers limitless options for efficiency and accuracy. Implementing timekeeping solutions like Bill4Time, helps law firms identify inefficiencies, choose tasks to outsource, track individual lawyers’ time, and bill clients accurately for better revenue and success.Bill4Time offers legal technology solutions for legal professionals to track time, manage clients, track expenses, and more. Request a demo today to see how digital timekeeping solutions can help!