December 2000

FROM A RITA ' S DESK
A.B. CONSULTING
Double Issue
ww w. absims.com
Get (even better)
Organized: Time Matters®
Ser vice Release 3
December 2000
517-630-8714 or 734-973-2708 Fax: 517-630-8817
Timeslips® 1 0.5: Improved
Interface and Split Billing
Timeslips 10.5 – much improved over versions 9/10. Plan your upgrade
carefully.
Service Release 3 for Time M atters 3.0 offers several enhancements.
Time Matte rs Service Release 3 is available free for all Time
Matters 3.0 users . This service release goes beyond just technical
fixes to add se veral ex citing enhancements. I’ll highlight a few
here.
Billing Links. For those who link the product to Timeslips or
PCLaw, you can now see certain account information from the
billing area of a client or case form. The PCLaw link shows the
balance, last payment and hours and dollars entered and billed.
The Timeslips link shows an accounts receivable breakdown.
(See figures below)
In Januar y Sage U .S. will relea se Tim eslips 10.5 . For those of you
who have held off on upgrading to the newer Time slips versions,
it is time to c onsider movin g from version 7 or 8, but plan your
upgrade carefu lly. More on this later . First, here ’s what 10.5 has
to offer.
New A ssistants
One of the most helpful features in Timeslips is the Billing
Assistant. In verison 10.5, the “Assistant” approach has been
expanded, but don ’t confuse these new Assistants with the Billing
Assistant. The functions are quite different. The User Assistant
Continued on Page 2
PCLaw Accounts Receivable Information in Time Matters
C ONTENTS
1
Get (even better) Or ganiz ed: T im e Ma tters Serv ice
Rel ease 3
PCLaw Matter Totals in Time Matters
1
T i m esl i p s 10.5: Improved Interface and Split
B i l li n g
Timeslips Accounts Receivable Information in Time Matters
The link to TABS III is also improved, allowing for transfer of
calendar information to TABS for billing. (Requires purchase of
ASCII converter fro m STI.) T here is also now a link to Ju ris
Billing and Accounting.
Worldox. Service Release 3 also provides improved integration
with Worldox document mana gem ent software. For example,
Time Matters’ search feature will also search the Worldox
docum ent prof iles.
3
3
3
4
4
6
8
Combine Billing and Accounting with PCLaw
Billing on Line
Call Me First
Service Release Roundup
Spotlight on Timeslips Reports
Timeslips Class Survey
Closing the Year in Timeslips
Continued on Page 2
Dec em be r 2000
From Arita's Desk 1
Time Matters SR 3- Continued from Pag e 1
Outlook Synchron ization. If you’re using Outlook 98 or higher, you
may now synchronize your Outlook Contacts, Calendar and
ToDo’s with Tim e Matters’ Contacts, Events and T oDo’s.
E-Ma il Improvements . You may now include your signature block
on e-mail messages and organize your in box with folders and
sub-folders, and create quick tabs for the inbox as you can with
other Time M atters lists.
To download Service Release 3, visit the new “Service Center”
at www.timematters.com.
ˆ
Timeslips 10.5 - Continued from Page 1
Assistant lists the additions and changes a user has made to the
data. This feature expands the auditing capabilitie s adde d in
version 10. From this assistant, the user can click and edit
entries. The Firm Assistant r eports firm -wide to tals for all clients
showing work in progress and accounts receivable broken down
Timeslips 10.5 Tutorial Navigator
different. (See Upgrade Considerations.). Several menu selections
have been moved from awkw ard locations to the revived Slips
menu. The Automated Procedure window that pops up when you
click a Navigator button now closes automatically.
Upgrade Considerations
Should you ge t this upgra de? Th e answ er is prob ably “Yes,”
especia lly if you are using Timeslips 8 or earlier. Due to the
technical problems that plagued version 9, I have not encouraged
firms to move up to the newer product. Since 9.1 was released,
the technical troubles have been addressed and important userinterface changes have been add ed. It is important, however, that
you carefully plan an upgrade from any earlier Timeslips version.
The same goes for new users coming from other billing programs.
Here are the key co nsiderations:
Timeslips 10.5 Firm Assistant
•
by fees, costs and interest, with drill-down.
Split Billing
Timeslips 10.5 has a Split Billing option so that you may send a
bill to multiple parties, charging each a percentage of the bill.
You set up the split by associating “secondary clients” with a
client and assigning a percentage to charge each secondary client.
•
Interface Improvements
The product has the same general look of Timeslips 9/10, but
some undesirable version 9/10 interface issues have been
improved. Finding the right button or menu , sub-menus and
selections for wha t you ne ed has lo ng been a proble m for
Timeslips users. Version 10.5 offers improvem ents that he lp
point the way to your destination. For example, the Slips pull
down menu, missing since Version 8, is back. There are fewer
scroll bars hiding choices from view. There is a Tutorial
Navigator providing beginners with a well-organized, step-bystep guide through the various billing tasks. And, if you are
upgrading from version 8 or earlier, consider yourself a beginner
since this versio n and its predecesso rs 9.x and 10.0 are quite
From Arita's Desk 2
•
•
Timeslips 9 (and higher) is an entirely different product
from the previous Timeslips versions. Be prepared to
learn a new product, and allow for a full day to convert
your data. I t may n ot take all d ay, but se t aside a fu ll
day anyway. If you decide to install and convert without
assistance, be sure to make a backup before you get
started, and prin t accou nts rece ivable an d work in
progress reports before and after the conversion and
make sure the figures m atch.
If you are linking Timeslips with other products (Time
Matters, Amic us, Tim eRepo rter for P alm, etc .), you will
need to reconfigure these links after upgrading.
If you have Timeslips 9 on the shelf, do not attempt to
install it first. Go directly to version 10.5 and leave
version 9 on the shelf.
System requirements for the new Timeslips versions are
higher than for version 8 and earlier. Each computer
that you wan t to run Timeslips on mu st be a pentiumclass computer (200 Mhz or higher) running Windows
95 or higher with a minimum of 32 M B of RA M. The
more RAM the better. A large high-resolution monitor
is desirable.
Continued on Page 3
Dec em be r 2000
Timeslips 10.5 - Continued from Page 2
•
•
Billing On Line
Review the new features list, identify those that are
appropriate for your firm and put them to use right
away to make the most of your upgrade. Visit my web
site for a list of features added to the various versions:
www.ab sims.com /abservic/ tsfeat.htm
Timeslips 10.5 insta lls to a separate ar ea and co nverts
a copy of your existing Time slips database. W ork with
both 10.5 and your prior billing software fo r a month
or two, comparing results to assure accuracy.
ˆ
Combine Billing and
Accounting with
PCLaw
New PC Law V ersion 5 a Great Choice for Full A ccounting Integration
P C L a w a n d T i m e s l i p s N o w o f f e r W e b - B as e d B i l l i n g O p t i o n s
The latest way to enter tim e and expense entries is web-based
billing. Several billing systems now offe r this option. H ere, I’ll
highlight how it’s done with Timeslips and PCLaw.
Timeslips eCenter
Early this year the Timeslips eCenter went on line. The current
scope is time an d expe nse slip entry, and slip reports. Phase II of
the eCen ter will offe r access to client ba lances, pa ymen ts, funds
and invoices. The eCenter req uires Timeslips 9.1 or higher.
Nickname data is uploaded to the eCenter server from your
Timeslips database. Your timekeepers then go on line, enter a
login and password, and enter their slips. Your billing
administrator runs the eCenter Utility from within T imeslips . This
utility downloads the slips to your Tim eslips database for
processing and uploads new client and timekeeper information for
use on line.
For Alumni Computer group, publishers of PCLaw billing and
accounting software, 1999 was a record sales year. Many former
Timeslips users switched to PCLaw. Before the release of
PCLaw version 5 this year, the principal advantage was integrated
accounting at a competitive price. With version 5's improved
interface, split billing and other enhancements, PCLaw has
become an attractive alternative. This product is for firms that
want to maintain a general ledger as an integral part of billing.
PCL aw’s accounting compo nent is tightly integrated, not an
add-on. You cann ot disable or ignore it. To successfully use
Continued on Page 5
C all Me First
F
H a r d w a r e c h a n g e s a t y o u r o f f i c e m a y c r e a t e p r o b l e m s f o r so m e
applicatio ns if n ot do ne prope rly .
I’ve recei ved several calls over the last few m onths from
firms that h ave m ade chan ges to thei r com put er sy stems th en
f in d that Tim eslips, Tim e Matters or other applic at io n s
aren’t w o r k i n g r i g ht. S a ve y o u r s el f a l i tt l e g r i ef an d call m e
before do ing an y of these:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Slip Entry with Timeslips eCenter
ePCLaw
PCL aw’s web-based option allows for time , expense and (flat) fee
entry, reportin g and display of client account summ ary
inform ation. Clie nt sum mary inform ation con sists of wo rk in
Gett ing a n ew com put er (server or w ork statio n).
Rep lacing a hard drive.
S w a p p i n g co m p u t e r s w i t h so m e o n e e l se i n y o u r
office.
Moving files from one computer to another.
U p g r a d i n g y o u r W i n d o w s ve r si o n .
Installing a new network.
ˆ
Time Entry with ePCLaw
Continued on Page 4
Dec em be r 2000
From Arita's Desk 3
Billing On Line - Continued from Page 3
progress and accounts r eceiv able. Reports available through
ePCLaw include most reports available in PCLaw. ePCLaw
secures the data stored on the server (hosted by AT&T) with two
levels of encryption. Reports are not generated “live.” The
ePCLaw user req uests a re port, then later receives a passwordprotected PDF file containing the report. The “Firm
Connection” software runs at the office to process ePCLaw
information. The pro cess is similar to that for Timeslips eCenter:
1) The remote user goes on line, logs in and enters time and
expense, requests PCLa w reports, and retrieves previously
requested reports. 2) At the firm, the administrator runs the Firm
Connection utility to upload new client information and balanc es,
downloa d data ente red on line an d process an y report req uests.
Cost
Spotlight on
Timeslips Reports
Second in a s e r ie s explores Slip Summ ary Listing Reports
Need to know how m uch w ork has b een do ne for a c lient in
hours and dollars? Over a certain time period? With a
breakdown by timekeeper? Billed vs. not billed? Slip summ ary
listings provide this type of information without pages and pages
of slip det ail.
Timeslips eCenter costs from $29.95 to $49.95 pe r month
depending on the number of user accounts the firm purc hases.
ePCL aw cos ts $120 p er year per use r.
Report Contents: Though the summary listing doe s not show all
slips it is a slip-based report. T hat me ans you will not use this report
for client history (invoices and paymen t), and, of course, any slips
that have been removed through purging or deletion are not
included.
Web Browser Requirement
Creating a Slip Summa ry Listing: Timeslips 9.1/10
Both Timeslips eCenter and eP CLaw req uire Microsoft Internet
Explorer 5.x. This will be a disappointment to N etscape regulars
such as myself. The cost to create and maintain a web-based
billing produ ct for bot h plat for m s was prohibitive for both
companies.
ˆ
Selecting. Open the Report menu and click the Slips tab. Highlight
Summ ary Listing and enter the des ired date ran ge in the date
range boxes. Click Set up This Report. This takes you to the
Selection panel. If you w ant to lim it the repo rt to only c ertain
clients, double-click Client (hand select) and check the desired
clients. If you have closed slips and want to include them in the
report, set the filter for Slip Classification to include both Open
and Closed. To include only billed slips, select Billed and check
“Yes.”
Serv ice Release Roundup
Here’s a l i st o f t h e latest service r eleases f o r t h e ap p l i ca t i on s
I support. To determine the service release you’r e u si n g,
open the application and select Help, A bou t. M ost service
releases are available for dow nload at t he p ro du ct w eb si tes.
C on tac t m e if y ou nee d assi stan ce.
Wo rdPerfect 9
Service Pack 4 (9.0.0883)
Wo rdPerfect 8
Service Pack 7 (8.0.0.710)
W ordPerfect 8 (Legal)
Service Pack 7 (8.0.0.711)
Micr osoft Wo rd 2000
Service Release 1a
Micr osoft Wo rd 97
Service Release 2b
Win draft
Version 4.0a
Tim e Matters 3.0
Service R elease 3
Tim eslips 10
Service R elease 1
Tim eslips 9.1
Service R elease 1
Timeslips 9
Service Release 11*
Timeslips 8
Patch 4 (5 i f usi n g e l ec t r on ic
billin g)
PC Law 4
4.16 update
PC Law 5
5.03 update
Sorting and Brea kdown. Click the Sorting tab. This is where you
create a breakdown and sub totals in the report. For example , to
subtotal by client, select client (case, job, etc. depending on your
terminology) as the first sort level using Nickname 1, Nickname
2 or Full Name as the sort key. If you want to further break the
report down by timekeeper, select timekeeper (user, attorney, etc.
depending on your terminology settings) as the secon d sort,
selecting Nickname 1, Nickname 2 or Full Name as the sort key.
To create a time keeper ho urs report without regard to client,
change the sort to contain timekeeper only.
Printing and Form at Options. Print the report to the display. Chances
are, at this point your report shows muc h more information than
you want. Click D one to return to Set Up this Rep ort. Click the
Forma ts tab and set some of these options to “No.” For example,
if you are not concerned with Billed Slip Value (amount of the slip
when adjustments, markups, flat fees and rounding have been
taken into accoun t) set Include billed valu e inform ation: to “N o.”
Your report should resemble the one on p age 7. I stro ngly
recommend that you always set Show Selectio n Criter ia to “Ye s.”
so that the read er knows w hich slips are includ ed in the repo rt.
Continued on Page 7
*I stron gly recom men d m ovin g to th e free 9.1 up grade.
From Arita's Desk 4
Dec em be r 2000
PCLaw - Continued from Page 3
Accounting
this product, your billing staff must be comfortable, or become
comfortable, with general accounting principals. This overview
of PCLaw is not intended to encourage you to change your
billing system. The purpose is to provide a look at a fine product
for those who w ant to fully integrate billing and accou nting.
Each transactio n and e xpense entry scr een in PCLaw includes a
place for the general ledger account, and the program includes
financial reports–general ledger, income statement, trial balance
and balance sheet–in both summary and detail format. The checkwriting screen includes a place for allocation to one or multiple
matters for billing costs to your client. PC Law h andles m ultiple
trust accounts an d has conv enient data en try screens for trust
receipts, check writing and trust-to-trust and trust-to-general
account transfers. Retainers are distinct from trust account
depos its.
PCLaw 5 has m uch of th e billing fu nctiona lity of its ma in
competitor, Timeslips, and a few adva ntages over it. Here are
some of the attractions of PCLaw 5.
Expense Entry Form
Reports
PCLaw 5 Time Sheet
Time Sheet Interface
PCLaw includes a host of reports organized through a menu that
describes the report contents and when you might use it. Though
you can’t save report selections (matters, date, ranges, etc.) for
future use, version 5 has a Load Last button that will reload the
selections used th e last time you prin ted that re port. All r eports
can ou tput to prin ter, scree n, text file or email.
Time record s are ente red on a single pa ge in a spread sheet-sty le
format. You may use the Delay Post option to save the sheet
and come back to ed it entries later. Once posted, corrections you
can still edit entries with the “Working with” list. The account
status for each m atter displays at t he bottom of th e time shee t,
and a timer is available next to each entry to track time as you go.
Matter Information
All billing in PCLaw is at the matter level, and various billing
options including default rates, dep artme nt, fee alloc ation and bill
templates are assigned at the matter level. So, you can use several
templates in a single bill run. Matter information als o contains
panels for case information and custom fields. For full case
manage ment, PCLaw links to Time Matters and Amicus
Attorney.
Billing
PCLaw provid es for prin ting bills to printer, sc reen, or R TF file
(Rich Text Form at for editing in any word p rocesso r). In all
cases, the billed amounts become rece ivables. In case of error,
you may undo a bill at any time. A robust template editor allows
for a varied of bill styles. You may add late charges at the invoice
level, i.e. the system can compute late charg es only on selected
invoices. Version 5's ne w split billing feature a llows you to
charge a percentage of the b ill to up to 10 different parties.
Dec em be r 2000
Report menu and content explanation panel
PCLaw or PCLaw Pro
PCLaw comes in two flavors: PCLaw (formerly PCLaw Jr) and
PCLaw Pro. Everything I’ve described so far is available in each.
PCLaw handles up to ten timekeepers. Pro is recommended for
larger firms, handles up to 100 timekeepers and includes as
standard these features that are optional add ons for PCLaw:
Accoun ts Payable, Bank Re conciliation, Networking, Payroll, Past
Due Notices and Diary. Pro also includes B udgetin g, a
Request/R elease feature for chec ks and b ills, and Partne r Alert.
Partner Alert is a specialized report that lets you know when
certain conditions ex ist such as no ti me entered for a matter for
a certain number of da ys. Other options available for either
versio n are remote cost recovery, remote time entry, past due
notices and electronic billing.
ˆ
From Arita's Desk 5
Timeslips Class Surv ey
Basic Course Covers. . .
You name the Place and Time
If you are interested in classroom training on Timeslips,
please complete and return this form by fax to 517-6308817. You will be notified when a class is scheduled.
‚
Defining Users, Clients, Activities and
References
‚
Entering Time and Expense slips
Your Name _____________________________
‚
Entering Transactions
Firm
‚
Using the Report Wizard
‚
Using the Billing Assistant
‚
Creating and Finalizing Bills
‚
Setting New Client Defaults
___________________________________
‚
Using Abbreviations
Phone ________________________________
‚
Backing up your Data
________________________________
Address ________________________________
___________________________________
Fax
________________________________
Email
________________________________
Number of People to Attend: _________
Preferred Location:
Q Troy
Q Ann Arbor
Q Southfield
Q Lansing
Other __________________________________
Preferred Month:
This is a half-day course.
Intermediate Course Covers. . .
‚
Customizing Timeslips
‚
Defining Custom Client Fields
‚
Importing Client Information
‚
Setting up Flat Fee Arrangements
‚
Bill Formatting Options
‚
Bill Layout
‚
Reprinting Bills
Q January
Q February
‚
Creating Report Templates
Q March
Q April
‚
Fee Allocation
‚
Stump the Instructor Q&A Session
Timeslips Version:
This is a full-day course.
Q8
Q 9/10
Class Level:
Q Basic
Q Intermediate
Comments:
___________________________________
___________________________________
From Arita's Desk 6
Courses are hands-on. Each participant receives a
Training Guide.
Back Issues
For prior issues of this
newsletter go to www.absims.com
and click on New sletters.
Dec em be r 2000
Timeslips Reports - Continued from Page 4
To create a breakdow n by Timekee per similar to the sam ple
below, create a user-defined su mmary rep ort as follows:
Select Reports, User Defined, Slip Analysis. Make the same
selections as before then click Sort and enter two sort levels:
Client and Timeke eper, setting each to Subtotal “Yes,” or for a
Timekeeper hours report without regard to client, just sort by
Timekeepe r. Click the Template button, then the Clear bu tton to
remove any existing template items. Set the style to Summary and
use the Ne w butto n to ente r these tw o fields: T ime Spe nt,
Amou nt. Enter a title for your report then click Save As to save
the template. Click the Options button and check Show Selection
Settings. Print the report to the display.
ˆ
Creating a Slip Summary Listing: Timeslips 8
From the Rep orts me nu selec t Slip Ana lysis, Client Summary.
Use the Selection screen to restrict the report to a certain date
range, or limit it to certain clients. If you want to include closed
slips, check the Clos ed box in the Slip Status area of this screen.
If you only want to include billed slips, click the Billed box un til
it contains a check mark (shaded means all slips, empty means no
billed slips, checked means only billed slips). Click OK to return
to the previous screen. This report will sort by client only. Click
the Option s button a nd selec t Show Selectio n Setting s. Note
here that you have the option to displa y the report in graph
format. Print the report to the display.
Sample Slip Summary Listing (Timeslips 9/10)
11/2/00
9:03 PM
Willis & Henderson, P.C.
Slip Summary Listing
Page
1
Selection Criteria
Slip.Classification
Open
Title
Time % Total
Project: ABC
D. Brickley
Fees: Slip Value
Expenses: Slip Value
687.50
84.14
27.31%
65.35%
5.50
26.93%
TLC
Fees: Slip Value
Expenses: Slip Value
840.00
0.00
33.37%
0.00%
7.00
34.28%
Total: ABC
Fees: Slip Value
Expenses: Slip Value
1527.50
84.14
60.69% 12.50
65.35%
61.21%
Project: Atlantic
D. Brickley
Fees: Slip Value
Expenses: Slip Value
406.25
0.00
16.14%
0.00%
3.25
15.92%
Total: Atlantic
Fees: Slip Value
Expenses: Slip Value
406.25
0.00
16.14%
0.00%
3.25
15.92%
Project: Eastern
D. Brickley
Fees: Slip Value
Expenses: Slip Value
Grand Total
Fees: Slip Value
Expenses: Slip Value
Dec em be r 2000
Amount % Total
Truncated sample
report. Totals are not
accurate.
0.00
21.31
0.00%
16.55
0.00
2517.08 100.00% 20.42
128.75 100.00%
0.00%
100.00%
From Arita's Desk 7
Closing the Year in
Timeslips
•
•
Before running your fi rst bills for the new year, follow these steps to close
2000
Timeslips does not require year-end processing. You may enter
slips and po st paym ents for 2 001 with out doin g anythin g specia l.
However, before you finalize your first 2001 bills, I recommend
that you do the following. These steps are for Timeslips 9/10.
(Timeslips 8 users should refer to the steps in my January 1999
issue ava ilable at w ww.ab sims.com .):
•
•
Back up your data, and finalize your last bills for the
year, removing any bills from proof stage.
Print a Periodic Totals report, slip summary reports,
invoice listings and any others you need for the year.
Change the classification for inactive and closed
clients. Refer to your slip analysis summary report first
to assure there are no unbilled slips for clien ts you want
to close.
If there are timekeepers who are no longer with the
firm, and they have no active slips in the system,
change their classification to Closed. Remembe r,
deleting a timekeeper removes all of the slips for that
timekeeper.
•
Close older billed slips, for example, those billed dated
1999 or earlier. You can always include closed slip s in
reports, if needed.
•
Option ally purge closed clients, timekeepers and older
closed slips. Purg ing transa ctions is of lesser concern.
I keep transactions going back several years. Purge
older tra nsaction s in your discretio n.
ˆ
A.B. CONSULTING
Compu ter Applications Co nsulting, Training & Support
P.O . Box 1989
An n A rbor, M ichigan 48106-1989
Phone: 517-630-8714
E-Mail: [email protected]
A D D R ES S C O R R E C T IO N R E Q U E ST E D
From Arita's Desk 8
Dec em be r 2000