What Software Is Used To Keep Track of Billable Hours in Law Firms?

Legal time tracking software is the preferred solution for managing billable hours in law firms, providing support that goes far beyond what a simple spreadsheet or notepad can offer. While an attorney time tracking template can be helpful for basic organization, it often lacks the precision and features needed to meet the legal industry’s strict requirements.

If you’re a legal professional, the best time tracking and invoicing software for your work will comply with legal standards, have tracking options for billable and non-billable hours, and give you a simple process for creating detailed invoices. Read on to learn more about how legal time tracking software works and why software like Bill4Time is one you should consider.

What Is the Best Way to Track Billable Hours?

Modern time tracking software is the best option, especially for any industry tracking billable hours. For law firms specifically, tracking billable hours ensures fee transparency for clients and gives firms a clear picture of what their legal services cost. 

Time trackers also help attorneys be more effective with their time as they shift their focus between tasks. Legal work typically requires flexible but meticulous work habits, as attorneys will often need to work on multiple cases in the same day, not to mention that much of their work is out of the office or on the go.

While spreadsheets and notepads used to be common ways to keep track of billable hours, most have migrated to legal-specific software — and for multiple reasons. The billing lifecycle can be complex and quickly gets tough to organize, as clients will have different rates, fee arrangements, and so on. Additionally, manual methods lack built-in safeguards, like ways to see unbilled hours or automatic calculations, which can result in missed revenue or inaccurate invoices.

Time tracking software addresses all of these pain points. The best software gives your firm better ways to organize finances and track time no matter where you are.

How Do I Create an Invoice With Tracked Time?

Generating a detailed invoice is simple if you use time tracking software. Quality software will also allow you to customize invoices with company details — such as logos, payment terms, late fees, and so on. Software like Bill4Time not only provides time tracking but can pull from its records to generate customizable invoices in a few clicks.

Here’s a brief guide to how you would generate a client’s invoice in Bill4Time:

1. Select the Billing Period: Choose the start and end dates for the time period you want to invoice.
2. Review Tracked Entries: Review your tracked time entries, organized by project or client, and select the ones you want to include.
3. Customize Invoice Details: Easily add discounts, taxes, payment terms, or specific notes tailored to each client.
4. Preview and Verify: Check the invoice for accuracy, ensuring all details are correct and totals are complete.
5. Send to the Client: Email the invoice, generate a PDF, or make it available through the Bill4Time attorney-client portal.
6. Do Batch Invoicing: For larger firms, batch invoicing lets you create and send multiple invoices at once, saving time and eliminating repetitive tasks.

Using time tracking software for invoice generation is, in every way, a step up from paper spreadsheets and even Excel-style digital spreadsheets. With a single source of truth for time tracking and invoicing, you eliminate many potential errors from transferring data and greatly simplify the operations process of accounting, billing, and invoicing for your firm.

Is There a Free App to Track Working Hours?

There are free options for time tracking, but if your industry has strict guidelines or requires detailed reporting, you likely won’t get the function you need from a free time tracking app. For freelancers especially, it’s critical to have software that makes financial processes both safer and simpler for you. 

And if you’re a solo or small firm lawyer, quality software is vital to your success. So while you could just get a free downloadable tool (like the billable hours tracker for Excel), it’s not going to perform in the ways you need.

Free software might sound like a good way to save money — particularly if you’re just starting out. But there are several reasons why you should steer away from free options: 

• Less Organization Tools: One of the big benefits of quality software is how well it can organize your business — not just individual files and folders, but helping you keep track of your hours worked. Free software will have much fewer capabilities, and even if you have other software as support, free software may not pair well with other software.

• Lack of Advanced Reporting: Free time tracking apps often provide basic features but rarely offer robust reporting tools tailored to legal professional needs.

• Little Customer Support (If Any): Software is at its best when the user knows it well, and much of that comes from customer education. Unfortunately, most free software doesn’t have educational resources and also lacks any form of live customer support.

• Potential Cybersecurity Risks: The ethical obligation under the American Bar Association Rule 1.6 to protect client confidentiality extends to the security of the tools you use for time tracking and billing. There is no shortcut to security and safety, and that comes with a price… but that cost is much smaller than the cost of a cybersecurity breach, which is only getting more common and expensive.

Which Is the Best Software to Track Billable Hours?

Time tracking software is the best way to manage billable hours, especially if you’re a small to midsize firm. Using software makes the process of time tracking far more flexible, and software like Bill4Time makes it easier (and more secure) to turn timekeeping records into invoices.

The practice of law is already demanding enough on its own; why not make your operations side as easy as possible? Creating that convenience is what we pride ourselves on at Bill4Time. If you’re ready to see what time tracking software can do or simply want to learn more, visit our website for a free trial or click the button below to schedule a free demo!