Lawyers track billable hours by logging the time spent on a task and a description of that task in their time tracking software. Here’s a more precise breakdown of how attorney time tracking works using software:

1. 1. Add a Time Entry: Adding a “Time Entry” is generally the starting point for recording any billable activity in time tracking software. You’ll add all the details needed for billable time within this Time Entry.
2. 2. Select the Client and Matter: In the Time Entry, choose the client and the relevant matter to which the billable hours will apply. You can typically choose from a pre-populated list of clients and matters you entered into your time tracking software when your clients hired you.
3. 3. Record Time: Enter the date and number of hours worked. Bill4Time offers two ways to do this: manual entry or a real-time timer. Use the timer for real-time tracking or enter hours manually after completion. The timer is handy when you face multiple interruptions throughout the day, as you can easily pause and restart the timer whenever needed. You can also have multiple timers up simultaneously if you need to switch quickly between tasks.
4. 4. Describe the Task: Type in all the details of the task you performed. Whether it's research, client meetings, or drafting documents, clear descriptions are key. Some software includes an auto-text function that converts shortcuts into full descriptions. For example, you could set an auto-text abbreviation of “TC” to spell out “Telephone conference with,” saving you valuable seconds every time you have a billable phone call.
5. 5. Designate Billable vs. Non-Billable: If you want to track non-billable hours, you’ll need to designate whether the task is billable or not. This categorization aids in accurate client billing as well as personal time management.
6. 6. Save the Entry: After filling out the necessary fields, save the entry to record your time.
7. 7. Review and Generate an Invoice: At the end of a billing cycle, review your time entries. High-quality time tracking software for attorneys will allow you to generate an invoice automatically from these entries.
8. 8. Send Invoice: Finalize and send the invoice to your client right from the software. Bill4Time allows you to send your invoices via email or the client portal. Alternatively, you can PDF any invoice and send it another way, or you can print it out on letterhead and send it in the mail.

Legal professionals can use a lawyer time tracking app like Bill4Time to keep track of work hours from any device. With its intuitive design, Bill4Time allows lawyers to record billable hours in real-time, right after client meetings or during court sessions.

This immediate time tracking reduces the likelihood of forgetting or inaccurately logging hours later. As the American Bar Association (ABA) notes, if you wait until the end of the day to record your billable hours, there’s a good chance you’ll lose up to 15% of your time simply due to not remembering everything. This statistic is the number one reason not to stick with a free billable hours template or lawyer time tracking chart PDF, as it’s harder to log time quickly and efficiently as you go through your work day.

Bill4Time’s billable hours app also allows attorneys to manage case details on the go. This convenience is invaluable for lawyers needing quick access to client data during a meeting or in court. The platform’s organization features help keep everything from contact details to case notes in an orderly fashion, easily retrievable from any location.

Billing software can cost as low as $27 per user per month if you go with a subscription model. This cost will vary depending on the features and the scale of the law practice.

You can also expect billing software to have a range of pricing plans. For instance, Bill4Time’s pricing reflects this spectrum of needs. Our monthly plans start at $27 per user, a practical option for basic time tracking and invoicing needs. This plan suits professionals who require straightforward, efficient time management and billing solutions.

For more complex needs, Bill4Time offers higher-tier plans, which include features like detailed performance reports and advanced invoice customization. These plans suit larger law firms or those requiring more intricate billing and reporting capabilities. This spectrum of costs allows law firms to choose exactly what they need and to upgrade as their practice grows.

Attorneys can easily track billable hours — like researching, communicating with clients, attending hearings, or strategizing for a case — using time tracking software.

Let’s use an example to illustrate. Marta is an attorney at a midsized firm, and she is getting ready to call a client to discuss case strategy. Because this activity is billable, she opens up her time tracking software to record her time. Before calling the client, she creates a new time entry in the software and enters the following information:

1. • User: This is the attorney or legal professional entering the time. Marta selects her name from the list of attorneys at her firm.
2. • Client and Matter: Each time entry links to a specific client and matter. Marta selects her client and then selects the appropriate matter, as this particular client has multiple cases open.
3. • Billable Activity Type: Marta then has to select what type of activity she will be billing for. She chooses “Phone Call” from the activity type list.
4. • Description: Marta begins typing a description: “Called client to discuss case strategy.” She plans to update the description with additional details after the phone call to ensure she captures more specific information about their conversation.

As Marta picks up the phone and calls the client, she presses the play button on the time entry. When her phone call is interrupted a few moments later by a pressing question from her paralegal, she pauses the timer so she doesn’t charge the client for the interruption. After the phone call, Marta saves the time entry, which will show up on an automatically generated invoice when she bills her clients at the end of the month.

To manually bill in 6-minute increments, divide an hour into ten 6-minute segments and record time spent on a task rounded up to the nearest 6-minute mark. For instance, if you work on a task for 14 minutes, you would bill for 0.3 hours, as this falls into the third 6-minute segment. Many also use a lawyer billable hours chart showing the corresponding times for each 6-minute segment.

However, if you bill using time tracking software, the software does all these calculations for you. It allows attorneys to automate timekeeping without manually consulting charts. Here’s how it works:

1. • Start and Stop Timers: When an attorney begins a billable task, they start a timer in the software. This timer runs until the attorney completes the task or faces an interruption. For example, if an attorney needs to research relevant case law, they start the timer at the beginning of their research and stop it when they finish. If their research is interrupted, the attorney can pause the timer.
2. • Automatic Increment Calculation: The software automatically calculates the time in 6-minute increments. For example, if the total time recorded is 32 minutes, the software automatically translates this into 0.6 billable hours.

To invoice for billable time with software, you first record your time on tasks and then generate an invoice based on these records. For example, using Bill4Time as a model, the process unfolds in a few simple steps:

1. 1. Review Time Entries: First, it’s a good idea to double-check your time entries to ensure accuracy. Make adjustments as needed, like if you’re writing off a particular task or discounting any of your work.
2. 2. Generate the Invoice: Bill4Time automatically pulls all the billable hours for a specific client and matter into an invoice template. The invoice includes a breakdown of all the tasks, their duration, and the total amount due.
3. 3. Customize the Invoice: You can easily add additional details to the invoice, such as your firm’s branding, payment terms, and any other relevant information. You can also include a summary or personalized message for the client.
4. 4. Send the Invoice: Once you prepare and review the invoice, you can send it to the client directly from the Bill4Time platform. Send options include email, the Bill4Time client portal, or exporting the invoice as a PDF for alternative delivery methods.
5. 5. Track the Invoice Status: With Bill4Time Payments, you can effortlessly monitor open invoices. This feature automates the sending of overdue reminders and receipts. It also facilitates direct payments from clients through the platform, offering competitive transaction fees of 2.9% for credit cards and 1% for eCheck and ACH.

To create a billing system, first select suitable time tracking and billing software that aligns with your firm’s size and needs. Then, set up and customize the software for your firm’s specific billing practices and train all staff to accurately record their billable hours and expenses using the system. Here’s a detailed look at how to implement such a system:

1. • Choose the Right Software: Select a time tracking and billing software that fits your firm’s needs. Consider factors like types of legal services offered, the number of users, and the complexity of your billing requirements. For example, Bill4Time offers various features beyond billing for law firms, from accounting to document management.
2. • Set Up the Software: A customer support specialist from your chosen software should guide you through this step. They will help you create accounts for all users, configure settings to match your billing practices, and customize your invoice templates.
3. • Train Staff: Ensure that all attorneys and staff receive training on using the billing software. Training should cover topics like entering time, assigning time to clients and matters, and using any additional features the software might offer. Utilize your software’s help center and online resources to facilitate this process.
4. • Run Regular Reports and Analyze Performance: Analyze billing data using the software’s reporting features. This process can help you identify trends, understand productivity, and make informed decisions on how your firm uses the billing software. For instance, the Bill4Time Trust Report — one of many reports you can run in the Bill4Time platform — will show you all the totals in trust per client.

To track your time as an independent contractor, use specialized time tracking software to record billable hours for any tasks, like client consultations and legal research. Beyond the basic steps of time tracking, the following advanced strategies and tips can help you optimize this process.

First, consider setting up task-specific codes or categories in your time tracking software. Many contractors will use the Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standard (LEDES), a set of formats to interchange electronic data among various legal entities. Codes allow you to quickly categorize different activities like legal research, client consultation, internal meetings, or drafting documents. By having these pre-set categories, you simplify the process of logging time and ensure consistency in how you record different tasks.

Additionally, consider integrating your time tracking software with other tools, like digital calendars and document storage platforms. Connecting your time tracking software to your other case management tools streamlines your entire practice and saves significant time.

Don’t forget to review and analyze your time tracking data regularly. This practice gives you insights into your work patterns, such as which tasks consume most of your time or the times of day you are most productive. Understanding these patterns can show you profitable areas to dedicate more energy to and help you plan your schedule more efficiently.

Bill4Time makes it easy to track everyone’s billable and non-billable time in a law firm, from administrative staff to attorneys.

One key feature of employee time tracking software is the ability to record time for various activities, not limited to direct client work. For example, lawyers often engage in a range of non-billable tasks like CLEs, internal meetings, marketing efforts, and business planning. Comprehensive time tracking software like Bill4Time allows lawyers to capture time spent on these activities and categorize them accordingly. This feature is particularly important for understanding the allocation of time, which can influence firm management decisions.

While free time trackers are available that record working hours, these tools often fall short in addressing the comprehensive list of needs in the billing lifecycle. Let’s explore why.

Free time tracking solutions may seem attractive initially due to their no-cost nature, but they often lack advanced features critical for legal professionals. One major limitation is the lack of customization for different types of legal work. Legal billing is complex and requires a system that can adapt to various billing arrangements, whether it’s hourly, flat fee, or contingency. Free tools often provide a one-size-fits-all approach, which isn’t practical in the legal sector.

Another area where free time trackers fall short is in detailed reporting. Legal professionals need comprehensive reports to analyze time spent on different practice areas, client billing histories, and firm productivity. Free time trackers usually don’t offer reporting features, which can hinder a law firm’s ability to make informed decisions based on their billing data.

Integration with other platforms and software is also a common issue. A law firm needs time tracking and billing software to work seamlessly with case management systems, document management tools, and accounting software. Free time trackers usually have limited integration capabilities, making it difficult to maintain a streamlined workflow.

Security and compliance are vital in the legal industry. Client information and case details are sensitive data that require high-level security protocols. Free time tracking tools may not offer the robust security features necessary to protect this data, posing a risk to client confidentiality and firm reputation.

Finally, the absence of dedicated customer support in free time trackers can be a significant drawback. Legal professionals often need immediate assistance with their billing software, and free tools typically offer minimal or no support, leading to potential disruptions in billing processes.

So, although there are free time trackers that can record billable hours, they often don’t meet the specific needs of legal billing. Attorneys will find that investing in a paid law firm time tracking software is more beneficial for efficient and secure legal billing management in the long run.

There are Excel timesheet templates and options for an attorney time tracking template in Word, such as the ones available on Microsoft’s website. These templates provide a basic framework for tracking time, but there are several reasons why they may not be the best fit for law firms:

1. • Manual Entry: Excel templates require manual data entry, which is time-consuming and prone to errors.
2. • Lack of Customization: You usually cannot tailor these templates to the specific billing practices of different legal cases or client agreements.
3. • Integration Challenges: These templates do not easily integrate with other legal software systems, such as case management or accounting software, leading to extra steps in data management.
4. • Security Concerns: Excel files are not inherently secure and are vulnerable to unauthorized access, which is a significant risk in handling confidential legal information.
5. • No Real-Time Tracking: Excel does not offer real-time tracking, which can lead to gaps in recording billable hours.
6. • Lack of Scalability: As a law firm grows, the limitations of Excel templates in handling increased volume and complexity of cases become a major hindrance.

So, while Excel timesheet templates are available and can be used for basic time tracking, they have significant limitations for law firms. Law firms may find that specialized time tracking solutions are more aligned with their requirements.

Bill4Time is by far the best legal timekeeping software on the market. It’s designed to cater to every unique need that law firms have, from convenient real-time timers to detailed reporting features. With Bill4Time, you get:

1. • Time Tracking Software for Mac or PC: No matter what type of computers your firm uses, Bill4Time is compatible with both Macs and PC.
2. • Easy-to-Use Interface: Bill4Time offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies time tracking, reducing time spent training staff on new technology.
3. • Comprehensive Reporting: You can generate detailed reports that give insights into time spent on different cases, accounting details, client summaries, and much more, helping law firms make data-driven decisions.
4. • Customization: Law firms can tailor Bill4Time to meet the specific billing needs of each case or client agreement, offering flexibility in managing diverse legal tasks.
5. • Integration Capabilities: Bill4Time integrates smoothly with other legal and accounting software, streamlining your workflow and reducing manual data entry.
6. • Security: With 256-bit SSL encryption, adherence to SSAE18 SOC1 compliance standards, and 24/7/365 security monitoring, Bill4Time ensures one of the most secure data environments you could ask for.
7. • Client Portal: Bill4Time includes a client portal feature, giving your clients 24/7 self-service access to check their accounts, pay bills, and see their payment history.
8. • Mobile Accessibility: Lawyers can track time and manage tasks on the go with Bill4Time’s mobile app, which is compatible with Android and iOS devices.
9. • Custom Invoice Templates: Bill4Time offers a wide range of customizable invoice templates, allowing law firms to add their branding and personalized messages.

Since its inception in 2006, Bill4Time has evolved into a top-tier web-based time tracking software, designed with insights from legal professionals to serve law firms of all sizes. The Bill4Time team is committed to enhancing convenience, regularly providing new software features to improve the time tracking and billing process. Discover Bill4Time’s unique approach with a free trial or a demo to see how you can upgrade your timekeeping practices and boost firm revenue.