Whether you bill clients by the project or the hour, you need to keep accurate records of time spent on each job.
For hourly clients, keeping correct timesheets ensures you get paid for all the work you do.
I use Chrometa time tracking software because it tracks my time as I work automatically.
There’s no need to enter any times. The software automatically tracks every minute you’re on the PC by document. It also automatically tracks your time away from the PC, too!
Picture a publicly traded companythat disclosed it had only billed (forget about collecting) two-thirds of the items it sold. The Board of Directors would reprimand and probably terminate the CEO, CFO, and CTO for failing to develop processes to prevent this catastrophe. Shareholders would file class action suits. And yet, this scenario is essentially the current state of most, if not all, law firms.
This situation exists for many reasons, including: (1) administrative overhead, (2) reasonable accommodations to the financial circumstances of clients; (3) write-offs for poor results, and (4) write-offs for training new associates.
And then there is the significant amount of non-billable time spent by lawyers just reconciling their time — over two hours per week on average. But none of these factors explain the majority of the unbilled time. The reality is there is no legitimate business reason for the majority of unbilled time. So the question arises — how can you increase your billable time?
The average small law firm of 1-9 lawyers, including yours most likely, leaves 10-25% of billable revenue on the table in the form of work you performed for your client, but were not able to track down after the fact.
This is a fact based on a recent study.
It’s crazy to leave such large amounts of money unbilled in this environment. Most of your competitors are not reading this TechnoRelease so you’ve got a leg up.
AUTOMATIC TIME CAPTURE SOFTWARE: THE LAST BEST HOPE FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS
There’s a lot of talk these days about alternative fees.
That’s all well and good but guess what? No matter how you bill clients, you need to accurately understand how much time you spend on your cases.
The problem with keeping time via a start/stop timer or any other manual method is that you’re constantly getting interrupted throughout the day. So you start the timer once in the morning — and realize five hours later it’s still running against the same task because you forgot to toggle it! Being ethical, you then conservatively underestimate the amount of time you spent.
Time entry methods are equally ineffective — you’re probably far too busy and multi-task far too much during the day to be bothered with the tedious effort of creating a new time entry when you change tasks.
It only took 100 years, but Chrometa solves this problem.
As a growing number of attorneys can attest, Chrometa automatically captures every second of your billable time with no effort or data entry on your part.
The “magic” of Chrometa is that it runs in the background of your PC and/or Mac, quietly making note of your activities. It’s like having your very own personal timekeeper.
When you open or compose an email, Chrometa captures that activity. Same for documents you draft, web research, and even phone calls and meetings — everything is captured passively without you lifting a finger.
THE RESULT OF USING CHROMETA?
Chrometa has been around long enough that we have some data to share from our customers, virtually all of whom work in small law firms.
Their feedback suggests that you will increase your monthly billings by 20% or more while actually working fewer hours.
This means that a firm with $1 million in gross billings could be losing as much as a half of a million dollars a year for work they performed but never billed the client for.
Want to learn how you can increase your billable time – while actually working less? If so, then this FREE special report, The Top 5 Ways to Increase Your Billable Time (Without Working Longer Hours), authored by Seth Rowland, Esq. (TechnoLawyer Consultant of the Year in 2002) is a must read. Specifically, you’ll learn:
How you can save yourself two hours or more of administrative headaches each week.
The best practices attorneys follow to bill accurately and ethically.
How your peers are using cutting edge software to increase their billable hours by up to 33%.
For Seth’s 5 actionable tips on how to increase your billable time — without working longer hours — please download your free white paper below (no registration required)…
PS – As Seth mentions, time capture software can prevent thousands of dollars worth of billable time from falling through the cracks. Learn more here.
MAKE 2012 YOUR MOST PROFITABLE YEAR EVER WITH CHROMETA
With Chrometa’s help, 2012 can be the year you capture and bill for all your time (i.e., hard work).
