It's About Time

Create a "Top Client" List in Timeslips

At this time of year, many of my Timeslips clients ask how to create a list of their top clients.  One of the easiest way to do this is to print the Timeslips Slip Summary Listing to Excel and then sort by the Total Fees column.  Here's how:

Go to Timeslips Reports; Slips; Slip Summary Listing

• Enter date range criteria on the Timeslips criteria selection screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on "Options".  Check the boxes shown 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the "Sort and Subtotal" tab.  Select Client Nickname 1 and Subtotal.  Next, Print to Microsoft Excel

 

 

 

 

 

Export Report Data in Columns and Include Column Titles.

Once the Report is displayed in Excel, you can sort the "Billed Slip Value" column from "Largest to Smallest" .

How Many Slips are Too Many for Timeslips to Handle?

If you are using the new Timeslip Premium 2016, there is no limit on the number of slips, however, if you are using the standard Timeslips 2016 or any of the previous Timeslips versions, there are limits on the number of slips that Timeslips can hold.  

This is particularly important if you are upgrading Timeslips  and converting data from a previous version of Timeslips.  Timeslips will not allow you to convert more than 300,000 slips.  Also, you will notice a great deal more slowness and instability as your Timeslips database grows larger than 300,000 slips.    In the past, I have written several articles that relate to purging and cleaning up your data.  

As part of a "best practices" Timeslips year-end routine, I recommend that you review your database and do some general housekeeping in preparation for the new year.   Following are a few articles that were written in the past, however, they are still applicable today.  The newer Timeslips software has improved on some of the functions, however the basics are the same.  

Just as an aside, remember that if you are planning to upgrade or purchase new Windows workstations, only Timeslips 2016 is certified by Sage as compatible with Windows 10.

"Should you Make Timeslips Inactive or Closed?"

"Purging Timeslips Client Records"

"Closing Slips"

7/26/16:  Revision:  Get Timeslips 2017 with Firebird SQL and forget worrying about how many slips you have.  The new SQL version has "unlimited capacity"

Email Timeslips Invoices

Even though Timeslips has had the "email" invoice feature for several years, I still come across clients that:

• Print hard copies of Timeslips bills
• Scan each of the Timeslips invoices 
• Create individual emails and attach the scanned PDF Timeslips invoice.  

There's a better way.  

At a minimum, print your Timeslips invoices to "PDF" by selecting that option on the Timeslips "Print to" option list.

This will at least eliminate the need to print and scan your invoices just to create a Timeslips invoice PDF file.  Printing Timeslips invoices to PDF is part of my Timeslips "best practices" recommendation anyway.  Even if you still print a hard copy of your Timeslips invoices and file them in a traditional filing cabinet, you should still always print a PDF copy of all your Timeslips invoices.  

If you are already following the "best practices" Timeslips invoice procedure to print invoices to PDF, then you are just a very short step away from completely automating that process.  The next step is to take a look at your Client Information.  Open a Timeslips Client Information file for a client that you want to email invoices.

Notice the "Email Addresses" section at the bottom of the first screen.  Just add the primary email address of the person that is going to be receiving the emailed Timeslips invoices.  You can add "CC's" for additional recipients.  You may even want to email copies to yourself and/or to the attorney that is responsible for the case.  

 Once the email address is entered you are almost finished.  The next step is to  click on the "Invoices" tab in Timeslips Client Information.  You will notice the "Email Options" section.  Simply place a check mark in the "Send bills via email"; save the client and you are all set for the next time you generate a Timeslips invoice for this client.  After you have selected to Approve your invoices, a screen will pop up showing you which clients have been designated to receive email invoices.  At this point you have the option to uncheck any name that you do not want to send an email invoice.  When you click OK, all the clients invoices are generated with the PDF email attachment.  It will also include any "Attachments" that you included with your slips.

Timeslips Year End Procedures

Timeslips does not have a formal year-end procedure, however, there are few things that you should consider doing:

Reporting:

At a minimum, you will want to run some basic Timeslips reports such as

• Aged Accounts Receivable Balances by Date to get the total Amount of unpaid invoices at end of the year
• Invoice Listing for the Year
• Payment Register/Distribution for the Year
• Aged WIP report to determine the value of unbilled slips and how old they are
• Timekeeper Contribution and Collection Reports

You might also be interested in determining which clients generated the most revenue for your firm.  It is a simple matter of printing the Slip Summary listing sorted by Client.  Print the report to Excel and then sort the revenue column from highest to lowest.

Clean Up:

This is a good time of year to clean up your database.  Here are a few things you will want to review:

• Abbreviations:  Print a report to list all abbreviations. Delete redundant abbreviations or improve the ones you already have
• Timekeepers:  Review the list of Timekeepers.  Any timekeepers that are no longer with the firm should be marked "Inactive"
• Reports:  Review all the reports you have set up.  Chances are you have a number of customized reports.  Create new Report Groups and save your customized reports to a Report Group that best describes the report function.  It could be something simple like "Jane's Reports" or more descriptive like "Month-end Reporting"
• Clients:  I'm leaving the best for last.  Some firms change the client/matter status on a regular basis to keep their active client list fairly clean and pertinent.  If you are someone that does not, a simple User-Defined client report can be created that will show "Last Bill" date and A/R Balance.  Once again you can print this report to Excel and sort by date.  If you haven't billed someone in 10 years, chances are you can at least make that client "Inactive" if not "Closed"
• MyLists:  Make it easier for your Timekeepers to enter their time.  Create a "MyList" of all the client/matters that they normally work on.
• Custom Fields:  Review your custom fields.  Think about ways that adding or changing information in the custom fields could help you improve your billing and reporting.  

If you can accomplish all these things, you will have a nice, clean database to start the New Year.

If you have any questions or need assistance with any of this, please don't hesitate to contact me:  joan@radiantsoftware.net or (888) 628-5343 x103.

Wishing all of you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

Looking for a Timeslips Alternative?

Since Timeslips has significantly raised their prices, I have been getting more requests for a Timeslips replacement product.  If the Timeslips price is your only objection, you should consider several cost factors:

• Cost of new product
• Price of technical support
• Cost of transition from Timeslips to a new Timeslips replacement
• Will there be a loss of features that you now depend on?
• Will there be less flexibility?
• Are there hidden costs, such as:
• Data conversion
• Initiation Fees
• Charges for customizing Invoice format
• Charges for custom reporting

If all the answers come back positive and the total cost of a new product is lower, then it might make sense to consider changing your Timeslips time and billing product for something else.  

For the first time in over 30 years, I have found a viable alternative to Timeslips that might be worth taking a look at.  Please contact me if you would like to discuss how switching from Timeslips to another product might make sense for you.  It definitely isn't for everyone.  You need to carefully consider before making a product switch.

Contact me at:  (888) 628-5343 x103 or joan@radiantsoftware.net

 

Timeslips and QuickBooks

If you are reading this post, you probably use both Timeslips and QuickBooks.  Even though TAL (Timeslips Accounting Link) and TALPro have been included with Timeslips for several years, many Timeslips users are still making separate entries into both programs.  The Timeslips link with QuickBooks was given a complete makeover in the Timeslips 2014 version.  If you had a bad experience with the Timeslips-QuickBooks link in the past, and went back to making double entries, you should definitely give it another try.  With the new,updated TALPro Timeslips-QuickBooks link, you will have much more control over what goes into QuickBooks from Timeslips.  

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact me:  (888) 628-4343 x103 or joan@radiantsoftware.net

Timeslips Slip Entry Alternatives

Did you know that there are other ways to enter your time and expenses to Timeslips?

• Simply "talk" to your Timeslips program.  There are no special programs required for voice-activated Timeslips entry.  You can simply use the Windows Speech Recognition application that is included with your Windows 7 and 10.  This will work with Timeslips 2015 and newer.  You can find the Windows Speech Recoginition software under Programs; Accessories, Ease of Use.
• Import your slips from another program. If you use a case management program such as Client Profiles, for example, it is rather simple to export the time entries from that program and import them into Timeslips.  You can even import slips from Excel.

Feel free to give me a call (888) 628-5343 x103 or email (joan@radiantsoftware.net) if you would like to discuss either of these options in more detail.

Need Help Getting your Timeslips Billing Done?

How would you like a temporary (or permanent) Timeslips Assistant that you could call on whenever needed?    

Over the years our Timeslips clients have frequently come to us when they need assistance running their bills each month.  While we have always provided Timeslips technical support for Timeslips billing processes or other types of Timeslips process, for the first time, we can offer you "hands on" assistance with your billing on an ongoing  or temporary basis at a reasonable fee.  We can also handle ELECTRONIC BILLING.

Who is a good candidate for our Timeslips Assistant Service?

• Small law firms that do not want to hire a full-time person to do the billing
• Anyone that doesn't want to spend the time and expense training a new employee on how to do Timeslips billing
• Any firm that needs ongoing or occasional assistance with running bills.  Examples:
• Your regular staff person is:
• On Vacation
• On Maternity Leave
• On Sick Leave
• Has Quit or been Fired

What about other services other than Timeslips billing?  We've got you covered!  Maybe you don't need any help with billing, but what about all those other time-consuming Timeslips tasks that you keep putting off:

• Clean up your database:  Make Timeslips clients Inactive or Closed.  Write off bad debts.   Purge your Timeslips data
• Enter data into the new Timeslips Custom Client Field that you have just created
• Change the naming structure of Client Nickname 1 and/or Client Nickname 2.
• Organize your reporting

We can provide this service to anyone in any location.  If you are interested in finding out more about our service, please either email me at joan@radiantsoftware.net or call (888) 628-5343 x103.  I would be happy discuss how we can provide you with a service that will fit your needs.  All of our personnel have many years of experience using Timeslips.  

 

 

What to do after you Download your Timeslips Upgrade or Service Release

What are you doing with the Timeslips file that you download for your Timeslips installation?  

In the old days, software companies shipped CD's and manuals (in the very old days, they shipped floppy disks).  All you are getting now is an ".exe" file that might reside in the \Download folder on your PC or maybe you save it somewhere else.  When you had CD's and manuals, it was easier to remember where they were stored.  Many firms had special file cabinets dedicated to storing software.  Now it's up to you to come up with a system for storing your downloaded software.  

What happens if you lose your hard drive or you just need to reinstall Timeslips?  If you have a "supported" version of Timeslips (3 years old or less), you can simply log onto the Sage website and download the correct version of Timeslips once again.  No problem.

However, you might be one of those people that does not keep their Timeslips current.  Everything is working fine and the version of Timeslips that you are using has all the features that you are ever going to need.  Why upgrade?  I'm not proposing that everyone get a Timeslips upgrade.  If you have made the decision to run an unsupported version of Timeslips, then you know that:

• You will not receive any "fixes" for Timeslips software issues that occur.  
• You will not be able to purchase additional Timeslips licenses
• You will not receive technical support from Timeslips (Radiant Software Solutions supports all versions)

Another thing to add to the list:

• You will not be able to download the Timeslips installation software or the Timeslips service releases.

With that in mind, it is very important that you save the downloads in a safe place.  Do not save them exclusively on your server.  If you are saving the downloads on the server, it is recommended that you also save them to a workstation.  Better yet, make a copy to an external hard drive, a CD or a thumb drive.  

I know...your server is backed up every night.  Why do you need another copy of the Timeslips installation files and Timeslips service releases?  The main reason is that backups often fail.  In addition to your on-site backup, you should also have some form of redundant cloud backup.  By the way, you will also want to do the same thing with those Timeslips Activation Codes, Serial Numbers and Registration Codes.  You won't get very far reinstalling Timeslips without those codes.

The idea is that you want to be able to get your Timeslips software reinstalled as soon as possible.  Trying to retrieve files off a server backup can be a very time consuming process.  An external drive allows you to retrieve files very easily.  

Bottomline:  If you can't find your installation software and codes, you may be forced into an unwanted upgrade.  Be safe:  backup.  

Timeslips New Electronic Billing Policy

Sage has changed their Timeslips Electronic Billing Policy.  This is especially important if you own an older unsupported version of Timeslips.  

The cut-off version for Timeslips Electronic Billing purchase to be version 2009. The reason is that prior to the release of version 2009, Sage Timeslips Electronic Billing was sold one audit format at a time.  There were 16 different codes that were all sold individually.  The business decided with the 2009 release to consolidate all the formats to ONE single code and release the full audit house library to customers.  The problem that has now come to light is that any customer that purchased an Electronic Billing format prior to 2009, their single audit format will not convey to recent versions due to back end upgrades and improvements in the software. 

For this reason, we are now requiring customers that are on Timeslips versions 2008 or earlier to purchase Electronic Billing.  For customers on Timeslips versions 2009-present, they should not have a problem with converting their data and Electronic Billing conveying with the upgrade because they would have already purchased the full audit library. 

If you ownTimeslips version 2009 or a newer version of Timeslips, and experience problems with the upgrade, you will need to provide us with a current screen shot of your Timelips Help->About and a screen shot of the Feature Usage in Support Information to receive Electronic Billing at no charge.

As of July 14^th, customers on Timeslips versions 2008 and earlier who purchased Electronic Billing in the single audit house format will be required to purchase the full audit house library in Electronic Billing.  We will provide loyal customer pricing to those customers when provided with screen shots of their Help->About and a screen shot of the Feature Usage in Support Information.  

For the Loyal Customer Pricing to apply, documentation (i.e. requested screen shots or Sage Invoice with customer information) of the original Electronic Billing purchase is required. This policy is only applicable to customers who are upgrading to the most current version of Sage Timeslips.  Electronic Billing will not shut off on July 14^th if the customer has not initiated an upgrade to the newest Timeslips version.  

Please contact me if you would like to receive a quote on the Loyal Customer discount for Electronic Billing or are interested in an upgrade.  (561) 289-4302 or (888) 628-5343 x103