The PowerLegal Time and Billing System records the time and expenses to be billed to clients, prepares the client billing invoices, and manages the firm’s work-in-process and accounts receivable. In addition, this system includes special features for law firms such as allocation of client payments to attorneys and integrated trust accounting. The Time and Billing System integrates with the General Ledger System by creating general ledger entries for accounts receivable and trust account transactions.

Client and Matter Records

Client and matter records provide the foundation for the PowerLegal Time and Billing System.

• Client and matter numbers can include up to 15 characters to accommodate existing numbering systems.
• Optional assignment of numeric client and matter numbers by the system.
• Abbreviated client name field to control the alphabetic sort sequence of clients.
• New clients are quickly setup using default billing options from the firm and office tables which can be overridden for each client.
• New matters are also quickly setup using default values from the client which can be overridden for each matter.
• Data cascading permits changes in certain default values in the firm, office or client records to cascade to the matter records unless the matter values have been locked. This feature greatly simplifies record maintenance.
• Separate billing addresses are available at the client and matter levels.
• Client contact can be assigned at the client and matter levels.
• Originating and administrative (billing) attorneys can be assigned at the client and matter levels.
• Optional fee-sharing percentages for originating and administrative attorneys.
• User-assigned client and matter types for classification.
• Client qualifiers are available to designate clients for listings and mailing labels such as newsletters.
• Additional address fields for each client (unlimited).
• Additional telephone numbers for each client (unlimited).
• User-defined dates for each client and matter (unlimited).
• User-defined data catalog permits saving an unlimited number of data items for each client and matter such as the client referral or opposing attorney. This feature can be visualized as user-defined fields in the client and matter records.
• Related parties can be identified for each client to assist in conflict searches (unlimited).
• Notes such as special billing instructions can be entered for each client and matter. (These notes appear on prebilling worksheets.)
• Credit limits can be specified for matters to trigger notification when the total work-in-process and accounts receivable balance exceeds a defined amount.
• Standard billing rates can be overridden at the matter level.

Employee Records

In the PowerLegal Time and Billing System, all members of the firm, including partners, associates and paralegals, are considered employees for billing purposes. These individuals are sometimes known as timekeepers in other systems. Even employees who do not report their time for billing can be included in the database and on listings of the firm’s employees.

• Employee initials identify employees for time and expense entries.
• Internal linkage between employees and time/expense records permits changing employee names and initials without affecting the billing records.
• Employee sort sequence provides alphabetical sequencing of employees.
• Billing sequence is available to define the printing sequence for attorneys’ prebilling worksheets and invoices.
• User-defined employee classifications such as partners, associates and paralegals for reporting purposes. Employee classes are reported in user-defined sequence.
• User-defined employee costs for measuring client and employee profitability.
• User-defined dates for each employee.
• User-defined data catalog permits saving an unlimited number of data items for each employee such as family members, special training and certifications. This feature can be visualized as user-defined fields in an employee record.
• Multiple billing rates are available for each employee (unlimited).

Service Codes

Service codes are the key element in identifying the types of services provided to the clients. A user-defined service code is entered with each time and expense transaction. These codes are used by the system to prepare the production analysis reports by type of service. Optionally, the time on a client’s billing invoice can be classified by service codes. Service codes correspond to the activity codes or law types used in other systems.

• User-defined service codes can include up to five numeric or alphanumeric characters.
• Billable and taxable status of a service or expense is defined by the service code and can be overridden on the time or expense entry.
• Expenses can be summarized by service code for such items as photocopies and faxes. This option can be overridden on the expense entry.
• Default service code can be designated for each matter (optional).
• User-defined service code classifications provide service groups and subtotals on analysis reports.

Billing Rates for Fees

Billing rates for each matter can be based on either employee or service code rates selected at the matter level.

• Multiple billing rates are available for both employees and service codes (unlimited).
• Billing rate overrides can be specified for each matter by employee or service code to provide a complete schedule of negotiated rates for a matter if desired.
• Billing rates can be overridden on individual time entries.
• Unbilled transactions can be revalued for rate changes occurring after the transactions have been entered.

Billing Rates for Expenses

Expense billing rates can be defined by service code for such items as photocopies and faxes. Rate overrides can be specified at the matter level to provide a schedule of negotiated rates for a matter if desired. Expense amounts for out-of-pocket items such as court costs and travel expenses can be entered in either the Time and Billing or Accounts Payable System.

Time and Expense Transactions

Time and expense transactions are the fundamental building blocks of the entire billing system. Not only do these transactions provide the charges for billing invoices, they also provide the data for analyzing the services provided to clients.

• Matter records are updated immediately as each time or expense transaction is entered. Subsequent posting procedures are not required. Employees entering their own time can create time sheets and enter time transactions throughout the day.
• Time and expense sheets provide totals of hours and expenses for control purposes. Each sheet is tagged with the name of the employee who created the sheet.
• Single screen format is used for entering time and expense. Appropriate fields are displayed based on the service code.
• Security is available to control whether a user can enter time or expenses.
• Popup search windows are available to lookup employee initials, client and matter numbers, service codes and task codes.
• Billing description can contain up to 2000 characters for each entry.
• Private notes area (additional 2000 characters) is available for each entry. Private notes appear on the prebilling worksheet but not on the billing invoice.
• Text abbreviation codes provide efficient data entry for commonly used phrases in description fields.
• Spell checking is provided for the billing description and private notes.
• Overrides are available on each time or expense entry for such items as billing rate, transaction amount, billable and taxable status. A security option controls whether the user can override the billing rate and transaction amount.
• Summarize option for expenses permits summarizing selected expenses on the billing invoice. This option can be set automatically by type of expense and then overridden on individual entries.
• Billing hold option is available on each entry with an area to explain the billing hold. Transactions with a billing hold appear in a separate section of the prebilling worksheet but do not appear on the billing invoice.
• Billing holds can be released for all transactions for a matter within a specified date range.
• Transaction revaluation feature can revalue the unbilled transactions within a specified date range for all matters or for a selected matter. The feature is useful when rates are changed after transactions have been entered.

Timers

Timers are available for automatically recording the time charged to clients as the work is being performed. Starting and stopping a timer is quick and easy. Multiple timers can be used to represent different matters. Time recording can be switched from one matter to another by merely starting a different timer. A completed timer can be converted quickly to a time transaction by clicking a single button.

Expense Transaction Conversion

If your firm has a cost recovery system to capture transactions for expenses such as photocopies or fax charges, the PowerLegal System may be able to convert these transactions to client expense charges. Contact us to determine if your cost recovery device is supported by the PowerLegal System.

Work-in-Process Adjustments

During the billing review process, attorneys often need to adjust the billing amounts for time and expense transactions. These adjustments are identified as work-in-process write-ups and write-downs. The PowerLegal System provides two convenient methods for making these adjustments.

• Write-ups or write-downs of selected time entries in hours or dollars. Adjustments in hours change the transaction amounts but not the actual production hours.
• Automatic allocation of a time or expense adjustment to multiple transactions for a selected matter. Optionally limit the adjustment to transactions within a specified date range and transactions for selected employees, service codes or task codes.

Client Billing

The PowerLegal System includes a highly flexible billing module to meet the unique requirements of law firms. Listed below are many of the important billing features in this system.

• User-defined billing formats (unlimited).
• Separate billing address for each matter. If omitted, system defaults to the client’s address.
• Multiple billing rates per employee (unlimited)
• Automatic rounding for hours, fees and expenses (optional).
• Multiple billing methods: fees and expenses, fees or expenses only, flat (fixed) fee, periodic retainer or non-billable.
• Option to bill expenses separately for flat fees or periodic retainers.
• Selected expense entries can be billed in addition to a flat fee amount.
• Option to stop retainer invoices for a matter after a specified number of invoices.
• User-defined billing frequencies (unlimited).
• Billing minimum for a matter suspends billing until the unbilled amount reaches the specified minimum (optional).
• Billing hold for fees, expenses or total bill at the client or matter level with a provision to record a reason for the hold.
• Firm billing message optionally printed on invoices for all matters.
• Matter billing message optionally printed on invoices for a specified matter.
• Print a single invoice for any selected matter.
• Print invoices for multiple matters selected by billing frequency, attorney and office.
• Reprint any billing invoice (unlimited).
• Reverse any billing invoice prior to payments being applied to the invoice.

Prebilling Worksheets

The prebilling worksheet is designed to provide the administrative (billing) attorney with a preview of the descriptions and amounts which will appear on the billing invoice as well as related information to assist in preparing any billing adjustments including:

• Client’s billing name and address for verification.
• Billing method and frequency.
• Any billing minimum or credit limit in effect for this matter.
• Notes from the client and matter records. These notes often contain special billing instructions.
• Billing description and amount for a retainer or flat-fee invoice.
• Billable time and expense charges for matters being billed on time and expenses. Private notes from any time or expense transactions will appear in this section but will not appear on the billing invoice. Billing adjustments for individual time and expense entries can be recorded in this section.
• Time and expense charges on hold.
• Non-billable time and expense charges.
• Accounts receivable transactions for this matter.
• Any matter-specific billing message to be printed on the invoice.
• Trust account balances for this matter.

Billing Drafts

A draft bill can be displayed or printed for any matter prior to preparing the actual billing invoice. Since the PowerLegal System permits a billing invoice to be reversed, modified and reprinted, you may not need to print billing drafts for most matters.

Invoice Formats

The appearance of the billing invoice is based on a user-defined billing format. An unlimited number of billing formats can be defined. Each matter can be assigned any of the defined formats. Many firms print billing invoices on preprinted forms which include the firm’s name and address. If the invoice is printed on plain paper, this information can be supplied by the system. Significant features of a billing format include:

• User-defined page layout.
• User-defined heading section with user-selected printer fonts and date format.
• Free-form text lines available for the invoice heading section.
• Itemize or summarize time charges.
• Sequence time charges by date, employee, service code or task code.
• Selectively suppress the dates, employee initials, hours, rates and amounts in the time charges section.
• Optionally provide a time charges recap by employee, service code or task code. Selectively suppress the hours and rates in this section.
• Select to print the hours or the rates as computed values when the billing amount has been adjusted with write-ups and write-downs.
• Itemize or summarize expense charges. When expenses are itemized by date, selected expenses can be summarized by service code. This feature permits itemizing such expenses as airfares and summarizing charges for copies and faxes.
• Sequence expense charges by date, service code or task code.
• Selectively suppress the dates, quantities, rates and amounts in the expense charges section.
• Optionally provide an expense charges recap by service code or task code. Selectively suppress the quantities and rates in this section.
• Optionally include any previous balance or advances balance on the invoice.
• Optionally report the last payment date and amount.
• Optionally report a courtesy discount.
• Optionally include firm and matter billing messages.

Task Code Billing

The task code billing requested by insurance companies and some clients requires that the billing invoices classify the charges by a specific set of task codes. The PowerLegal task code billing feature permits task codes to be defined to meet the unique requirements of each matter.

• User-defined task and phase codes can include up to five numeric or alphanumeric characters.
• User-defined task code sets permit each matter to use any selected set of task codes. This feature permits the firm to provide a standard set of task codes and optionally use custom sets of codes for selected matters.
• Task code requirement is optional at the matter level.
• Task codes are entered with each time or expense charge when required. A popup window can display available task codes for the matter.
• Billing invoices can detail fees and expenses by task code or include a separate recapitulation of fees and expenses by task code.
• Task code analysis reports permit reviewing hours, fees and expenses for a selected matter by task code.
• Task code budget reports compare actual hours, fees and expenses for a matter to a task code budget.

Taxes

The PowerLegal Time and Billing System can optionally include taxes on the billing invoices for any matter. When taxes apply, a matter is assigned to a tax jurisdiction. Tax jurisdictions are linked to various taxing authorities which provide the tax rates for fees and expenses. Taxes can optionally apply to either fees, expenses or both.

In addition to applying taxes to the invoice, the system maintains records by taxing authority of the fees and expenses charged to each client and matter. Tax reports can be printed to assist in preparing the tax forms for the various taxing authorities.

Electronic Billing

Electronic billing is the preparation of a client’s billing invoice as a computer file which can be sent to the client on a diskette or as an attatchment to an e-mail message. This file can then be used by the client as direct input into an invoice processing system. The most frequent use of electronic billing in the legal profession is by defense firms which are often required to provide billing invoices to insurance companies as computer files. In some cases, these files must be sent to a third-party, auditing firm which reviews the billing invoices prior to payment by the insurance company. Some large corporate clients also require that their legal invoices be supplied as both printed and electronic documents.

The PowerLegal Time and Billing System includes a separate application to create these electronic invoices. Due to the wide variety of specifications for electronic billing, this application permits the user to define an unlimited number of electronic billing formats. Existing billing invoices can then be converted to electronic invoices using any of the defined formats.

Monthly Statements

Accounts receivable statements can be printed for any client or matter to provide a reminder for unpaid balances. Numerous options are available to control the printing and formatting of these statements.

• Automatically print monthly statements for all scheduled clients and matters. Optionally print statements for only those clients and matters assigned to a single attorney.
• Select any client or matter to print an accounts receivable statement on request.
• Print a separate statement for each matter or consolidate multiple matters on a single client statement.
• Print aged balances.
• Include the firm’s standard past-due message based on the oldest balance.
• Specify the number of months a balance must be past-due before a statement is printed.
• Select the number of months that paid invoices are included on each statement.

Finance Charges

The PowerLegal Time and Billing System can apply finance charges to past-due invoices if desired.

• Finance charges are optional for each client or matter.
• Finance charge terms defined at the firm level can be overridden at the client or matter level.
• User-defined finance rate can be specified at the firm, client or matter level.
• Select to compound finance charges if desired.
• Start finance charges for past-due matters after a specified number of months.
• Set a minimum past-due balance for finance charges (optional).
• Set a minimum finance charge amount (optional).

Accounts Receivable Adjustments

User-defined accounts receivable adjustments permit you to adjust the balances of billed invoices and control the effect of the adjustments on analysis reports. For example, you can define an adjustment type to write-off uncollectable receivables and another type to transfer a payment to a different matter.

Payment Processing

Processing client payments is an important feature of the PowerLegal Time and Billing System. Proper accounting is required to ensure that the payments are recorded for the correct amounts and applied to the correct matters.

• Client payments are applied to individual billing invoices for each matter.
• Payment application is as simple as clicking on the selected unpaid invoice.
• Payments can be applied automatically to the oldest invoice if desired.
• Display details of unpaid invoices from the payment window.
• Unapplied amounts can be recorded in an advances account available for each matter and subsequently applied to one or more invoices.
• Retainer and flat-fee billing payments can be recorded as cash-basis revenue and subsequently applied to time and expense charges to provide proper allocation of the payment to attorney fees.

Budgeting

The PowerLegal Time and Billing System includes budget analysis for both employees and matters.

• Employee budgets can be defined for billable hours and fees for each calendar year.
• Matter budgets can be defined for total hours, fees and expenses. If desired, matters exceeding budgeted amounts can be reported to the administrative (billing) attorneys.
• Matter budgets can also be defined by task code or service code for hours, fees and expenses.
• Variance reports are available to compare actual fees and expenses with any of these budgets.

Interactive Inquiry

The PowerLegal Time and Billing System permits any user with appropriate security rights to interactively access summary and detailed financial information including:

• Accounts receivable and unbilled work-in-process balances by client.
• Matter status including the accounts receivable balance, billing and payment summary, work-in-process balance and credit status.
• Accounts receivable transactions by matter.
• Billed or unbilled time and expense transactions by matter.
• Time diary for each matter.
• Trust account balances and transactions.
• Daily, weekly, monthly, and annual time summaries by employee.
• Time and expense diaries for each employee.
• Drill down for an expanded view of any transaction.

Display the Current Financial Status for a Matter!

Interactively inquire into the complete financial history of any matter.

Conflict Searches

One of the benefits of retaining historical client data on-line is the ability to search the data for a possible conflict of interest prior to accepting a new case. The conflict search function in the PowerLegal Time and Billing System permits you to interactively search the client and matter records for a text string and to print a copy of the results if desired. Wild card characters can be included in the search string to assist in matching various spellings of the same name. The actual search processing is performed on the server computer. Only the items which match the search string are returned to the client workstation. To control the scope of the search, you can select any of the following records to be included in a single search request.

• Client and matter names
• Matter descriptions
• Client contacts
• Related parties
• Trust names
• Client and matter notes
• Data catalogs for clients and matters
• Retainer billing descriptions
• Time and expense transaction descriptions and private notes

Date Searches

A date search feature assists in finding clients or matters by searching the following items for a specific date or a date range.

• Client acquired date
• Matter opened or closed date
• Any user-defined dates in the client and matter records

Reporting

Various types of reports are available throughout the PowerLegal Time and Billing System. All reports can be displayed on the workstation or printed.

• Over one hundred analysis and aging reports are provided with the system, preformatted and ready to use. Easily select the reports appropriate for your firm and add them to a report menu. Provide your own report titles and page formatting such as portrait or landscape orientation and margin settings.
• Listings of clients, matters and employees provide user-defined columns, listing sequences and data selection.
• Client mailing labels can be printed for various selection criteria. For example, client qualifiers can be used to identify clients and print mailing labels for a monthly newsletter.
• Formatted listings are available for such items as service codes and task codes used by employees to prepare time and expense reports.
• Displayed data from interactive inquiries, conflict searches and data-entry windows can be printed on request.

Analysis Reports

The PowerLegal Time and Billing System provides a complete set of analysis reports for reviewing the financial contribution of the firm’s services, employees and clients. Many of these reports are designed to rank items based on profitability as well as total revenue.

• Firm analysis reports identify the financial contribution of each type of service provided by the firm. The user-defined service code entered with each time entry provides the basis for these analysis reports. Service codes perform the same function for revenue analysis that account numbers provide for general ledger accounting.
• Employee analysis reports provide the information required to review client workload assignments, assess employee performance and determine compensation.
• Client analysis reports are especially valuable during periodic reviews of the firm’s revenue basis. Since these reports can include data from any date range, client rankings can be based on periods as short as a single month or as long as several years.
• Matter analysis reports provide information at the matter level which is often not apparent from the aggregate values on client and firm reports.

Trust Accounting and Reporting

Trust accounting provides separate accounting and reporting for escrowed funds. Trust receipts and disbursements can be entered for any bank account and applied to the proper trust accounts by matter.

• An unlimited number of trust accounts can be established for any matter.
• Multiple trusts can share a single bank account, including trust accounts for various clients and matters. Reports are available to reconcile the trust account balances to the bank accounts. Bank account reconciliation schedules can be printed for each bank account.
• Trust account funds can be disbursed by manual or computer-printed checks.
• An interactive display is provided for trust account balances and transactions.
• Trust account ledgers can be displayed or printed for any trust to report all trust receipts and disbursements.
• Monthly trust statements can be printed for all scheduled trusts or selectively for any trust on request.
• Annual 1099 forms can be printed for taxable distributions to trust recipients.
• Separate menu security is provided for accessing trust account functions.

General Ledger Entries

The PowerLegal Time and Billing System automatically creates accrual and/or cash basis general ledger entries for the following transactions depending on the firm’s accounting basis.

• Billing invoices
• Finance charges
• Accounts receivable payments and returns
• Accounts receivable adjustments
• Trust account receipts and disbursements