Narrowing Down your Legal Software Search
Selecting a time and billing software can be one of the most critical decisions that a law firm needs to make. There are different time and billing software that are available in the market. In order to make matters difficult, the time and billing software products can be broadly classified into three categories. These include:
- The ones that extend timekeeping and billing features only
- The ones that extend a combination of accounting, time and billing services
- The ones that provide everything, right from billing to case management
As the owner of a law firm, it is necessary that you choose legal software that is appropriate for your business and thus does not turn your daily business into a drab chore. One approach that is frequently adopted by lawyers in this case is the fact that they choose to go by the recommendation of another law firm or that of a colleague. But you should realise the fact that each of the law firms are starkly different from each other in their nature of practice, clients, workforce ability and overall workflow management. So instead of choosing to go for one that is recommended by a fellow lawyer, it is better to go by a systematic approach.
Make an Assessment of the Whole Situation:
Prior to checking products, it is necessary to prepare a list of the computer skills of the staff. You can rate their skills on a scale of one to five, with one point reserved for those who have the lowest level of skills and five points for those who have the highest level of skills, for example, only if they are adept at time and billing programs. As the owner of a law firm, you may also decide in favour of implementing the program in different stages. You should also make a note of the hardware specifications, the details of the software that is already installed in the systems and the version of the software that is been used. Software companies keep on releasing software updates and service patches. It is thus necessary to update the same at regular intervals.
Determining the Needs of the Firm:
It is necessary for you to decide what you want out of the software. After all these are installed and begin to operate, you need to figure out what is of primary importance for you.
- You need to determine the way you wish to bill your clients
- You also need to determine how you are going to pay your own bills
- You also need to determine and put down your own sources of income
Search for Specific Software Features:
It is necessary that you look for specific features in legal software programs, the time and billing features that you expect out of the system. The features that you need to take into account include:
- Billing
- Accounting
- Report Writing
- Changing Billing Rates
- General Ledger
- Invoices
Purchasing software after taking all these factors into account will obviously help your organisation to meet its targets effectively.
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