May 5, 2010 – Billing practices vary from law firm to law firm. Attorneys may rely on flat fee arrangements, contingent fees, or hourly rates. Keeping track of actual time spent is imperative for those who bill hourly; however, from a management perspective, attorneys may be interested in the actual time it takes to complete certain tasks. In addition to client work, there are other situations where tracking time makes sense. Special projects, collaborative assignments, and pro bono work are just a few examples.
Many firms own software designed specifically to track time spent on particular matters. Some lawyers, however, are still using hardcopy forms or just jotting their time down on paper. Below are a few online alternatives.
TimeSheet
TimeSheet is a free tool for Windows that will automatically record the time spent on a task. This is a free downloadable program. Features include logging work in real time, the ability to add specific details, and the ability to export data to Excel. Lifehacker offers a nice summary.
Harvest
Harvest is a fee-based application offering more than time tracking capabilities. It allows the user to track time, log expenses, invoice clients, and much more. It is an easy-to-use interface and offers multiple options for recording time. There is a desktop widget for monitoring things in real time. Data can be exported to Excel or QuickBooks. Harvest also offers an iPhone interface.
Toggl
Toggl is “designed for effortless time tracking.” The application offers two formats to monitor tasks and projects. It supports a search box to locate items quickly. Features include scheduling recurring tasks, detailed reporting, and statistics. Toggl is free but also offers fee-based enhanced versions. It also allows the user to download the timer to your desktop, iPhone, Gmail, or iGoogle.
ClockingIT
ClockingIT is a free hosted application that tracks your tasks and the time you
spend on them. It offers one-click time tracking, a variety of charting/reporting capabilities, and email notifications. This tool has several different features, but the user can decide to keep it simple or build a more complex project management tool.
Bev Butula is the manager of library of services at Davis & Kuelthau, Milwaukee. She is a past president of the Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin. Bev has written articles and spoken to numerous groups on issues such as effective Internet research, evaluation of Web sites and legal research. Prior to obtaining her Master's Degree in Library Science from UWM, Bev was a litigation paralegal.
