Time tracking is a fundamental aspect of a lawyer’s daily routine. It helps them to bill their clients accurately, track their productivity, and identify areas where they can improve their efficiency. Accurate time tracking not only ensures lawyers bill clients correctly but also helps better manage their work and maintain a balanced work-life schedule. However, keeping tabs on every minute can be very challenging. This is why a time tracking tool comes in. 

A time tracking tool is a specialized software application designed to cater to the unique needs of legal professionals when it comes to tracking billable hours and tasks related to legal work. These tools are tailored to the specific requirements of law firms and individual lawyers, ensuring accuracy in time recording, efficient client billing, and compliance with legal industry standards. 

Time-tracking tools can be standalone applications or integrated components within a more comprehensive practice management software. Many law firms opt for the latter because it offers time-tracking functionality along with a range of other essential features within a unified solution. This choice is often driven by the desire to optimize costs and streamline their operations efficiently. 

In simpler terms, instead of using a separate tool just for time tracking, law firms often prefer practice management software that includes time tracking as one of its features. This way, they can benefit from a holistic solution that not only tracks time but also handles various other important tasks, making their workflow more efficient and cost-effective.

DigitsLaw: An All-in-one Law Practice Software

DigitsLaw is a leading legal technology company that specializes in providing cloud-based practice management software for law firms and legal professionals. DigitsLaw’s mission is to transform and digitize the practice of law by offering innovative tools and solutions that streamline administrative tasks, improve client communication, and enhance productivity for legal practitioners. Our software suite includes features for time tracking, client management, document management, billing, and more, all designed to simplify the complexities of legal practice.

Advantages of Digital Time Tracking 

Digital time tracking for lawyers offers several key advantage. It significantly improves accuracy by eliminating the potential for manual data entry errors, ensuring precise recording of billable hours. This not only benefits clients, who receive transparent and error-free invoices, but also helps maintain trust and credibility in client relationships while minimizing billing disputes. According to The National Law Review, automated timekeeping tools for lawyers “take a lot of the error, stress, and time out of the tracking process,” while helping identify and track potential lost revenue. 

Moreover, digital time tracking for lawyers often come equipped with robust reporting and analytics features. These features provide valuable insights into work patterns and productivity, allowing lawyers to optimize their time management strategies. By identifying bottlenecks and making data-driven decisions, legal professionals can enhance overall efficiency, ultimately leading to better service delivery. Additionally, digital tracking aids in maintaining compliance with industry regulations and ethical standards, contributing to the professional integrity of law firms and minimizing potential legal risks.

8 Ways DigitsLaw Simplifies Time-Tracking For Lawyers 

Track Billable Hours As You Work

The most efficient way to track all your billable hours is to run a timer while you go on with your work. With just a simple tap on the timer, lawyers can eliminate the possibility that any work done will be left out untracked or forgotten. 

In DigitsLaw, the timer button is at the top of your app screen. Regardless of what you’re doing, you can quickly start and stop your timer. The timer continues to run as you navigate through various screens. This takes the guesswork out of time tracking and ensures that you record all your billable hours. Watch how automation tools can improve billing and invoicing productivity at your firm in our on-demand webinar.

Track Time Via Mobile App

DigitsLaw is a cloud-based software application, which means you can access it securely on your mobile device. Track billable hours from anywhere using Digitslaw’s mobile time tracking app. You can easily record your time while in court, at client meetings, or working remotely. This ensures accurate timekeeping and eliminates the need for manual entry later.

By simplifying time tracking and making it accessible from anywhere, Digitslaw’s mobile app allows you to run a timer, log time entries, or record expenses all on your mobile phone just like you would on your computer. This enhances your efficiency and accuracy, allowing you to focus on your legal work with confidence while maintaining transparent and error-free billing for your clients.

Log Entries After The Fact

The flexibility of the time tracking system doesn’t end with real-time tracking. If you happen to forget to start your timer while working on tasks, you can easily log time entries after the fact, providing a hassle-free way to ensure that every billable minute is accounted for. 

This can be done either individually for specific tasks once they are completed or in bulk for multiple tasks. The ability to record time entries not only maintains accuracy in your billing but also simplifies your administrative workflow This valuable feature ensures you capture all your billable hours, even if you didn’t start tracking in real time, helping you maintain transparency and precision in your time management and client billing.

Customize Billing Rates

With this feature, you have the flexibility to set distinct billing rates tailored to individual clients and specific matters or cases. This ensures that your billing aligns accurately with the unique requirements and complexities of each client’s legal work. Whether you need to apply different rates based on the type of legal service, seniority of your team members, or the nature of the case, DigitsLaw simplifies the process, promoting fairness and transparency in your billing practices.

By customizing billing rates, you not only enhance your clients’ trust in your billing practices but also optimize your revenue. You can bill clients accurately according to the value you provide, ensuring that your legal expertise is appropriately compensated. This feature empowers you to maintain a competitive edge in the legal industry by offering tailored pricing that reflects the specific needs of your clients and the intricacies of your legal services.

Timesheet Report

The Timesheet Report in DigitsLaw is designed to provide legal professionals with a comprehensive overview of their time tracking data. This report compiles and presents detailed information about billable hours and activities recorded within a specified time frame. Here’s what you can expect from the Timesheet Report in DigitsLaw:

• Detailed Time Entries: The Timesheet Report offers a granular view of time entries, including the date, time spent, associated clients, matters or cases, and the responsible team member. This level of detail ensures transparency and accuracy in tracking billable hours.

• Customization: Lawyers can customize the report to focus on specific time entries, clients, matters, or team members, allowing for tailored insights. This feature is particularly useful for generating reports relevant to different clients or projects.

• Billing Information: The report includes billing-related information, such as hourly rates, making it easier to calculate fees and generate accurate invoices for clients.

• Analysis: By reviewing the Timesheet Report, lawyers and firms can gain valuable insights into productivity, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their time management strategies.

Time Spent on Client and Matter Dashboard

This allows lawyers to associate billable hours and time entries with specific clients and matters or cases. This ensures that lawyers can easily see how much time has been allocated to each client or legal issue. The information displayed on the dashboard is usually updated in real-time, so it is easy to monitor the progress of work on a particular client or case as time is recorded. This transparency helps lawyers and legal teams stay on top of their tasks and deadlines.

The DigitsLaw dashboards provide visual representations to give you a quick, at-a-glance view of where your time is being spent. The time spent on the Client and Matter Dashboard often ties into billing. You can use this data to generate accurate invoices for clients, as it shows precisely how much time has been dedicated to their legal matters.

User-Friendly Interface

DigitsLaw’s user-friendly interface is a cornerstone of its appeal to legal professionals. Designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind, it provides lawyers with an intuitive platform for managing their legal service. Whether you’re a tech-savvy legal expert or someone less familiar with digital tools, our interface ensures a smooth and accessible experience.

One of our standout features is its ease of use, allowing lawyers to effortlessly track billable hours without the need for extensive training or technical expertise. This design streamlines the time tracking process, making it straightforward to start and stop timers, record tasks, and input essential details. 

Compliance and Security

DigitsLaw prioritizes security and compliance, ensuring that your time tracking data is protected and meets industry standards. This allows you to focus on your legal work without worrying about data breaches or regulatory issues.

With role-based access controls, regular security audits, and data backup measures in place, DigitsLaw proactive approach ensures that your data remains secure in the face of unexpected challenges.