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Law Office Management —Version 2+ (LOM2)
is a true 32-bit Windows program
that runs on any computer equipped with Windows Vista, Windows XP,
Windows 2000, Windows ME, or Windows 98.
The main components
of LOM2 are three
applications - ClientBase4 (CBase4), BookBase4
(BBase4) and BillBase4 (BillB4). Each of the three
fills a specific office management function. CBase4
is a name and address database that stores client names, addresses,
telephone numbers and just about any other information you choose.
BBase4 is an income and expense database that is specially
designed to manage and track law office receipts and disbursements, in
particular, client payments and client-related expenses, but also expenses
unrelated to specific clients such as payment of the office rent or
utilities, etc. BillB4 is the third and final
specialized database that prepares the monthly (or periodic) billing.
These three programs work together to make bookkeeping and billing an easy
and straightforward task.
In overview, here’s a
description of the steps that BillB4 takes to prepare
a client’s bill:
-
Prints
your personal letterhead or caption at the top of the page; you
won’t need costly pre-printed billing stationery anymore;
-
Starts with a
balance forward that is automatically transferred from the prior
month’s bill (if there is one);
-
Looks up the
client’s full name and address from your CBase4 file
and prints it on the bill perfectly positioned for folding and placement
in a window envelope - no more typing envelopes;
-
Locates any
additional charges to the client’s bill since the last bill, i.e.,
filing fees, transcript cost, etc.; it gets this information from
your BBase4 file;
-
Locates and
credits any client payments (also from your BBase4
file) made since the date of the last bill (or any date you choose);
-
Includes up to
ten optional fill-in fields for special entries that don’t belong in
BBase4 such as initial retainer charges, client discounts
or whatever you choose;
-
Obtains the
subtotal from any itemized billing statements you attach, i.e.,
clients on hourly fee agreements; also prints the itemized entries on a
separate attachment.;
-
Calculates the
present balance due;
-
Posts a new
balance forward and automatically creates a new billing record for
next month's billing file, and
-
Prints the
bill.
If you’d like to see what a simple printed bill
looks like, click here.
If you’d like to see what a bill with an
itemized statement looks like, click here.
We've given you a
summary
of how Law Office Management works. The following
information describes each of the three main program components in more detail.
ClientBase4 (CBase4)
CBase4
is the first component of the Law Office Management trilogy.
As explained briefly above, its purpose is to maintain client names,
addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, and other notes that you
decide are applicable. Of course, there are many Windows programs
out there that perform this function. What makes CBase4
special is that it is designed to coordinate with BBase4 and
BillB4 to make name and address information available for
bookkeeping and billing purposes.
Summary of Features
Twin Windows.
CBase4 lets you look at your client list in two different
ways - the List View and the Table View. The List View
is an arrangement of client names allowing hundreds to fit on the screen
at the same time. If you have a list that contains 1,000 names or less,
the List View can put about 600 names on the screen at one time
making any name just a click or two away. Name and address
programs work best when information is easily and quickly accessible and you don't
need to waste time "setting up a search." With CBase4,
simply double-click
on any name for complete information about that client.
To see a maximized List View, click
here.
The other view
provided by CBase4 is the Table View. It presents
names and addresses in a spreadsheet format. While you can’t see nearly as
many names at the same time as you can in the List View, the
advantages of the Table View are (1) you see more than just the
name, and (2) the screen sets up and refreshes much more quickly than the
List View which can be important for larger lists with over 1,000
names.
To see a maximized Table View, click
here.
For smaller lists
that might be typical of those maintained by most law offices, i.e.,
less than 1,000 names, CBase4 can give you both views at
once so you can use whichever is convenient for a particular operation.
To see the combined List View/Table View
screen, click here.
Sorting.
The Table View acts like
Microsoft’s Windows Explorer allowing you to alphabetize your
client list on any field by simply clicking on the column header. Looking
for all your clients living in a particular city? Just click on the
City column and all your clients will be arranged according to their
city of residence. Click on any column twice and your clients will sort in
reverse order. Instantly. For manipulating and studying the demographics
of your client list, this quick, flexible sorting method can’t be beat.
Hiding Columns. Another nifty feature of the Table View is its ability to hide
columns. Too much information? Screen too busy? Any of the sixteen client
record fields can be hidden in order to distill the client list
information into a more digestible view that's appropriate for your
monitor size and resolution. CBase4 will memorize your
preferences.
Copy/Paste.
There’s a special copy/paste feature in CBase4 that permits
you to click on any name and then paste it into any other Windows
program. What’s so special about that? Well, the paste operation will put
a postal-formatted name and address into the target document. You could
easily and quickly paste a name and address into a letter, for example –
perfectly formatted. This auto-addresser feature works well with
law office word processors such as WordPerfect or Word for
Windows. This method is not only quick, but it does much to eliminate mistakes that can occur when
you retype names and addresses in letters or on envelopes.
Auto-Dialer.
CBase4 not only looks up a client's phone number for you, it also
dials the phone. All you have to do is pick up the phone and have
something to say (fax/modem card and intelligent conversation
required).
Features at Your
Fingertips. Some programs have
nifty features that you must labor to find or use. CBase4
isn’t shy. It flaunts its feature set by making all functions immediately
available either via right-click, pop-up menus, or through the speed bar
that provides one-click execution for sorting, searching, etc.
BBase4
& BillB4 Compatibility.
As explained above, CBase4 is not just an excellent name and
address program, it integrates with Law Office Management’s
bookkeeping and billing modules to form a complete office billing system.
Click & Run. You won’t be wasting much time on the learning curve when it comes to
CBase4. As soon as you understand that each client you enter
must be assigned a client number and that no two clients can have the same
number, you’ve learned everything you need to know.
Labels.
Send any substantial client mailings lately? If you ever do, CBase4
can print client addresses on standard laser sheet address labels
(Avery No. 5160) or continuous feed dot matrix address labels (Avery No.
4013). Finally, if you like to keep a client list in your briefcase,
CBase4 can print a client “telephone book.” It looks like a
page from a telephone book, and it lists all your clients and their
telephone numbers. You can fits hundreds of clients on just a few sheets
of paper making it very mobile.
Fast Find.
We mentioned that you can sort your clients in a variety of different ways,
but there’s also a Fast Find feature that locates a client’s
record by simply hitting <CTRL><F> and typing a few unique
characters from any of the client’s sixteen fields. No hoops to jump
through, just instant access.
BookBase4 (BBase4)
BBase4
is the second component of the Law Office Management
trilogy. Its purpose is to log all financial
transactions related to your law practice regardless of whether they are
related to a specific client. Again, there are many Windows
programs available that perform this function – Quicken and
Microsoft Money to name two. So what sets BBase4 apart? The answer is that it is designed to
coordinate with CBase4 and BillB4 so that
client-related financial information can be incorporated into a client’s
bill by BillB4. Neither standard Quicken or
Microsoft Money is capable of doing that; and neither has standard income
and expense categories pre-set for law offices.
Summary of Features
No Timeslips
Complexity. Two windows – the
Income Window for income and receipts; the Expense Window
for expenses and disbursements. That’s it. From these two windows you can
derive a vast amount of information as we’re about to explain.
To see a sample of both windows in a tiled
view, click here.
Sorting.
Both the Income and Expense Window can be minimized or
maximized, and both act like
Microsoft’s Windows Explorer allowing you to alphabetize your
income or expense transactions on any field just by clicking on the column
header. Looking for a particular check number? Just click on the Check
No. column of the Expense Window and you’ll find it in a flash.
Click on any column twice and the list will sort in reverse order on the
field or column on which you clicked. Maybe
you’d like to do a quick sort to segregate your expense categories or to
see which area of your law practice generates the most money. You can do
it all in a click.
Hiding Columns. Another nifty feature of the Income and Expense Windows
is the ability to hide columns. Any of the nine transaction fields can
be hidden in order to distill the client list information into a
customizable view. What you end up with is a screen
arrangement that looks good even on old computers with small monitors and
low resolutions. BBase4 remembers your settings, although
you can readjust them any time you want.
Intelliguessing. Earlier versions of BBase scanned your past
entries when you pressed <TAB> in order to suggest field field contents ahead of
where you were typing. Now, however, BBase4 has
Quicken-style incremental searching that speeds up data entry
considerably. Instead of waiting for you to press <TAB> and
helping with upcoming fields, BBase4 is making instantaneous incremental
suggestions with every keystroke. This may be one of the biggest
BBase4 time savers. When it comes to dates and check numbers,
BBase4 doesn’t even wait for you to start typing; these fields
are filled as soon as you request a new record.
Filters.
These are one of BBase4’s most powerful tools. How much
money did you make in calendar year 2006 in the area of family law?
Placing a filter on the Income Window will tell you. What were your
gasoline expenses last month? Filters provide the answer.
To see how you place a filter to determine how
much a particular client paid in 2006, click here.
Reporting.
Filters are the gateway to BBase4’s extensive reporting
capabilities and reporting is the end result. By placing a filter and then exporting the filtered data
to a tab-delimited ASCII text file, you can open these files in any
spreadsheet program, i.e., Excel, and prepare spectacular
and informative reports. Pie charts, line graphs, you have more power here
than you’ll ever need and use. All you need is a modest amount of
spreadsheet savvy.
Click here to see a sample report of monthly
expense subtotaled according to Category.
Check Printing. BBase4 can even print your checks if you have your check
blanks in the standard printer configuration of one check per sheet with
the check in the middle position. Does this save any time? Of course it
does because you're doing your bookkeeping entry and check printing in one step
not two!
Balancing Accounts. BBase4 does a better job than ever before at balancing
your checking account.
Customizable.
BBase4 comes ready with income and expense categories that
are tailored to your law practice. Income categories range from
Administrative Law to Workers Compensation. You can also create income or
expense categories that are peculiar to your practice.
BillBase4 (BillB4)
BillB4
completes Puritas Springs Software's Law Office Management
in the form of a billing module that integrates with CBase4
and BBase4 to form an automated billing utility. From now
on, the monthly billing will take only seconds. BillB4
also includes an itemized statement function that lets you prepare and
add itemized statements to your monthly billing statements. In
addition, it includes a greatly improved calendar function that produces daily, weekly or monthly printouts. We’ve already explained in
some detail the steps that BillB4 goes through in preparing
a bill. We’ve also provided samples of flat fee and hourly bills so you
can see what they look like.
To see a sample billing file, click here.
This is the view from which you do much of your work, like adding bills,
attaching itemized statements, making financial entries that don't go into
BBase4, and adding client messages.
Click here to see a sample flat fee bill.
Click here to see a sample itemized statement
bill.
Below are some other
handy BillB4 functions.
Summary of Features
Client Histories. Sometimes a client with a prolonged case questions his or her bill and
you need more than just a copy of their latest monthly bill. BillB4
can produce billing histories in a flash. By changing one field in the
billing record (the date of the last bill), you can present a client with
a comprehensive history showing each and every charge and credit to their
account as well as an itemized statement of services rendered over
whatever period of time you choose.
Autopilot Billing. Once you set up your monthly billing, BillB4 creates
next month’s billing file automatically as you generate this
month’s billing statements. That means your work load decreases
dramatically after you do your first month's set of bills. After that you
need only add new bills to the monthly file. BillB4 handles
everything else such as updating last month’s bill and deleting bills from
the current monthly set of clients that are paid in full. It’s no
exaggeration to say that if you do a couple minutes of data entry every
day, preparation of a new set of bills at the beginning of the month takes
only seconds!
Printing/Previewing. You can print your entire monthly or periodic set of bills at one time or
you can print a single bill. If you want to save paper and preview
an individual bill before printing it, BillB4 can do that just as easily.
Itemized
Statements. Not all clients are on a flat-fee. For those clients being
billed on an hourly basis, there’s an integrated itemized statement program within
BillB4. You can make your entries in any order and the itemized
statement will arrange them chronologically automatically. These itemized
statements can be printed and attached to a client’s regular monthly
billing statement. The Itemized Statement worksheet has the ability to
import calendar entries for those that have client numbers and time
durations recorded.
Calendar/Alarms.
BillB4 has a greatly enhanced calendar. Not only can it keep
track of your appearance schedule, i.e., court appearances, office
appointments, meetings, etc., you can also assign any calendar item
a client number and time duration so that the itemized statement function can import these
items into the itemized statement. As mentioned above, you can print
daily, weekly or monthly calendar views. There is also an alarm
function that works when you start BillB4 - it
reminds you of any appointments for the upcoming week.
To see the new calendar window, click here.
Personalized
Billing. As you review a bill
for printing, you can easily personalize the bill with brief memos
reminding your clients about upcoming case events (“Please recall that
your deposition is scheduled for July 4, 2007 in the law office of Leland
Summerville at 10:00am.”), payment reminders (“We did not receive payment
from you last month and ask that you contact our office at the earliest
convenience to discuss your outstanding balance.”), or simple courtesies
(“Please accept our sincere thanks for your payment of July 3, 2007.”).
The sample bills that are linked above have examples of such reminders.
Interest.
Some clients may be tardy in the payment of their bills. A proven
incentive to timely payment is the addition of interest or late fees on
unpaid bills. This is easily accomplished in BillB4 by checking the
Interest box on the billing record and inserting a rate of interest. Late fees can be
added manually using the Description/Amount fields of which there are ten.
Click here to
see a sample billing record with interest and late fees. It's the third
bill in the list - Donna Marie Haeni. Note that the interest box is
checked and 8% is inserted as the rate of interest to be charged.
Timeslips ($2,950) vs Law Office
Management ($99)
How much would you
expect to pay for a specialized law office management program with this
much power? Well, the single user version of Timeslips is
$450 and you could get a discontinued single-user version for $250. If
you’re going to network Timeslips be prepared to pay dearly. The
Timeslips up-to-five-user version is $800 and you can get a
discontinued version for $500. Note that technical support is free for
only 30 days making it a near-useless extra because that hardly covers
one billing cycle. After that support is about $250 per year for single
users and $350 for multi-users. After paying that, what do you get? A
program that is extremely hard to learn and maintain, so you may as well
count on paying these additional charges. By contrast Law Office
Management has no mandatory annual charges. Reasonable technical
support is free for the life of the program. We also have Remote
Assistance available to users who’d like help setting up network
versions or who would like a quick lesson to bring them up to speed. The
cost - $30. Our network, multi-user version costs $295.00. By comparison,
our current single users paid $99.99 in 1998 and used Law Office
Management for almost 10 years with no additional charges
(roughly $9 per year!). A similar
Timeslips user with annual support would have paid $2,950 over that
same period of time!
Network Version - $295
What's so special
about networks? Two things. First, name and address, bookkeeping, billing
and calendar data is centrally located. Did you ever change a
client's address and then have to run from computer to computer making
sure everyone had the change? Not so with Law Office Management.
Centrally located files are used by everyone in the office, so that when a
change is made by one user, everyone else can see it. A second benefit is
that its centrally located files make it easy to backup all your data
files because everything is on one computer.
If you’re read this
article and have additional questions, please feel free to give us a call.
If you haven’t clicked on the sample documents we’ve provided, take the
time to do so. A picture’s worth a thousand words and may answer some of
your questions.
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