Basic Example of Good Practice Management

CAN YOU DO THIS?
A well designed Practice Management System will be set-up so that the system supports each step of each process within your office.    Here is an example where Time Matters has been designed to support your workflow and it applies to most law firms:

Let’s say your firm meets on a regular basis, maybe weekly, to review the status of outstanding work on your matters.   If there were three minutes prior to your meeting, you could produce a report listing all matters with a chronological list outstanding tasks (todo) records for each matter.   You can do this in under one minute – just watch the following 54 second video. (So you still have two minutes left to go get your coffee).

Need the report by Matter than staff then date – that’s just a slight variation of the report.

Need to just see what’s past due, or due within a specified time frame – that’s just a matter of having a quicktab for the Next Week or Next Month; or a search filter to be selected from a drop down list of pre-defined search filters.

If your firm prepares for similiar meetings by using Excel, Word or a manual list – there is a better, integrated, time saving way.  Hopefully the above video will show you that. 

NOTE: If you use Time Matters and want this report, just contact us and we will provide a link to a free plug-in thru 6/30/2010.  If you have a working relationshp with Premier then you already have it or call at any time to obtain it. support@premiersoftware.com

Time Matters (AMP) + Small Office Server ‘SOS’ = More Functionality at Less Cost vs. The Cloud

A while back I re-visited Web/SaaS/Cloud based practice management (PM) system options.  I came to the conclusion that web based PM apps aren’t yet the compelling alternative that some would have us believe.  Don’t get me wrong, I like small web based utilities that provide an on-demand service, such as Google Googles, and I also have started to explore use of a much larger web based system, Infusionsoft, for it’s easy to use and superior solution to automated follow-up sequences. 

If you are in the mode of considering PM system alternatives I suggest you undertake the following exercise.  First, list all the features and things you can and should be doing with proven PM programs such as Time Matters or the PM alternative.  Next calculate your costs over the next three years. 

I believe you will find that the web apps just aren’t there yet with the same functionality as Time Matters.  You might say, ‘Yes but web apps cost less and I am don’t use all of the features.’     Well then, you might want to consider the true cost of PM software either on-site and on-line and be sure to factor in the ’lost opportunity’ cost of not fully using the features provided.

An exec from a major Cloud based system executive recently stated cloud based PM is $50.-$150. per user per month depending on the options selected.   The post acquisition cost of  Lexis’  PM software,  is roughly $15.00 per user per month for Time Matters under AMP, add roughly 10.00 more per user if you have Billling Matters or PClaw.  (This is a blended cost as the first user is about twice as much as each additional user).   So bottom line for full functionality the cost is about $15-$25. per user per monh to maintain your existing Lexis PM software (case management and client billing/firm accounting).

Also with Cloud based applications you will still likely maintaing a file server.  What does it cost for your PC/Network file server – well not as much as it used to.  Premier actually offers a file server (SOS-Small Office Server) for about $150.00 per month.  This includes hardware (2.5Mhz, 2.5 Terabytes), software,  Server O/S, MS-SQL Express, Installation and on-going maintenance.   Thats works out to only $15-30. per user per month for a ten or five user firm.  

So, go ahead make your own analysis of the features and associated costs.

1. Make your list of the features your should have available and should be using

2. Make a comparison of the $ x users x # of months and see for yourself.

  What are the differences in both price and functionality.   The results may surprise you.  Please report back and let us know what you have determined.

Regardless of your PM system choice you should also calculate the cost of  ‘lost opportunities’.  For example, not converting one or more new client opportunities in a given  month.   Now calculate any recurring ‘lost opportunity’ over 36-60 months.   I believe you’ll find that the real cost to your firm lies in less than perfect management, which we are all guilty of.  

Your proficiency using a well designed system (0n-site or on-line) will get you closer to effective management and that’s where the real profitability for your practice will be gained.   If your system can’t do its job, than neither can you do yours.

Your Comments Are Welcome

Time Matters + Android + Free Google ‘Goggles’ = A Very Cool App

New Technology: What is Google Goggles and How It Can Help Add Contacts to Time Matters 

John Papasadora, aka JP, and I attended the recent NAELA conference in Orlando (Disney actually).  JP has a new HTC Smartphone with the  latest  Android Software OS from Google.   We received many ”Wow, That’s Cool’ comments from a demo of  Goggles, a free Google Android app that provides ‘visual search’ capability.

The HTC has a high resolution, autofocus camera that can take pictures of items such as a bar code, wine label, book, cd or a business card.  I like the business card application – just snap a photo, and instantly the image displays, a blue bar scrolls across the image which indicates that Google is processing the card into …name, firm, address, tele, fax, email.  You immediately see how good a job it has done and a single click adds to the contact database.  Since the phone supports Exchange Active Synch and since Time Matters v10 can and should be set to automatically update back and forth with Outlook/Exchange - you now have a new contact record captured in your phone, Outlook and Time Matters.  Very Cool!

Tips to Quickly Improve Your Time Matters Experience

1. Remove the Clutter
At the Top on the Menu Bar, Right Click and select Customize Your Menu. 
     Try a more simplified approach such as:  
     Calendars | Contacts | Matters | TimeSheet | UDR’s

Remove Daily, Weekly and Monthly Calendars , Events and Todo’s, Alerts, everything else.   When you click the Calendars icon,  it opens the last viewed calendar type.  I’ve found the simplicity to be much more effective, all the other ’stuff’ is still a click or two away if needed.   Try it and let us know if Time Matters is now a little bit easier to use.

 2. Use Dual Monitors
Almost 100% of users who switch to multiple displays, absolutley like this approach. Call us if you need coaching on how to best set-up this configuration.

3. Explore UDR’s User Defined Records
Create your own records and use quicktabs to easily track…
    Assets, document profiles, projects, prospective client opportunities, etc.

4.  TM Documents Tricks
Open a Matter document list, highlight a document  and Right Click
See the options…   ‘Open Containing Folder; Send Email, Convert to PDF and Send Email, etc.

In Windows Explorer 
Highlight a file and  ‘Right Click’ , see ‘Send to Time Matters’   Try it.

Also, Hold Ctrl and then Click to select multiple documents,
or Ctrl+A to select all files and directories at once. Try it. 
Drag the selected documents over to a Contact or Matter in a Time Matters list. 
Now let go and follow the prompts to quickly add documents into Time Matters. 
Look at the doc tab of the matter.  All of the selected docments are now linked to the contact or matter.

5. Add New records Quickly by using the Hot Keys
Open a List of Matters.  PressCtrl+Shft+(letter)
Ctrl+Shft+E     = New Email Record   (Note: Matter is automatic, inherited from where you were on the list )
Ctrl+Shft+V     = New Event Record
Ctrl+Shft+B     = New Billing Record
Ctrl+Shft+D     = New Document Record
Ctrl+Shft+C     = New Contact Record
etc (Press File / New Record to see all new record shortcut keys)
Others…

Let us know if you find these tips helpful and if you would like to see some more tips posted here in the near future.

Whoa!!! Its Been 20 years

Are you renting your office space?  My friend and 1230 Brace Road LLC building partner recently gave me a note, on it he listed ‘one year to go’,  referring to our remaining mortgage balance on our small suburban office building.  Paying yourself rent over several decades has proven a nice investment.  

This reminds me a a conversation I had with a middleage lawyer, who said one of the three take aways he had from a recent conference was to go about the task of investing in an office purchase.   If you are planning on maintaining a practice long term this is one step I highly recommend a mortgage over rent.  It is amazing how time flies and what a difference this makes – after 20 years.     Too bad three colleges and a few weddings are going to take it all away. . .

Seminars: Using Time Matters to Track Continuing Education CE Credits for Professionals

Successful law firms know a good source of business is through other professionals.  Some firms offer recurring seminar/workshops with continuing education (CE) credit.  Here’s how we have set Time Matters to capture, track and report on CE credits.

First, we modified the PRO:Profesional contact form style in Time Matters.  We allocated a group of fields, one for each month.  The field is a look-up to the seminar/workshop event. Another set of fields designed symetrically on the form provide for the number of CE credits for each CE workshop that a given individual attended.  Finally, we created a report that lists for each professional attendee all of their workshops attended with the corrsponding CE credits.  The bottom line is a time saving, easy to use system that streamlines the process of tracking and reporting on CE credits.

Two Very Important Notices Regarding LexisNexis Time Matters®

Our primary purpose is to alert you to a policy change and the potential of a new ‘re-instatement charge’ which you could incur if you upgrade Time Matters, ie buy AMP after May 1st. 

1.  As of April 30^th , you need have an active AMP annual maintenance program subscription, or be subject to a significant ‘re-instatement fee’ if you upgrade later.  
    
2. As of March 15^th , the available 15% discount on the 12 month AMP subscription will expire.

For the official explanation visit the at Lexis page: 
http://pm.lexisnexis.com/store/category/?cid=66

For Premier’ Blog post analysis visit:
http://www.premiersoftware.com/blog/?p=48

Call us with any questions or to place your AMP order. Don’t ignore the May1st deadline.  Please call us if you are not sure, just so we know you are fully informed of the significance of having or not having AMP.

Other News from Premier Software:

We have updated uur web site. Here are some suggested highlights. 

• We now offer ClientConnectPDF (CCPDF)
  This an automated new PDF form and data import utility used to capture new Client  information, related contacts, assets and other estate planning information.  Watch the 4 minute video:  http://www.premiersoftware.com/products/automated-pdf-intake-form.html 
   
• We now offer the Premier Small Office Server (SOS)
  SOS  is a subscription based on-site file server for firm with up to ten users. SOS is not just a file server and backup system, it can also image PC’s, provide secure remote access to your PC and a secure file sharing location for your clients.  No upfront charge, no unexpected server maintenance charge – server support on the hardware and software is included, as is installation and support of Time Matters on the SOS server. http://www.premiersoftware.com/products/premier-small-office-server-sos.html 
   
• We have a blog http://www.premiersoftware.com/blog
  We’ll try to keep it updated with topical information that is useful now and as a worthwhile reference later.  Let us know your thoughts by making a comment.
   
• We have two locations for our support forum Training Class schedule
  In the forum itself: http://support.premiersoftware.com/MT_Forum/calen
  Also a Google calendar: http://tinyurl.com/ydotf6b   
   
• On a lighter note: see pictures of our office after record snow in NJ
  http://www.premiersoftware.com/about/epic-snow-horizontal-icicles.html

Feel free to suggest topics for blog posts, new training classes and anything else that might relate to your better use of Time Matters and how you manage your practice.

As always we appreciate the opportunity to support your firm.

Tele 856 429-3010  / email support@premiersoftware.com

LEXIS PRICING POLICY CHANGE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOUR FIRM

Time Matters / Billing Matters / PCLaw
Lexis changes Pricing Policies for Annual Maintenance Plan AMP

IN CONSIDERATION OF CLOUD APPS: RISK? PRICE? FEATURES?

Something bothers me with the increasing  buzz concerning the legal community’s interest in SaaS/Cloud computing services. This new option is available from Clio, Rocket Matters, Advologix and similar services.  The appeal seems to include such factors as
1.) Less infrastructure investment and predictable costs
2.) Simpler set-up and operation 
3.) Freedom to access data from any internet based device.  
These are all worthwhile aspirations.  

However, at what risk and at what price can a small firm determine if the greener looking grass is really better than the what’s available on this side of the fence?  What happens if the state bar requires that you obtain written permission from each client using remote hosted continue..

IMPRESSIVE 10 USER FILE SERVER OPTION: Introducing Premier 'SOS' – Small Office Server

The capacity and cost of a small office server for a law firm with up to ten users is now, IMO,  incredibly more attractive.   It gets even better as Premier has decided to include server support with the server on a subscription basis.  Consider what you can get for as little as $125.-150. per month:

Hardware: DataVault Server from HP with (2) 1 terabyte (1,000gb) disk drives for document and file storage , plus a fast 500GB disk drive dedicated to MSSQL and your practice management software (Time Matters) database, plus an external 1 terabyte harddrive for automatic backups; Small Footprint 1′x1″x6″
continue..