Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers time capture software (see article below), a widescreen GPS navigation device, a document and photo scanner, an online workflow system for approving and paying bills, and an iPhone app for using your FreshBooks account. Don't miss the next issue.
Time Capture Software (Almost) as Smart as a Lawyer
If humans ever split into different species, lawyers will likely evolve into giant heads with no bodies. After all, you only need your body to transfer your thoughts to your computer. Otherwise, it serves no particular function other than creating more lawyers, which you could no doubt outsource. But for now, you may as well make sure you get paid for the long hours you spend hunched in front of your computer.
Chrometa 2.0 … in One Sentence
Chrometa automatically captures and organizes the time you spend on your PC, facilitating your ability to accurately bill all your time.
The Killer Feature
As soon as the "ink" dried on our previous report on Chrometa 1.1, the company announced version 2.0. As you may recall, we pointed to Chrometa's ability to log all your computer activity as its killer feature. You can later transform these log entries into time entries in your billing system.
This automatic capture still exists, but the company has added a second killer feature -- drag and drop, which further automates the time capture process.
You can now drag one or more activities recorded by Chrometa and drop them on the appropriate client/matter account. Chrometa is smart enough to remember this action so that next time you perform similar work (e.g., editing the same document), Chrometa will automatically enter the time spent in that client/matter account.
"We found that lawyers spend an average of 2.6 hours each week reconciling their time," Chrometa CEO Brett Owens told us. "Chrometa's automatic time capture and now drag and drop take a significant bite out of this process."
Other Notable Features
Befitting its new version number, Chrometa includes many other new features. For example, you can now capture meeting, phone, and other time spent away from your PC, and categorize it by client/matter. This form of tracking requires manual entry, but Chrometa created a quick entry tool for this purpose. The upshot is that you can now see all your activities in Chrometa.
By popular demand, Chrometa features improved categorization of computer activities. For example, it can list email messages individually by subject line along with the accompanying time spent reading or writing the message. Chrometa also supports advanced tagging of both Word and WordPerfect files, providing similar granularity down to each individual document. When you're ready to transfer the time entries you've captured into your billing system, Chrometa can sort them by client/matter.
Equally notable in the new version are the redesigned user interface (see accompanying screenshot) and improved security tools. You can now password protect Chrometa, delete activities, and remove historical data.
What Else Should You Know?
Chrometa 2.0 runs in Windows XP and Vista, and sells for an introductory price of $99, which includes unlimited email support. You can try it for free for 30 days. Learn more about Chrometa 2.0.
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So many products, so little time. In each issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The "In One Sentence" section describes each product in one sentence, and the "Killer Feature" section describes each product's most compelling feature. The TechnoLawyer NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.
