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Capture Billable Time on the Go as It Happens and Before You Forget
January 10, 2019 (Updated August 20, 2020)
Today's TechnoLawyer Buyer's Guide report covers an Android and iPhone app for capturing billable time on the go, including multiple timers, voice-to-speech, and other shortcuts.
Capture Billable Time on the Go as It Happens and Before You Forget
Lawyers lead increasingly complex and harried lives. One unfortunate side effect is lost billable time, especially when out of the office. While there's no escaping the laws of physics and adding more hours to the day, you can prevent lost time by capturing it on your smartphone. And now there's a new app for that.
PCLaw Go in One Sentence
PCLaw Go is a new timekeeping app for Android and iOS devices that enables users of the popular legal billing and accounting system PCLaw to post billable time entries from their smartphone while out of the office.
The Killer Feature
The designers of PCLaw Go set out to eliminate barriers between you and capturing billable hours. The built-in timer enables you to contemporaneously record a billable activity and enter that time on the go. You can run multiple timers simultaneously and switch among them. You can also enter time manually after the fact.
Either way, the matter lookup in PCLaw Go quickly finds the applicable matter in PCLaw for the associated time entry. When tapped, the Explanation Field expands to consume most of the screen for comfort and context when writing a detailed description of the entered time. PCLaw Go takes advantage of underlying technologies in Android and iOS such as voice-to-text for dictating your description.
When the explanation field is collapsed, the time entry screen displays the date, duration, matter, client, task code, explanation code, and rate (including exceptions). Your firm can select which fields in addition to the duration and matter are required versus optional.
When you're done with the time entry, one tap sends it to your PCLaw software. The app confirms receipt. If you use Time Matters, PCLaw | Time Matters offers Time Matters Go offering similar functionality.
Time Entry, Drafts, and History Screens in PCLaw Go
Other Notable Features
PCLaw Go can remind you to enter time daily, on weekdays, or on a specific day using your smartphone's notification system. You also choose what time you want to receive your reminder notifications.
You can save a time entry in progress as a draft. The Drafts screen also lists paused timers. One tap from Drafts takes you to History, which serves as a dashboard. At the top is a calendar. Tap on a day to view all the time entries for that day and the total time captured.
"There are more exciting new developments coming for PCLaw Go," says Chris Stock, CEO of PCLaw | Time Matters. "Over the last year, we have visited more than 160 law firms in the United States and Canada seeking feedback on what solutions are best for the current legal profession. We have listened and over the coming months, we will deliver lots of new innovation to the long-neglected space of on-premises mobility software."
What Else Should You Know?
PCLaw Go requires PCLaw 14.2.2 or higher. Getting up and running involves two steps. Your administrator installs a utility on your PCLaw server and configures PCLaw Go. Invited users receive a link to the PCLaw Go app via email. The app is also available for download from the App Store for the iOS version or Google Play for the Android version. PCLaw Go honors all the same security settings as PCLaw, and PCLaw Go transmissions are encrypted (none of this data is stored by PCLaw | Time Matters). Explore PCLaw Go and bookmark the website.
Meet Neil J. Squillante
Neil J. Squillante is the founder and publisher of TechnoLawyer, an award-winning network of free email newsletters for lawyers and law office administrators. Many consider TechnoLawyer the only email subscription they need. Previously, Neil practiced commercial litigation at Am Law 100 firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher. He received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and his B.A. from Duke University.
