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Designed specifically for small- to medium-sized
law firms and previously marketed to certified public accountants
and tax professionals, Office Tools Pro combines several
different programs into one comprehensive package.
Their latest version of the software
now contains legal-specific features, such as case and
matter management capability, conflict checking,
a call dispatch feature, scheduling, and records and
file management.
Office Tools Pro doesn’t clutter the screen with
icons. Instead, client information appears on the screen
in totality. Address and contact information takes center
stage with a series of tabs found directly above them.
Clicking on one of the tabs takes you to such useful
system features as notes, To-Dos, calls, case or matter,
timesheet and billing. All appointments, due dates and
notes relative to that date appear on screen when you
log in to the system. At the bottom of the screen, an “Activity
List” contains a running list of all appointments,
contact information, type of activity and description
of appointments. This is the most comprehensive user
screen I have seen, and this approach makes the system
very user friendly. Setup is easy. Simply create a database
during installation, enter the appropriate company information
and click on the available tabs to enter all preferences.
When setting preferences, be sure to choose “Law
Office” as company type. This will display all the
settings appropriate for a law firm.
It’s easy to customize settings.
You can choose what information you wish to include on
client invoices, any late fees you want to apply and choose
the type of descriptions you want to use. When choosing
case or matter settings, there are various deadlines and
estimate options, status options and other miscellaneous
information. In the “Payroll” and “Time
Settings,” you can enter pay defaults and choose
from various time settings.
Once company default settings are entered, you
can set up billing information, including work
and expense codes, billing rates and multipliers.
You also can set up project information,
including criteria such as groups, locations, descriptions
and status. The program’s “Staff” setup
screen includes an area for general information, along
with a place to enter billing rates for each staff member
and an option to sync the system to your handheld.
Once all client information has been entered,
you can switch back-and-forth between clients by clicking
on the arrow located to the right of the client name. To
enter time and billing information for a staff member,
click on the “Timesheet” tab and choose the
staff member from the drop-down list. Enter the account
number, company name, the case or matter you are billing,
and the start and end times. Office Tools Pro will calculate
the correct number of hours to be billed. Click on “Refresh” to
see total hours. Timers also are available. Choose the
company, case or matter, and work code, and click “Start.” When
completed, click “Stop.” After stopping the
timer, you can choose whether or not you wish to post the
time to a new time card.
Invoicing clients is simple. Just click
on the items to bill, change the code to “B”,
then click “Invoice.” An invoice summary appears
for you to review or you can preview the actual invoice
on screen. Invoices can be printed and mailed or e-mailed
to clients in Portable Document Format.
Office Tools Pro software contains an
excellent client management tool. You can keep track of
information
such as client and employee birthdays, keep a client contact
list current, and set up and enter any custom information
to track.
An “Activity List,” which
prints details of all staff activity for a specified period
of time, is available with Office Tools Pro. You also can
print weekly and monthly calendars, a list of all scheduled
events and time card information. Other reports include “Billing
Reports,” which allow you to choose from a variety
of parameters, including accounts receivable aging, accounts
receivable reconciliation, billing statements, credit reports,
time card audit reports and even a credit/retainer statement.
Office Tools Pro allows easy integration
with third-party software. More than just time and billing
software, Office Tools Pro also provides an excellent contact
management function, a fully functional scheduling feature,
excellent reporting options and the ability to customize
the program to fit your firm’s needs.
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