Active Practice - 1234Tips

Stay in Business

wells — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:51:21 -0600

Protect your firm with redundant backup systems.

Prepare for Disaster

wells — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:10:24 -0500

In the wake of a local disaster, I am saddened by the tragic consequences for so many families. As I reflect on what happened, my thoughts turn what we all might do minimize the potential harm to those close to us. I urge you to take a few steps now to prepare for potential disasters. Here are some of the basics.

Law Office Problems Solved

wells — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:48:50 -0500

The 2007 TechnoLawyer Problem/Solution Guide identifies 185 problems faced by law offices. Vendors of various products and services offer their solutions to these problems. This extensive guide is available as a free PDF download. The problems range from Backups & Disaster Planning to working with Trusts & Estates. Each solution includes a concise description, contact information, and often a free download that may require registration.

A Guide to Law Columnists

wells — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:21:52 -0500

Available as a free PDF download, BlawgWorld 2007 describes the work of 77 authors who write regularly on the legal profession. Their writing appears in their Blawgs, columns published as Web pages and automatically downloadable with Blog or RSS reader software. The PDF eBook covers each author, what he or she writes about, and an illustrative article.

Attachment Bloat

wells — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:00:00 -0500

To avoid slow performance, database size bloating and the risk of losing all attachments to Emails in Time Matters, follow these best practices for managing Email attachments.

Fees by Practice Area

wells — Sat, 26 May 2007 10:02:31 -0500

With Billing Matters you can produce reports showing how much money you are earning from each of your practice areas. The reports can show your profitability by practice area and by timekeeper.

Daylight Saving Time - It Is Not Over

wells — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:30:00 -0500

Is the clock in your PC an hour slow? Did you manually update your PC clock for Daylight Saving Time? In either case, you may be in for some surprises. This tip from Active Practice explains how to test your PC and how to update Time Matters and related software.

New Help in TM8 SR1A

wells — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:01:29 -0600

A new Help system is available for Time Matters 8.0 Service Release 1A. You can download the new Help file and SR1A documentation from the Time Matters Service Center.

Getting More Done

wells — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:11:27 -0600

With Time Matters you can implement a streamlined system for managing and delegating tasks. In today's Webinar, I described some of the key ideas of Stephen Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, and David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, and explained how you can apply them using Time Matters. Here are the slides that were used to introduce these principles and cite the resources.

Document Indexer Update

wa — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 08:49:04 -0500

To minimize the size and processing time of the Document Indexer for Time Matters, here are some more file extensions to add to the exclusions list. The Document Indexer gives you lighting fast searches of all your documents. If you do not yet have it running, you are missing out on the benefits of an excellent tool. When you upgrade to Time Matters Version 8.0, be sure to remove the scheduled event for the old version's Document Indexer and set up Version 8 to create and update your Document Index.

Reduce Backup Bloat

wa — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 10:55:09 -0500

If your Time Matters backup files become unnecessarily large, their size may interfere with performing regular backups. They can waste your time and disk space. Here are steps you can take to reduce backup bloat. Use another program to backup your document files and skip the Document Files when running a Time Matters backup. If you use Time Matters Professional, watch out for and delete any "Z_" files that may be left over from unsuccessful backups.

What's New in V8 Video

wa — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 23:06:21 -0500

Version 8 has too many new features to cover in a short video or even a one-hour Web Conference. But this video highlights some of the biggest time-savers in Version 8.

Rate Levels for Matters

wa — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0500

With Billing Matters, you can automatically apply different hourly rates to the client matters your firm handles. These rates may vary based on who does the work and on the different types of matters.

Hot Keys in Time Matters

wa — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0500

Time Matters has a keystroke or Hot Key for almost everything you can click with the mouse. Here is where to find them.

Sending Multiple Emails

wa — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0500

Time Matters has three different ways to send one Email message to multiple people: 1) Tagging Contacts, 2) BCC Field, 3) Distribution List. Each way has its own special advantages.

Create a Remote Database

wa — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 20:09:09 -0500

How to create a Remote database with Time Matters

Inbox Settings

wa — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 15:55:22 -0500

These settings help you tackle Email overload with Time Matters. They automate the process of moving messages out of the Inbox as you link them to Contacts and Matters.

Client Intake Form

wa — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:10:29 -0500

With Time Matters you can set up an electronic Client Intake Form. This form highlights the information that should be filled in if you have it. It puts your entries into the new client's Contact record. The process also produces a traditional, completed Client Intake Form as a word processing document.

Out of Sync?

wa — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 16:11:31 -0500

Is your Time Matters Remote database out of sync with your Main database? If so, these steps can get you back in sync. The benefits are worth the time it takes. A Remote database lets you take Time Matters with you on a laptop and can be a real lifesaver if your main computer goes out of service.

TM Save Button in Acrobat

wa — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 20:00:00 -0500

The TM Save button in Adobe Acrobat can simplify the process of saving PDF files into the Time Matters Document Management System. Find out how to add this button to your Acrobat software and how to make it appear if you run into trouble getting it installed.

Doc Indexer Exclusions

wa — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 07:00:00 -0500

The Time Matters Document Indexer provides full text searching through all the files you need to search on your network server or other computer. But some files are best left out of the index. Here is our recommendation.

Create ToDo's from Other Records

wa — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 05:00:00 -0500

The time and effort needed to create a ToDo record can discourage you from effectively using the ToDo List in Time Matters. Here is a tip on how to create new ToDo's quickly with a minimum of data entry.

Alarms for ToDo's

wa — Wed, 10 May 2006 21:01:44 -0500

Time Matters ToDo's can help you cope with the demands you face each day. The Alarm feature can call your attention to your most important ToDo's. An Alarm plays a sound through your computer speaker and pops up a window in the middle of your screen to remind you of an important ToDo. The window shows you the Description of the ToDo and lets you press a Snooze button for 1, 5, 15 or 30 minutes.

Trend PC-cillin Folder Settings

wa — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 15:21:10 -0500

Time Matters works well with real-time antivirus scanning software if certain folders are excluded in the antivirus software settings. PC-cillin by Trend Micro works better than most or all other PC antivirus software when set up correctly. Here we explain how to exclude Time Matters folders in Trend PC-cillin.

Hiding Unneeded Quick Tabs

wa — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 07:00:00 -0600

Time Matters ships with a number of Quick Tabs already set up on the Events list and the ToDo list. You may also have overflowing bars of Quick Tabs for your Contact and Matter lists. This tip explains how to hide Quick Tabs you do not need and still have access to them if you want to.

Creating AutoEntry Forms

wa — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 20:00:00 -0500

AutoEntry Forms can enter information for you into any of the Forms in Time Matters. They paste values or text into the fields of a Form. After you create an AutoEntry Form, you can use it by choosing it from a list or by setting it to apply automatically every time you choose a particular Classification Code while filling in a Form.

Productivity Reports

wa — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 21:00:00 -0500

Productivity reports in Billing Matters show the hours worked and the percentage of those hours that were billable. From the Options tab, you can choose to list these figures by Client or Matter or Staff or by one of several other classifications.

Reminder ToDo Records

wa — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 05:00:00 -0500

Some tasks, such as filing before the expiration of a Statute of Limitations, require special attention. Time Matters can remind you well in advance of a deadline if you use the Reminders field and Alerts, Reminders and Watches feature. For simple reminders, that may be enough. But for critical dates, you can use a special type of ToDo record to remind you to take action ahead of time. Here we describe how to create and use Reminder ToDo's.

Merge an Optional Initial

wa — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 05:30:00 -0500

When automatically creating documents using Time Matters Merge Templates, you can handle names with Middle Initials and names without them.

Audit Log in Enterprise

wa — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 09:48:24 -0500

The Audit Log can give you immediate relief from uncertainty. Did someone accidentally change an important date? What happened to the Event record for an important meeting? By examining the Master Audit Log, you can do some detective work. Here we show you how to search the Audit Log in the Enterprise Edition of Time Matters.

Avert Disaster with Online Backups

wa — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 09:22:32 -0500

Hurricane Katrina serves as a sobering reminder that one catastrophe — earthquake, fire, flood, hurricane, terrorism — can entirely destroy a law practice. In this article, Wells Anderson and Joe Hartley explain how all law firms can supplement their in-house backup procedures with off-site safe, secure, and affordable Internet backups. In doing so, they review the leading online backup services. In the wake of Katrina, Wells and Joe worked overtime to finish and submit this article, publishing it first in the TechnoLawyer newsletter, TechnoFeature, in the hope that it will help law firms stay in business when disaster strikes next.

Full-Text Search of Contacts

wa — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 21:00:00 -0500

You can search through the text of all your Contact records for a particular word or phrases. If you remember something about a person but just cannot remember the name, this feature may help you track the person down.

Matters in Your Palm

wa — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 10:00:00 -0500

Time Matters 7.0 makes Matter records and Billing records available in your Palm organizer. This tip describes the Matter information you can store and edit in your Palm handheld device and tells you how to work with the information in your Palm.

Save Reports to Excel or HTML - TM7

wa — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 07:58:14 -0500

With Time Matters and Billing Matters you can produce a variety of reports ranging from standard lists to detailed financial reports. Version 7 allows you to save both pre-programmed reports and your own custom reports as MS Excel spreadsheets or webpages (HTML documents).

Relating Attorneys to Firms

wa — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 22:54:52 -0500

Time Matters can create an Automatic Relationship between one record and another through the use of a Lookup Button. This relationship allows you to see what attorneys are related to a law firm; their names appear on the Related tab of the law firm's Contact record.

New Time Matters 7 Raises the Bar

wa — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 09:55:58 -0500

Time Matters Software has announced Version 7 and published details on the website. The new version enhances a long list of existing features and adds new capabilities and views. The company has also announced new options for purchasing the product.

Send Lists to Excel

wa — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 17:31:46 -0500

You can instantly create a list in MS Excel from a list in Time Matters. If you are familiar with MS Excel or MS Word, you can use this feature to create good-looking reports quickly. After filtering the records you want in a Time Matters List, you press the Send to Excel button to copy all the information into MS Excel. This feature was introduced in Time Matters 6.

Adding a Web Field

wa — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 22:56:33 -0500

It makes sense that a Web field on a Time Matters record lets you jump to a Webpage, but did you know it can also let you instantly open a client document? Adding a Web field to a Contact Form or other Time Matters Form allows you store a Website address and jump directly to a Webpage by clicking the Web icon next to the field. You can use the Web field type for a field that opens a specific client document, such as a matter summary in MS Word, with one click.

Document Templates

wa — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 09:13:33 -0500

To save time and improve accuracy when creating documents, Time Matters has a number of options. One option is to use existing documents as Templates.

Scan and Save Documents

wa — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 00:12:47 -0500

Using a scanner, Adobe Acrobat and Time Matters, you can scan documents into PDF format and then save them with Time Matters.

Backing Up Time Matters

wa — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 18:39:51 -0500

You already use some method to backup your hard drive, so why should you bother with the Time Matters Backup feature? Too many regular backups fail for one reason or another. If your main Time Matters database is damaged or lost and you do not have a good backup, you may have serious problems. It can take a surprising amount of time to recover. You may never retrieve or recreate all the lost information. If you use the Time Matters Backup regularly, you will have an extra level of protection.

Alerts Window

wa — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 23:02:25 -0500

Time Matters starts by showing you the Alerts window. The Alerts window can remind you about things that need attention. But you may prefer other approaches for keeping track of what you need to do. The Calendar is a better place to start for most people. This tip shows you how to prevent the Alerts windows from appearing every time you open Time Matters.

Quick Tab for Old ToDo's

wa — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 12:42:37 -0500

A Quick Tab for ToDo's older than two weeks can remind you about tasks you may have forgotten. You can use this tab on your Time Matters ToDo List to deal with the problem of "out of sight, out of mind."

Set Pop-Up Alarms

wa — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 13:55:47 -0500

Time Matters can automatically set pop-up Alarms to remind you of important Events on your Calendar. You can set an Alarm manually, but using the automatic approach is more reliable and efficient. The method described here uses Classification Codes. Each Event with a particular Code will automatically have an alarm that reminds you a number of minutes ahead of time.

TM Outliner

wa — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 11:15:00 -0500

Time Matters 6.0's New Outliner Introduces True Workflow Management

Save Time Entering Time

wa — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 18:41:56 -0600

If you use Time Matters with a billing program - such as Billing Matters, Timeslips or basic billing in Time Matters - you can enter time records directly from the Calendar. Here are steps 1, 2, 3 and 4...

Announcing 1234Tips

wa — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 14:07:50 -0600

The First Time Matters Blog

We are pleased to announce the launch of a series of tips focusing on Time Matters software. Come here for illustrated, step-by-step instructions showing you how to use and customize Time Matters^®.