Tracking billable hours can be one of the most frustrating parts of running a law firm. You may keep meticulous notes, but something always goes awry when it comes time to collect for your efforts. Maybe you forgot to track a whole day of work, or perhaps your hours don’t match the narrative in your legal documents. Either way, you’re losing money. Attorney time tracking software helps you avoid these scenarios by making tracking billable hours simple and stress-free. In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of attorney time tracking software, including its benefits, features, and how to choose the right solution for your firm.
One tool to consider is Tackle’s automatic time tracking software. With TimeTackle, you won’t have to worry about tracking billable hours again. This tool automatically tracks and records your time as you work, no matter where or what programs you use. TimeTackle also lets you categorize your time entries to help you create a detailed narrative of your work for your files and clients.
17 Best Attorney Time Tracking Software For Law Firms
1. TimeTackle: Automatic Time Tracking Software for Attorneys
TimeTackle revolutionizes time tracking through seamless calendar integration, eliminating the need for manual logging.
Key Features
- Automatic time capture and categorization.
- Intuitive dashboards and actionable insights.
- Smart tagging system tailored to your workflow.
- AI-powered automation for repetitive tasks.
- Flexible reporting tools to track what matters.
- Intelligent time capture directly in your browser.
Trusted by Leading Teams
Teams at Roblox, Deel, and Lightspeed Ventures rely on TimeTackle to optimize time allocation.
Who Benefits
Perfect for executives, team leaders, and customer-facing professionals aiming to:
- Track strategic initiatives
- Measure team efficiency
- Optimize resource allocation
Easy Setup
- Connect your Google or Outlook calendar.
- Set up custom tags and automations.
- Gain valuable insights into time usage.
Start for Free
TimeTackle transforms time tracking from a chore into a powerful decision-making tool. Start using our automatic time tracking software for free with one click today!
2. Clio: The Best Time Tracking Software for Law Firms
Clio is a cloud-based legal practice management software designed to streamline time tracking, billing, and case management for law firms. With its built-in automatic time tracker, Clio simplifies time logging for legal professionals, ensuring accurate records for client work and billable hours.
Key Features:
- Automated Time Tracking: Capture billable hours in real-time with pause and stop functionality.
- Retrospective Time Logging: Add past time entries referencing calendar events, documents, and case notes.
- Email Time Tracking: Track time spent on client communications via Outlook and Gmail integrations.
- Comprehensive Time Log Reports: Filter time entries by date, user, or status for deeper insights.
- Integrated Billing & Payments:
- Track unpaid invoices.
- Record reimbursable expenses.
- Generate branded invoices.
- Accept secure online payments.
- Matter Timeline: Monitor time entries and case progress at a glance.
Why Choose Clio?
- Designed for Law Firms: Tailored to meet the needs of legal professionals.
- Seamless Scheduling & Case Management: Keep track of case timelines effortlessly.
- All-in-One Billing & Payments: Manage invoices, expenses, and payments within the same platform.
With Clio, legal professionals can efficiently track time, streamline billing, and manage cases in one powerful, cloud-based solution.
3. LawBillity (Time Tracker by eBillity): The Best Time Tracker for Attorneys Looking to Save Time on Administrative Tasks
LawBillity, a specialized solution from Time Tracker by eBillity, simplifies time tracking, billing, and reporting for legal professionals. Designed to reduce administrative overhead, its efficient time management tools can save users 30+ hours per month.
Key Features:
- Instant Time Tracking: Start a timer in seconds and log client details, service descriptions, and billable status before saving entries.
- Multi-Timer Functionality: Run multiple timers simultaneously, making it easy to manage multiple cases simultaneously.
- Legal Time & Expense Tracking: Record each client’s billable hours and expenses accurately.
- Mobile App with Offline Tracking: Track time on the go, even without an internet connection.
- Branded Invoice Formats: Generate and export invoices in LEDES or LSS format for compliance and professionalism.
- Automated Reporting: Gain insights into utilization, realization, and collection rates to measure client profitability.
- Built-In Billing System: Bill clients directly within the app or export invoices for external processing.
Why Choose LawBillity?
- Designed for Legal Professionals: Tailored time and billing tools for law firms and attorneys.
- Seamless Case Management: Track, manage, and invoice multiple cases easily.
- Time-Saving Automation: Reduce administrative workload and improve efficiency.
With LawBillity, legal professionals can track time effortlessly, bill clients accurately, and gain data-driven insights into their profitability, all within a single, robust platform.
4. Practice Panther: A Top Time Tracking Tool for Law Firms
PracticePanther is an intuitive cloud-based law practice management software designed to help attorneys streamline case management, track billable hours, and enhance client relationships. With its sleek billing system and automated payment reminders, PracticePanther ensures faster payments and reduced administrative workload.
Key Features:
- Case & Contact Management: Organize and track cases, client details, and communications in one place.
- Billable Hour Tracking: Accurately log time and expenses with built-in reporting tools.
- Automated Payment Reminders: Reduce late payments with scheduled reminders and seamless billing.
- Team Collaboration & Internal Chat: Communicate with your team directly within the platform.
- Advanced Reporting & Analytics:
- Group time and expense data by various parameters.
- Compare results across employees, cases, or periods.
- Export reports to Excel for further processing.
- Mobile App: Manage cases and track time on the go with full mobile functionality.
Why Choose PracticePanther?
- All-in-One Legal Solution: Combines case management, time tracking, and billing in a single platform.
- Seamless Collaboration: Improve workflow efficiency with integrated team communication.
- Data-Driven Insights: Leverage detailed reporting to optimize firm performance.
With PracticePanther, law firms can enhance productivity, improve client management, and ensure faster payments, all within a powerful, easy-to-use cloud-based platform.
5. Toggl Track: Simple Time Tracking Software for Lawyers
Toggl Track is a much simpler solution than dedicated case management software, though it supports many third-party integrations. Toggl Track allows lawyers to track time via a simple timer or manually log hours in timesheets.
Based on your firm’s logged hours, Toggl Track creates visual reports you can use to:
- Spot overachievers and less productive team members
- Determine which clients are profitable
- Create invoices for clients
6. MyCase: Law Practice Management Software with Time Tracking Features
Similar to Clio, MyCase isn’t purely timekeeping software for lawyers. It’s a complete case management platform with some time tracking features. You can use MyCase to manage every aspect of your cases.
For starters, you can:
- Note any relevant client and contact information
- Provide necessary case details
- Add billing details
- Assign attorneys to the case
While the platform offers plenty of lawyer-specific features, its time tracking options are limited, especially compared to other tools on this list. There’s no automatic time tracking in MyCase. You can only enter billable hours for each task and case in a timesheet. On the other hand,
MyCase: Robust Billing and Trust Accounting Features
MyCase provides more in-depth accounting features than other time trackers. You can use its billing dashboard to:
- Generate and share invoices
- Request trust or retainer payments
- Deposit payments into a trust
- Filter invoices based on payment status
MyCase is particularly useful for trust accounting.
7. Bill4Time: Legal Billing Software with Time Tracking Features
Bill4Time is a legal billing software solution with time tracking and client management features. The platform provides an automatic timer and manual timesheet entries regarding time tracking options.
As the name suggests, it mainly tracks billable hours and expenses. Still, Bill4Time has some case management features for lawyers, including:
- Document storage: which allows you to filter documents by case and client
- Client dashboard: where you can filter clients by city, state, and assigned staff member,
- Calendar: which you can sync with your Google Calendar and import events
Profitability Tracking with Bill4Time: A Trade-off in Time Tracking and Case Management Depth
Managing case files in Bill4Time. You can easily track your profitability by setting labor costs for each employee and billable hours for every client. Bill4Time automatically generates a simple graph showing your firm’s financial state. Despite a few handy billing options (like managing trust payments), Bill4Time isn’t a cost-effective time tracking app.
Its time tracking features don’t go beyond anything offered by a more straightforward, affordable platform. And for a tool that supposedly focuses on tracking billables, it doesn’t provide more in-depth information about billable hours than a solution like Clockify. On the other hand, Bill4Time’s case management functions are far more essential than those offered by Clio or MyCase.
8. Smokeball: Automatic Time Tracking Software for Lawyers
As a tool designed for law firms, Smokeball is packed with client management features. Record every billable minute of your workday automatically, track specific activities, and let the platform pull data for your invoices.
Smokeball can adapt to different niches, such as family or criminal law.
Smokeball’s best features:
- Time tracking for staff’s time
- LawPay integration for quick and secure transactions
- Library of 20,000+ legal forms
9. Chrometa: Time Tracking Software for Lawyers
Chrometa can automatically allocate time to a client based on data like keywords, email addresses, and phone numbers. For example, it will monitor your mouse and keyboard usage and record how long you stay on an on-site, email, or document.
The platform then stacks the time against specific clients or cases, creating a timesheet with a comprehensive breakdown of your workday.
Chrometa’s best features:
- Automatic time recording
- 50+ integrations
10. MyHours: A Simple Time Tracking Tool for Lawyers
MyHours is another option for people working hourly rather than on flat-fee projects. It’s also suitable for bringing a team together to work on projects and tasks with timesheets.
Key Features
- Track time easily across individual or team projects
- Analytics and reporting show snapshots of time spent
- Good reporting features
11. Microsoft To-Do: The Best Free Time Tracking Software for Lawyers
Microsoft To-Do may be a good fit if you want to combine time-tracking features and hourly billing without investing in your law firm’s entire project management tool. Most law firms need something more robust for project management, but a solo lawyer just getting started might benefit from the simple task listing available here.
Key Features
- Keep track of customer contact details
- Task/project management
- Calendar sync
- Repeating tasks
- Simple time billing
12. Everhour: Time Tracking Software with Accounting Features
Everhour is prevalent in multiple industries. Its powerful integrations allow you to easily budget, run payroll, and gather data for more accurate invoices.
You can also split billable and non-billable hours, capturing everything you work on. This allows you to keep client work separate from things like operations tasks.
Key Features
- Payroll management
- Budgeting capability
- Multiple billing rates
- Accounting integrations
13. TimeSolv: A Comprehensive Time Tracking Software for Lawyers
TimeSolv goes beyond accurate time tracking; it helps with invoicing and staff monitoring. It also has a lot of integrations with legal tech tools you might already use, like:
- LawPay
- Office 365
- QuickBooks
This is one of the higher-priced tools, and some features, like project and document management, may be redundant.
Key Features
- Invoicing Payments
- Document management
- Reporting Budgeting
- Time tracking
- Project management
14. TimeAnalytics: Time Tracking Software for Lawyers with Powerful Reporting
This may be the right choice to improve your productivity and capture billable and non-billable activities in the same place. Like other tools, you can manually add and edit time or supply notes during or after a work session.
Key Features
- Can track time off for your legal team
- Assign labor costs to specific cases
- Adjustable billing rates
- View logged time on a calendar or daily list
15. RescueTime: Automatic Time Tracking for Lawyers
RescueTime tracks all the time you spend on your computer automatically. This makes it most helpful for ensuring that you or others are not overworking. RescueTime is not a time-tracking tool as much as other tools on this list.
Instead, it will passively track time spent on tasks based on which apps you’re active in throughout the day. That’s a helpful feature, but you must plan around it. You may need to set aside time to see what RescueTime tracks. Then, transfer your time logs to other tools to correctly record every minute of billable hours.
Key Features
- Review time spent on various websites and apps
- Daily reminders of productivity goals
- Tie activities into their level of productivity
- Time reporting
- Distraction blocking
16. Timely: Visual Automatic Time Tracking Software for Lawyers
This is the perfect blend if you’re visual but want automated time recording. This user-friendly software will help get your law firm up to speed on the tasks that matter most.
Key Features
- Automated time tracking
- Watch for problems like overtime or employee capacity limits
- Collaborate and plan as a team
- Many integrations with other tools
17. Beebole: Simple Time Tracking Software for Lawyers
If you like the ease of running the clock from your phone or a browser, you can easily track your time with Beebole. You can customize your reports and make decisions based on the tool’s powerful team reporting.
Key Features
- See where your team is spending their time
- Clear user interface
- Assign billable vs. non-billable hours
- Google and Excel reporting capabilities
Related Reading
- What Are Billable Hours
- Invoice for Hours Worked
- Billable Hours vs Actual Hours
- How to Bill a Client
- Bill Rate vs Pay Rate
How To Choose The Best Time Tracking Software For Attorneys
The User Experience Matters
Attorneys juggle many responsibilities; the last thing they need is complicated software that adds to their stress. When choosing time tracking software for your law firm, prioritize tools with a user-friendly interface and intuitive design.
Look for a program that allows easy time entry, such as a one-click timer or a way to log hours from a mobile device. The goal is to find a solution that helps attorneys minimize the time they spend tracking billable hours, not add to it.
Reports Can Help You Optimize Operations
Time tracking is about more than just billing clients. The right software can help you uncover hidden insights about your firm’s performance. When evaluating different time tracking solutions, pay attention to the reporting features.
Look for customizable, detailed reports that break down time by client, case, and project. These can help your firm identify inefficiencies, optimize workload distribution, and ensure accurate client billing.
Look for Time Tracking Software That Integrates with Your Existing Tools
Most law firms use a variety of software solutions to manage their practice. The best time tracking software for attorneys will integrate with your existing programs to help streamline operations and minimize redundant data entry.
For example, if your firm uses legal practice management software, look for a time tracking tool that will automatically sync tracked hours to your billing and invoicing modules. This will improve accuracy and reduce the time spent on administrative tasks.
Automate the Billing Process
The ultimate goal of tracking billable hours is to get paid for the work you do on behalf of your clients. Time tracking software can help make billing easier by generating invoices directly from tracked hours.
When choosing a solution, look for customizable invoice templates to help create professional-looking bills. Consider what billing structures the software supports. The best programs will accommodate hourly rates, flat fees, and retainer agreements to ensure flexibility for your firm’s needs.
Security Should Be a Top Priority
As a law firm, you handle sensitive client information daily. That’s why security should be at the top of your mind when choosing time tracking software. Look for a solution that offers data encryption, secure cloud storage, and compliance with industry regulations such as GDPR or ABA guidelines for client confidentiality.
The right time tracking software helps law firms accurately bill clients and improves efficiency and decision-making. You can find a solution that enhances your firm’s productivity and profitability by focusing on ease of use, integrations, reporting, and security.
Revolutionizing Time Tracking: Calendar Integration and Smart Features by TimeTackle
TimeTackle revolutionizes time tracking through seamless calendar integration, eliminating the need for manual logging. Our platform automatically captures and categorizes your time, providing actionable insights through intuitive dashboards and reports.
We’ve built everything you need into one seamless package:
- An innovative tagging system that works its way
- AI-powered automation to handle the tedious stuff
- Flexible reporting tools to track what matters
- Intelligent time capture right in your browser
TimeTackle: Transforming Time Tracking into a Powerful Decision-Making Tool
Trusted by Roblox, Deel, and Lightspeed Ventures teams, TimeTackle helps executives, team leaders, and customer-facing professionals understand and optimize their time allocation.
Simply connect your Google or Outlook calendar, set up custom tags and automations, and gain valuable insights into how your team spends their time. Whether you’re tracking strategic initiatives, measuring team efficiency, or ensuring resource optimization, TimeTackle transforms time monitoring from a chore into a powerful decision-making tool. Start using our automatic time tracking software for free with one click today!
Related Reading
- How to Track Virtual Assistant Hours
- Toggl vs Timely
- Attorney Time Tracking Software
- Time Tracking and Invoicing for Freelancers
- Bill Rate vs Pay Rate
- Project Management and Billing Software
5 Benefits Of Attorney Time Tracking Software
1. Accurate Data Collection: Understand Where Your Time Goes
Tracking billable hours gives attorneys a clear picture of how much time is spent on specific tasks and cases. This data helps firms:
- Identify inefficiencies
- Allocate resources effectively
- Ensure proper compensation for their work
It also allows for better forecasting when estimating how long similar cases will take.
2. Better Cost Management: Find the Right Balance Between Clients and Your Firm
By tracking hours spent on each case, law firms can determine whether their billing rates cover the work involved. This ensures that fees are fair to clients and profitable for the firm. Understanding time expenditures helps with budget planning and prevents undercharging for services.
3. Improved Efficiency: Streamline Your Operations for Better Performance
Time tracking software highlights inefficiencies in workflows, allowing firms to optimize their processes. If specific tasks are taking longer than expected, adjustments can be made to:
- Streamline operations
- Delegate tasks effectively
- Adopt better technology solutions
4. Smarter Decision-Making: Build Cases on Data, Not Gut Feelings
Keeping records of time spent on different cases helps firms assess the most profitable cases. By analyzing these insights, firms can make informed decisions about which cases to prioritize and how to allocate their time and resources effectively.
5. Enhanced Client Communication and Transparency: Keep Your Clients in the Loop
Clients appreciate clarity when it comes to billing. Time tracking provides a transparent breakdown of the work performed, helping to build trust. It also improves deadline management, ensuring cases progress smoothly while keeping clients informed about the status of their legal matters.
Implementing Time Tracking In Your Law Firm
Make the Case for Time Tracking Software
Looking to persuade your team? Start by highlighting the key benefits of attorney time tracking software and how it can enhance your law firm’s efficiency and profitability.
- Maximize Billable Hours: Ensure every minute of billable work is accurately recorded, so no revenue is left on the table.
- Multitask with Multiple Timers: Modern time tracking software allows attorneys to run different timers simultaneously, capturing time spent on various matters without interruption.
- Automate Time Tracking: Background tracking ensures seamless time logging without disrupting workflow.
- Improve Time Management: Gain valuable insights into time usage, helping attorneys identify inefficiencies and optimize productivity.
- Mobile Accessibility: Attorneys can log hours on the go, ensuring that crucial billable time isn’t lost.
- Seamless Integration with Case Management: Tracking time to specific cases enables more accurate billing and streamlines invoicing and financial management.
By implementing an integrated time tracking solution, your firm can enhance efficiency, boost profitability, and simplify billing, making it an essential tool for modern legal practice.
Provide Adequate Training
Asking attorneys and legal staff to embrace a tech tool they don’t know how to use is a recipe for grumbling and resistance. Provide demos, tutorials, hour-long training sessions in the conference room, and dedicated support staff so everyone can feel confident in their time-tracking skills.
Run a Trial Period
Give employees a trial period to try it out. Offer people the option to run new or old things and see if they like it. Soon, those who want it may even become “champions” who can spread the word to colleagues.
Encourage Safe Feedback
Listen to the team’s questions and concerns as you roll out a new system. Don’t just say that you will listen, but actively take notes. Create a safe atmosphere where lawyers know this is a discussion and their problems are safe and encouraged.
Continuous Improvement
Post-implementation, maintain an open feedback loop for continuous improvement. Solicit ongoing feedback and adjust the system based on user experiences.
Celebrate Milestones
Recognize and celebrate milestones achieved during the implementation process. It could be a successful week of accurate time tracking or the highest billable hours reached yet.
Related Reading
- Accelo Alternatives
- Hubstaff vs Timedoctor
- Timecamp vs Clockify
- Quickbooks Alternatives
- Clockify vs Harvest
- Freshbooks vs Quickbooks
- Freshbooks Alternatives
Start Using Our Automatic Time Tracking Software for Free with One Click Today
TimeTackle revolutionizes time tracking through seamless calendar integration, eliminating the need for manual logging.
Key Features
- Automatic time capture and categorization.
- Intuitive dashboards and actionable insights.
- Innovative tagging system tailored to your workflow.
- AI-powered automation for repetitive tasks.
- Flexible reporting tools to track what matters.
- Intelligent time capture directly in your browser.
Trusted by Leading Teams
Teams at Roblox, Deel, and Lightspeed Ventures rely on TimeTackle to optimize time allocation.
Strategic Time Management Goals for Executives and Professionals
Perfect for executives, team leaders, and customer-facing professionals aiming to:
- Track strategic initiatives
- Measure team efficiency
- Optimize resource allocation
Effortless Setup for Powerful Time Insights
- Connect your Google or Outlook calendar.
- Set up custom tags and automations.
- Gain valuable insights into time usage.
Start for Free
TimeTackle transforms time tracking from a chore into a powerful decision-making tool. Start using our automatic time tracking software for free with one click today!
