Author: Perry

CEO of AppleSource Software, Inc.

Mac Law Software – The State of Affairs

Post author By Perry
Post date April 25, 2010

Apple is booming. Even the most scrutinizing analysts agree that Apple is poised to overtake Microsoft in market cap and market share. We don’t know when, but it will happen.

Attorneys are paying attention. They need powerful computers that just work. They don’t want to be bothered with drivers, tons of updates, viruses, and buggy software that costs them time and money.

Mac OS X is a stable platform. My Mac machine never restarts unless I tell it to. I can’t remember the last time I had a computer crash — it’s been years. Mac OS X has no viruses, has an elegant and easy to understand interface and logical order of things. It is the ideal choice for attorneys who want to use a computer that just gets out of their way and always works.

The problem, however, is a lack of software. There are basic billing applications out there, with very nice user interfaces and lots of options, but these options don’t always apply to lawyers. Lawyers deal with things like trust and escrow funds, and required minimum balances. Lawyers need more advanced reporting features. Lawyers need automatic bookkeeping, advanced invoice tracking, and terminology that makes sense in their minds.

Lawyers want the cutting edge — every feature that is relevant, none that aren’t. Lawyers want mobility. iPhone and iPad apps that go with them. Lawyers don’t want their data stored in the cloud. The data needs to be secured. Stored locally. Kept completely confidential. But the data needs to be accessible while on the go.

Enter TimeNet Law 2.1

TimeNet Law is simply the best timing, invoicing, billing, case management and accounting solution for Mac OS X. The interface is modern; easy to use yet extremely powerful. Full networking is built in — local area networks are as simple as using Apple’s built-in File Sharing, and wide area networks can use several free third party options, including Dropbox, to ensure that data is accessible while on the go, always current, and kept completely secure.

iPhone and iPad companion apps are in development, TimeNet Law itself is currently in rapid development, and is gaining a strong user base. Already hundreds of law firms are happy to have found it.

You’ve got the computer. You’re ready to work. Now get the software. AppleSource Software – powerful, secure, easy to use. That’s the Apple Way.

Dev Stuff TimeNet Law

TimeNet Law 2.1 Information

Post author By Perry
Post date April 23, 2010

TimeNet Law 2.1 is coming out any day now, so I wanted to take a few minutes to explain the new features and changes so everyone can understand what’s going on here.

First of all, TimeNet Law 2.1 is probably one of the most, if not the most, substantial updates we’ve ever released since TimeNet Law 1.0. This new update introduces a new billing system that most of you should be very familiar with. Matters behave in much the same way, except now when you create an invoice from a matter, that invoice is stored within the matter. Invoices have their own balance, dates, and payments. Slips are added to invoices on a slip-by-slip basis (rather than a date filter, as before). Once a slip is invoiced, it then “belongs” to that invoice and can no longer be worked on. This allows TimeNet Law to differentiate between Billed work and Work in Progress.

Let’s take a look at how this works. Here I have a Matter with three timed slips on it.

In older versions of TimeNet Law, I could immediately add payments by clicking the Payments toolbar button, and those payments would apply to the whole Matter. Not any longer. In order to apply payments, you must first invoice the work. Do this by clicking the Invoice button, as you would have in the past.

Now you have the option of giving this invoice an invoice number, if you uncheck Draft. If Draft is unchecked, all slips included in this invoice will be set to Billed and will then be owned by this invoice number. You may also set the invoice date, the due date, and select additional content to appear on the invoice. If you click the Slips tab, you’ll see a list of all Work in Progress slips for this matter.

As you check and uncheck slips, the invoice total will change to reflect what is included. Taxes, discounts and previous payments are also included in this total.

When you click Create, an invoice is generated. If the Draft button was unchecked, all included slips will be converted to Billed and belong to that invoice.

Billed slips will appear as green items in the matter window. You may also choose to hide billed slips under the View menu so they do not clutter up the matter window anymore.

Clicking the Invoices toolbar button (next to Notes) will slide out the invoices drawer. Here, you can see all existing invoices for this matter, re-issue an invoice, apply a payment to an invoice, or cancel an invoice.

The All-New Billing Center

Another great new feature of TimeNet Law 2.1 is the brand new Billing Center.

The Billing Center has four functions.

The Clients section shows you all clients in TimeNet Law, their balances, and their fund accounts. Balances are calculated from invoices. If a client has a fund balance that is below their required minimum, they will appear in red. You can now bulk-generate a list of statements for your clients. Statements will show all invoices with outstanding balances, with a total, and will show any required funds to bring trust/escrow accounts to their required minimum.

The Work in Progress section is like the old billing center – it shows you all work currently unbilled, and lets you bulk-generate invoices. When bulk-generating invoices, you will have two options: include all unbilled slips, or include unbilled slips within a date range (similar to the old method of bulk invoicing). The difference here is if you uncheck the Draft button, all slips invoiced will be finalized, set to Billed, and owned by the invoice generated for that matter.

The Invoices section shows all invoices in TimeNet Law, their balance, and due date. From here, you can apply payments to an invoice or cancel an invoice.

The Automatic Bookkeeper section is just like the old Automatic Bookkeeper function in TimeNet Law, only now payments are added to invoices specifically, as opposed to the entire matter.

Upgrading from Previous Versions of TimeNet Law

Because TimeNet Law’s core billing system is so different in 2.1, your database will have to be updated. TimeNet Law will prompt you when this update happens. It’s important to understand that all previous payments will be applied to 1 invoice number per matter. This invoice is auto-generated, and all slips that fall before a certain date range (the first of April, for example), will be set to Billed and owned by that invoice. This ensures all work performed and payments recorded can be carried over to the new system.

Historical data may need to be modified by hand. You can easily move slips from one invoice to another by right-clicking them in the matter window, so you may generate as many invoices as you want with correct dates, slips and payments if you choose to go back and make everything accurate. This is an optional step and is not required to continue using TimeNet Law.

Final Thoughts

There are lots of other great new features in TimeNet Law 2.1 – some are byproducts of the new system, for example, intelligent reporting is now possible with aged A/R, distinguishing between Work in Progress and Billed, etc. etc. Some other new features are still kept a secret – nice surprises for when you try out the new version. The interface has been refined throughout to make navigating through TimeNet Law easier and more fun.

All-in-all, TimeNet Law 2.1 is a killer update that we know you’re going to love. Stay tuned for release next week…

(Now I’m going on a vacation!)

Dev Stuff TimeNet Law

TimeNet Law 2.0 Now Available!

Post author By Perry
Post date March 30, 2010

TimeNet Law 2.0 is now available. This is a massive and completely free update for all existing licensed TimeNet Law users. This update brings dozens of bug fixes and enhancements and more than ten great new features. Here are some highlights, or skip to the bottom for full release notes.

What’s New in TimeNet Law 2.0?

1. A Refined Main Window gives you a modern look, while making it easier to add, delete and edit Clients and Matters.

TNL 2.0 Main Window

2. Conflict of Interest Checking always shows you if conflicts exist between your clients. See the conflict symbol in the Client window or the Main Window, and even see where/why the conflict exists.

3. Full Reporting features can be found under the Report menu. Generate Timekeeper Reports, Earnings (Client) Reports, Slip Analysis (with date filter), and Currently Out for Billing Report.

4. Master Password Lockout locks your entire TimeNet Law Database with a password to prevent unauthorized access.

Full Release Notes

[bug] When creating a new Client, TimeNet Law now makes sure you’ve entered an abbreviation
[bug] Ampersands in Client names and Matters now appear correctly throughout the application
[bug] Automatic Bookkeeper now includes applicable taxes when auto-deducting payments
[bug] Rounding less than six minutes up to six minutes now works if the Slip has less than 1 minute recorded
[bug] Fixed an issue that could occur when linking TKTs to a Matter
[new] Numerous speed and reliability enhancements
[new] Redesigned Main Window makes it easier to create and modify Clients and perform tasks
[new] Balances shown in the application now include applicable taxes for improved reporting of funds billed/owed
[new] Master Password lets you lock your entire TimeNet Law Database
[new] Option to sort Clients Last Name, First Name under the View menu
[new] Option to sort Slips chronologically by default under the Matter window
[new] Timekeeper Report – view time and amount billed per Timekeeper with date filter and bar graphs
[new] Earnings Report – view total amount billed and received for each Client with bar graphs
[new] Slip Analysis – view all Slips entered into TimeNet Law with a date filter
[new] Currently Out for Billing Report – view all Matters that have bills currently out and see their due dates; cancel bill or record payments right from that window
[new] Conflict of Interest checking – list associated and opposing parties for each Client and let TimeNet Law do the rest

Learn More and Download

Dev Stuff TimeNet Law

TimeNet Law’s New 512×512 Icon

Post author By Perry
Post date November 27, 2009

In honor of Snow Leopard, we’ve redesigned the TimeNet Law icon so it looks beautiful in full 512×512 glory. Here’s what it looks like:

Dev Stuff TimeNet Law

TimeNet Law 1.9.9p Now Available!

Post author By Perry
Post date November 25, 2009

TimeNet Law 1.9.9p is now available. This new version boasts speed improvements across the board, fixes several known issues, adds over a dozen new features. All this, and the Application file size is now almost 60% smaller!

Release Notes

New Restore Data function in File menu
Speed improvements through multi-threaded functions and control visibility methods
Fixed an issue with invoice logos not properly showing up in Networked mode
Automatic Bookkeeper now only auto-selects Matters with enough Trust/Escrow to pay
Fixed an issue with Automatic Bookkeeper payments not deducting from trust/escrow in Networked mode
Earnings Report no longer adds totals from Inactive clients (hold Option while selecting to see with Inactive)
Matters and client names will no longer re-order themselves randomly in the Main window
Clients are now added/edited from the Main window, not Preferences (option+double-click a client to edit)
New View menu – Modify selected client, show Inactive clients and turn on/off columns
Slip fields have been re-ordered to increase data entry speed
Keyboard shortcuts for adding new slips to a Matter – found under the Matter menu
Improvements to file reading/writing
Command-clicking a checkbox in a listbox now checks/unchecks all checkboxes in that listbox
Cut file size by almost 60% (was 34MB+, now under 17MB)

Dev Stuff

TimeNet 3.9.26 is Available!

Post author By Perry
Post date November 23, 2009
No Comments on TimeNet 3.9.26 is Available!

timenet TimeNet 3.9.26 is now available for download. TimeNet 3.9.26 focuses on speed and performance. As a result, the Application file size is over 66% smaller, opening the Manager window is now practically instant even if you have 1,000+ projects and QuickSearches now perform up to 450x faster.

Release Notes

Manager now remembers selection when opening projects
Live example of how invoice numbers will look in client info window
Projects no longer switch order underneath client folders in Main Window
Possible startup issues resolved
Multi-threaded functions and control visibility methods show huge speed improvements with large libraries:
- Opening the Manager is now 500x faster
- Changing views in the Manager is now practically instant
- QuickSearches are up to 450x faster
Duplicate listings in QuickSearch and Quick Timer issues resolved
67% smaller file size (was 35MB+, now under 20MB)

Dev Stuff

TimeNet 3.9.22 Now Available!

Post author By Perry
Post date November 11, 2009
No Comments on TimeNet 3.9.22 Now Available!

timenet TimeNet 3.9.22 is now available for download. This update is free to all registered TimeNet users. This update is almost a complete re-write of the software. Every method, function and subroutine has been tweaked, polished and streamlined to provide a faster, more reliable user experience.

We’ve tried very very hard to get rid of all known bugs but we still need your help! Please test out the new version of TimeNet and if an error pops up, be sure to send us the error report along with a detailed description of what you were doing at the time of the error.

TimeNet 3.9.22 Release Notes

Bug Fixes:

Invoicing functionality has been largely rewritten to improve reliability and speed
Occasional invoice calculation and layout issues have been resolved
Issues with data loss, duplication and random file read/write issues have been resolved
Issues with invoicing from the manager have been resolved
Switched from Floating Point Integers to Fixed Point Integers for increased reliability
Issues where TimeNet could become unresponsive while checking for updates have been resolved
Issues with setting a Networked folder and switching from Networked mode to Local mode have been resolved
Issues with foreign numeric formats and date issues have all been resolved
Dozens of tiny issues and potential issues have been corrected

New Features/Changes:

All windows have been re-designed and polished
Global Menuitem allows you to control the timer from any application
Project windows now remember their size and placement on screen
Expenses now have a quantity option
Rounding is now always available under the Project menu
Added GROWL support for beautiful visual feedback
The Backup option under the File menu now functions much better
Buzz Me! reminders can now be sent to all networked TimeNet users
Employees can now store hourly rates
Cmd+up and Cmd+down arrow now works in date fields
Explorer has been deprecated; options for HTML templates are now Safari or FireFox
All listboxes can now be re-ordered with simple drag-and-drop
Brought back the Blocks easter-egg (hint: About Window…)
Can now add items to the Project window with contextual menus (right-click)
The Project Time Log has been deprecated
Error reports can now be sent when an unhandled error occurs

Dev Stuff

What’s Coming for TimeNet?

Post author By Perry
Post date September 29, 2009
No Comments on What’s Coming for TimeNet?

TimeNet Law is going to see one or two more small updates as we gear up for the big 2.0 release. These smaller releases will mainly be in the realm of solving a billing conundrum we’ve been stuck on for a little while now. We’re nearing a solution that elegantly handles the problem. After this issue is resolved, TimeNet Law 2.0 will be quick to follow. This release will truly take TimeNet Law beyond billing. Here’s the lowdown on what’s to come:

– Conflict checking. TimeNet Law will allow you to list the names/companies of people associated with clients you represent. A Hot Tier will let you list names/companies that absolutely do conflict with that client. And of course you’ll be able to run a quick conflict of interest check anytime, plus you’ll be notified when creating a new client if there are any conflicts. All of this will be achieved with a methodical and well-thought-out design that is easy to understand and fun to use.

– More case management. TimeNet Law currently allows you to link a file to a slip. That’s pretty great, but sometimes you need a list of files at hand that revolve around the entire matter. And sometimes you don’t want these files to all pop open every time you start the timer. Enter the new Matter Briefcase. Inside your Briefcase you can have a clean, organized list of files, as well as notes and to-dos for that matter. You can even sync due dates and appointments with iCal.

– Reporting. TimeNet Law recently added the Trust and Escrow Funds Report, which is a great tool, but that’s just the beginning. Timekeeper reports, income reports, client reports and more displayed in beautiful, printable pie charts and bar graphs. You’ll always be in the know on exactly how your firm is doing.

– Finally, fully customizable bill templates. Your firm will be running smarter and looking good doing it.

TimeNet Law 2.0 is going to be a really great upgrade and there will probably be a few more surprises. Oh, and one more thing: TimeNet Law 2.0 will be an absolutely free update!

timenet TimeNet is going to see a major update (3.9.22) in the next few days. This update is a massive interface overhaul (every single window has been polished and improved). In addition to the new UI, we have re-written almost all of the code base. Here’s what we’ve been able to achieve:

– Much more stable. Reading/writing files is now virtually fail-proof. Disappearing data, networking problems, and other strange issues that crept up randomly have also been fixed. The data structure has been streamlined and prepped for the new features of 4.0 as well (more on this coming soon).

– It’s insanely fast. Launching, opening projects, invoicing, reports, searching, quitting… it’s all faster. We’re fully taking advantage of multi-core processors. Much of the under-the-hood code is now multi-threaded.

– Bugs-be-gone. Foreign date and number format problems and invoice calculation problems were rare (or none) for some, and quite persistent for others. The good news is we’ve fixed all of this (as far as we can tell, you’ll have to be the judge of that).

– Improved invoicing. Polished and tweaked invoice templates and revisions to the internal invoice layout and calculations. Your invoices will look amazing.

After the 3.9.22 solidifies TimeNet with a fresh and current UI and a massively improved code-base, 4.0 will follow right after bringing a slew of highly anticipated new features, and it also has a few tricks up its sleeve.

Dev Stuff TimeNet Law

TimeNet Law Networking Fix

Post author By Perry
Post date September 21, 2009

networking Every once in awhile we have gotten reports of people experiencing strange behavior with TimeNet Law in networked mode. Sometimes it’s new users who’ve just started using TimeNet Law, while others have been using it for years and are just now experiencing problems.

The Symptoms
This fix will apply to you if you experience any of the following:

In Networked mode creating new clients, new matters and/or making changes is not reflected across the network
In Local mode creating new clients, new matters and/or making changes does not seem to “stick” Locally or to other Networked users
When changing Preferences (in either mode), quitting and reopening TimeNet Law loses the changes

These issues have kept us scratching our heads for awhile now, but I’m happy to announce that this weekend, with the help of several sharp legal minds (yes, lawyers work on weekends too!), I think we’ve found a fix.

Read further in our Support Forum.