Law Firm Automation

PCC for Law Firm Automation

Personal Computer Consultants sells, supports and trains users in many types of legal software.  The following is a list of these products classified by type:

• Billing – Timeslips is designed for handling the billing process specifically for a law firm from tracking time to managing trust accounts.  Timeslips links with QuickBooks as well as two practice management products supported by PCC (Amicus Attorney and AbacusLaw).

• Accounting and Billing – QuickBooks is a full accounting program with the ability to track time, produce bills and manage trust accounts.  However, some billing features may be inadequate in certain situations.  An efficient solution is to link Timeslips and QuickBooks giving the user the enhanced billing capabilities of Timeslips, then utilizing QuickBooks for paying vendors and financial statement production. This eliminates the need to make duplicate entries for receivables.

• Practice Management – At the most basic level, practice management software allows you to track contacts, cases and maintain a calendar.  This type of software typically includes a host of other features such as mail merges, document tracking and customization of fields in the database.

• Most practice management programs lack the ability to produce bills, but can track time and send it to a linked program that has billing functionality.  PCC supports two practice management programs:  Amicus Attorney and AbacusLaw. These programs will send time to Timeslips or QuickBooks for billing.

• Linking Software: This term refers to programs exchanging information.  For example, when Timeslips is linked to QuickBooks, the billing is generated in Timeslips and the resulting financial data is sent to QuickBooks for production of financial statements.

PCC – Outstanding Service After the Sale

Purchasing software of any type presents customers with a confusing array of choices and lingering concerns about service after the sale.  Legal software is no exception and Personal Computer Consultants can alleviate purchaser anxiety by providing assistance in the following areas:

• Selecting the Correct Product – Selecting the appropriate product is vital to ensure that software suits individual client needs rather than force-fitting client procedures to the product.  Our goal is to provide the information necessary to select software that works well for the way the client’s office is run.  PCC will meet with each client at no cost to discuss their needs and to share our knowledge of the vast array of legal software on the market.  Once we identify what products may be of interest, we will demonstrate how we envision them working in the client’s firm.

• Proper Installation – Software is often installed by someone with insufficient knowledge to ensure the product’s optimal performance or to maintain the integrity of your data.  PCC will make certain that your software is installed and configured properly.

• Training – This is the most frequently ignored aspect of turning a piece of software into a system that serves your firm.  Basic training is always beneficial for the proper use and setup of software.  Additional training may be desired at a later time to take advantage of some of the more advanced features of a program.  This is an investment that will pay for itself quickly by increasing the efficiency of your staff.

• Troubleshooting – Even with proper installation and training, no software is totally immune to malfunction.  When problems arise, PCC will be there to get your application back on track!