New TurboLaw Time and Billing Video Tutorial: Working with Bills
July 18, 2008
In our continuing efforts to make TurboLaw Time and Billing as easy-to-use as possible, we’re proud to announce our latest video tutorial, titled “Working with Bills.”
This video tutorial walks you through the process of creating a bill in TurboLaw Time and Billing, and also explains how to use some of the advanced features of our template system to customize bills to your liking.
We hope you enjoy it!
TurboLaw Time and Billing 1.09 Released
July 15, 2008
It may be summertime here in New England, but that doesn’t mean we’re taking a break. In fact, we’re continuing to work hard to make even more improvements to TurboLaw. Toward that end, we’re happy to announce the release of TurboLaw Time and Billing Version 1.09.
The biggest new feature in this release is our Customer Experience Improvement Program. This is an optional program where anonymous information on how you use TurboLaw Time and Billing is collected and sent back to us. This helps us identify which features to improve. (You can read more about the program here.)
This update also includes some changes to the default bill template to make it work better with long descriptions, as well as improvements to the way you enter time and expense items directly onto a bill.
We’re also working on some major new features for TurboLaw Time and Billing based on the feedback we’ve gotten from our users. We hope to have them done in the next few months - we’re very excited about them, and we think you will be too, so stay tuned!
TurboLaw Time and Billing Version 1.08 Released
July 8, 2008
As always, we are pleased to announce the release of the latest version of TurboLaw Time and Billing - Version 1.08.
Here are the new features in this release:
- We’ve added a help link to the Statement window to explain “What is the difference between bills and statements“
- Now when you create a new work item, TurboLaw Time and Billing remembers the last staff member to do work for that particular client and selects that staff member automatically for you, thus saving you from having to remember to make the selection yourself.
- The list of client names in some drop-down lists weren’t sorted alphabetically - now they are.
- There are a number of small aesthetic changes to the program to make it look more consistent and be easier to use
We hope you enjoy these improvements!
New Video Tutorials for TurboLaw Time and Billing
July 2, 2008
We are very happy to announce two new self-help video tutorials for TurboLaw Time and Billing:
- How to Network TurboLaw Time and Billing
- How to use Microsoft® Word and Mail Merge to create labels, envelopes, and letters to clients
You can also find both of these new video tutorials in our How-To Videos section.
The first video tutorial will guide you through how to save your TurboLaw Time and Billing data file onto your network so that you can open it from multiple computers. If you were unsure as to how to use TurboLaw Time and Billing on your network, this short video will answer your questions.
The second video tutorial will guide you through using the “mail merge” feature of Microsoft Word to create a mail merge document from your TurboLaw Time and Billing client list. This can be used to create many types of mail merge documents, such as mailing labels, envelopes, and letters.
You can also use the mail merge function in other programs as well, such as Microsoft Works, Corel® WordPerfect®, StarOffice™/OpenOffice.org Writer, etc. The basic principle is the same, although the specific steps will vary - consult your product’s help file or documentation if you are not sure.
We hope you find these two new video tutorials helpful!
Massachusetts Probate and Family Court Financial Forms Once Again Require Colored Paper
June 24, 2008
This just in:
The [Massachusetts] Probate and Family Court has amended Uniform Practice XXXIII. Standards for Computer-Generated Forms. The Court has received numerous complaints since the change was made last year in allowing the filing of Financial Statements and Child Support Guidelines Worksheets on white paper. Requiring that the forms be printed on colored paper will assist our staff and judges in identifying the forms in the case folder and that they remain unavailable for public inspection. Colored forms will also make the forms more readily identifiable to lawyers and litigants.
You can see the updated Uniform Practice XXXIII here (PDF link), as well as read the official press release here (again, PDF link).
We have of course updated TurboLaw’s document notices to include these new rules. If your TurboLaw has been checking for updates automatically, then the next time you open a financial form you will see the reminder about the new paper color rules.
Exciting new features for TurboLaw Time and Billing!
June 11, 2008
We’re very excited to announce the release of the latest version of TurboLaw Time and Billing: Version 1.07.
This new version has some major new features that were inspired by feedback we received from our customers:
- New options for billing - now you can enter your own custom interval instead of having to choose from the 4 options (hour, half-hour, quarter-hour, and tenth-hour) provided previously.
- New option for “exact billing” - now you can bill your clients for exactly the amount of time you enter, instead of using a minimum billing interval.
- New “display as” column for clients allows you to see your clients’ names in one column, making it easier to pick a client out from a long list.
- New “Save As” option to save your database file wherever you want to - including a network, a removable hard drive, or any other place you can save a file.
If you are a user of TurboLaw Time and Billing, the program will let you know once it has been able to download this update for you. If you aren’t a user of TurboLaw Time and Billing, why not give it a try?
As always, we value the feedback we receive from our customers - feel free to let us know what you think!
Version 2.66 Released
June 6, 2008
Once again, we are very proud to announce the latest release of TurboLaw Document Software - Version 2.66!
This new version includes the following improvements and features:
- TurboLaw now works around a network drive glitch in Windows Vista
- You can now get help faster by using the “On-Line Help” button
- TurboLaw can detect Internet connections better so that you can get updates no matter what sort of Internet connection you are using
As always, we recommend that all our customers update to the most recent version. So if you haven’t already, check for updates in TurboLaw by clicking the Update menu and choosing Check for Updates. Or, better yet, choose Update Options and turn on Automatic Updates to be kept up-to-date automatically!
Ask The Geek: Can TurboLaw forms be used in Star Office?
May 27, 2008
Today’s question comes courtesy of Donald MacLellan - he asks:
Can the [TurboLaw] forms be used in Star Office 8? Are there any plans to go to Linux Ubuntu or some system [other] than Microsoft Windows?
Technically that’s two questions, so here are two answers:
- TurboLaw relies on Microsoft Word (and Microsoft Excel) to create documents and merge case information into the documents, however, once the forms have been created, they are just regular Word and Excel documents and could be opened by any program that is capable of reading Word or Excel format files - including Star Office. However, you will still need Microsoft Word (and Microsoft Excel) to create the documents initially with TurboLaw.
- There are currently no plans to make a version of TurboLaw for any operating system other than Microsoft Windows - although we are not ruling that possibility out, if our customers were to demand it. Right now, however, most of our customers use Microsoft Windows, so that is where TurboLaw will run.
Have a question for the geek? Send it to us at askthegeek@turbolaw.com!
TurboLaw Time and Billing: Always Improving
May 14, 2008
It’s been just under 2 months since we released TurboLaw Time and Billing, and far from resting on our laurels, we’ve been hard at work making constant improvements based on feedback we receive.
Some of the things we’ve improved are:
- Statements now more clearly show a positive balance/credit - as from when you have a retainer
- We now offer a 30-day trial period
- Statements don’t print out the “payment number” that is used internally to track payments (some people found it confusing)
- Bill numbers now start at 1001 instead of 1 (some people found the old behavior confusing)
- We changed the layout of the Choose Template window to make it easier to see the names of templates (especially if they are long names)
- The template editor has been enhanced to allow you to drag & drop merged fields to make customizing bill and statement templates even easier
- You can now change the headings for work/expenses on bills (look under Tools > Settings)
- You can now choose whether bill items are sorted oldest to newest or vice-versa (look under Tools > Settings)
These are just a few of the improvements we’ve made - and we’re always working on more! We take our responsibility to provide you with great software very seriously, and we always listen to what our customers have to say.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions - feel free to drop us a line! You can email us at help@turbolaw.com, or call us directly at (800) 518-8726. We look forward to hearing from you!
Microsoft Word and the Modern Legal Practice
May 13, 2008
The legal community has long had special requirements for documents that most word processing programs just didn’t handle well. Given the amount of time and effort that is spent drafting documents, it comes as no surprise that lawyers and legal staff have often had a love/hate relationship with their word processing programs over the years.
With the new Word 2007, that’s all starting to change.
Click on the image above for a larger version.
Word 2007 includes document templates specifically for legal documents – including documents with line numbers running down the left margin. You can even choose how many lines will be on a page! These documents are formatted to match the classical style of documents, so they aren’t quite as… let’s say “pretty” as TurboLaw documents, but they’ll do in a pinch. And they are included with Word 2007, so you don’t have to do the hard work of trying to lay them out on your own - which is always handy when you are pressed for time.
Click on the image above for a larger version.
Word also includes some basic pleading templates, which include the traditional document heading. They are very useful for whipping up a quick document - if you intend to write and format the entire body of the document yourself.
Click on the image above for a larger version.
Of course, Word’s legal document templates are just a starting point - unlike TurboLaw documents, they don’t merge case information - and they do use a font that resembles a typewriter’s typeface, just to preserve that “classic” feeling. You can, of course, change the fonts to suit your own taste - and if you want to make sure your documents are actually read, you might consider choosing your font with care - there is a great deal of research that has been done regarding how the choice of font can impact how people read. (For more on this subject, see our article on Tips for getting your documents read.)
Not Just Templates
It doesn’t stop with just templates, either. Microsoft has a vast number of resources available for the legal profession, including an entire section of articles filled with tips and how-to guides just for legal professionals. They have articles on how to write better legal documents with Microsoft Word, how to compare documents with the legal blackline option, using documents effectively in court and a number of articles on removing metadata (the “hidden data” in your documents that we’ve talked about before).
Collaboration Made Easy
Additionally, the Internet has made collaborating on a document easier than it ever was before. The American Bar Association notes how the new features of Word 2007 can help with document collaboration (as well as keeping sensitive information private and supporting compliance efforts), and for when the other party isn’t physically nearby, on-line document sharing tools such as Microsoft Office Groove and Google Docs can help “erase” the barriers of distance.
-
Subscribe
