CyberTip: A Review of Timeslips

If your profession relies upon careful entering of time and activities (lawyers and accountants are two obvious examples), you should consider using Timeslips (Version 9, Level 2), a software product by Sage U.S., Inc. I've been using Timeslips everyday for awhile now. Before that, I usually scratched out my time entries by hand.

Timeslips is a fairly simple program for basic time-keeping and billing. After initially setting up the client and matter information, I just type in the activity and the time spent each day. There are many benefits to moving from cryptic pen and paper entries to this software:

1. My secretary no longer tells me that I should have gone to med school to improve my handwriting.

2. I find that I type in my activities in half the time it takes to write, and usually include more detailed information.

3. I set the timer when I begin long projects, and stop it when I'm done (or get interrupted). This helps to track time accurately.

4. I usually work near my computer, so it's easy to pull up the Timeslips window and enter time continuously and contemporaneously.

5. Running basic reports on productivity per client or by date, and tracking fee and costs deposits, is at my fingertips.

Of course, nothing's perfect. For example, I find the program isn't as intuitive to use as other Windows programs. This software could have a better help function, and unfortunately the company's telephone tech support charges a fee.

Overall, Timeslips is a very good program for a professional's desktop. It can increase productivity and streamline the administrative process of tracking and analyzing time. If you haven't computerized time and billing yet, now's the time and Timeslips is your ticket there.