Ten years ago, there still were law firms that didn’t have dedicated pro-grams to collect time-and-expense en-tries and print bills. While most firms used a billing program to record time, some used a word processor to create tracking documents that were modified to become bills, while others used their billing program to capture time but prepared the bills in a word processor.

Today, with the exception of firms that charge flat or contingent fees, most use software to automate some aspect of timekeeping and billing. Whether they’re happy with the results is another story.

If you’re unhappy with your firm’s billing program, how do you decide whether to upgrade to the latest version, switch to a competitor’s product or stick with what you have and try to resolve the problems? What are your options? What will it take to get going in the new version? Just how big a nightmare can it be?

Before making any move, take stock of the scope of your problems. Determine their sources: Are they the result of your billing software? Are they due to a parade of billing clerks in the past decade? Are they a sign that your six-year-old hardware is on its last legs? Are you running a version no longer supported by the manufacturer and might have problems transferring to or running reliably on newer computers?

There are many factors to consider when diagnosing your billing system’s health. A common scenario is the firm that was using an integrated billing program (combining billing and ac-counting components and sharing in-formation between them) and over time found the data on both sides of the product increasingly unreliable. In one case, the firm had spent much time and effort with the manufacturer and its local consultant to troubleshoot the problems. Despite these efforts, how-ever, they were unable to straighten out the clients’ balances. As a result, the firm was anxious to move to an-other billing program.

Another common scenario that makes starting over more appealing is when a previous billing clerk or clerks misused the program, so there is no easy way to determine which records were billed and which weren’t or which checks were applied to balances and which weren’t. Even worse are situations where the billing program was used for time entries but not final bills so they never were prepared through the software.

Most such situations could have been rectified by additional training or a better commitment by the firm’s management to ensure the billing pro-gram was used properly and effectively before the problem became in-surmountable. In these circumstances, a critical evaluation of the sources of the problem will help determine whether some of the difficulty was attributable to specific features and limitations of the billing program itself. For example, if the final bill formats were unsuitable, all the fixing in the world wouldn’t result in preparing proper bills through that program. On the other hand, if the balances are out of whack because the former billing clerk did not enter and process information consistently, the program may not be the problem.

Many smaller firms use some version of Timeslips, which has the largest installation base among law firm billing products. As a result of problems with rewriting the program from Version 8 to 9, many firms remained (and still are) on Version 8. This past summer, the company announced it would no longer offer technical sup-port for this version and in late fall, it also ended support for Versions 9 and 9.1.

Other issues

When deciding whether to take a chance and continue with an un-supported version or to upgrade, there are several other issues to consider. First, how many problems, if any, have there been with the current version? Second, what features has the manufacturer added since your version that might be helpful, streamline or eliminate a tedious process or workaround? For ex-ample, older Timeslips versions did not permit a timekeeper to have more than six billing rates. As a result, many firms created additional fictitious timekeepers to accommodate additional rate arrangements. In later versions, these can be consolidated for better management reports.

Predictably, Timeslips Version 11 is more stable and runs better. There may be similar issues with other vendor’s billing programs as well, particularly if your firm is running an older version.

Third, and most important, is your firm’s existing hardware and software compatible with the proposed new version? Also consider the corollary: Be aware of the limitations of running older programs on newer versions of Windows. Older billing programs (and software generally) were written long before the introduction of Windows XP. Each new Windows version adds features but also changes the way software written for it runs. Several vendors have reported that older versions of their products cannot be safely run on Windows XP because there are some lines of code within Windows XP that can corrupt or damage data in these products.

Microsoft’s cycle of retiring its operating systems every three years causes all other vendors to upgrade their products. This is the main reason legal software vendors are ending sup-port on their older versions. Before deciding whether to retain a current billing program, change to another or upgrade, verify that your firm’s hard-ware and software requirements meet the minimum specifications of the product being considered. There’s al-most nothing more unpleasant than to discover the $500 upgrade won’t work without several thousand dollars in hardware or other upgrades. On the other hand, it’s equally frustrating to schedule an upgrade then learn the firm doesn’t have the right hardware or other requirement. Most vendors include their specifications on their web-site.

Another issue to consider, especially when considering changing from one product to another, is to evaluate the options available to import existing data into the new program. Some companies, like Software Technology that makes TABS III, will convert Time-slips data for a fee. Other programs include an import utility that may allow you to import the data yourself. Include in your planning the cost of a staff member re-keying client information if planning to change vendors.

Switching vendors

When weighing a conversion from one vendor’s billing program to an-other, don’t overlook your firm’s case management program as a resource for populating the new program with cleaner data than might be left over in the outgoing billing program. Review all current functions as well as features you want. Pay special attention to bill layouts and report options and formats. If you use products that link to your billing program, such as accounting programs like Intuit’s Quickbooks or any of the popular legal case management programs, make sure the links work the way you want and that the nature of the information shared between them meets your needs.

To put some of these considerations into perspective, consider the recommendations I made recently to several clients.

One had been using six-year-old equipment but had regularly upgraded its TABS III billing program. We determined the billing program, while somewhat frustrating, did not require an upgrade and would benefit from the faster processors that would be included in an overdue hardware up-grade.

Another, a sole practitioner, was running a three-year-old computer with Timeslips Version 8. Her needs were very basic and even though her attorney husband urged her to upgrade, we determined that would require new computers and training, and as a solo who didn’t have any support issues with her program the past few years, an upgrade was an unnecessary expense.

In contrast, another firm running Version 9.1 has had system crashes repeatedly the past four years since up-grading to Version 9, then 9.1. Ironically, in this instance, the problem was the network hardware, which the firm was reluctant to test or fix. Resolving the network-related issues made most of the problems disappear. However, since support ended for that version, the firm upgraded to Timeslips 11.

Finally, another firm had been using PCLaw, but had lost confidence in the balances shown for clients, and its consultant was unable to help rectify the discrepancies. In this situation, the firm switched to another billing pro-gram, using the names and addresses from its case management program to start up.

Upgrading or switching billing pro-grams is not for the faint-hearted — each requiring time to bill existing re-cords in the old program, convert the data and learn the new program while office deadlines and pressures continue. Making a bad choice can come back to haunt you and, more important, interrupt your cash flow.

In short, do your homework!

Carol L. Schlein is president of Law Office Systems in Montclair, a training and consulting firm specializing in law firm automation. Copies of previous columns are on her company website, www.losinc.com. For information about her quarterly meetings for Time Matters users, check the website or e-mail info@losinc.com. Schlein formerly chaired the Computer and Technology Division of the ABA Law Practice Management Section.

Questions for Carol L. Schlein on law office technology may be faxed to New Jersey Lawyer at (732) 650-7010, e-mailed to news@njlnews.com or mailed to “Law Technology Questions,” New Jersey Lawyer, Edison Square, 2035 Lincoln Highway, Suite 3005, Edison, N.J. 08817.