Set up AutoTime for Estate Planning

AutoTime is a powerful feature for Estate Planning law firms because it helps you understand exactly how much time you are spending on your matters and, in turn, your profitability for each matter. Even if you’re charging a flat fee, it can be helpful to send an invoice or invoice receipt that outlines all the activities you performed for your client. AutoTime allows you to track both billable and non-billable activities and generate an invoice for your services.

Understanding how much time goes into Estate Planning matters can help you better draft engagement agreements. For example, if the time spent exceeds the flat fee rate, you can charge an hourly rate for any additional time.

Whether your matter is flat fee or hourly, AutoTime helps you track your time, allowing you to assess profitability for each matter.

How to utilize AutoTime in LiraDocs for Estate Planning Attorneys

1. Set up your default billing rate and ensure that the “mark my time entries as billable” option is deselected under the billing tab in Staff and Users.
2. When calculating the annual cost, include all expenses such as rent, salary, and other bills. If unsure, try adding 10-15% to salary as a starting point.
3. LiraDocs will track all your activity (documents, emails, calendar events, etc.) and create billable or non-billable entries for invoices.
4. For flat fee matters, create a time entry for your flat fee when you’re ready to send an invoice to your client. You can also generate the invoice in LiraDocs. Note: you can set up an Activity Code for each service based on the matter, making flat fee entry faster.