Did You Know: Where your Data is Saved
November 28, 2008
Did you know that TurboLaw Time and Billing saves everything you enter into the program into a single, convenient, easy-to-locate file?
By default, TurboLaw Time and Billing saves everything you enter into a file called “TurboLawBilling Database.mdb,” and it saves this file in your My Documents folder, in a folder called TurboLaw Time and Billing. This one file contains everything you’ve ever entered into the program – staff, clients, time, expenses, payments, and bills.
The TurboLaw Time and Billing Folder.
A sample TurboLaw Time and Billing database file.
When it comes time to make a backup of files on your computer, or if you just want to share your data with another user in your office, this file can be easily backed up or shared with other users just as you would share any other file on your computer.
Although this data file is called a “database,” it’s also a file – which means you can treat it just like other files on your computer. You also don’t need a special database server to share it with other users in your office – just put it wherever you share your other files.
You can open a TurboLaw Time and Billing data file by using the File > Open menu. TurboLaw Time and Billing remembers the last file you opened and will keep opening that same file each time you open the program, unless you choose to open a different file.
You can also save a copy of your TurboLaw Time and Billing data file by using the File > Save As menu. When you do this, TurboLaw Time and Billing creates a copy of your data file, and then opens that new copy.
Being able to treat your TurboLaw Time and Billing database as a file is just another way we’ve worked to keep the program simple and easy-to-use.
Did You Know: The Calculator Drop-Down
November 26, 2008
Did you know that TurboLaw Time and Billing has a built-in calculator in places where you type in a dollar amount?
Although virtually every computer has some sort of calculator program built-in, it might take you a few seconds to bring it up – or even longer if you’re not sure where where it is. Fortunately, TurboLaw Time and Billing has its own calculator built right into the program, and bringing it up is as easy as clicking a button.
The Calculator in TurboLaw Time and Billing
In any place where you’d type a dollar amount (for example, when entering an expense) you can click the drop-down arrow button on the right side of the box to bring up the in-place calculator.
This calculator works just like most desk calculators, so you can use it to add up expenses quickly (perhaps if you are consolidating them) or just to do any other quick calculation you might need.
This is just another example of our attention to detail in TurboLaw Time and Billing. Using the calculator in your computer or on your desk might not take much longer, but those seconds can add up – and if you have trouble finding your calculator, that little bit of frustration you feel can add up too.
“Easy to use” means more than just making a program simple, it also means making it convenient, and we strive to provide that convenience to you in every aspect of our program.
Did You Know: Printing Time, Expense, Payment, and other Items
November 24, 2008
Did you know that you can print out a paper (or PDF) copy of just about everything you see in TurboLaw Time and Billing?
Although TurboLaw Time and Billing saves everything you enter, sometimes you’d also like to have a paper printout. Fortunately, this is very easy to accomplish in TurboLaw Time and Billing. Almost every screen you see has a Print button which you can use to print whatever you are currently viewing. Here are a few of the print buttons from various windows in TurboLaw Time and Billing:
You can print individual items (such as a client’s entry, a time entry, an expense entry, or a payment entry) or you can print out a list of items (such as the list of clients, the list of time & expenses, or the list of bills).
The Print button also gives you all the usual printing options you’d expect – printer setup, page size, etc. – as well as offering you a Print Preview option, which opens the standard TurboLaw Time and Billing Print Preview window.
The Print Preview Window (click for larger image)
From the Print Preview window, you can not only print what you see to your printer, but you can also export what you see to any of the different file formats that TurboLaw Time and Billing supports – such as PDF, plain text, RTF (for Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, OpenOffice, or any other word processing program), or even as an image.
Supported file formats for exporting (click for larger image)
As you can see, TurboLaw Time and Billing can be used to print much more than just bills and statements. As always, we encourage you to use the program however you see fit and in whatever way best suits your firm’s business.
Did You Know: Searching in TurboLaw Time and Billing
November 21, 2008
Did you know that TurboLaw Time and Billing has a built-in search feature that’s easy to use and lets you quickly locate bills, expenses, time entries, payments, and clients?
The search box is located in the upper-right hand corner of the main window, and using the search box couldn’t be easier – just type in something you’d like to find and press the Enter key on your keyboard (or click the search button – the magnifying glass).
TurboLaw Time and Billing’s search is simple and easy to use. Let’s say a client calls you with a question about a bill. You can ask your client for the bill number that’s printed on the bill and then type that into the search box.
Once you press Enter (or click the search button), the search results screen will appear. In the example picture shown below, the very first result is the bill that matches the bill number we sought.
You aren’t limited to searching by number, either. Let’s say you wanted to look up all the items you’d entered that were for transcription – you could just type in “transcription” and press Enter.
The results appear almost instantly. You can also search for a client’s name.
Additionally, if you search from the main window, TurboLaw Time and Billing keeps a history of everything you’ve searched for (until you close the program), so you can recall searches you’ve made earlier if you need to.
With TurboLaw Time and Billing’s simple search, there are no complex search keywords to memorize, or confusing options to select. Just type what you’re looking for and you’ll find it – quickly and easily.
New Feature Highlight: Column Resizing and Sorting
November 19, 2008
One of the changes we made in Version 1.11 of TurboLaw Time and Billing was the way that the bills list was sorted. Previously, the list started with the bill number followed by the client’s name. Perhaps somewhat confusingly, the list was sorted by bill date by default.
Although it seemed natural to us that bills should be sorted by date, it was also natural to want to scan the list visually and find a bill by the client’s name. So, we changed the layout of the list. Now, the client’s name is listed first, and by default the list sorts by client name.
In making this change, however, we discovered that very few people realized that you can change the size of the columns, or even sort by a different column if you wish.
Resizing a column is as easy as grabbing its edge with your mouse and dragging it to the desired size, and sorting a column is as easy as clicking the column heading. You can also double-click the edge of a column heading to force it to adjust automatically to the “best fit” for whatever is in that column.
New Feature Highlight: Template Designing
November 17, 2008
One of the major changes for version 1.11 of TurboLaw Time and Billing was the new “drag & drop” field list in the template designer.
These drag & drop fields make it easy to customize your templates so that information (such as the bill number, the date, your address, and the details of the bill) appear exactly where you want them to. This makes designing a template less like a complex technical process and more like putting together a simple mail merge – as you might do for printing envelopes or mailing labels.
If you’ve ever done a mail merge in another program (such as Microsoft Word/Publisher/Works, or WordPerfect, or OpenOffice) the process for designing your template will seem very familiar. If, on the other hand, you’ve never done mail merge before, there are many excellent resources to help you become familiar with the process:
- Our How-To Videos section has a video on Advanced Template Customization that shows you how to drag & drop fields to re-create a bill or statement template from the ground up
- Microsoft Office Online has a Mail Merge 101 section that contains numerous videos and tutorials to show you how to use mail merge which can help you understand mail merge – in both TurboLaw Time and Billing and in Microsoft Office
- WordPerfect Office has a similar article on how to do mail merge using WordPerfect
Once you understand the basics of mail merge, you can begin dragging & dropping fields onto your bill or statement templates with ease and create professional-looking bills and statements that reflect well on your practice, help your clients understand their bills, and reduce confusion about what’s been billed.
New Feature Highlight: New Graphics and Icons
November 13, 2008
Here at TurboLaw, we take “ease of use” seriously – that’s why we work so hard on the visual appearance of our programs. One of the new features of our latest release was improved graphics and icons. Now, while some people might not think very much of a few small pictures, we know better – good graphics and icons help make programs more intuitive, which makes them easier to use.
Presented below are some of the new graphics you’ll see in Version 1.11 of TurboLaw Time and Billing. You can click on any picture to see a larger version along with some comments about the design of the graphics on that screen.
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- Workflow Home Screen
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- Time or Expense Question Window
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- Error Window
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- Delete Confimation Window
Icons and graphics may not seem like a big deal, but we all know how little things can add up. That’s why we take the time to design our icons carefully and to pay close attention to detail so that you get the best possible user experience from our programs.
New TurboLaw Time and Billing Video Tutorial: Advanced Template Customization
November 6, 2008
Our video production team has been working tirelessly to bring you a new video tutorial to go along with the recent release of TurboLaw Time and Billing 1.11. This new video goes hand-in-hand with one of the major new features of the new version – the new drag & drop bill and statement template designer. It’s also the first of our video tutorials to use voice narration rather than little caption-bubbles – so be sure to turn up your volume when you watch it!
So click here to watch the “Advanced Template Customization” video tutorial, and if you have any comments or feedback on the video, we’d love to hear from you!
TurboLaw Time and Billing 1.11 Released
November 3, 2008
We never stop working to improve our products, and that’s why we’re pleased to announce the latest release of TurboLaw Time and Billing – Version 1.11! This new version is packed with new and improved features to help make it even easier to bill for your time more effectively and efficiently.
The major new feature of this version is the improved ability to customize your bill and statement templates. We even have a new How-To Video that shows you how to use this powerful new feature. The improvements we’ve made allow you to drag & drop individual “fields” onto your template, which gives you unprecedented control over how your bills and statements are laid out. This drag & drop simplicity also makes it easier than ever to customize your templates – and to make them look the way you want.
This new version also coincides with the release of our new, comprehensive Video Tutorial. For those of you who wanted a complete, comprehensive guide for using the program – we heard you! The twelve chapters of the Video Tutorial walk you through every aspect of the program – including showing you how to enter a previous balance for a client as well as how to enter a retainer. (Some of these topics are already covered in our extensive Video How-To section.) If you’re completely new to the program, or even if you’ve been using it for a while, we think you’ll really enjoy watching the new tutorial.
Of course, we also made numerous other improvements:
- Improved activation by phone (for those who don’t have Internet access)
- Added some links to our Video How-To section and Video Tutorial on the Help menu and on the Home screen
- The list of “matters” for each client can now be sorted by name
- Individual printouts of time & expense items now print the “amount” and the “time” exactly as shown on the screen
- You can now delete multiple time entries/expense entries/clients/payments (previously you could only delete them one at a time)
- A new “Sample” database is now included with the program so you can experiment with realistic entries and see what the program looks like before you begin entering your own data (click File and then Open to open the sample database)
- Improved graphics and icons on the Home screen
- The Bills list now lists the client’s name first instead of the bill #
- The Bills list now sorts by client name instead of bill #
- New “no line” templates for both Bills and Statements
- Made it easier to see the name of templates that have a really long name
We always listen to the feedback we receive from our customers, so if you have any thoughts or suggestions please let us know!
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