TurboLaw Time and Billing version 3.01 is coming out next week (June 23rd), based directly on feedback we’ve received – especially regarding the new “accounts” feature we added in version 3.00.

Here’s an overview of the changes we’re making:

Simple Entry of Retainers

Instead of having to set up an “account” for a retainer, you just enter it as a payment – like you’ve always done – and then simply check the new box labeled “This is a retainer payment.”

receive payment (retainer payment) - cropped

That’s it – it really is that simple.

By checking this box, you distinguish the retainer payment from “regular” payments, so that TurboLaw Time and Billing can give you an accurate tally of your client’s retainer balance. And of course there are bill templates set up specifically to show retainer balances (or you can customize your own and use the “retainer balance” field).

Reports for Reconciliation

Once you start marking payments as “retainer payments,” you can use our new report, called “Retainer Activity.” This gives you a client-by-client breakdown of all retainer activity, both payments into retainers and payments out of retainers (i.e., payments applied to bills). It also gives you a sum total of retainer balances for all your clients, as well as a grand total of all retainers.

Retainer Activity Report (scaled)

With this new report, you’ll be able to track all your client’s retainers easily, and you can use this information to help with reconciling your IOLTA account.

Previous Balances (and more!)

The “previous balance (including any retainer)” field on bills has been changed back to the way it used to calculate – and we’ve added a number of new fields you can use on bills as well, if you choose:

  • “Balance as of” – a field you can use to show what a client’s balance was as of the date of the bill (instead of the “current” balance)
  • “Amount due as of” – similar to the “balance as of,” except this only shows what a client owes (it does not include any retainers – if the client owes nothing, it shows $0.00)
  • “Previous amount due” – similar to the “previous balance,” except that it only shows what the client owed prior to the current bill (that is, if the client owes nothing, it shows $0.00)

We’ve also updated the “retainer balance” field to make use of payments marked as retainers.

No More “Accounts”

Since we made retainers so easy to enter, there was no need for a completely separate “accounts” feature in the program – so we’ve removed it entirely. If you started using accounts, don’t worry – any accounts you entered will be automatically converted into retainer payments, and any bills you’ve pad out of those accounts will be preserved as well.

[note class=”info”]We’re always striving to make TurboLaw Time and Billing as easy to use as possible, while still fulfilling all your different billing needs – this is why we listen so carefully to what you have to say, and why we’re committed to making whatever changes are necessary to keep you satisfied. As always, if you have any thoughts or comments about TurboLaw Time and Billing, we’d love to hear from you![/note]