Help | Apple

MyBilledTime™

iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch

This Help screen walks you through the steps to set up the MyBilledTime™ app and to use it for time entry.

Set Up

You can start using this application immediately after purchase using the default settings and adding clients & matters as you go along via the “Time Entry” section. However, we recommend first going to the Settings screen and personalizing the application for a better experience. In the Settings screen you can specify:

>Client names

>Your billing rate for each client

>Client matter name and number

>Your initials

>Your billing Time Interval (select one)

>The format used to send your time entries (plain text in an email or as CSV formatted file).

>The email addresses where you will send your time entries

>Abbreviations for terms commonly used in your time entries

>The start date of your financial year

>How long time entries will be stored

>The daily time threshold for which a notification is triggered at the end of the week, letting you know that you might have time missing for that week

Managing Clients.

You can add, modify or remove clients in Settings.

Add clients:

From the Settings screen, select “Manage clients”.
The “Client List” screen will appear. Select “Edit” in the upper right hand corner. You will enter the edit mode: a box will be displayed at the top called “Add new client”. If you tap this box, the “Add client” screen will appear.
Enter the client name in the first box the way it appears in your time and billing system. In the box below that, enter the amount you charge that client per hour. Then tap “Add” in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Repeat this process for each client or other matter, e.g. Administration, Marketing, Bar Activities, etc. for which you intend to track your time.

Edit clients:

From the Settings screen, select “Manage clients”.
The “Client List” screen will appear. Select “Edit” in the upper right hand corner. You will enter the edit mode.
Tap on the name of the client you want to edit. The “Edit Client” screen will appear.
Change the name or the billing rate value and tap “Done”.
If you have any time entries for that client in your history, a dialog will be displayed asking if you want to update those time entries; if you choose to do so, the client name and/or billing rate for those time entries will be changed.

Delete clients

From the Settings screen, select “Manage clients”.
The “Client List” screen will appear. Select “Edit” in the upper right hand corner. You will enter the edit mode.
Tap on the red button at the left of the client you want to delete and then tap “Delete”.

Entering Matter Numbers.

After you have entered a client name, you can enter, update and delete matter names and numbers for that client, also from the Settings section.

Add matters:

From the Settings screen, select “Manage matters”.
The “Client List” screen will appear. Select a client and the “Matters List” screen for that client will appear.
Select “Edit” in the upper right hand corner. You will enter the edit mode: a box will be displayed at the top called “Add new matter”. If you tap this box, the “Add matter” screen will appear.
Enter the name of the matter, e.g. the name of an adverse party in a litigation matter in the top box. In the box that appears below that, enter the number of the new matter the way it appears in your time and billing system. Then tap “Add” in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Repeat this process for each client that you have entered.

Edit matters:

From the Settings screen, select “Manage matters”.
The “Client List” screen will appear. Select a client and the “Matters List” screen for that client will appear.
Select “Edit” in the upper right hand corner. You will enter the edit mode.
Tap on the name of the matter you want to edit. The “Edit Matter” screen will appear.
Change the name or the number of the matter and tap “Done”.
If you have any time entries for that matter in your history, a dialog will be displayed asking if you want to update those time entries; if you choose to do so, the matter name and/or matter number for those time entries will be changed.

Delete matters:

From the Settings screen, select “Manage matters”.
The “Client List” screen will appear. Select a client and the “Matters List” screen for that client will appear. Select “Edit” in the upper right hand corner. You will enter the edit mode.
Tap on the red button at the left of the matter you want to delete and then tap “Delete”.

Setting the Time Interval.

Billing professionals bill using different time intervals. Some attorneys’ bill in increments of six minutes while others bill in other time increments, such as five, ten or fifteen minutes. This app lets you select the time interval that you use for client billing. The time interval is set in Settings.

From the Settings screen, select “Set time interval”.
The Time Intervals screen will appear. Select the time interval you will use for tracking and billing your time. Then tap “Done” in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

Setting the Email Addresses.

All of your time entries can be sent to be entered into your time and billing system using an email address. Email addresses are set in Settings.

From the Settings screen, select “Change email address”. The “Email Address” screen will appear. Two boxes appear on the Email Address screen. One says “To” and the other says “cc”.
In the “To” box, insert the email address where you will send your time entries for entry into your time and billing system.
In the “cc” box, enter your own email address so that you can keep an additional record of your time entries.
After entering one or both email addresses, select “Done” in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

Entering Timekeeper Initials.

Many time and billing systems require the timekeeper’s initials. If your time and billing system requires this information, you will need to enter your initials in the app. Timekeeper initials are entered in Settings.

From the Settings screen, select “Initials of the timekeeper”.
You will not be taken to another screen. The keyboard will appear and you can enter your initials in the box called “Initials of the timekeeper”. After you have typed in your initials tap “return” on your keyboard.

Entering Abbreviations.

To get the maximum benefit from the app, you should make extensive use of abbreviations. Abbreviations help you to complete time entries more quickly and accurately by using abbreviations for names, words and phrases that you use frequently when entering your time. Abbreviations are created in Settings.

In the Settings screen select “Manage abbreviations”. The Abbreviation screen will appear.
Select the bar called “Abbreviation Code”. You can use any letter or symbol on the keyboard as your abbreviation code. The code is a single letter or symbol which tells the app that the letters which follow are an abbreviation for a word or words which the app will convert to the full word or series of words in the Description box on the Time Entry screen. We suggest using as an abbreviation code a letter that is not often used as the first letter of a word, such as “q” or “z” or a symbol such as an asterisk or @. For example, “zmsj” is a shortcut for “motion for summary judgment”. After typing in the abbreviation code, tap “Done” in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Now select, “Edit” in the upper right hand corner of the screen. A box will appear that says “Add new abbreviation”. Select that box and the “Add abbreviation” screen will appear.
Two boxes appear in the Add abbreviation screen. In the top box your abbreviation code will appear. Type in the abbreviation you want to use immediately after the code. For example, “zmsj”.
In the lower box, type in the word or words represented by the abbreviation. In the example just used, type in “motion for summary judgment”.
After typing in both the abbreviation and the words represented by the abbreviation select “Add” in the upper right hand corner of the Add abbreviation screen.
Repeat this process for each abbreviation that you would like to use when entering your time. Your abbreviation library will grow over time, as you enter more abbreviations for frequently used names, words and phrases, making the time entry process faster and more accurate.

Sending CSV Report.

The app can send your time entries for entry into your time and billing system either as a formatted email, to be cut and pasted into your time and billing system by a data entry assistant, or as a CSV export capable of being read by a computer program that will automatically transfer your time entry into your time and billing system. If you choose to export as a CSV file, your time and billing system vendor will need to create an import program to import the CSV files into your time and billing system.

To select whether to send as a formatted email or as a CSV export, go to the “Send as CSV export” bar on the Settings screen. Select “Yes” if you want to send your time entries in a CSV export file. Select “No” if you want to send your time entries in a formatted email.

Notifications.

The App can remind you to enter time if you failed to enter the number of hours on a workday that you set as a minimum.

To enable Notifications, select “notifications” on the Settings screen.
The Notification screen will appear. If you want to enable Notifications, select “Yes”, if not select “No”.
In the second line of the Notifications screen you will set the minimum time you expect to bill on any workday. This is referred to in the app as the Daily time threshold. In the box, type in the minimum number of hours that you expect to bill on any workday. E.g. 8 hours . If you do not record at least the threshold number of hours on any given work day the app will send you a notification at the end of the week that you have not entered the threshold amount of time.

Manage Tasks.

The app makes time entry faster, more consistent and accurate by using predefined, commonly used tasks, which appear in a list from which the timekeeper selects to begin a time entry description. In addition to the lists of tasks that come with the app, the user can enter additional tasks, tailored for the timekeeper’s particular practice. Additional tasks can be entered to the Task Lists in Settings.

In Settings, select “Manage tasks”.
A screen called “Categories” will appear. There are four boxes in the Categories screen: Custom, Discovery, General and Trial/Hearing. These Categories are a means of navigating more quickly to the specific task that you want to use for a time entry. Only the task you select and not the Category name will appear in your time entry.
Select the Category bar for which you want to add a new task. A Tasks List screen will appear.
Select Edit in the upper right hand corner of the screen and a box will open called “Add new task”. Select that box and the “Add task” screen will appear. Type in the new task in the box that appears and then tap Done in the upper right hand corner of the Add task screen. The new task is now added to the Existing tasks on the Tasks List, and can be used for time entry. The new task will also be visible under My Tasks.

Setting Your Financial Year Start.

The App tracks how much time you have entered in the app and the value of that time. You can set the start date of your firm’s fiscal year in Settings. Tap “Financial Year Start.” A calendar will appear. Select the start date of your firm’s fiscal year and tap “Done”.

You will be able to review your hours billed to date and the time value of those hours in the Reports, described below.

Time Entries Retention.

The app will retain all of the time entries that you enter for one year or longer. You can set the amount of time that your time entry records will be kept in Settings. Tap “Time Entries Retention” and the “Retention” screen will appear. You must select one of the two choices: select “After one year”, if you want the app to delete your time records on the one year anniversary of when you began using the app. Select “never” if you want the app to continue to retain your time keeping records after one year.

Using the Add Time Entry Screen.

Time entries are made using the Add Time Entries screen. After you have completed set up, you are ready to enter your time. On the Add Time Entries screen you will enter the date of your time entry, the client and matter, a description of the task(s) and the time it took to perform the task(s).

To go to the “Add Time Entries” screen tap the “+” sign in the upper right hand corner of the “Time Entries” screen.

1. To select the date, tap the “Date” bar, and a screen will appear which lists months, days and years. Select the month, day and year for which you are entering time and tap “Done”. This will set the date and return you to the Add Time Entry Screen.

2. To select a client, tap the “Choose a client” bar. A screen will appear with a list of your clients in alphabetical order. Scroll to the name of the client who you are billing and tap the bar with the Client’s name. This will select the client and return you to the Add Time Entries screen.

3. To select a Matter, tap the “Matter” bar. The Matters List screen will appear. Tap the bar with the applicable matter name for your time entry and the matter name will be inserted in the Add Time Entries screen.

4. To insert a billing task in the Description box, such as “prepared motion”, first select a Category and then a Task. The task will automatically be inserted into the Description box. My Billed Time™ includes more than 75 standard billing task descriptions, which are organized by category to help you navigate more quickly to the billing task that you need for your time entry. In addition, it allows you to add your own customized billing tasks. The only purpose of Categories is to help you to navigate more quickly to the task that you want to include in your time entry in the Description box.

The default Category on the Add Time Entries screen is set for “My Tasks”. This is a list of tasks that you use most frequently; it contains all the custom tasks that you added yourself, plus all those that you marked as such under the “My Tasks” section in Settings. If you want to select a task from My Tasks then move down to the next bar on the Add Time Entries screen, called “Task” and tap that bar. A screen called “Tasks List” will appear. The tasks that you created in Settings will appear in alphabetical order. Simply select the task that you want to appear in your time entry description and the app will insert the task into the Description box.

If you want to use a Category with predefined Tasks, rather than the “My Tasks” Category, then tap the Category bar on the Add Time Entries screen. A list of the following categories will appear: Custom, Discovery, General, and Trial/Hearing. You then must select one of those categories. Your selection will determine which billing tasks appear when you activate the Task bar. For example, if you select “General” from the list of Categories, and then tap the Task bar, a list of tasks under the General category will appear that appear only for the "General" category. Each category has its own list of tasks. The categories simply guide you to the appropriate list of billing tasks needed to prepare your time entry. Category names, therefore, do not appear in the Description box, which is where your time entry is created to populate your formatted time entry email. As you use the app, you will quickly learn which categories contain which tasks, and will be able to navigate quickly to the task that you want to use in your time entry.

After tapping the Task bar, scroll through the tasks and select the task that you want to use. The selected task then will appear in the Description box. For example, if you select "Conference with" as your task, those words will appear in the Description box when you select that task. Then tap the space after the words “conference with” and your cursor will appear there in the Description box. A keyboard will appear, enabling you to type in text, such as an abbreviation or persons name. If you type in an abbreviation, such as “zds”, as an abbreviation for “David Smith”, then when you tap outside of the Description box the app will convert the abbreviation to “David Smith” for you.

After making that entry, you can add another entry in the same description by scrolling back to the task bar, and selecting another task. For example, after entering "Conference with David Smith", return to the task bar and select "telephone conference with". The app will insert the words "telephone conference with". Then type in the name of the person with whom you had the telephone conference or use an abbreviation. You can continue making entries like this in the Description box and then enter the time you spent on all of the tasks (block billing), or you can detail bill, entering only one task per time entry, whichever you prefer.

When you are finished with your time entry description, tap “Done.”

5. The last step to prepare a time entry is to enter your time. Tap the “enter your time” bar on the Add Time Entries screen and a screen will appear with hours shown on the left column and minutes, in the time intervals you created in Settings, shown on the right. Select the hours and minutes and tap “Done”. This will enter your time in hours and minutes and return you to the Add Time Entries screen.

EMAILING/EXPORTING YOUR TIME ENTRY.

After you have inserted the billing date, client name, matter, description and time, tap “Done” in the upper right hand corner of the Add Time Entries screen. If you don’t want to use the time entry, you can clear it by tapping “cancel” in the upper left hand corner of the Add Time Entries screen. If you have not entered all of the required data (Date, Client, Matter, Description and Time), the app will give you a message stating that your time entry is incomplete and it will not create a draft email. If you have entered all of the required data, then when you tap done, the app will take you to the Time Entries screen where you will see your time entry under the date you selected. Each of your time entries will appear in a list under the date you selected.

To transmit your time entries to your designated email addresses from the Time Entries screen, simply select “Export” in the upper left hand corner of the Time Entries screen. Then tap each time entry that you want to transmit to your designated email addresses. A check mark will appear to the right of each time entry that you selected. Then tap “Send” in the upper left hand corner of the Time Entries screen.

This opens your device’s email application, where your selected time entries will appear, either as a CSV file attachment, if that is what you chose in Settings, or as formatted time entries. Simply tap “Send” and your time entries will be sent to the recipients who you selected in Settings.

If you selected CSV in Settings, then your time entries can be imported to your firms Time and Billing system through an import program that can be created by your Time and Billing system’s vendor. If you selected the Email option, then the email recipient can quickly cut and paste your formatted time entries into your time and billing system.

To delete a time entry from the list, swipe on it from right to left; a red “Delete” button will be displayed. Just tap it and the entry will be removed.

TIME ENTRY REPORTS.

By turning your mobile device to a horizontal position, the app will display charts and reports of your time entries. An icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen is used to toggle between charts and reports. If the icon which appears is a pie chart symbol, then when you tap that icon you will be able to view the following three charts: “Hours Billed”, “Amount Billed” and “Billable Time per Client.” You can switch between the three by swiping to the left or to the right on the chart.

“Hours Billed” is a bar chart showing the number of hours billed each day, “Amount Billed” is also a bar chart, showing the dollar value of the time you entered each day, and the “Billable Time by Client” is a pie chart, showing the percentage of time billed by client. These charts help you to quickly see if you failed to enter time on a particular day or for a particular client. These reports can be seen in a “weekly view” or a “monthly view” using the icon in the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

If the icon in the bottom right corner is a small document symbol, then when you tap that icon you will be able to view a report that lists all of your time entries by client in alphabetical order, and displays for each client the number of hours billed by week and by month. This report also shows the dollar value of your time entries by client, viewed weekly or monthly. This report also shows the number of hours you have billed using the app year to date and the value of that time, using the hourly rate you entered in Settings. This data is shown at the bottom of the report.

Both the charts and the report can be viewed weekly or monthly by toggling using the icon in the bottom left hand corner of the screen. To navigate to the previous / next week or month use the left / right arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen.

To exit the Reports section of the App just change your device’s orientation to portrait.

HELP

If you have any questions you can email us at http://www.mybilledtime.com/Contact_Us.html.