1 / 43

Improving Bottom Line with Technology

Improving Bottom Line with Technology. Ask not what you can do for your computer; Ask, rather what your computer can do for you Billing, Calendars, PDA, Remote Access, & Research. Who is Speaking?. Thorne D. Harris III Solo Practitioner LSBA Technology Resource Center.

espen
Download Presentation

Improving Bottom Line with Technology

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Improving Bottom Line with Technology Ask not what you can do for your computer; Ask, rather what your computer can do for you Billing, Calendars, PDA, Remote Access, & Research

  2. Who is Speaking? • Thorne D. Harris III • Solo Practitioner • LSBA Technology Resource Center

  3. LSBA Technology Resource Center • What it sounds like it is

  4. Picture of Building

  5. LSBA Technology Resource Center • What it really is

  6. TRC Plant & Facilities • Numbers in Bar Journal • 800-295-4960 • 504-822-5797

  7. BILLING / ACCOUNTING Get what you deserveDon’t pay more than you owe

  8. Where does the time go? Why? • If I write it in my calendar, do I have to write it again on the bill? • Cut & Paste • Links • Integrated ‘systems’

  9. PC-Law Jr. • IRS likes this one, its hard to cook the books • Latest version now has a calendar • Many commercial programs have links to it • Full, made for lawyers, one-write system • Time, Billing, Trust, P&L, Gen. Ledger, etc. • $179.00 for full 2 timekeeper system • Upgradeable and networkable

  10. PCLaw Menu Page

  11. PCLaw Time Sheets

  12. PCLaw Quick Timers

  13. PCLaw Check Entry

  14. PCLaw Sample Invoice

  15. Quick Books Pro • IRS not excited – easy to change things ex post facto • Easy to set up (there is an ‘interview’ and a business type) • Pull out a “Schedule C” to set up your expense pigeonholes • Trust account too, or multiples types of “income” • So you not pay self-employment tax on $ for client meds you recover

  16. Some more popular programs • TimeSlips • Time Matters (also Case Management) • TABBS

  17. Where am I supposed to be? • Calendars • Lookout, oops, I mean Outlook! • Schedule +, the orphan • Lotus (IBM), ACT! (Symantec / Norton ) • Time & Chaos ( isbister.com ), and other shareware • Time Matters

  18. Microsoft Outlook • The Standard • Comes with Microsoft Office • Many features • Easy to use stand-alone • Need Exchange Server to share in larger environments

  19. Outlook

  20. You can take it with you! • PDA = Personal Digital Assistant • Palm Platform • Pocket PC (Windows)

  21. Palm Platform devices, including Visor • Palm III = Color • Palm VII = Wireless • Palm Vx = Smallest with 8M • New Color versions • Synchronize with Outlook • Then synchronize online • Can sync directly online

  22. Pocket PC (Microsoft OS) • Compaq iPaq, HP Jornada, Casio, • Conduits to sync (Puma – Intellisync) • Pocket Word, Excel, Outlook • Memory hogs, expensive $500.00 + • New versions have best color screens around • Up to 64M of RAM • Battery life not as good as B&W Palm

  23. Other PDA’s • Franklin = inexpensive $50.00 • Speller grew up, non-standard, proprietary, not play well with others (sync) • DaVinci = inexpensive $90.00 • Palm wannabe, proprietary, not play well with others (sync) • Blackberry – very expensive, push technology

  24. SHARING CALENDARS • Your internal network • Via the Internet

  25. Calendar Sharing on anInternal Network • Microsoft solutions • Net Folders, MS Exchange Server, Windows Messaging • Lotus (IBM) solutions • Domino Server • Amicus • Time Matters

  26. Calendar sharing via the Internet • Synchronize to (with) / Publish on => anytime, anywhere • Yahoo.com, Intranets.com, MyPalm.com, Visto.com, HotOffice.com, Calendar.yahoo.com • See Internet discussion

  27. Things you can do with a calendar/ PIM • PIM = Personal Information Manager • Categories (each case a category?) • Contacts / Address Book • Tasks / ToDo • “Manage” by judicious naming conventions in your address book • Sync to PDA

  28. Can you document this bill? • Use the “Timer” • Back to Case Manager Links and duplicate typing! • Back to Cut & Paste from Calendar Notes to Billing Program to Case Management? • Outlook CATAGORIES, then filter views • What about ACT! 2000 (contact manager)?

  29. You are WHERE? And you want WHAT? • Remote Access to YOUR computer(s)

  30. Tele-commuting • Dial Up Networking (Win9x), RAS (Win NT/2000), Windows XP • VPN, pcAnywhere, LapLink • GoToMyPC

  31. Remote Control • pcAnywhere, LapLink • Technical support; Mom, I’d rather do it myself • Telecommuting • RAS • GoTOMyPC.com

  32. File Transfer • Get/send file, process locally • pcAnywhere, LapLink, Carbon Copy • RAS • GoToMyPC.com

  33. How you connect • Long distance phone dialup vs. Internet • Security, incl. call-back • Costs • VPN – dedicated/expensive/fast • GoToMyPC • Phone line or Dual DSL (Office & Home)

  34. Building the Brief • Research? Who does research?

  35. CD vs. Online • CD means you have to actually have the CD in a CD drive you can access (copyable CD) • Online means you must have a “modem” connection • CD tower vs. BIG hard drive

  36. “Free” Internet vs. Commercial (pay to play) • Your time is worth something. • LexisOne.com • See Freebie Internet Presentation • Attached Free Internet Sites List • LSBA.org, Solo-SmallFirms.org, ThorneDHarrisIII.com, etc.

  37. How do you bill for internet time? • Fee sites, free sites, combinations, CD subscription fees (apportion among clients?) i.e. your out of pocket costs • Transaction billing vs. Time Billing • Research person’s time? Billable or absorbed cost of yours? • Can you bill any of this as a reimbursable expense in a contingency fee contract?

  38. Lagniappe • Shortcuts and Keystrokes attached for: • MS Word • Excel • Internet Explorer • Windows 98 • See Materials

  39. Keyboard CheatsWord

  40. Keyboard CheatsExcelIE 4/5

  41. Keyboard Windows

  42. Questions? • Or we could just swap jokes or stories….

  43. Thanks! • and ….. • THE END

More Related