Celebrating its 25th year in production in 2010, Sage Timeslips has acquired a well-deserved reputation as the “gold standard” for stand-alone time tracking and billing applications with many attorneys and other professionals who track and bill for time. Users appreciate its flexibility in defining billing arrangements, creating custom bill layouts, and offering over 100 pre-designed reports, with powerful report customization capability available, as well.
Some users, however, want to take the additional step of exchanging data with their general ledger accounting program. Timeslips was initially developed as a “Best of Breed” application, which means that the original developers focused on creating the best billing product they could, without building in a full-fledged accounting (i.e., general ledger) component to the billing system. The Timeslips Accounting Link (“TAL”) fills that bill, with links to several popular general ledger accounting programs, to round out and complement the Timeslips feature set. The two most popular “TAL” links are those for QuickBooks and for Sage Peachtree. For those two programs, the linking has been considerably expanded, and has been renamed the “TALPro” link.
So what are the differences between these two links, and how can a Timeslips user determine which link is best for them?
The TAL link (referred to from now on as the “generic TAL” link) transfers data from Timeslips to the general ledger program via a more or less industry standard “export-import” technology. Timeslips creates an export file on demand, and that export file is then read into the “receiving” general ledger system via a manual import. Data may be transferred on a Cash Basis (which includes payments, reverse payments and refunds) or an Accrual Basis (which includes invoices, payments, credits, write-offs, reverse payments and refunds). This link optionally transfers funds transactions – Payments from clients to and from trust accounts, withdrawals from trust for third-party payments, and deposits from third-party payers. And it does all of this very well.
The TALPro link does all of these things, and in addition:
- it synchronizes “client.projects” in Timeslips to “Customers:Jobs” in the accounting program; it also synchronizes timekeepers with employees.
- It can optionally convert client-related costs recorded in check disbursements or vendor invoices from the accounting program to automatically create expense slips in Timeslips.
Unlike the generic TAL link, the TALPro link uses more “modern” technology to write its accounting information directly into the receiving general ledger system, without the need for a manual export-import process. Users can opt to make the transfer “on demand”, or can allow the application to do the transfer automatically whenever an “accounting event” is generated within Timeslips.
It is also important to know that the generic TAL link will not work on workstations with the *64-bit* version of Windows 7 unless it operates under “Windows XP mode”. It will work with the *32-bit* version of Windows 7. TALPro, reflecting its more modern technological roots, will work with both versions of Windows 7.
If you wish to avail yourself of these features in Timeslips, it is best to start by answering a few questions:
- Do I want data from Timeslips to go into my accounting program? How does the data impact my financial reports? What does the data look like in my accounting program?
- If I’m using Timeslips to track data about my clients, do I need to track Customers in my accounting program?
- Do I want my Timekeepers in Timeslips to become Employees in my accounting program?
- Do I need client-related costs to transfer back to Timeslips?
- Is any of this feasible if I have an outside accountant maintain my accounting database at their office?
For help with working through these and other questions, or for technical support in setting up and using this link, please contact your Eastern Legal Systems consultant at 1-877-ELS-0555.
Dana Riel is President and Founder of Business Solutions, Inc., serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area since 1985. Her firm is the authorized training center for the region for Time Matters and PCLaw by PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC; Timeslips and Sage 50 Accounting by Sage Software; and QuickBooks by Intuit Corporation. She also serves as a consultant for Caret Legal (formerly known as Zola Suite), CosmoLex, Soluno & TimeSolv. As a trainer, Dana has provided training services to organizations such as the DOD Defense Logistics Agency, Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAG)/Department of the Navy, University of the District of Columbia School of Law, U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as with small‐ to mid‐size law firms in the Baltimore‐Washington D.C. area. In 2009, she participated in the series of day‐long seminars sponsored by the District of Columbia Bar Association Practice Management Section, titled “Basic Training: Learn About Running a Law Office”. Ms. Riel also served as an Adjunct Professor in Georgetown University’s Paralegal Studies Program, having taught the course, “Legal Ethics/Legal Technology” in 2009; and “Legal Technology” for the Spring and Summer Semesters of 2010. She presently serves on the Advisory Board for PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC.