Mark Twain once said: “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” As much as Timeslips’ competition wishes it were so, this award-winning product just keeps rolling on, adding new features every year.
ELS members attended the Sage annual consultant conference (“Summit”), held last week in Washington, D.C. Every conference has a theme and this year, the message was built around three concepts: (1) Cloud computing; (2) building in connection services supported by Sage; and (3) consolidating the various components of this international technology company to efficiently put its global resources behind all of its products.
How do these three goals affect Timeslips?
Cloud Computing: Sam Hunter, Senior Vice President and General Manager for the division that includes Timeslips, was happy to report to consultants this year that his division showed the largest growth of any of the other product divisions in Sage North America. And within his division, sales of Timeslips far and away out-performed any other product. In a later session, Ronda Horsham, Product Manager for Timeslips, was pleased to announce to consultants what strong sales mean to her product: due to the strong and continuing success of Timeslips, Sage North America has announced a revamp of its subscription-based, cloud solution for time tracking, Timeslips e-Center. The revamped e-Center is slated for release to customers at the end of the 3rd Quarter this year. New features that can be discussed at this time include an improved interface, expanded support for Firefox, Safari and other browser platforms, and apps for any smartphone or tablet that can access the Internet. Stay tuned here for more information as we are given permission to divulge it!
More Connection Services: Sage Software in general, and Timeslips in particular, welcomes third-party development. This past year saw improvements in linkage with several applications with names familiar to law firms: Amicus Attorney by Gavel and Gown Software; Time Matters by LexisNexis; QuickBooks by Intuit Corporation, and so on. Staff from the Timeslips development team addressed consultants to explain what we can expect in terms of releases later this year – some strengthening of existing links, and some new features to watch for. (Hint: You can see them in other Sage products and they are coming soon to Timeslips… )
Commitment of Global Resources: While those of us in North America see Timeslips as a product unique to our corner of the world, it has been sold and supported in South America and the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. With the backing of Sage Software PLC, headquartered in the UK, and its divisions in North America and the other continents, consultants received assurance that both money and resources will continue to flow in support of this time and billing software program. We were excited to see the plans for the next five years in a “Roadmap” session, and look forward to their implementation.
Watch this space to learn about new features as we are allowed to share them with you.
Members at Eastern Legal Services LLC would be happy to answer your direct questions about Timeslips, since we provide sales, support and training services for this popular product. Please call 1-877-ELS-0555 and ask for Andrea Prigot (New York), Dana Riel (Baltimore/Washington, D.C.) or Jack Schaller (Eastern PA and NJ).
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.