AutoTime (Prosper+ only) is a powerful tool for workers’ compensation firms. Since AutoTime tracks how much time you are spending on your matters, it gives workers’ compensation law firms insight into profitability.
For workers’ compensation firms that represent plaintiffs, tracking every activity that you complete for a client is important, even though matters are contingent. You will have an accurate record of your firm's billable time for a client and matter expenses to present if you need to file a fee petition.
For workers’ compensation defense firms, AutoTime allows you to catch more billable hours while spending less time manually tracking and entering time.
Utilizing AutoTime for Workers’ Compensation Attorneys
Smokeball will track all Activity for items that are attached to the matter. Depending on the billing type set for the matter, AutoTime will create billable or non-billable entries for the matter using the tracked activities.
| Billing Type | AutoTime | Time Finder | Manual Entry |
| [Not Set] | Billable | Billable | Billable |
| Fixed Fee | Non-Billable | Non-Billable | Billable |
| Fixed Fee by Appearance | Non-Billable | Non-Billable | Billable |
| Time Based | Billable | Billable | Billable |
| Contingency (%) | Non-Billable | Non-Billable | Non-Billable |
| Contingency ($) | Non-Billable | Non-Billable | Non-Billable |
| Not Billable | Non-Billable | Non-Billable | Non-Billable |
Expense Tracking
You can track expenses for every matter in the Time & Expenses tab and also:
- Set up Activity Codes for common costs and expenses including medical records, police reports, witness fees, postage, filing fees, etc.
- Create a fixed fee entry for whatever % of the settlement was agreed upon with each client, even if your fee is contingent. This is important to put on an invoice through Smokeball Billing, especially for Profitability Reports.
Even if you choose to not utilize AutoTime, Smokeball is still automatically tracking activity for Prosper+ users. You can utilize the detailed description of all time spent on the matter if you need to file a Petition for Fees in court.
Activity can be exported to a CSV format, and you can view more than one month's activity at a time on the individual matter.
Once the matter is closed and you have entered your firm’s portion of the settlement or billed and collected for time, you can go to the Matter Insights section for an in-depth look at profitability for the matter.
Additional Resources
- Learn how to track settlement deposits, make trust payments, print checks, and provide invoices to the client that document your contingency fees and expenses.
- You can Print or Export Activity to provide a full list of all activity done for a client.
- You can Add an Activity for any activity not captured by Smokeball.