Many software programs release a new version every year. Sometimes this leads to a release focused on fixing problems and with few things that make us say, you should upgrade. Other years we get a program filled with new features. While some of the new features may not have everything we want, Timeslips 2013 offers a solid set of new features that offer benefits to most customers, along with an effort to fix historical problems.
My favorite new feature in Timeslips 2013 is the ability to prevent the entry of slips outside a date range. As a consultant I cannot count the number of times I have found firms that set a start and end date on their bills. While intuitively this may make sense, it can lead to a problem of slips entered outside the date range and never billed. I have seen thousands of dollars of old time written off because it was omitted and is now stale. While you can run reports to check on this it, prevention is better. With Timeslips v2013 you can restrict slip entry date and prevent timekeepers from entering slips for dates that are in the past.
Have you have ever entered a number of slips and then discovered they were duplicates or needed to be deleted for some other reason? You could delete them one by one or, if they were in sequence you could purge them. More often, you had to manually delete one at a time. With Timeslips v2013 this minor mistake will no longer be a major hassle. The new delete multiple slips capability will increase efficiency in handling this task.
Timeslips v2013 also offers a new calendar feature. Because it is all in Timeslips you can ensure that all calendar appointments are accounted for and billed. While the calendar does not synchronize with Outlook or mobile devices, it is a useful addition for many and an easy way to a shared office calendar – with the added benefit of easily knowing about missing time.
Attachment capabilities have also been added to Timeslips v2013. If you have files that have been scanned as PDFs or created as word documents you can attach them to invoices being submitted electronically. Additionally, you can now initiate a scan from the slip entry screen and attach a receipt to a slip which will later be billed. This can help significantly with expense tracking and submitting reimbursements to clients.
When one activity takes places do you always want a second slip created? For example when entering a slip for “appearance in court” do you also want a slip for “travel time”? Timeslips v2013 includes a slip trigger to start a new slip when a slip with a certain task is saved. This will help ensure capture of more time and expenses.
Other new features in Timeslips v2013 include:
• Include slip notes on pre-bill worksheets to help with the billing process
• Calculate average days to pay to better forecast cash and to better understand your customers
• Set a relative date for custom fields. This is especially useful for those clients doing electronic billing and can remove the need to manually update these fields on each bill cycle
• When generating reports you can now create custom formulas on date fields, increasing the flexibility of reports
• Different predetermined price levels for expense items. At this time you cannot set a default expense price level for a client like you can with time, but the levels are there making it easier to make sure the right prices are charged
• Save paper when printing bills. If your printer has a duplex print capability, Timeslips can now take advantage of this functionality including the ability to set what should be on a new page when duplex printing.
It is also important to note that Sage has implemented a new upgrade policy. Effective October 1, 2012, upgrades will only be sold to those on a supported version of Timeslips. Supported is defined as the current version or two back. So, after October 1st if you are running older versions of Timeslips you will have to pay for a new license, instead of an upgrade. For a single license the additional cost is currently around $100 but this rises as the number of users increases. Whether or not we agree with the policy, Sage joins a growing number of companies requiring customers to “stay current” or face a penalty. If you are running an older version of Timeslips the new features available plus the policy change make this a good time to upgrade.
If you would like to learn more about Timeslips 2013 and whether you should upgrade, or have questions about the new policy, please call Caren at 203-254-7736. Remember we will assist you with any version of Timeslips and, if you choose to upgrade, we will make sure you get the best price.