Liberate from Linetime - Practice Management
Liberate supports ALL aspects of Practice Management, providing full Client Management, Practice Diary and Relationship Marketing functionality, together with a comprehensive legal accounting system.
The accounting system incorporates a full ledger set (with separate Counsel fees ledger), full credit control and aged debtor reporting. Automated time recording and billing procedures (including Criminal Billing functionality) are also included within the base Practice Management system.
Liberate Practice Management fully integrates front office (fee earners) and back office (accounts and administration) functions, embracing client and office accounting, time recording, diaries, spreadsheets, word processing, marketing and litigation procedure support.
Modularized, database structured and web enabled, Liberate uses the latest graphical user interface technology to ensure consistency of function across modules reducing learning time and simplifying efficient use.
Liberate Practice Management complies with the Law Society's Solicitors Accounts Rules and is an effective basis for Legal Aid Franchising and Criminal Defence Service requirements.
Major Functions
* Fee earner Support ..workflow,
..diary and time recording
* Accounts Support
..client nominal and purchase ledger
..management accounts
..automated Bank Reconciliation
..automated billing
* Document Support
..word processing
..spreadsheet integration
* Database Support
..client mailing
..strongroom registry
See our Practice Management brochure for more on this highly acclaimed product.
Liberate – professional products for legal professionals
Liberate is a software application developed by dedicated legal software supplier Linetime to meet the individual and ever-changing requirements of the legal sector professional. Recognising the differing needs of accounts/support staff and fee earners Liberate is an ideal choice for practices wishing to link "back-office" and "front-office" functions to improve operational efficiency.
Core functional areas within Liberate are: -
- Practice Management
- Debt Recovery
- Practice Performance
- Case Management
- Contact Marketing
- Web Access
Highly flexible and extremely easy-to-use, Liberate is built around a single client/matter centric Microsoft SQL Server database, eliminating duplicate data entry and maximising productivity. Users access the system via a standard MS-Windows interface common across the whole system. This reduces learning time, increases staff mobility and provides a higher level of working flexibility within the busy practice. Liberate users look for (and receive) improvements in practice productivity and customer satisfaction levels as many of the features within Liberate allow them to examine and optimise their fee earner to support staff ratios.
Liberate is available as a complete system for practice-wide implementation or as a series of stand-alone departmental solutions.
Practice Management – fully functional legal accounting system
The Practice Management functionality of Liberate supports ALL aspects of financial practice management and has all the capabilities expected in a modern and comprehensive legal accounting system. A full ledger set with aged debt, forecasting and budgeting capability is incorporated. Seamless integration to leading office productivity tools such as Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel are delivered as part of the Liberate core product.
Practice Management includes: -
• Client Ledger, Nominal Ledger, Purchase and Counsel Ledger
• Fee Earner Desktop
• Time Recording and Automated Billing
• Money Laundering and Conflict Checking (3 levels)
• Automated Bank Reconciliation
• Credit Control system
• Management Reporting and Enquiries
• Plain English Language Report Generator
PLUS
• Centralised Client Record (single database)
• Ability to set disbursement, fee and WIP limits
• Multiple client, office and deposit accounts
• Budget analysis with variance reporting
• Mouse or Keyboard navigation
• Open Period Accounting
• Retrospective Reporting
• Daily Audit Trail of ALL transactions
• Multiple VAT categories - auto-produced VAT return
• Euro ready
• Client Interest Calculator
Liberate Practice Management meets with the Law Society Solicitors Account and Franchise Rules, Deposit Interest Rules and is Criminal Defence Service (CDS) compliant.
• Automatic Forms Production - CDS6, CDS7, CDS9, CDS11
• UFN generation including lead UFN
• Pre-populated database of key fields
• Supervision and File Review system
• Case Budget/Limit monitoring
• LAFQAS 2001 compliant
Time Recording
Users of Liberate's legal practice management record their time (billable or non-billable) using a variety of methods. Time details input can then be analysed in a number of ways and at a number of levels. Performance reports are available.
• Chargeable time
• by fee earner, matter type, department
• Billed time
• by fee earner, matter type, department
• Unproductive or Non-chargeable time
• by fee earner, matter type, department
The system maintains a library of current LSC rates and a user-definable table of "custom" charges. Specific rates can be applied according to fee earner, client or matter type.
Time Recording features:
• On-Screen timesheet entry
• variable length time recording units
• standard time charges per document
• multiple Billing Rate per fee earner
• Clock based Time Recording
• up to 5 active clocks
• Timesheet monitoring
• missing timesheet notification
• Auto time revaluation
• especially useful for LSC work
Nominal Ledger
The Nominal ledger produces Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet and Trial Balance reports by cost centre, branch or practice. With full accrual, pre-payments and reserve postings plus traditional nominal ledger journal posting facilities, the software allows practices to accurately manage their accounts at all levels. Budget variance reports over any period up to two full accounting years are incorporated.
Purchase/Counsel Ledger
The Purchase/Counsel ledger provides efficient management of purchasing and cash flow. Reporting is extensive and flexible with the storage of useful information on past supplier histories.
A direct relationship to Client and Matter ledgers allows accurate recording of all incurred but unpaid invoices including Counsel Fee notes.
Credit Control
Client and matter based, this flexible system takes into account all outstanding matter balances for the client when producing letters, statements, memos or e-mails.
Accounts are aged from the transaction date of the bill providing a very accurate debt profile. The user can pre-define procedures or flow-paths pertinent to each specific client enabling a "personalised" service approach.
• Chase outstanding invoices via transaction date
for quicker debt recovery
• Facility to put clients on stop/hold/suspense
for better risk management
• Set-up and monitor instalment payment plans
for flexible and accurate debt recovery
• Bill Posting and Bill Book programs
for accurate mailing to specific billing address
• User definable letter and statement writer
for personalised client service
• Credit limit exceeded - warning or stop messages
for better financial control
Reporting
A wide range of standard reports is complemented by the addition of an in-built full function report generator. Using English language queries practice staff create reports that match their exact individual requirements. Reports are stored for later re-use and may be printed or e-mailed according to a pre-defined reporting schedule. Report data can also be exported to external data management products such as Excel.
• Over 140 standard reports
• Retrospective reporting
• Report Auto-Scheduler and Report Library
• Secure and controlled data access
Fee Earner Desktop
The Liberate Fee Earner Desktop software is an easy to use support system designed to maximise billings and reduce costs.
• Client & Matter Enquiries
• Client & Matter Maintenance
• On-screen Time Recording
• On-Line Cheque Requisition
• Automated Billing with Billing Wizard
• Conflict of Interest Search (3 levels)
• Full "drill-down" on all financial data
• Printing from all screens.
Download our document on Liberates legal practice management
LIBERATE PRACTICE MANAGEMENT – Hay & Kilner
Linetime’s award winning accounts and practice management system (PMS) has been in constant development over the past 25 years. To say it is the most comprehensive legal Practice Management Software system on the market is probably an understatement as testified by Linetime’s constant high standing within the Law Society’s Software Supplier’s Guide and its growing base of highly satisfied customers. For example. . .
Hay & Kilner is located in Newcastle upon Tyne city with a branch office in Wallsend and offer a broad range of legal services both to individuals and corporate clients within the UK and overseas. In addition the firm offers both high volume bulk services to corporate lenders as well as more personalised bespoke services to individual clients.
“The key to choosing the correct Practice Management Software for your firm is to look forward” so said Hay & Kilner’s Tim Bennett. “The legal business has changed substantially over the past 10 years and it will undoubtedly continue to change over the next. Therefore whoever you choose as your legal software supplier must have in place the capability and the willingness to keep their software systems at the leading edge of technology. They must utilise the very best development tools and hence be able to deliver an almost constant stream of innovations to be the market.
“It goes without saying that the accounting and other management features must be there and that the system must be robust and easy to use, with seamless integration between the front office fee earning staff and the back office accounts and administration.
“Not only does the Liberate Practice Management system contain what I consider to the industry’s foremost accounts system, it also has the most flexible and user friendly management reporting and operational tools I have ever seen.
“For example, the Liberate Fee Earner Desktop software has proven to be extremely easy to use enabling us to increase the physical number of billings we can despatch each day whilst reducing the costs per bill. The ease of client and matter enquiries and the maintenance of the files has helped us to become far more efficient whilst the on-screen time recording system ensures that we track all client related activities – which itself has improved the accuracy of our billing.
“In addition, the various innovative online services that Linetime has developed have also had a significant impact to the efficiency of our business and the level and quality of client service - online cheque requisition is just one example of a Liberate development that we plan to roll out during 2008.
“Our firm’s risk management has also significantly improved since the introduction of Liberate and its comprehensive Conflict of Interest Search facility. In our particular case our new software also had to cope with a very varied workload and with a demanding and ambitious set of partners. I’m pleased to say that Liberate from Linetime has exceeded all our expectations.
Liberate Practice Management – Features
Recognising the differing needs of accounts staff and fee earners Liberate supports all aspects of Practice Management, providing full Client Management, Practice Diary, Time Recording and Relationship Marketing functionality, together with a comprehensive legal Accounting System. It is an ideal choice for practices wishing to link ‘back office’ and ‘front office’ functions to improve operational efficiency. Seamless integration to Microsoft Outlook, Word & Excel is standard.
Liberate Practice Management includes:
• Client Ledger Nominal, Purchase & Counsel Ledgers
• Fee Earner Desktop & full Credit Control system with Time Recording & Automated Billing
• Money laundering & Conflict Checking – 3 levels & Automated Bank Reconciliation
• Management Accounts, Reporting and Enquiries
• Plain English Language Report Generator & Retrospective reporting
• Centralised Client Record – single database
• Flexible disbursement, fee and WIP limits & Open period accounting
• Multiple client, office & deposit accounts
• Budget analysis with variance reporting
• Daily audit trail on all transactions
• Multiple VAT categories – automatic VAT returns
• Client mailing & strongroom registry
Liberate Practice Management complies with the Law Society's Solicitors Account, Deposit Interest & Franchise Rules and is Criminal Defence Service compliant.
For more information on Practice Management and download the Hay & Kilner case study