In Numbers
What the switch means day to day
What consultancies and IT service providers measure with QUANTICAL.ERP day to day.
What time tracking has to do in a law firm
In a law firm, recorded time is the fee. Every six-minute unit that does not land on the matter is given away, and every unit that lands on the wrong matter costs a correction towards the client. At the same time, recording should not take longer than the work it records.
One thing up front: QUANTICAL.ERP is not practice management software for files, deadlines and court mailboxes. It is the layer above, where time is recorded, billed per matter and the firm is run as a business. Hourly fees come straight out of the bookings, statutory fees and flat fees are added as separate invoice lines.
For the partners the second half matters more than the first. Which matter pays for itself, which practice area is fully utilized, where do we stand in December if things continue like this? An income statement that moves with every booking answers those questions, not the accountant's annual accounts.
How law firms work with QUANTICAL.ERP
Create the matter, set team and rates
Each matter is a project with client, responsible partner, duration and file number as the external reference. Only people assigned to the matter can book on it. Each assignment carries its own hourly rate with a validity period: partner, associate and trainee at their rates, a key client at their terms.
Book time the client will read
The description of a booking later appears on the record of hours attached to the invoice. The matter's most recent bookings are available as wording aids, and the text improvement turns keywords into full sentences. What the client reads is no longer an internal note.
Hourly fees and statutory fees on one invoice
The monthly invoice run produces the hourly fee per matter from bookings times rate, individually or grouped per client, with the stored payment terms. Statutory fees, flat fees and disbursements are added as manual lines with quantity and unit price. Billed hours are locked, the record of hours is attached if you wish, and the receivable is created automatically.
Firm controlling with actuals and forecast
Bookings times rate produce revenue, stored salaries produce cost, and the difference is the margin per matter, client and fee earner. The projection carries the trend to date forward to year end, day by day. A switch toggles between actuals and forecast, pivot reports export to PDF and Excel.
Permissions for partners and staff
Staff see their own bookings, records of hours, vacation days and sick leave. Revenue, cost, salaries and the firm's income statement are reserved for owners of the organization. Sensitive personnel data is encrypted in the database, and all data is hosted on servers in Germany.
Where Excel hours lists fail law firms
One hours list per fee earner in Excel is the norm in small firms. It works until someone has to merge the lists at month end, map the rates and write the invoices. That day regularly costs a partner a full working day that cannot be billed.
Then there are the errors the client finds: units on the wrong matter, an associate rate on partner work, hours already billed the month before. Each case costs a corrected invoice and a piece of trust.
The most uncomfortable part is that the list forgets. It shows the state, not how it came about. Whoever has to explain the 32 hours from March to a client needs every booking with date, author and description.
Frequently asked questions from law firms
Does QUANTICAL.ERP replace our practice management software?
No. Files, deadlines, correspondence and court mailboxes stay in your practice management software. QUANTICAL.ERP takes over time recording, fee billing, receivables and the controlling of the firm as a business.
How do we bill statutory fees?
Statutory fees, flat fees and disbursements are entered as manual invoice lines with description, quantity and unit price, on the same invoice as the hourly fee. QUANTICAL.ERP does not calculate the statutory fee amount itself; that comes from your practice software or your fee table.
Can partners, associates and trainees have different rates?
Yes, per matter. The hourly rate sits on the assignment of a person to a matter, with a validity period. The same person can book on two matters at two rates.
Where is client data stored?
On servers in Germany. Sensitive personnel data of the firm is encrypted in the database. Access runs through roles, and staff only see their own bookings.
What does QUANTICAL.ERP cost for a law firm?
12.90 euros per user per month, cancellable monthly, all features included. Before that, 90 days free with the full feature set and no payment details required.