Law firms lose significant billable revenue when time entry is delayed or brief client interactions go uncaptured throughout the day. MinuteDock helps you track every billable moment, from quick client emails to multi-hour client consultations, so you can bill accurately and maximize revenue.
Capture time as you work
When you delay time entry until end of day, you lose billable hours trying to reconstruct which client called or which document you drafted. Wait until week's end and revenue loss increases dramatically as details blur together across numerous matters.
The Dock and timer let you capture time instantly as you work, logging entries in seconds without breaking concentration. Your timesheet maintains a complete record with full context, eliminating end-of-day reconstruction about which matter you were working on.
Track brief client interactions
That quick email to a client, the brief scheduling call, the contract clause review between meetings. Individually they seem too small to track, but multiple emails daily and numerous quick calls easily add up to hours of billable time weekly that vanish when you think "I'll add it up later."
Natural language time entry makes capturing fractional time effortless. Type "7 min" or "0.1 hr" to add time without complex calculations. Your timesheet accumulates time by Contact and Task, making those incremental entries visible and billable rather than forgotten.
Switch between multiple matters efficiently
You'll typically work on multiple different matters daily, drafting contracts for one client, reviewing compliance documents for another, taking calls about tax planning, then returning to contract work. Traditional timers can't keep up with this pace, and manual reconstruction at day's end means guessing how much time went to which matter.
The redock feature lets you quickly resume previous time entries when returning to a matter after interruptions. Short Codes provide instant matter selection without scrolling through long Contact lists, and your timesheet organizes entries automatically so you can review all work for a specific matter even when interrupted multiple times.
Law firms typically use Contacts for clients and Projects for individual matters or file numbers, enabling precise time tracking to specific matters while maintaining client-level reporting.
Separate billable from non-billable work
You'll spend significant time on work that can't be billed to clients—administrative tasks, business development, continuing education, and internal meetings. Without tracking non-billable time separately, you can't understand true utilization rates or accurately assess matter profitability.
You can mark Tasks as unbillable, so these activities get tracked for internal analysis without appearing on client invoices. Unbillable Tasks still appear in your Reports for utilization analysis. Matter-specific work gets tracked under Contacts as billable, while general activities use unbillable Tasks for accurate distinction.
💡 Tip: Set up unbillable Tasks like #admin, #businessdev, and #training early. Tracking both billable and non-billable time reveals where your workday actually goes and helps identify delegation opportunities.
Monitor time against matter budgets
Large matters often come with agreed budgets or hour caps that require careful monitoring. Manually tracking progress against these limits creates additional administrative work while risking budget overruns that damage client relationships.
Goals track progress automatically as you log time to matters with hour or dollar budgets. Reports show detailed breakdowns of time spent, helping you make informed decisions about matter staffing and client communication before overruns occur.
Sync seamlessly with your accounting software
Your time tracking should flow directly into your accounting system without duplicate data entry. Available integrations mean invoices created from your tracked time sync automatically, giving you more time for billable work and less time on admin.
Accounting Integrations
After connecting your accounting software, you can create and sync invoices directly from your tracked time.
The Bottom Line
Reclaim lost revenue: Real-time tracking captures every billable moment, helping you recover the 10-50% of revenue currently lost to delayed entry and forgotten interactions
Turn brief interactions into billable line items: Those quick client calls and emails that once vanished now get captured without end-of-day reconstruction
See what actually drives profitability: Reports by Contact, Project, and Task reveal which practice areas and matter types are most profitable for your firm
Price future work accurately: Track exactly how much time different matter types consume so you can quote similar work with confidence and choose the right cases to pursue
Stay on top of matter budgets: Goals give you early warning when cases approach hour limits, so you can adjust staffing or have budget conversations before it's too late
Understand where your time really goes: Track both billable and non-billable time to reveal utilization rates and spot opportunities to delegate