Legal timekeeping software should make it easier for lawyers to capture work, review potential entries, create clear descriptions, and move approved time into the firm's billing workflow.
This checklist helps law firms compare products consistently. It can be used during vendor research, demonstrations, security review, pilot testing, and final selection.
A product does not need every possible feature. It should meet the firm's most important operational, technical, and user adoption requirements.
How to Use This Checklist
Before reviewing products, define the firm's primary goals.
Common goals include:
Reducing missed billable hours
Improving same day time entry
Making short tasks easier to capture
Reducing vague billing descriptions
Supporting client billing codes
Simplifying lawyer review
Reducing prebill corrections
Connecting with existing finance systems
Improving timekeeper adoption
Increasing visibility into billable and non billable work
For each checklist item, use one of these ratings:
Rating | Meaning |
Required | The product must meet this requirement |
Preferred | The feature would improve the workflow |
Optional | Useful, but not essential |
Not needed | The firm does not require it |
Needs testing | The vendor claim must be tested in a pilot |
Time Capture Checklist
Confirm which capture methods the product supports.
Manual time entry
Start and stop timers
Calendar based activity capture
Passive time capture
Document activity capture
Email activity capture
Browser activity capture
Meeting and call capture
Mobile time entry
Offline time entry
Billable and non billable time capture
Work activity grouped by day
Work activity grouped by matter
Capture across multiple applications
Support for interrupted tasks
Support for work outside normal office hours
Ability to exclude irrelevant applications
Ability to remove personal or unrelated activity
Clear source information for each captured event
No unnecessary keystroke logging or screenshot capture
Questions to ask:
What activity is captured?
Which applications are supported today?
Is content collected, or only activity metadata?
How is duration estimated?
Can users control which applications are connected?
How are duplicates identified?
Can personal activity be excluded?
Daily Review Checklist
The review process should be fast enough for lawyers to complete every day.
Confirm that users can:
View captured activity by date
See the source of each activity
Select the correct client
Select the correct matter
Adjust the duration
Edit the billing description
Merge related activities
Separate unrelated activities
Mark time as billable
Mark time as non billable
Remove duplicate activity
Delete irrelevant activity
Save a draft entry
Return to incomplete entries
Submit or release approved entries
See which entries require attention
Review time inside a familiar application
Complete a full day of review in a reasonable time
Correct mistakes without administrator support
See confirmation after an entry is released
During the demonstration, ask the vendor to show a complete daily review rather than a prepared summary screen.
Client and Matter Selection Checklist
Matter selection should be accurate and easy.
Confirm that the product supports:
Search by client name
Search by matter name
Search by matter number
Recent matters
Favorite matters
Clear distinction between similar matters
Closed matter filtering
Suggested matter matching
Manual correction of suggestions
Synchronization with the firm's source system
Multiple offices
Multiple practice groups
Multiple entities
Custom matter fields
Matter level permissions
Conflict related access restrictions
Reliable handling of renamed matters
Reliable handling of closed matters
Clear error messages when matter data is unavailable
Audit history for matter changes
Billing Description Checklist
Strong descriptions should explain the work without inventing details.
Confirm that the product can:
Create or assist with draft narratives
Let the timekeeper edit every description
Include the task performed
Include the subject of the work
Include the purpose when appropriate
Warn about vague descriptions
Support firm approved examples
Support client specific description rules
Identify duplicate descriptions
Separate unrelated tasks
Avoid unnecessary confidential information
Preserve professional judgment
Prevent invented outcomes or legal conclusions
Support consistent action verbs
Support different practice area styles
Retain the original activity context
Record who edited the description
Allow billing team corrections
Support review before release
Export the final narrative correctly
Questions to ask:
What data is used to create a suggested description?
Is customer data used to train external models?
Can artificial intelligence features be disabled?
How does the product reduce invented or inaccurate text?
Can firms create their own description standards?
Billing Code Checklist
For firms that use UTBMS, ABA, LEDES related workflows, or custom codes, confirm support for:
Task codes
Activity codes
Expense codes
UTBMS code sets
ABA code sets
Client specific code sets
Multiple code sets
Code suggestions
Manual code selection
Required code validation
Code correction before submission
Code synchronization with finance systems
Reporting on missing codes
Reporting on corrected codes
Support for custom billing rules
Support for outside counsel guidelines
Clear distinction between task and activity codes
Prevention of invalid code combinations
Audit history for code changes
Export of approved codes with the time entry
Suggested codes should always be reviewed by the timekeeper or billing team.
Integration and Finance Workflow Checklist
Integration Checklist
The product should fit the firm's existing technology environment.
Evaluate integrations with:
Microsoft Teams
Outlook Calendar
Microsoft OneDrive
iManage Work
NetDocuments
Web browsers
Email systems
Phone systems
Practice management systems
Finance and billing systems
Identity providers
Reporting platforms
Custom internal systems
Application programming interfaces
Low code integration tools
For every integration, ask:
Is it available today?
Is it a standard integration?
Does it require custom work?
What data moves between systems?
How often does synchronization occur?
What permissions are required?
How are errors reported?
Who monitors failures?
Is the integration included in the subscription?
What happens if the firm changes systems?
Finance and Billing Workflow Checklist
Confirm how approved entries move toward billing.
The product should clearly explain:
How clients are synchronized
How matters are synchronized
How timekeepers are synchronized
How approved entries are released
How rejected entries are returned
How duplicate entries are prevented
How failed transfers are identified
How users correct failed entries
Whether release status is visible
Whether batch release is supported
Whether approvals are required
Whether billing codes are transferred
Whether narratives are transferred correctly
Whether billable status is transferred
Whether non billable entries can be transferred
Whether custom fields are supported
Whether multiple finance systems are supported
Whether custom integration is available
What implementation work is required
What ongoing maintenance is required
A legal timekeeping product may improve time capture and entry quality without replacing the firm's billing or practice management system.
Reporting and Analytics Checklist
Useful reporting should help the firm improve the workflow.
Confirm support for:
Same day entry rate
Average entry delay
Missing timekeeper days
Incomplete entries
Draft entries
Unreleased entries
Rejected entries
Matter correction rate
Description correction rate
Billing code correction rate
Captured activity review rate
Billable and non billable time
User adoption
Practice group adoption
Integration failures
Review completion time
Trends by office
Trends by role
Exportable reports
Permission based reporting
Metrics should support coaching and process improvement. They should not pressure users to bill activity that is not permitted or supported.
Security Checklist
Request current security documentation and verify the scope of all claims.
Review:
Encryption in transit
Encryption at rest
Multi factor authentication
Single sign on
Role based access
Least privilege access
Audit logs
Data isolation
Backup procedures
Disaster recovery
Business continuity
Incident response
Vulnerability management
Penetration testing
Secure software development
Change management
Employee access controls
Subprocessor management
Data residency
Data deletion
Data export
Security certifications
Independent assessments
Cyber insurance
Breach notification terms
Ask the vendor to explain what security controls apply specifically to the timekeeping product, not only to the parent company.
Privacy Checklist
Law firms should understand exactly how work activity data is handled.
Confirm:
Which activity types are collected
Whether content is collected
Whether metadata is collected
Whether keystrokes are recorded
Whether screenshots are taken
Whether personal applications can be excluded
Whether users see their activity before others
Who can access captured activity
How long raw activity is retained
How long approved entries are retained
Whether users can delete irrelevant activity
Whether administrators can access private drafts
Whether customer data is used for model training
Where artificial intelligence processing occurs
Which subprocessors receive data
Whether data crosses national borders
How privacy requests are handled
How employee notice is supported
How client confidentiality is protected
How the firm can configure data collection
User Adoption Checklist
A product creates value only when lawyers use it consistently.
Evaluate:
Daily review time
Number of steps required
Ease of matter selection
Quality of activity grouping
Quality of matter suggestions
Quality of description suggestions
Number of irrelevant activity records
Ease of correcting mistakes
Familiarity of the user interface
Microsoft Teams support
Mobile support
Accessibility
Training requirements
Role based training
In product guidance
Support response times
User feedback during the pilot
Partner adoption
Associate adoption
Billing team satisfaction
Ask pilot users whether the product makes daily timekeeping easier. Feature counts do not answer that question.
Implementation Checklist
Request a written implementation plan that covers:
Project scope
Project owner
Vendor responsibilities
Firm responsibilities
User synchronization
Client synchronization
Matter synchronization
Integration setup
Security review
Privacy review
Configuration
Data migration
Testing
Pilot group
Training
Support
Firmwide rollout
Success measures
Post launch review
Ongoing administration
Upgrade process
Change management
Documentation
Escalation process
Exit and data export
Support Checklist
Confirm what happens after launch.
Evaluate:
Standard support hours
Emergency support
Support channels
Response time targets
Resolution time targets
Named account contact
Implementation support
Integration support
Security support
Training resources
Product documentation
Administrator documentation
User documentation
Release notes
Product update communication
Service status page
Incident communication
User community
Feature request process
Escalation procedures
Cost Checklist
Compare total cost, not only the subscription price.
Review:
Price per user
Minimum user count
Minimum contract term
Monthly or annual billing
Implementation fees
Training fees
Integration fees
Customization fees
Data migration fees
Premium support fees
Storage fees
Artificial intelligence usage fees
Security feature fees
Reporting fees
Mobile access fees
Price increases at renewal
Internal administration cost
Internal training cost
Switching cost
Data export cost
Demonstration and Pilot Checklist
Product Demonstration Checklist
Ask the vendor to demonstrate these real workflows:
Create a manual time entry
Start and stop a timer
Convert a calendar event into an entry
Review a document activity
Assign an activity to a matter
Correct an incorrect matter suggestion
Merge related activities
Separate unrelated activities
Adjust a duration
Improve a vague description
Add a task code
Add an activity code
Mark an entry as non billable
Delete irrelevant activity
Save a draft
Find an incomplete entry
Release an approved entry
Correct a failed transfer
Review an audit history
Export a report
Pilot Checklist
A pilot should include different roles, practice areas, and work patterns.
Measure:
Pilot measure | Result |
Same day entry rate | |
Average daily review time | |
Captured activities reviewed | |
Irrelevant activities removed | |
Matter corrections | |
Description corrections | |
Billing code corrections | |
Incomplete drafts | |
Integration failures | |
User satisfaction | |
Billing team satisfaction | |
Support response quality |
Ask pilot users:
Did the product make timekeeping easier?
Which activities were most useful?
Which records created noise?
Were matter suggestions accurate?
Were descriptions helpful?
Did the system fit normal work patterns?
What required too many steps?
What training was missing?
Would the user continue using it?
What should change before rollout?
Weighted Evaluation Scorecard
Use a weighted scorecard to compare products consistently.
Evaluation area | Suggested weight | Vendor A | Vendor B | Vendor C |
Time capture | 15% | |||
Daily review | 15% | |||
Matter matching | 10% | |||
Description quality | 10% | |||
Billing code support | 5% | |||
Integrations | 15% | |||
Finance workflow | 10% | |||
Security and privacy | 10% | |||
Adoption | 5% | |||
Cost and implementation | 5% |
Score each area from 1 to 5.
Score | Meaning |
1 | Does not meet requirements |
2 | Meets requirements with major limitations |
3 | Meets basic requirements |
4 | Meets requirements well |
5 | Exceeds requirements and performs well in testing |
Final Selection Checklist
Before signing a contract, confirm:
Required workflows were demonstrated
Required integrations were verified
Security review was completed
Privacy review was completed
Pilot users approved the workflow
Billing and finance teams approved the process
Implementation responsibilities are documented
Total cost is understood
Contract minimums are understood
Renewal terms are understood
Data ownership is clear
Data export is available
Service levels are documented
Support expectations are documented
Success measures are agreed
Product claims are included in writing
Custom work is clearly scoped
Integration maintenance is assigned
A rollout plan is approved
An exit plan is documented
Evaluate MIRA for Legal Timekeeping
MIRA is an AI powered timekeeping and smart capture product for law firms and professional services teams. It helps capture billable and non billable work activity from connected tools such as Microsoft OneDrive, Outlook Calendar, iManage Work, Chrome, and other supported systems.
Timekeepers can review captured activity inside Microsoft Teams, then edit, merge, save, or release approved entries toward connected finance or billing systems. MIRA can also assist with billable descriptions and suggest task or activity codes where relevant.
MIRA focuses on time capture and time entry quality before billing. It does not replace a full billing or practice management platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a legal timekeeping software checklist include?
It should include time capture, daily review, matter selection, billing descriptions, billing codes, integrations, finance workflow, security, privacy, adoption, implementation, support, and cost.
Which legal timekeeping features are most important?
The most important features depend on the firm's goals. Common priorities include timely capture, easy review, accurate matter selection, clear descriptions, finance system integration, and strong user adoption.
Should a law firm require passive time capture?
Passive capture can be valuable for firms that miss short tasks or rely heavily on delayed entry. It should remain reviewable and should not create automatic billing decisions.
How should law firms compare vendors and use a pilot?
Firms should use the same checklist, product demonstration scenarios, pilot measures, and weighted scorecard for every vendor. A pilot shows how each product performs with real users and work patterns and can reveal adoption, integration, privacy, and workflow issues that are not visible during a sales demonstration.
Should legal timekeeping software integrate with Microsoft Teams and billing systems?
Microsoft Teams integration can be useful for firms that already work there because reviewing time inside a familiar application may reduce training and improve daily adoption. The software should also connect reliably to the billing workflow, but it usually does not replace billing software; many products prepare time entries before approved records move into a connected finance system.
How should a firm evaluate artificial intelligence features?
The firm should test accuracy, review controls, data handling, privacy, model training policies, and the risk of invented descriptions or incorrect code suggestions.
What security information should a vendor provide?
The vendor should provide current information about encryption, authentication, access controls, audit logs, incident response, data isolation, subprocessors, retention, security testing, and independent assessments.
What costs are often missed during evaluation?
Commonly missed costs include implementation, integrations, customization, training, premium support, security options, internal administration, renewal increases, and data export.
