7 Smart Apps for Your Law Practice
When it comes to running your law office, all apps are not created equal.
Some will save you time and money. Others will help keep you organized. And some aren’t worth downloading.
From payroll to project management, you can find an online app that promises to make your life easier. But not all apps live up to their promise.
Which is why this article by Jamie Johnson in CO is helpful. It lists seven good app choices for everything from communicating with your team to tracking your daily expenses.
- Best messaging app: Slack
What it is: an instant messaging app that solves the problem of overlapping emails and endless threads
Why Johnson likes it: “You can create multiple public or private channels, depending on your business’s needs. There is no limit to the number of users you can add to your Slack channels. Best of all, Slack makes it easy to share images, documents and PDFs right within the platform. It also automatically indexes and archives everything, so you’ll always have a record of your conversations.”
Some alternatives: Microsoft Teams, Rocket.Chat, Mattermost
- Best for accepting payments: Square
What it is: an all-in-one payment system
Why Johnson likes it: “A POS system that makes it easy for small businesses to get paid. It’s a great option thanks to its affordable pricing, easy setup and free online tools. However, Square is best for low-volume merchants that work in low-risk industries. As your business continues to grow, you may find that you need more functionality than Square offers.”
Some alternatives: Lightspeed, Payment Depot, Shopify
- Best for Accounting: Quickbooks
What it is: the most popular accounting software on the market
Why Johnson likes it: “The company’s cloud-based software is intuitive, easy to use and offers numerous integrations. You can send invoices, pay your employees and prepare for tax season with the company’s robust software. And the company offers video tutorials to help you learn how to navigate the platform.”
Some alternatives: FreshBooks, Wave Accounting, Sage Business Cloud Accounting
- Best for project management: Trello
What it is: a project management software that makes it easier for teams to collaborate
Why Johnson likes it: “Within each Trello board, you can create individual cards outlining the various tasks needed to complete a project. Within each card, you can assign due dates, tag other members, create checklists and upload documents and images. The app offers dozens of integrations, including Evernote, Slack, and Google Drive.”
Some alternatives: Basecamp, Asana, Airtable
- Best for time tracking: Toggl
What it is: a streamlined way to track hours
Why Johnson likes it: “It provides flexible, cloud-based time tracking software for individuals and businesses. At the end of the month, you can export your time logs to a spreadsheet. These reports will give you additional insights into how much time your employees are spending on a given task. It may also help you determine what projects are the most profitable for your business.”
Some alternatives: Hubstaff, RescueTime, DeskTime
- Best for creating and sharing to-do lists: Wunderlist
What it is: a great to-do list
Why Johnson likes it: “It lets you create multiple to-do lists, and you can assign tasks to other people on your team. This makes it easier to collaborate remotely with your employees and ensure the work is getting done. In 2015, Wunderlist was acquired by Microsoft, and the company has said it plans to shut the app down eventually. Four years later, Wunderlist is still going strong, although Microsoft isn’t updating the app. If you’re concerned about this, you can check out one of the Wunderlist alternatives.”
Some alternatives: OmniFocus, Evernote, nTask
- Best for managing expense reports: Expensify
What it is: a way to track receipts and expenses
Why Johnson likes it: “You can take a photo of a receipt, and the software will automatically transcribe the details for you. Expensify will also categorize each receipt, saving you a lot of time in the process. The platform will allow your employees to submit business receipts for reimbursement, and it also directly syncs with most major accounting software.
Some alternatives: Zoho Books, QuickBooks Enterprise, Xero
Disclaimer: Lawyers Mutual doesn’t endorse any of these products, nor have we tested them ourselves. The opinions are solely those of the article’s author.
Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce CO
