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Real-time billing app for lawyers

By Lwavela Jongilanga, Portals journalist
Johannesburg, 19 Jan 2015
The MobiTrac app enables lawyers to bill their mobile calls by their hourly rate, says DAS' Russel Roth.
The MobiTrac app enables lawyers to bill their mobile calls by their hourly rate, says DAS' Russel Roth.

Local office solutions provider, Document Accounting Solutions (DAS), has unveiled an app designed to simplify the legal fraternity's billing challenges.

The MobiTrac app comes at a time when organisations aim to capitalise on mobile advancements, with real-time call logging and time billing applications.

According to Russel Roth, MD of DAS, MobiTrac is designed for lawyers to bill their mobile calls according to their hourly consultation rate and/or the cost of a cellular call.

Roth explains the app captures and differentiates between private and business calls accurately and reliably in a simple and user-friendly interface on users' smartphones.

"Research has shown that an attorney typically spends no less than an hour per day on billable cellular calls. Most billable cellular calls are, however, not captured accurately and, therefore, not recovered," he says.

"Putting this in to perspective: a small law firm with 10 fee earners, each with an average consulting rate of R1 500 per hour, spends an hour per day on billable cellular calls. This equates to R15 000 per day or R300 000 per month of otherwise lost billings."

The app can further be utilised to track consulting time when in meetings or simply working on a client's matter.

According to Roth, the app eliminates paperwork involved in call sheet recording, and chronicles all calls accurately with real-time call capturing.

The collected data can be automatically fed into the back-office billing or accounting system and provides a detailed view on client call patterns, he notes.

Roth says to gain access to the app, law firms need to install the software on their server and the app is then installed on each lawyer's cellphone to activate the system.

"You can't download the app from an app store. It's only available to the lawyer, once the law firm purchases the software system," he says.

"This way we can customise the solution to a particular law firm's needs."

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