Time & Billing Software for Macs
One of the questions that I am asked most often is "What software is available for time & billing on a Mac?" In answering that question, I try to explain that this is often a very personal decision for attorneys, because not everyone has the same "wants" and "needs" when it comes to time and billing software.
My firm recently switched from LawStream Pro (which we have used for the last several years) to Rocket Matter for our time & billing needs, and we are very pleased with the change. Rocket Matter is very easy to setup and use, and it is available from anywhere since it's web-based. Even better, it tightly integrates its time & billing functionality with its case management features (contacts, calendar, to-do's, etc.), which enables you to maximize the amount of time you can capture and bill.
As for the other time and billing options that are available for Macs, you might want to check The Unofficial Apple Weblog's "App Roundup: Timekeeping and Billing" (Part One and Part Two). While I believe that most of these programs are overly simplistic and not adequate for the time and billing needs of a lawfirm, you may disagree and find the "perfect" program for you, your practice, or your other business.
Thanks to Pete Summerill of the MacLitigator blog for his post about the TUAW series.
One application listed in TUAW's round-up that I feel deserves mention is Marketcircle's Billings. It may not be robust enough to support a medium/large-sized law firm, but its certainly enough for a sole practitioner such as myself. It does both by dockets and invoices. My accounting is done in QuickBooks. This combination does everything I need it to do, and it's inexpensive, to boot.
You stated "While I believe that most of these programs are overly simplistic and not adequate for the time and billing needs of a lawfirm..". I would like you to introduce TimeSolv Legal http://www.timesolv.com/ to your audience, a time and billing system specifically designed to meet the needs of Law Firms. Features include:
Trust Accounts
UTMBS (Uniform Task-Based Management System)
LEDES (Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standard
Conflicts Management
Narrative Replacement Codes
Multiple Timers
Assortment of reports for monitoring performance
PC and Mac Compatible