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TECH SUPPORT Clio aims for simplicity and ease of use — and succeeds admirably. Plus it offers the advantages of soſtware as a service: security, reduced capital and IT management costs, operating system ag- nosticism (it works on Macs and Linux machines too), and universal accessibil- ity. Disadvantages: a weaker feature set and difficulty adding content from exist- ing tools such as Outlook. VB was originally developed for B.C. family law litigator Gail Miller, a sole practitioner, by her husband, Ron Miller, a corporate controller by training. Gail Miller has used the program in one form or another since 1991 and the current incarnation for the last three years. The proof of its effectiveness: Miller runs a practice that bills $1 million a year with no support staff — and she has no un- collectible accounts. The program provides the complete complement of practice management functions listed above but differentiates itself from competitors, including Clio, in a couple of important ways. Most im- pressive is the way it automates time and disbursement tracking. Most practice management systems let you manually record disbursements, VB automates the process. When you print or fax a docu- ment, for example, the program auto- matically captures information about the activity and adds it as a disbursement. Unlike most practice management systems, VB is not a general ledger pro- gram, but includes complete financial management functionality. It gathers and manages financial data, including billing information, and passes it to a third- party small business accounting package, such as QuickBooks. This is one of the program's key advantages, says Ryan. It means financial data about matters and clients is not segregated from users to protect it for audit purposes as it is with most practice management programs. Summary information about trust ac- counts, retainers, and invoices is presented on every screen in a sidebar. Lawyers can see at a glance when they need to top up trust accounts, and can do it from within VB, or if they need to stop working on delinquent accounts. It also means firms don't need separate expense management systems such as Copitrak or Billback. Clio grew out of the consulting project Your IP partners that led to the Law Society of British Co- lumbia findings about the need for more computerized practice management among small firms. Themis recruited B.C. lawyers to test drive the product for several months, and launched it Oct. 1. While the LSBC is not materially in- experience. results. | | 26 NO VEMBER / DECEMBER 2008 www. mag.com volved in Clio, says Themis president and co-founder Jack Newton, it did pro- vide advice and recommendations on business rules to build into the program to prevent compliance issues that oſten arise with small firms. For example, Clio provides an easy-to-use time tracking feature that prevents lawyers deliberate- ly or inadvertently billing two clients for the same time. And the integrated bill- ing system makes it impossible to close a matter with an outstanding retainer. Clio features well-designed screens and easy-to-understand controls and menus.