Free Attorney Time Tracking Templates and Tips for Law Firms

Time is money—especially for law firms. Whether you’re a solo practitioner or part of a larger firm, keeping detailed records of how you spend your day ensures that you’re compensated fairly and helps you identify areas for improved efficiency in law firm accounting. Yet, many attorneys still rely on outdated or inconsistent methods for tracking their time, leading to missed billable hours and administrative headaches.

That’s where an attorney time-tracking template comes in. Using a structured timesheet is an easy and effective way to keep a close eye on your daily tasks—ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks. These templates are also designed specifically for legal professionals, with fields for case numbers, client names, and detailed work descriptions. Check out our free attorney time tracking templates and explore tips to streamline your law firm’s time management.

Daily Attorney Time Tracking Template

Using a daily attorney time tracking template ensures you capture billable hours in real time. While weekly or monthly tracking can seem convenient, daily tracking offers more accuracy and reduces the likelihood of missed billable opportunities.

Here’s how you can use our daily time tracking sheet:

1. Enter basic details like the date, attorney’s name, and law firm name at the top of the “Daily Template” tab.
2. Manually fill in details for each task, including:
   1. Case number
   2. Client name
   3. Task code
   4. Task description
   5. Rate
   6. Start time
   7. End time
   8. Total time
3. And voila! The spreadsheet will automatically calculate the line total for that task.

Avoid editing cells containing formulas unless you make intentional changes—as this could disrupt the calculations. If you need to adjust the billing increments, update the formula accordingly or calculate manually.

Note: You must be logged in to a Google Account to open and make a copy of the Google Sheets templates.

Weekly Attorney Time Tracking Template

A weekly attorney time-tracking template gives you a broader view of your billable hours and allows for more flexibility when logging tasks over several days. This approach is particularly useful when managing multiple cases or tasks that extend throughout the week.

To use the weekly attorney time tracking template:

1. Simply rename each tab to match the day you’re tracking, like “Mon: 10/7/2024.”
2. Enter the date, attorney’s name, and law firm name at the top.
3. Manually add details for each task, including:
   1. Case number
   2. Client name
   3. Task code (if applicable)
   4. Task description
   5. Rate
   6. Start time
   7. End time
   8. Total time.
4. The total rates for each day and the week will automatically be calculated for you.

Just be sure not to move any sections or edit the formula cells, as this will break the calculations. If you prefer different billing increments, tweak the formulas or calculate manually.

Note: You must be logged in to a Google Account to open and make a copy of the Google Sheets template.

Monthly Timesheet Template

A monthly timesheet template is a great option if you manage long-term cases or projects, providing a high-level overview of a client’s billable hours over an extended period. It’s especially useful for reviewing overall productivity and ensuring you don’t miss anything before submitting invoices.

To use the monthly timesheet template, follow these steps:

1. Rename each tab to reflect the week you’re tracking, such as “Week 1: 10/7/2024-10/13/2024.”
2. Enter the date, attorney’s name, and law firm name at the top of the sheet.
3. Manually fill in details for each task, including:
   1. Case number
   2. Client name
   3. Task code (if applicable)
   4. Task description
   5. Rate
   6. Start time
   7. End time
   8. Total time
4. Review the total rates—these will automatically calculate for each week and the entire month.

To prevent calculations from breaking, avoid moving sections or editing formula cells. If necessary, adjust the billing increment formulas or calculate time manually.

Note: You must be logged in to a Google Account to open and make a copy of the Google Sheets template.

What To Include in an Attorney Time Tracking Template

An effective attorney time-tracking template ensures accurate legal billing by capturing all essential details, so nothing is overlooked when tracking time and billing clients. Here are the standard fields you should include:

• Employee name and supervisor (if applicable): Identify the attorney and their overseeing supervisor for accountability.
• Case information: Include the case number and details for easy reference.
• Client information: Add client names to track who the work is for.
• Date range: Define the period you’re tracking.
• Date of task: Record the specific date each task was completed.
• Task name: List the task title for clarity.
• Task activity: Provide a brief description of the work done.
• Applicable billing/client codes: Include any codes required for internal tracking or client billing.
• Rate: Add your hourly rate for the task.
• Time tracked: Insert the start and end time or the total time spent on the task.
• Signature areas (if applicable): Provide this information if you need it for employee and supervisor approval.
• Total hours logged for the period: Include the sum of all time tracked for that time frame.
• Total cost: Don’t forget to add the total billable amount based on hours worked and rate.
• Distinction between billable and non-billable hours: Separate out billable hours from non-billable work to ensure accurate invoicing.

Overall, incorporating these elements enhances billing accuracy by providing clear, detailed records that support timely invoicing.

How To Track Billable Hours

Tracking billable hours efficiently can help your law firm maximize revenue while maintaining client transparency. Failing to track time accurately can lead to underbilling, disputes, or even missed revenue opportunities—ultimately affecting client trust and your firm’s profitability.

One of the best ways to ensure time tracking accuracy is by using an attorney billable hours chart. This chart breaks down time increments—typically in one-tenth of an hour—so you can record time quickly and accurately for each task you complete. Adopting this method also simplifies the overall tracking process and avoids the risk of underbilling.

For even greater efficiency, consider integrating time management software for law firms, which automatically tracks and logs hours as you work. And when you pair it with a legal invoice template, this system can streamline your entire billing process, from recording hours to invoicing clients. As a result, you can stay organized and ensure all billable hours are accounted for without spending extra time on manual tracking.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Attorney Timesheet Templates

While attorney timesheet templates are widely used for tracking time, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons to understand how these systems can impact your firm’s efficiency and accuracy in managing billable hours.

The benefits of attorney time tracking templates can include:

• Using a system that starts at no cost—with minimal setup and training required.
• The ability to standardize time data submissions across the law firm, improving consistency.
• Easily automating calculations in spreadsheets for time and billing totals.
• Improvement to your utilization rate based on the tracked time.
• While timesheet templates can be a convenient solution, they have several drawbacks that can hinder your firm’s productivity and accuracy.

The common challenges of using templates for time tracking can include:

• Versioning issues that are caused by multiple people using different file copies.
• A high likelihood of human error during manual data entry and analysis, which can lead to revenue leakage or ethical issues.
• Accidentally changing formulas that disrupts automatic calculations.
• Lack of mobile-friendliness, making it inconvenient to update on the go.
• Difficult integration with other systems and software.

Also, it’s tough to remember everything you’ve done—especially when separating billable vs. non-billable time—and it only gets harder the longer you wait to update the sheets.

Tips for Maintaining Accurate Time Tracking

Maintaining accurate time tracking is essential to avoid revenue leakage and ensure clients are billed correctly. Implementing efficient tracking methods can streamline your workflow and improve overall productivity. Here are some quick tips to help you stay on track:

• Consider online billing for easier access and automation, which can help improve tracking accuracy and efficiency.
• Track in real time to avoid forgetting billable tasks.
• Include detailed descriptions for each task to provide clarity and justification for billing.
• Make time to double-check entries before submitting them to catch errors.
• Use standardized tracking increments according to a billable hours chart.
• Enforce standard billing guidelines across the law firm to maintain consistency.
• Use passive time-tracking software to capture time without manual input.

According to our 2024 Legal Industry Report, 65% of law firms use online time-tracking software, with 47% of those firms capturing an additional 1-5 hours weekly. Furthermore, 50% of firms that use passive time-tracking software also capture 1-5 extra hours each week.

Automate Time Tracking and Invoice Generation With MyCase

Tracking time manually can be cumbersome and prone to errors. From ensuring accurate time logs to maintaining consistency across your firm, there’s a lot to manage. The good news? You can streamline this entire process by automating time tracking and invoice generation with MyCase. Our time-tracking software takes the hassle out of manual entries and calculations—letting you focus more on your legal work and less on administrative tasks.

If you’re to boost your firm’s efficiency and capture every billable hour, sign up for a free trial of MyCase today and see how easy it can be to manage time tracking and invoicing.