Time is the foundation of most legal billing models. Whether your firm charges hourly, uses flat-fee arrangements, or works on hybrid pricing structures, the value of legal work is measured in time spent and outcomes achieved. And yet, in many firms, the process of tracking time remains manual, inconsistent, and prone to human error.
Smokeball approaches time tracking differently. Instead of relying on attorneys and staff to remember what they did and when they did it, Smokeball automatically records activity while work is being performed. This doesn’t just reduce administrative burden — it significantly increases billing accuracy, improves transparency, and often leads to measurable revenue growth.
This guide explains how Smokeball’s automatic time tracking works, how it fits into real legal workflows, and what changes firms typically experience after implementing it.
Note: Smokeiball.com is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with Smokeball, Inc.
The Problem with Manual Time Tracking
In many law firms, time tracking happens at the end of the day — or worse, at the end of the week. Attorneys try to reconstruct their work from memory:
- “I think that call took 15 minutes… or maybe 20.”
- “Did I log that email reply? I don’t remember.”
- “We worked on that brief for an hour, right?”
This leads to:
- Missed billable time
- Inconsistent entries
- Billing disputes with clients
- Lower profitability for the firm
Studies within professional services consistently show that professionals lose 20–40% of billable time when logging manually.
Smokeball’s automatic tracking was designed specifically to eliminate this loss.
How Automatic Time Tracking Works in Smokeball
Smokeball runs quietly in the background as you work. When you:
- Draft or edit documents in Microsoft Word
- Review or send emails in Outlook
- Add case notes or update matter files
- Work in the Smokeball desktop application itself
Smokeball records:
- What was done
- When it was done
- How long it took
- And which matter it relates to
This information is captured as Activity Records, not yet as billable time entries.
You review them later and convert to billable entries with one click.
Example
If an attorney spends:
- 6 minutes reviewing a client email
- 14 minutes drafting a document
- 3 minutes scheduling a call
Smokeball logs all of it automatically, without any intentional time-keeping action.
Even “small moments” become visible — which is where most firms lose money.
How Attorneys Actually Use It Day-to-Day
Typical daily workflow:
- Work normally — email, drafting, meetings, research.
- Smokeball quietly logs time in the background.
- At the end of the day, or before generating an invoice:
- Open the Activity Feed
- Review entries
- Approve or remove items
- Convert to billable entries automatically.
The key shift:
Attorneys move from trying to remember to simply confirming.
This is where the efficiency gain comes from.
Impact on Revenue: What Firms Report
Across firms that adopt automatic time tracking, common outcomes include:
| Result | Impact |
|---|---|
| Increased billable capture | Less lost time → higher revenue |
| More accurate invoices | Fewer billing disputes |
| Less administrative overhead | Staff refocus on legal work, not paperwork |
| Clearer profitability metrics | Partners can evaluate matter efficiency |
A small estate practice may gain 5–8 additional billed hours per month per attorney.
A busy litigation or family law firm may gain significantly more.
Transparency and Client Trust
Clients increasingly expect billing clarity.
Automatic time logging allows firms to provide:
- Plain-language descriptions of tasks
- Clear chronology of case activity
- Itemized statements when needed
When clients understand what they are paying for, billing disputes decrease.
What About Flat-Fee Firms?
Even if your firm does not bill hourly, time tracking still has value.
It helps answer:
- Which matters consistently require more work than expected?
- Are flat fees priced appropriately?
- Where are team members spending most of their time?
This data allows firms to refine pricing strategies based on real labor patterns, rather than assumptions.
Concerns and Common Questions
“Does Smokeball track everything I do on my computer?”
No. It tracks legal work activity, not general personal computer usage.
“Do I have to clean up logs frequently?”
Most attorneys check entries once per day or during invoicing. The workload is minimal.
“Will this slow my computer down?”
Not in normal conditions. If performance issues occur, it is usually due to outdated Office or low RAM — not Smokeball itself.
Best Practices for Using Automatic Time Tracking Effectively
- Review activity daily or weekly to prevent backlog.
- Use descriptive entry language for clarity.
- Train support staff to categorize work consistently.
- Periodically evaluate captured time vs billed time to identify improvement opportunities.
Take Stock
Automatic time tracking in Smokeball is more than a software feature — it is a shift in how legal work is valued. By capturing work as it happens, firms improve billing accuracy, reduce disputes, and get better insight into how time is spent.
Whether your firm bills hourly, flat fee, or hybrid, time tracking data helps you make informed business decisions and ensures your work is compensated fairly.
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