Stop reconstructing your day
Most time recording happens hours after the work, from memory. Writford closes that gap with live timers, activity-linked draft entries, and a proper WIP review before every invoice.
How does time recording work for solicitors?
Time recording captures billable work as it happens rather than reconstructing it later. Writford runs a live timer against any matter, drafts a time entry automatically when you research or work on a document, and holds everything as unbilled work in progress until it is reviewed.
- Does Writford record time automatically?
- It drafts entries automatically when you do research or document work on a matter, and you review them before they count. A draft you can correct is more accurate than a reconstruction at the end of the week.
- Can I run a timer on a matter?
- Yes. A live timer runs against any matter while you work, and stops when you do. The entry it creates is attached to that matter, not to a note somewhere else.
- What is the billing increment?
- Your firm chooses. Six-minute units are the most common for UK solicitors, but one, ten, fifteen, thirty and sixty-minute increments are all supported, because the unit is a term of your client care letter rather than a rule.
- Can I review time before it is billed?
- Yes. All unbilled time sits as work in progress and can be reviewed, edited, marked non-billable or written off before any invoice goes out.
- Can I see unbilled time by fee earner?
- Yes. The work in progress report breaks unbilled time down by fee earner and by matter, with an age on each, so it is clear what has been sitting unbilled and whose it is.
Record time while the work is happening, not after
Reconstruction is unreliable. A solicitor who records time at the end of the day from memory consistently under-records by 15 to 25 percent. The fix is simple: start a timer on the matter when you begin, stop it when you finish. Writford's live timer runs against any open matter with one click.
- Start and stop the timer from any matter with one click
- Multiple timers running simultaneously for different matters
- Draft entries sit in the matter's unbilled queue, ready to review
- Billable and non-billable split on every entry
- Manual entry for time recorded outside the platform
Research and document work drafts its own time entry
When a research session is saved to a matter, the activity log exists. You can see what was researched, which sources were read, and how long it took. You're reviewing a record, not reconstructing from memory. The same applies to document analysis sessions, generating more accurate descriptions and more defensible entries.
- Research sessions create an activity record linked to the matter
- Document analysis sessions log against the matter automatically
- Draft descriptions based on what was actually done, not recalled
- Specific entries are harder to dispute than vague ones
- Review and adjust the draft before it goes to WIP
Review all unbilled time before any invoice goes out
Work in progress should be a structured review, not a blind export. Writford's WIP screen shows every unbilled entry across all matters in one place. Check descriptions, confirm hours, make conscious decisions about write-offs. Time that leaves WIP reviewed is time that gets paid.
- All unbilled time across all matters visible in one screen
- Approve, edit, or write off entries before billing
- Write-offs are conscious decisions, not forgotten entries
- Approved WIP converts to invoice with one action
- VAT and disbursements handled correctly on every invoice