2012 Review of CaseWare Time

CaseWare International Inc — CaseWare Time 2011
800-267-1317
www.caseware.com

From the July 2012 review of Practice Management systems.

Best Fit: Firms currently using CaseWare products

Strengths:

• Tight integration with CaseWare products
• Multiple preformatted reports along with strong customization options
• Built-in sync capability between Outlook/Exchange and client information

Potential Limitations:

• No current cloud based solution
• Integration generally limited to CaseWare products

CaseWare Time is the time, expense and practice management offering within the CaseWare product lineup. Built on the Microsoft SQL platform, the solution is fully scalable to meet the needs of sole practitioners as well as multi-location firms. CaseWare Time also includes a variety of tools to help ensure accounting professionals are running their firm as efficiently as possible.

BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS - 5 Stars

CaseWare Time has a generally intuitive navigation. Upon opening the software, users are taken to The Time Workflow page. This page serves as the starting point for all areas within the solution and provides direct links to a variety of tasks. The direct links provided are solely based on user rights of the current user to prevent unauthorized or unintended access to client-sensitive information, such as billing. The Time Workflow landing page may be turned off, but should generally be used by new users and users not yet proficient in the navigation. All documents and reports housed within the system are in a folder tree structure similar to Windows Explorer, which should provide a certain level of comfort for most users.

CaseWare Time is built upon the Microsoft SQL platform and allows virtually unlimited users within the system. Smaller firms without a dedicated SQL server may make use of the freely available SQL Express version included with the software license. Sample files are also included to allow users to see the full capabilities of the software and to aid in setting up their respective companies.

TIME MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES - 4.5 Stars

CaseWare Time allows users multiple ways to enter time and expense items. Time and expenses may be entered directly into the time sheet module by day or by client summary. Time may also be entered via WebSheet, the included Internet interface. WebSheet was designed for quick data entry and the options are less detailed than within CaseWare Time. WebSheet also allows time to be entered from any device with access to an Internet browser, including smartphones and tablets. CaseWare is currently developing specific user interfaces for smartphone and tablet devices and is set to release these interfaces over the next 12-18 months.

CaseWare Time includes a number of project templates and users may also design their own custom templates for use. Projects may be assigned to clients at any time. Once assigned, the project templates may be further edited as necessary for specific due dates, budget issues and staff assignments. Projects may also be set to generate upon rolling periods forward.

INVOICING FUNCTIONS - 4.5 Stars

CaseWare Time keeps all posted time and expense items in real time to allow a streamlined billing process. All billing may be done from one screen by simply selecting the client and filtering time and expense by project as desired. Invoices may be set to automatically gross up based on predetermined rates or may be entered automatically. All time and expense items associated with the invoice are automatically adjusted as appropriate. Once the invoice is final, it is posted to the general ledger where payments may be subsequently applied. CaseWare also includes functions to perform recurring invoices based on time frame that are automatically generated upon rolling the period forward. Miscellaneous invoices, interest charges and invoice credits may also be generated at any time.