Building 360° time tracking

Multi‑surface capture across desktop, mobile, and web dramatically cuts time leakage. This post explains our design trade‑offs, conflict prevention, and approval flows.

The problem with manual tracking

Most lawyers lose 15-20% of their billable time due to:

• Forgotten entries - Tasks completed but not recorded
• Rounded estimates - "About an hour" becomes imprecise billing
• Context switching - Starting timers after already beginning work

Our solution: 360° capture

LawMate's approach combines three complementary methods:

1. Desktop passive tracking

• Monitors active applications and documents
• Automatically categorizes work by file type and content
• Requires minimal user interaction

2. Mobile quick-add

• Voice-to-text time entry
• GPS-based location tracking for travel time
• One-tap timer for phone calls and meetings

3. Web timers

• Browser-based tracking for research sessions
• Automatic URL categorization
• Conflict detection across devices

Technical implementation

The system uses a conflict resolution algorithm that:

interface TimeEntry {
  startTime: Date;
  endTime: Date;
  source: 'desktop' | 'mobile' | 'web';
  confidence: number;
  conflicts: string[];
}

When conflicts arise, we prioritize:

1. Manual entries (highest confidence)
2. Desktop tracking (medium confidence)
3. Mobile/web (lower confidence, but useful for gaps)

Results from early customers

• +23% time recovery - Captured previously lost billable hours
• 3x faster invoicing - From 2 weeks to 5 days average
• 94% realization rate - Up from 78% with manual tracking

Next steps

We're working on AI-powered categorization and automatic matter assignment. The goal is to eliminate manual time entry entirely while maintaining accuracy and compliance.

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Want to see 360° tracking in action? Book a demo to see how it works with your practice.