Smart Timers

Fee or time transactions can also be entered by choosing the SMART TIMERS Button from the ORION Desktop Program Group Task Bar. Smart Timers are an easy and powerful way to keep track of time spent performing any task or activity Client related (i.e. phone calls, drafting/reviewing e-mail messages or on-line research). The SMART TIMER Manager is a floating window that organizes individual timers into a single view which is set to “Stay on top” of other windows and applications. Smart Timers will help you capture billable time that may not have been noted otherwise.

Smart Timer Button

Adding Smart Timers

To add a Smart Timer, choose the SMART TIMER Button from the ORION Desktop Program Group Task Bar. The following screen will appear:

If at any time you would like to add a new Smart Timer, select the INSERT key or choose the NEW Button. Following are details on each of the fields to be completed on this screen.

The Client-Matter field is used to identify the Client-Matter. Enter the Client and Matter number for the Smart Timer you are entering. If you do not know the correct number, you may use the F8 Look-Up Function or click the LOOK-UP Button.  When you are in the Description field, you can increase entry speed with appending other Activity Code descriptions to the text by entering the Activity Code and striking the F3 key.

Starting and Stopping Smart Timers

A timer can be started, stopped or reset by using buttons located on the toolbar of either the SMART TIMER or SMART TIMER Manager. To start a timer from the SMART TIMER Manager, place a check mark in the first column. The timer will change from red to green and the TIME will begin to increment. To stop the timer from the SMART TIMER Manager, remove the check mark from the first column. The timer will change from green to red and TIME will stop incrementing.  If a SMART TIMER is running when an attempt is made to either close ORION 5.x or to shut down the PC, an information message will appear providing options to either stop the SMART TIMER or to allow it to continue running. If the SMART TIMER is stopped, it is saved and can be accessed again after restarting the application. If the SMART TIMER is allowed to continue to run, it is saved along with the amount of time that has accrued. Once the application is restarted, each SMART TIMER that was running is updated with the time that has accrued since shutdown and will be restarted. In addition, the SMART TIMER MANAGER will appear with an indicator that there are ACTIVE TIMERS.

Resetting Smart Timers

A timer can be reset by using the RESET Button located on the toolbar of either the SMART TIMER or SMART TIMER Manager.

Removing Smart Timers

A timer can be removed by using the REMOVE Button located on the toolbar of either the SMART TIMER or SMART TIMER Manager.

Creating a Fee from a Smart Timer

A fee can be created from a SMART TIMER by choosing the BILL TIME Button located on the toolbar of either the SMART TIMER or SMART TIMER Manager. Once this option has been selected, a new fee transaction will be created with the DATE, CLIENT-MATTER, TIMEKEEPER, TIME and DESCRIPTION completed by the information contained in the SMART TIMER but may be edited prior to saving the fee. Once the fee transaction has been saved, ORION will update the FEE column with a check mark. If the BILL TIME Button is chosen for a timer where the FEE column contains a check mark, then you will have the option to either ADD or REPLACE time in the existing fee transaction or create a NEW fee.  NOTE: When creating or updating an existing Fee from a timer, Time will be rounded based on your firm’s default settings (tenths or hundredths) using the 4/5th rounding rule.

Setting Options for Smart Timers

Options are accessed by using the Options Button from the toolbar. These options are intended to provide you with customized views (the way in which information is displayed) and behavior. To enable an option, select the item from the drop-down menu. It will now have a check mark to the left of the field name. When you choose Options, the following screen will appear: