How to Migrate from Timeslips to TimeSolv: A Step-by-Step Guide

Owlesq Team · Updated May 2026 · 7 min read

Sage Timeslips has served as the workhorse legal billing platform for solo and small-firm attorneys since the 1980s. If you're still on it in 2026, you know its strengths — and you've probably hit its limits. Desktop-only, no client portal, remote access that requires VPN workarounds, and a Sage parent company whose investment in the product has been minimal.

TimeSolvis the most direct modern replacement. It's a cloud-native billing and time tracking platform designed specifically for law firms — including robust LEDES support for insurance defense and corporate billing work.

Why Firms Are Leaving Sage Timeslips

Subscription cost doesn't match value. Timeslips' subscription model runs approximately $500–600/year per user — before IT overhead and the cost of maintaining the Windows environment it requires.

Desktop-only with real remote access friction. Timeslips runs on Windows. Remote time entry requires Remote Desktop, a hosted virtual environment, or VPN — all of which add cost and create frustration for attorneys logging time from tablets or home offices.

Billing only — no practice management. Timeslips doesn't track matters, manage documents, handle client intake, or facilitate client communication. If you're buying separate tools to cover those functions, you're paying for software sprawl.

Sage's investment is unclear. Sage acquired Timeslips but has not invested aggressively in modernizing it. The product roadmap is opaque, and the user community has raised repeated concerns about slow feature development.

Why TimeSolv for Timeslips Users

TimeSolv is specifically built for law firm billing — not a general-purpose billing tool adapted for legal use. The migration from Timeslips to TimeSolv is one of the cleanest available because both tools cover the same core workflow: time entry, expense tracking, invoice generation, billing rules, and trust accounting.

LEDES billing. TimeSolv treats LEDES (98B, 98BI, and variants) as a first-class feature — critical for insurance defense, government billing, and any practice that invoices corporate clients.
Flat rate. TimeSolv charges $27.50/user/month. No per-feature add-ons, no server costs.
Cloud-native. Browser-based, works on any device, no VPN required for remote access.
Familiar billing workflow. Time entry, billing rules, invoice review, and payment posting work similarly to Timeslips — the learning curve is gentle.

What to Back Up and Export Before You Start

Keep Timeslips running until your TimeSolv data is fully validated — 30 days minimum after go-live.

Client records — Export all clients with contact information, billing preferences, and rate configurations. Timeslips allows CSV/Excel export; verify the export includes all fields you rely on.
Matter records — Export all matters (files) linked to each client. In Timeslips terminology these are "slips" linked to "clients" — in TimeSolv they become "projects" linked to "clients."
Time and expense entries — Export your full time and expense entry history. Include the timekeeper, activity code, billing rate, matter linkage, and billing status for each entry.
Invoice history — Export sent invoices and payment history. Outstanding invoices need to be tracked through the cutover period.
Trust accounting records — Export all trust ledger entries. Reconcile against your bank records before cutover.
Billing rates and rate tables — Export your full rate configuration including client-specific rates, timekeeper rates, and matter-level overrides.
LEDES billing codes — If you use LEDES billing, export your full code set (activity codes, task codes, expense codes) and verify TimeSolv maps them correctly.

Clean before you import.Timeslips installations accumulate inactive clients and zero-balance matters over time. Purge what you don't need before migrating.

Step-by-Step: The Migration Process

Step 1: Start a TimeSolv trial and plan your import

TimeSolv offers a 30-day free trial. Use it for interface familiarization and parallel testing before committing. Contact TimeSolv's support team about your migration — they can advise on Timeslips export formats and have handled this specific migration path before.

Step 2: Set up your firm configuration in TimeSolv

Before importing client data: configure your firm profile, billing preferences, and invoice templates. Set up timekeepers with default billing rates. Configure your billing codes — if you use LEDES codes, set these up first. Set up trust accounts if you manage client funds. Getting configuration right before import reduces post-import correction work.

Step 3: Import clients and matters

Clients (with contact info and billing preferences)
Matters/projects (linked to clients, with matter-specific billing configurations)
Spot-check a representative sample — validate client names, billing rates, matter linkages

Step 4: Import time and expense history

Two approaches:

Full historical import: Import all unbilled and historical time entries. Useful for billing staff who regularly reference historical entries or for retainer arrangements.
Cutover approach: Import only unbilled entries as of a specific cutover date. Historical entries stay in Timeslips (read-only) for reference. Simpler but requires maintaining Timeslips access for lookups.

Most small firms under 10 attorneys choose the cutover approach for simplicity.

Step 5: Import trust accounting and validate

Import trust ledger entries and reconcile each trust account balance against your bank statements and Timeslips records. This step cannot be rushed.

Step 6: Run parallel billing for 30 days, then cut over

Enter all new time in TimeSolv from go-live. Keep Timeslips accessible for reference to historical entries. After 30 days of parallel running without issues, fully decommission Timeslips.

What You'll Gain After the Switch

Cloud access from anywhere

No VPN, no remote desktop. TimeSolv runs in any browser and has iOS and Android apps.

True LEDES billing

If you do insurance defense or corporate billing, TimeSolv's LEDES support is significantly more capable than Timeslips'. Multiple LEDES formats, correct e-billing structure.

Online payment collection

TimeSolv integrates with LawPay and other payment processors for online invoice payment — something Timeslips does not support natively.

Transparent flat pricing

$27.50/user/month. No server costs, no maintenance fees, no IT overhead for the billing system.

Caveats and Honest Warnings

TimeSolv is billing-only, not practice management. If you're hoping the move to TimeSolv will also solve matter management, document storage, or client intake, it won't — those require a full practice management platform like Clio or MyCase. TimeSolv is the right choice if you specifically want a dedicated billing tool.

LEDES mapping requires verification. If you use LEDES billing, verify that your specific activity codes and task codes map correctly in TimeSolv before sending your first e-bill. One incorrect code can cause an e-bill rejection.

Budget 4–6 weeks for a clean migration. This is a simpler migration than a full practice management switch, but the trust accounting reconciliation and billing data validation still take time.

Trust accounting reconciliation is mandatory. Reconcile every trust balance before and after cutover. Non-negotiable.

Ready to explore TimeSolv?

TimeSolv offers a 30-day free trial with full access to its billing features.

Explore TimeSolv →

For a broader look at legal billing options, see our Best Legal Billing Software guide.

Owlesq is an independent legal-tech directory. We have no affiliate relationships with any vendor listed and earn no commission when readers click outbound links. This guide was written independently and represents our honest assessment.