seaBILL BSA pal - Free Palm software for legal billing

Free Palm software for legal billing!

Free Palm software for legal billing - BSApal by seaBILL Co.

OVERVIEW BSApal is free to download and use. It allows you to make billing entries on your Palm PDA. In order to Post entries made on your PDA with BSApal in BSA Pro, you must complete 4 steps:
1. Get the latest version of BSA Pro and purchase the optional Palm Link
2. Install and configure certain files on your Desktop computer
3. Install certain files on your PDA
4. Synchronize your data
  Once you complete these steps, you can enter and edit fees and expenses on your PDA using BSApal and then Post those entries in BSA Pro after you HotSync your PDA.
  When you Post the entries in BSA Pro, you can either Post the entries automatically so that you do NOT review them, or you can manually review them before they are added to your database.
  At first, we strongly recommend you manually review your PDA entries so you can be certain the information going into your database is correct.

STEP 1 - BSA Pro
You need BSA Pro version 4.8b or greater to use the Palm Link. If you have version 4.3 or greater now, you can simply download and install the FREE Update.
If you have BSA Pro version 4.2 or less, you'll need to buy the Upgrade to BSA Pro to use the Palm Link. You can purchase the upgrade at the seaBILL Secure Upgrade Store.

STEP 2 - Install and Configure Files on your Desktop Computer
In order to fully use BSApal, your Desktop computer must be able to get the data file from your PDA when you perform a HotSync operation. This is done by running a program that installs the files you need and then configuring your Desktop computer to get the billing data from your PDA during a HotSync operation. This assumes you have already installed your Palm PDA's desk top software.
Install the necessary synchronization files on your computer. Download the seaBILL PDA Sync Installer Here. After you download the file, read the rest of these instructions and then double click on it to start it and install the necessary files.
NOTE: THE INSTALLATION WILL REQUIRE YOU TO RESTART YOUR COMPUTER FOR IT TO WORK PROPERLY. SO, AFTER YOU DOWNLOAD THE FILE, DO NOT START THE INSTALLATION UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO RESTART YOUR COMPUTER.

STEP 3 - Install BSApal and Crossfire (fka Booster) on your PDA
After you have completed the steps above, you can install BSApal (and a program called 'Crossfire') on your PDA.
(If you don't already have Crossfire (fka 'Booster') installed on your PDA, CLICK HERE to go to the AppForge web site to obtain the appropriate 'Booster' software for your PDA so you can run BSApal on your PDA. )

Open your Palm Desktop software (this was installed when you initially set up your Palm device) and select the Install button.

From the Window that appears, select the 'Add' button to add the file 'BSApal.prc' to the list of programs to be installed. (This file was copied to your computer when you ran the seaBILL PDA Sync Installer in Step 2 above.)
After you do that, perform a HotSync operation and BSApal will be installed on your PDA. After you install Crossfire and BSApal, you can experiment with BSApal - even before synchronizing it to your BSA Pro data since it comes pre-loaded with sample client information.

STEP 4 - Performing your First Synchronization
The next time you HotSync your PDA after completing the above steps, you'll have a chance to synchronize your Desktop computer's BSA billing data (Clients, Matters, Billers and Short Cuts) with BSApal on your PDA.
Whenever you perform a HotSync after successfully completing the above steps, you'll see the following screen:

This screen allows you to synchronize BSA Pro with your PDA. Before you can use BSApal to make actual billing entries, you'll need to synchronize your billing data so your PDA will have all your client, matter, short cut and biller information. (When you first install BSApal, there will be sample data so you can immediately experiment with it. Before you can make entries that will actually be Posted in BSA, however, you'll need to synchronize your PDA data with BSA's data.)
After you synchronize your data, you can make actual billing entries on your PDA and these entries will be automatically downloaded to your computer during a HotSync operation. Thereafter, you will only need to synchronize your billing data if you've changed or added something in BSA you want to appear on your PDA.

Using BSApal
After you install BSApal and Crossfire on your PDA, you can use it. BSApal comes pre-loaded with sample information so you can experiment with it even before you synchronize it to BSA. BSApal has 2 major screens:
Client List
Data Entry
There is also a Matter List, Charge List and Calendar picker.
When you start BSApal, you see the Client List.

Click on the Client you want to work on. If the Client has more than one Matter, you will see a Matter List. If not, you will be taken directly to the Data Entry Screen.

On this screen you can enter the Type of Charge (Fee, Expenses or Other Charges), Date, Biller, Description and Hours/Amount.
When you're ready, select SAVE to save your entry. After the entry is saved, you can make another entry for this matter or you can return to the Client List by selecting the Home button.
If you've saved at least one entry, the EDIT button appears on the Client List.
Select this button to view a list of the charges you've saved.

Select the Charge you want to Edit and make the changes as needed.

Please Note: The Palm (r) operating system and various Palm platforms are extremely limited. As a result, BSApal does not offer the range of features found in BSA Pro. The following are some of the limitations. Since BSApal is free, we strongly encourage you to try it to see if it meets your needs BEFORE you purchase the PDA Link in BSA Pro. Once the PDA Link has been enabled by our issuance of a password, refunds will not be authorized.

Description Length - Descriptions are limited to 50 characters.

Client List Sort - Limited to Alphabetical by Client Last Name and Matter Description.

Payments - Payments cannot be entered.

Negative Amounts - Negative amount entries cannot be entered.

When you're done using BSApal, select QUIT. The next time you HotSync your PDA, the charges you saved in BSApal will be moved to your desk top computer and ready to Post in BSA.

Posting PDA Data in BSA Pro
After you complete the above steps and have made entries in BSApal, the billing data from the PDA will be moved to the desk top computer during a routine HotSync operation. Once that is done, the entries on the PDA will be removed from the PDA and they will be available for Posting in BSA Pro.

Post your PDA data by going into Utilities in BSA Pro and selecting the PDA Settings feature. When you do that, you see the following screen:

Select Help for an explanation of the various functions and settings. Again, you can have BSA automatically Post your PDA entries by selecting that option in BSA Pro. We strongly recommend, however, that you manually Post your PDA entries at first. For example, you might have made some experimental entries on your PDA that will get posted to BSA Pro if you're not careful to delete them before Posting.

How to buy!
Purchasing the Palm Link for BSA Pro - The Palm Link works in BSA Pro version 4.8b and greater. It is available in 1, 2, 5 or 10 PDA User versions. You should purchase the number of PDA Users for the number of Palm devices you wish to Post from. Please see the seaBILL Upgrade store for pricing.

Click Here to go to the seaBILL Secure Upgrade Store

If you purchase the 1 PDA User version, you will only be able to Post entries from one PDA. If you purchase the 2 PDA User version, you can Post entries from 2 different devices and so on.
BSA Pro will automatically add new PDA Users, up to your limit, as it encounters them when it attempts to Post data. The first PDA User it encounters in the Posting process will be added to the list of Authorized Users. If you have purchased more than one PDA User, BSA will keep adding billing data from BSApal for Authorized Users until your limit has been reached. Data from unauthorized PDA Users will not be Posted. This unposted data will be rejected and stored in a text file in the BSA Pro folder so you can manually review and enter the data if you wish.

BSApal is FREE!
BSApal is free to download. The Palm Link in BSA Pro works during the free trial period. This allows you to set it up and try it free for 35 days if you are a demo user. You can purchase the optional Palm Link when you purchase BSA Pro.
If you do not purchase the Palm Link in BSA Pro, it will quit working after you enter your password or after 35 days, whichever occurs first. You can add it later by visiting the seaBILL Secure BSA Pro Upgrade Store. Click Here to go to the BSA Pro Upgrade Store.

If you already use BSA Pro and want to try BSApal, you can do so for free. The only step you won't be able to perform is the Posting of the data in BSA Pro. But, since BSApal is free, you can download and try it for as long as you like by following the steps above. If you like it, you can purchase the Palm Link option in BSA Pro by visiting the seaBILL Secure BSA Pro Upgrade Store. Click Here to go to the BSA Pro Upgrade Store Once you enable the Palm Link feature in BSA Pro, you can Post your PDA entries.

Crossfire Client Required (fka Booster by AppForge)
Finally, please note that BSApal requires a program called Crossfire by Appforge to run on the Palm operating systems. Crossfire will NOT be automatically installed. Click Here to learn more about Crossfire.

PLEASE CHECK WITH APPFORGE TO BE CERTAIN YOUR PDA WILL WORK WITH THE CROSSFIRE SOFTWARE BEFORE INSTALLING BSApal!

You can get more software for your Palm PDA at: Palm Software Downloads