Case phase tracker
A plain-English progress strip. Phases sized by the work behind them, colored by what is overdue.
Features
Everything your clients see, and everything you stop chasing.
BetterDocket reduces the administrative work around client communication without trying to become a full practice management system. Here is everything it does today.
Visibility
Your client stops calling to ask where things stand.
The portal opens on the answer. Phase, latest update, and what happens next — without a phone call.
The same view both ways
Your client sees the identical tracker you do. No separate client-facing summary to maintain.
One-click status updates
Post an update to the portal without drafting an email from scratch.
Status update templates
Reusable notes for “Discovery underway” or “Waiting on opposing counsel,” in a searchable picker.
Updates feed
Every update the firm has sent, newest first, in one place the client can scroll back through.
Requests
Stop chasing paperwork.
Ask once. BetterDocket does the following up, and stops the moment the client answers.
Document requests
Title, instructions, and a due date. Still editable after you send it.
Ask one client, some, or everyone
On a multi-client matter, send the request only to the people who actually have the file.
Automatic daily reminders
BetterDocket follows up until the request is answered, then stops on its own.
“I don’t have this”
Clients decline with a note instead of going silent, so you know to look elsewhere.
Upload on their behalf
When a client emails the file anyway, drop it straight into the open request yourself.
Documents
Case files organized like a real filing cabinet.
Everything the matter collects, in one browser, with a way back from every mistake.
Drag-and-drop upload
Straight onto the case. No request required.
Folders
A firm-only folder tree. Clients see documents grouped by request instead.
Tags
A firm- or case-scoped tag catalog, with filtering across the whole matter.
Inline preview
Read a document without downloading it first.
Rename anything
Display names stay independent of whatever the client’s phone called the file.
Trash, not deletion
Deleted files go to a per-case Trash you can restore from. Clients never see it.
Drafts
Collaborate on the document, not over email.
Circulate a version, get a real answer back, and keep every revision on the matter.
Draft documents
Firm-authored working documents on the case, moving from draft to review to final.
Numbered versions
Work in progress stays firm-only. Clients see only the versions you submit for review.
Send a version for review
Assign it to the clients on the matter who actually need to sign off.
Approve or request changes
Clients respond with a note, an uploaded marked-up copy, or both.
“Can we talk about this?”
Clients can flag that they would rather have a call than write it out.
New version supersedes the review
Upload a revision and the pending review re-points at it automatically.
Communication
One thread per matter.
Client conversation attached to the case, not scattered across inbox, text, and voicemail.
Case-tied messaging
Two-way between firm and client, attached to the matter instead of buried in an inbox.
Per-client read receipts
On a matter with several clients, you see who has actually read it.
Email and in-app notifications
Every notification deep-links to the exact screen it is about.
Reliable delivery
Emails go through a durable outbox. A failure gets recorded, not swallowed.
Your firm’s branding
Firm name, logo, and contact details in the signature of every client email.
Dates
Scheduling awareness without a calendar integration.
Announce the dates that matter and find out when your client is free — no accounts to connect.
Key dates
Categorized, and you choose which ones the client sees.
Client availability blocks
Clients share when they are free. No Google or Outlook connection required.
One calendar
Key dates and availability in the same month and list views, color-coded by participant.
Upcoming dates surface to the firm
Client-facing dates coming up feed straight into your daily queue.
Your day
Know what needs you, before you open a case.
Not a dashboard of numbers. An ordered queue of the matters that need something from you today.
Today
A scored, ordered queue of the cases that need you, with a plain-English reason on each.
Lead card
The one thing to do first, called out above the rest of the queue.
Stale update detection
BetterDocket flags the clients who have not heard from you in too long.
Firm-wide task queue
Every open task across every case in one list, ordered by urgency.
Per-case task board
To do, in progress, done. Assign an owner and a due date.
Attention at a glance
Case icons glow when something needs you and stay quiet when nothing does.
Setup
Set the workflow once.
Your firm already runs the same play on every matter of a kind. Write it down and stop rebuilding it.
Workstream templates
Named, versioned case workflows that own the phases and the tasks inside them.
See the diff before you publish
A row-by-row comparison against the currently published version.
Version history
Restore any prior version of a template.
Templates seed at case creation
Each case takes its own snapshot. Editing a template never reaches back into open matters.
Phase-triggered follow-ups
Moving a phase schedules the emails, calls, and requests that go with it. Reschedule or cancel any of them.
People
Everyone who belongs on the matter, and nobody who does not.
Clients get in without a support call. Sensitive matters stay closed to the rest of the firm.
Automatic portal invites
Creating a case emails the client an invitation. Signing up with that address connects them.
Multiple clients per case
Add everyone on the matter. Each client’s messages and unread state stay private from the others.
Resend an invite
One button for the client who lost the email.
Your firm team, on the portal
Clients see photos, client-facing titles, and how to reach each person.
Case assignments and leads
Assign firm members to a matter, set a lead, filter your portfolio by who is on what.
Restricted cases
Mark a matter restricted and only its assignees and firm owners can see it — enforced in the database, not hidden in the interface.
Time & billing
Turn completed work into a clear client invoice.
Track firm time, build an invoice from time or manual charges, and keep the Client's balance visible without moving money through BetterDocket.
Manual time and timers
Capture exact work, apply firm rounding, and keep internal notes separate from the description a Client sees.
Native USD invoices
Combine time and manual lines, choose recipients explicitly, and issue a permanent PDF from BetterDocket.
Due dates and reminders
Remind the bill-to Client on the due date and weekly afterward, with per-invoice and firm-wide controls.
External payments
Record full or partial payments received elsewhere and reverse mistakes without rewriting history.
Immutable issued records
Issued recipients, identities, lines, dates, and instructions stay frozen; corrections keep an auditable trail.
No money movement
BetterDocket does not collect payments, hold Client Funds, manage trust accounts, or replace accounting software.
How it runs
Works the way a small firm actually works.
The same case on every device, in a courthouse hallway with no signal, and years after you close it.
Web, desktop, and mobile
The same app in the browser, as a Mac or PC desktop app, and on your phone. One account.
Works offline
Cases you have opened stay readable with no connection. Send a message or check off a task and it delivers when you are back.
Live updates
A teammate’s change or a client’s message appears in about a second, on every device.
Ask your case a question
A case guide that answers from what is on the matter and drafts messages for you to approve. It never sends anything on its own.
Close and reopen
Close a matter with a closing note the client sees, and reopen it in one click.
Archive without losing it
Move a closed matter to cheap long-term storage while firm and client can both still read it.
Documents live in private storage, and every read and write is scoped to the firm and the case relationship behind it. Our security page spells out how that works, and where the limits are.
Questions
Frequently asked
Does BetterDocket include billing or time tracking?
Yes. Firm members can track time, apply effective-dated rates, send native PDF invoices, and record payments received outside BetterDocket. BetterDocket does not collect money, manage Client Funds or trust accounts, or replace accounting software.
Can clients upload documents themselves?
Yes. A client answering a document request uploads straight into the case, and the file lands where your team expects it. Your firm can also upload on a client's behalf when a document arrives by email or on paper.
Can I reuse the same status update for common milestones?
Yes. Status update templates keep the wording your firm already uses for common case milestones, so posting an update takes one click instead of retyping the same paragraph.
What do clients see — and not see?
Clients see the client-visible side of their own cases: status, next steps, key dates, messages, document requests, and documents grouped by request. Firm-only material — internal folders, the trash, draft work in progress — never appears in the portal.
Is there a desktop or mobile app?
BetterDocket runs in the browser, and the same firm workspace and client portal also ship as desktop and mobile apps — one product on every surface, with nothing to sync or configure per device.
Spend less time on client follow-up.
Keep clients informed, collect what each matter needs, and protect more time for legal work.