Your whole firm works from one TimeNet Law database over Dropbox or iCloud Drive. Each timekeeper writes to their own file inside every matter, so there is nothing for the sync service to put into conflict. No server to buy. No VPN to configure.
The short answer, before the explanation.
Multiple attorneys can share a single TimeNet Law database over Dropbox or iCloud Drive, and it is the way most multi-user firms run it. You point the app at a shared folder and click Finish. Every Mac in the firm works from the same data, in sync, with no central server and no hosting bill.
There is a widespread warning that cloud sync and shared databases do not mix. That warning is correct for software that keeps your entire firm in one database file, because every save rewrites the whole file and the sync service resolves the collision by making conflicted copies. TimeNet Law is not built that way, and the rest of this page explains exactly why that matters.
The design decision that removes the problem instead of managing it.
Each timekeeper writes to their own entry file inside each matter folder. Five lawyers can bill to the same matter at the same moment and never touch the same file. There is no shared record for two people to overwrite, so there is nothing for Dropbox or iCloud Drive to put into conflict.
This is not a recent addition. It is the core of the architecture, it has been in production for more than 20 years, and TimeNet Law has supported Dropbox sync since Dropbox itself was brand new.
For the rare cases that are genuinely conflicts.
TimeNet Law watches syncing as it happens and consolidates in the background. Open a matter that contains conflicted copies and it tells you, then offers a clear consolidation.
It escalates rather than guesses. If conflicts look widespread instead of isolated, or if the data cannot be repaired deterministically, TimeNet Law raises a warning and waits for you, because guessing with your billing records is not acceptable.
Control Center's Event Vault also includes a manual Database Integrity Check. You can run it on demand or schedule it as an automation, weekly for example, so integrity is verified on a routine rather than only after something looks wrong.
Redundancy as a side effect of how the firm already works.
The database is encrypted, so every backup is encrypted too. Backups run automatically, daily or weekly, your choice.
They are written to each networked Mac's Library folder. That means every user's machine quietly becomes a redundant copy of the firm's database. A ten-person firm has ten independent local backups without anyone administering a backup system.
Backups can also be sent to a custom location, including Dropbox or iCloud Drive, if you want off-site retention as well.
No second system to set up.
The TimeNet Law iOS app reads the same TimeNet Law Data folder your Macs use, over Dropbox or iCloud Drive. There is no server to expose, no VPN to configure, and no separate mobile sync service.
It gets live refresh and the same conflict protection as the Mac app, so an attorney billing from a phone in a courthouse hallway is working against the same data as the desk they left.
Scale, in plain numbers.
Dozens of law firms use TimeNet Law with 10 or more users on Dropbox or iCloud Drive, and it even runs firms with over 50 users. Control Center handles user permissions and Event Vault keeps the audit trail, so larger firms get oversight without adding infrastructure.
"Our firm has been using TimeNet Law for 10 years. We started as a small boutique firm, but TimeNet Law has allowed us to grow to over 36 employees. With offices all over the world, it is critical that our data is available remotely, always in sync, and safely on our hard drives. TimeNet Law makes this all possible. I cannot recommend it enough."
Wes Garland, COO, Johnson, Marcou, Isaacs & Nix, LLC
The honest limits, stated plainly.
No software is conflict-proof, and cloud sync services have failure modes of their own: a stalled download, a half-synced folder, a Mac that has been offline for a week, a full startup disk.
TimeNet Law is built to detect those conditions, repair what it can safely repair, and tell you clearly when it cannot. That is a different promise from "this never goes wrong," and it is the one worth making. If something does go wrong, you have an encrypted backup on every Mac in the firm and a full Event Vault audit trail to reconstruct from, and you have a developer who answers his own email.
Point it at the folder. Click Finish.
Open TimeNet Law, choose File then Configure Network, select the Dropbox and iCloud option, and point it at your shared folder. TimeNet Law handles the rest, including network drop detection, smart consolidation, conflict mitigation, and built-in data integrity checks.
Step-by-step instructions for both Cloud Mode and Local Network Mode are in the Networking Guide.
Yes. TimeNet Law is designed for it. You point the app at a shared Dropbox or iCloud Drive folder and every Mac in the firm works from the same database. Dozens of law firms run TimeNet Law this way with 10 or more users, and some run more than 50. There is no server to buy, no database engine to administer, and no per-user hosting fee.
Nothing breaks, because they are not writing to the same file. Every timekeeper has their own entry file inside each matter folder. Five lawyers can bill time to one matter simultaneously and never touch each other's data, so the sync service has nothing to put into conflict. This is the core of the architecture and it has been in production for more than 20 years.
No. The common warning about cloud sync assumes a single monolithic database file that every user overwrites, which is how many systems work and is genuinely risky. TimeNet Law does not store your firm in one file. Work is separated per attorney and per matter, so ordinary simultaneous use does not produce conflicted copies. TimeNet Law also watches syncing as it happens, consolidates in the background, and tells you plainly if it finds something it cannot safely repair on its own.
Dozens of law firms use TimeNet Law with 10 or more users on Dropbox or iCloud Drive, and it even runs firms with over 50 users. Control Center manages user permissions and Event Vault keeps a full audit trail, so larger firms get the oversight they need without a server.
No. Cloud Mode needs neither. You choose your sync service, point TimeNet Law at the folder, and click Finish. TimeNet Law handles network drop detection, consolidation, conflict mitigation, and data integrity checks. A Mac mini acting as an office server is one supported option under Local Network Mode if you prefer it, but it is not a requirement and most firms do not use one.
No. The TimeNet Law iOS app reads the same TimeNet Law Data folder your Macs use, over Dropbox or iCloud Drive. No server, no VPN, no separate sync service to configure. It gets live refresh and the same conflict protection as the Mac app.
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