seaBILL Network Information

Network Information for seaBILL Products

PLEASE READ THIS
You do NOT need a password to install one of our programs on your network. The free programs available on this site are NETWORK READY. If you're installing a seaBILL Program on a network, please don't request a password BEFORE you have installed the program and have it working on your network. The password has NO EFFECT on whether the program will work on a network.
Also, we are not network consultants. We don't set up office networks for a living. These are just suggestions to follow if you need help or are having problems getting the network set up. You are free to set up your network ANY WAY you want. If you don't like one of the following suggestions DO NOT FOLLOW IT! Again, we do not offer network set up or consulting services; that must be done locally and by a competent technician. We do NOT offer those services.

QUICK START Here's a quick start list to get you networking right away without worrying about all the details.

SERVER SETUP (3 steps)
1. Install BSA Plus, BSA Pro or Conflict Checker on the main computer. We'll call it the 'server.' Install the program in the "Public" Folder or, on older versions of Windows, in a folder off the C: drive. Do NOT install it in "Program Files." So, for example, make the installation folder: "C:\BSAPlus" or "C:\BSAPro" or "C:\CC" for Conflict Checker

2. Share the ENTIRE hard drive on the server. Click Here for help on sharing. Do NOT just share the new folder you may have created in step #1.

3. Turn off all firewalls, virus checkers, etc. on the server for testing. Once it's working turn them back on one at a time to see if any cause an access problem from a work station.

WORK STATION SETUP (2 steps)
1. Install the free seaBILL Work Station installer on the computers that will connect to the server. Click Here to go to the Free Utilities download page and download the free seaBILL Work Station installer. We'll call these computers the "work stations."

2. You may need to assign a drive letter or a name to the server's hard drive. This is called "mapping" the server's drive. For example, you might assign it the letter "Z". This will distinguish it from the work station's hard drive which is called "C:" Then, assign that mapped letter to the "server's" C: drive. Don't try to "sub" map directly to a folder below the root since the work station may need access to the entire hard drive. Click Here for help on mapping.

THAT'S IT! You're done setting up networking. Now, from the work station using Network Neighborhood, locate the file 'BSAPlus.exe' or 'BSAPro.exe' or 'ConfChek.exe' for Conflict Checker on the server and double click it. The program should start. If you get an error message, go to: Network FAQ

Free Working Programs - The Free Download programs are actual, working programs that are network ready. Only minor features are disabled for security reasons. We strongly encourage you to try a program before you buy it. There's no need to order and pay for one of our programs BEFORE you've tried it on your network.

Windows Compatible - seaBILL programs are compatible with all versions of Windows and work under all versions of Windows except Win64. We have all versions of Windows available to us and our technicians and software engineers have tested all our programs on ALL of them as stand alone programs and across networks.
However, there are so many possible local variations that can cause problems in a network environment that we cannot guarantee the programs will work on YOUR network.
The only way to be sure a program will work on your network is to try it. Since our FREE PROGRAMS ARE NETWORK READY, you can try them before you buy them. There's no reason NOT to try them!

Networking Overview When you run a program on a network, one computer has the program installed on it and the other computers run the program from that one computer. You do NOT need (or want) to install the main program on every computer. This is why the computer with the program is often called the 'Server' - it 'serves' up the program and its data to the other computers on the network. The other computers on the network are where the actual work occurs. This is why the other computers are often called the 'work stations.'

One Database on One Computer = Stand Alone
  BSA Pro Legal Billing Software, like all billing programs, is a database application. This means all your billing data is kept in one file on your computer called a 'database file.' (This is different than many other applications such as word processors or spread sheets where each document is kept in a separate file.) In BSA, the database file is called BSA.MDB.
Because all the billing information is kept in one file, the program can perform the 'magic' of sorting entries, printing, calculating balances, interest, aging, reports, etc. When you enter billing information into BSA, you are putting it into the database file.
   If you had two, non-networked computers in your firm and one copy of BSA Pro Legal Billing Software installed on each computer, then there would be two databases (one on each computer) and no way for the two computers to share the billing data. In that case, billing entries entered in one computer would not be available to the other computer and each computer would be running alone (or 'stand alone').

One Database + Many Computers = Network
In a computer network, multiple computers can access and share data. With BSA Pro Legal Billing Software, this means that you only install BSA on one computer (the 'server') and the other computers on the network (the 'work stations') would access the one database file.
This means the billing entries entered from any computer into the database file would be available to all the other computers on the network. This is the beauty of networking and can vastly increase efficiency in an office since everyone on the network can be entering his or her own time.
This is also different than non-database applications such as word processors where there is an executable program file that can be opened across the network and then each user opens his/her own local document file. To test this, have 2 people try to open THE SAME EXACT DOCUMENT in a non-network copy of Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect across a network and see what happens.
Simply put, there are two kinds of networking: "Peer-to-peer" and "Client/Server." Peer-to-peer is much simpler and is therefore normally preferred in most smaller law offices. It's built in to Windows and it's therefore free. It works great and is easy to set up. Here's an article with more details about peer-to-peer networking: Peer-to-peer Networking Article
Client/Server networking is much more complicated and normally not needed in the typical small law office. It's not free and it's not easy. If a technical consultant is trying to convince you that your firm needs a client/server network, be sure to ask and understand WHY you need that. While you might need it for some special reason, it might be that the consultant simply wants to charge more! Here's a link to an article that explains more about client/server networks: Client/Server Networking Article

Networking with BSA Pro Legal Billing Software
As with most billing programs, networking is an option with BSA Pro Legal Billing Software. Unlike other billing programs that arbitrarily restrict the number of simultaneous users, however, BSA's networking option allows up to 10 simultaneous users to access the one database file. So, for one flat fee, you can link all your firm's users to the same database and enjoy the tremendous efficiencies of networking.

Network Passwords
With seaBILL Legal Software, the free trial versions are network ready and will run on your network without restriction.
After the time expires or when you purchase a license for a program, you must have the networking option to be able to run the program across the network. If you buy BSA Pro with the networking option, you will receive a password that enables the networking features in the program and detailed written network and work station installation instructions. Once you enter the installation-specific networking password, your old program becomes network ready. Click Here to visit the seaBILL Secure Web Store and purchase BSA Pro Legal Billing Software today.
If you buy BSA Pro without the networking option, you can add it later by simply purchasing the network upgrade on this web site. Click Here to go to the Upgrade Store and purchase your upgrade now. We'll send you a new password with instructions for entering it. With this password-enabling feature, you won't have to re-install a new program and restore your database (unless you're moving the program to a new computer) and all your data will remain intact.

Work Station Set Up
To make setting up work stations easy, we include a free Work Station set up program on the CD we send with every order. The file is also available for free download from the Utilites section of the FREE DOWNLOAD PAGE of our web site.
The Work Station set up program installs certain helper files needed by BSA Pro or Conflict Checker to run properly on a remote station (work station) computer.
Without these helper files, the program will not run on the work station. Once these files are installed on the work station, the user can create a short cut to the 'Server' so he/she can quickly and easily start the program across the network from his/her work station. (BSA Pro is run remotely on a work station by executing the BSAPro.EXE file on the server. Conflict Checker is ConfChek.exe.)
Click Here for detailed work station set up instructions.
   If you've set up the work stations using the Work Station set up program and you're getting an error when you try to connect to the 'server', your network configuration is most likely the problem. If that's the case, CLICK HERE to go the the Free Support page for help resolving network connection problems.

We have found over many years experience that most users do not need to hire a computer/network consultant to install and set up BSA Pro or Conflict Checker in an office that already has a working network. Anyone who is willing to read and carefully follow the network installation instructions for BSA Pro or Conflict Checker should be able to install either program on a network.

If your network is up and running properly when you install BSA Pro or Conflict Checker, you should have no trouble getting it working within a few minutes. We at seaBILL have worked very hard over the last 10+ years to make the network versions of our products easier to install than any comparable product. That's part of the many intangible benefits you get when you buy seaBILL software products.

This effort has paid off: Network technicians are not required by most users to install BSA Pro or Conflict Checker on a working network. This represents a big savings to you in time, money and effort that you should carefully consider when looking at billing programs.

BUT REMEMBER: Don't take our word for it. You can download and install BSA Pro or Conflict Checker on your network TODAY. The free versions of our programs are real, working programs that are NETWORK READY. So, there's no reason to wait for anything or anyone else. Download the free demo now and try it!