Legal timekeeping comparison | Intapp Time with Celeste

Improve realization.
Capture more hours.
Maximize profitability.

Intapp Time with Celeste makes every engagement more profitable with agentic AI.

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Get more value from every hour

Never miss a billable hour

40%

Faster bill editing with Mintz

Stop revenue leaks at the source

20%

Less revenue leakage with Seyfarth Shaw

See what your firm really earns

75%

Faster time entry release for invoicing with Johnson Winter & Slattery

Make every matter more profitable

Compare Intapp Time with Celeste to legacy timekeeping systems, point solutions, and start-ups.

	Time with Celeste	Legacy FMS	Emerging start ups
Time capture method	AI auto-captures work across desktop, browser, and apps, including AI tool usage at the matter level (duration, parties involved, and more).	Basic time capture.	AI-time capture tracks basic usage.
User flexibility and persona support	Meets timekeepers where they are for firmwide adoption: auto-capture, voice dictation, timers, manual entry. Agents review every entry. Gives firms flexibility to introduce AI at their own pace with select groups.	Limited and built around a single entry method.	Rolls out by practice group, so adoption and data coverage vary across the firm.
Narrative generation and depth	Automatically turns captured activity into drafted time entries that meet firm and client guidelines before they reach billing.	Basic narrative generation.	Basic narrative generation.
Automated coding	Automated suggestions for phase, task, and activity code suggestions, so every entry is complete without manual lookup.	Some have code assignment.	Suggests PTA codes.
Multi-device and offline capture	Web, mobile, and desktop included. Voice and text note conversion captures time in seconds from any device. Supports 225,000+ daily timekeepers at enterprise scale.	Usually desktop only.	Web and some have basic mobile apps.

	Time with Celeste	Legacy FMS	Emerging start ups
Billing guideline compliance	Agent checks rules when a time entry is created and again at pre-bill review, from one rule source.	Usually manual, so issues are caught late or written off.	Manual upload of rules and OCG, lacks single source of truth.
Block billing detection	Entries are split and rewritten immediately, rather than caught in pre-bill review and rejected.	Usually manual, so enforcement is inconsistent.	Basic block billing detection.
Write-off reduction	Billing problems are caught at time entry and again at pre-bill, so billing directors stop rejections before they happen.	No systematic prevention. Relies on manager to catch issues.	Partial, limited to flagging language in narrative.

	Time with Celeste	Legacy FMS	Emerging start ups
WIP and pre-bill workflow	Intapp Billstream manages WIP between billing cycles, not only at the deadline. Flags issues early and routes approvals.	Separate tools. Manual handoff between timekeeping and billing.	Focus is on timekeeping. Billing is an afterthought. May have basic pre-bill capabilities.
Partner approval and pre-bill generation	The prebill agent builds client-ready prebills with suggested edits for one-click partner approval (coming soon).	Manual review at deadline.	Focus is on timekeeping. Billing is an afterthought. May have basic pre-bill capabilities.
Rejection prevention	eBilling hub validation checks entries against eBilling rules before submission, cutting rejection cycles.	Rejections caught after client submission.	Can only warn for guidelines coming from Intapp Terms.

	Time with Celeste	Legacy FMS	Emerging start ups
Matter profitability visibility	Playbooks surface matter health, utilization, and client activity before the month closes.	Reporting only after the matter closes. No in-flight view.	Signal analytics on timekeeper activity, not connected to billing or realization data.
Staffing and resource decisions	Matter economics view shows historical staffing, utilization, and realization by matter type.	No cross-matter view.	Not available.
Platform ecosystem	Draws on the full Intapp product suite (DealCloud, Intake, Conflicts, Terms, Walls), so every insight has full matter context.	Standalone system. Billing and collections live elsewhere.	Time intelligence only. No invoice, collection, or engagement economics coverage.
Profitability Partner Network	Extends the entire profitability chain through pricing, staffing, delivery, and collections partners. One connected chain from pricing to cash collected.	Not available.	Not available.

	Time with Celeste	Legacy FMS	Emerging start ups
AI governance and audit trail	ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certified, with Celeste joining ISO 27001 scope this year and ISO 42001 underway. AI governance is overseen at the board level, including a dedicated risk subcommittee. Firm data never trains models across customers.	Not applicable to legacy systems.	Only recent certifications.
FMS integration depth and learning loop	Deep native integration with Intapp Terms and other FMS tools. One unified data layer across the platform.	Tight but siloed. No learning from post-release adjustments.	Two-way sync with the practice management system.
Multi-language support	Supports multiple languages for global firm deployments.	Varies. Often English only.	English first.
Deployment model	Cloud native on the Celeste AI platform, built for governance at enterprise scale. First to market on Microsoft Marketplace and MACC.	On premises, with end-of-life timelines forcing migration.	Cloud only.

Capture time

Time capture method

Time with Celeste: AI auto-captures work across desktop, browser, and apps, including AI tool usage at the matter level (duration, parties involved, and more).
Legacy FMS: Basic time capture.
Emerging start ups: AI-time capture tracks basic usage.

User flexibility and persona support

Time with Celeste: Meets timekeepers where they are for firmwide adoption: auto-capture, voice dictation, timers, manual entry. Agents review every entry. Gives firms flexibility to introduce AI at their own pace with select groups.
Legacy FMS: Limited and built around a single entry method.
Emerging start ups: Rolls out by practice group, so adoption and data coverage vary across the firm.

Narrative generation and depth

Time with Celeste: Automatically turns captured activity into drafted time entries that meet firm and client guidelines before they reach billing.
Legacy FMS: Basic narrative generation.
Emerging start ups: Basic narrative generation.

Automated coding

Time with Celeste: Automated suggestions for phase, task, and activity code suggestions, so every entry is complete without manual lookup.
Legacy FMS: Some have code assignment.
Emerging start ups: Suggests PTA codes.

Multi-device and offline capture

Time with Celeste: Web, mobile, and desktop included. Voice and text note conversion captures time in seconds from any device. Supports 225,000+ daily timekeepers at enterprise scale.
Legacy FMS: Usually desktop only.
Emerging start ups: Web and some have basic mobile apps.

Stop leaks

Billing guideline compliance

Time with Celeste: Agent checks rules when a time entry is created and again at pre-bill review, from one rule source.
Legacy FMS: Usually manual, so issues are caught late or written off.
Emerging start ups: Manual upload of rules and OCG, lacks single source of truth.

Block billing detection

Time with Celeste: Entries are split and rewritten immediately, rather than caught in pre-bill review and rejected.
Legacy FMS: Usually manual, so enforcement is inconsistent.
Emerging start ups: Basic block billing detection.

Write-off reduction

Time with Celeste: Billing problems are caught at time entry and again at pre-bill, so billing directors stop rejections before they happen.
Legacy FMS: No systematic prevention. Relies on manager to catch issues.
Emerging start ups: Partial, limited to flagging language in narrative.

Bill faster

WIP and pre-bill workflow

Time with Celeste: Intapp Billstream manages WIP between billing cycles, not only at the deadline. Flags issues early and routes approvals.
Legacy FMS: Separate tools. Manual handoff between timekeeping and billing.
Emerging start ups: Focus is on timekeeping. Billing is an afterthought. May have basic pre-bill capabilities.

Partner approval and pre-bill generation

Time with Celeste: The prebill agent builds client-ready prebills with suggested edits for one-click partner approval (coming soon).
Legacy FMS: Manual review at deadline.
Emerging start ups: Focus is on timekeeping. Billing is an afterthought. May have basic pre-bill capabilities.

Rejection prevention

Time with Celeste: eBilling hub validation checks entries against eBilling rules before submission, cutting rejection cycles.
Legacy FMS: Rejections caught after client submission.
Emerging start ups: Can only warn for guidelines coming from Intapp Terms.

See profitability

Matter profitability visibility

Time with Celeste: Playbooks surface matter health, utilization, and client activity before the month closes.
Legacy FMS: Reporting only after the matter closes. No in-flight view.
Emerging start ups: Signal analytics on timekeeper activity, not connected to billing or realization data.

Staffing and resource decisions

Time with Celeste: Matter economics view shows historical staffing, utilization, and realization by matter type.
Legacy FMS: No cross-matter view.
Emerging start ups: Not available.

Platform ecosystem

Time with Celeste: Draws on the full Intapp product suite (DealCloud, Intake, Conflicts, Terms, Walls), so every insight has full matter context.
Legacy FMS: Standalone system. Billing and collections live elsewhere.
Emerging start ups: Time intelligence only. No invoice, collection, or engagement economics coverage.

Profitability Partner Network

Time with Celeste: Extends the entire profitability chain through pricing, staffing, delivery, and collections partners. One connected chain from pricing to cash collected.
Legacy FMS: Not available.
Emerging start ups: Not available.

Govern data

AI governance and audit trail

Time with Celeste: ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certified, with Celeste joining ISO 27001 scope this year and ISO 42001 underway. AI governance is overseen at the board level, including a dedicated risk subcommittee. Firm data never trains models across customers.
Legacy FMS: Not applicable to legacy systems.
Emerging start ups: Only recent certifications.

FMS integration depth and learning loop

Time with Celeste: Deep native integration with Intapp Terms and other FMS tools. One unified data layer across the platform.
Legacy FMS: Tight but siloed. No learning from post-release adjustments.
Emerging start ups: Two-way sync with the practice management system.

Multi-language support

Time with Celeste: Supports multiple languages for global firm deployments.
Legacy FMS: Varies. Often English only.
Emerging start ups: English first.

Deployment model

Time with Celeste: Cloud native on the Celeste AI platform, built for governance at enterprise scale. First to market on Microsoft Marketplace and MACC.
Legacy FMS: On premises, with end-of-life timelines forcing migration.
Emerging start ups: Cloud only.

Turn time into revenue

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Firm AI you can trust. Held to the highest standards of security and compliance.

"We’ve automated the approval process for write-offs. Realization is improving as a result."

Brian Mantarian

Former Chief Financial Officer at Mintz

"We easily transitioned to Intapp Billstream, even with everyone working out of the office."

Moe Ban

Financial Systems Manager at Seyfarth Shaw

"Intapp Time accelerates our billing cycle with an increase of 75% in the speed with which time entries are released."

Ross Forgione

Fomer CIO at Johnson Winter & Slattery

Trusted expertise. Real-world proof.

Explore how AI-native timekeeping is changing the way firms capture time, protect revenue, and drive profitability.

Webinar

Time with Celeste: First look

See what Firm AI looks like when it’s built into the revenue workflow — not layered on top of it. In this session, you’ll see live demonstrations of the new capabilities in Intapp Time with Celeste, organized around three outcomes: capturing time effortlessly, protecting earned revenue, and sharpening profitability decisions. You’ll also hear what’s coming next on the roadmap.

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Intapp Time

AI-native time capture and revenue governance

Intapp Time timekeeping software gives your partners and professionals a better way to record and submit detailed, accurate accounts of the time they spend on each engagement. Intapp Time makes it easy to recreate workdays, adhere to client requirements, and minimize missed and under-recorded effort.

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Blog post

The Economics of Law Firms: Understand the new profit equation

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