Prepare and post a bill

Start a pre-bill

1. Open the matter's Bills tab and choose Pre-bills, or open Billing, Pre-bills.
2. Choose New pre-bill, then choose the matter and the last day of work to include.
3. The pre-bill gathers the matter's approved, chargeable time that has not been billed, its billable disbursements and any fees its billing arrangement adds.

A matter has one open pre-bill at a time.

Work on the lines

Each time line shows the fee earner, the hours, its standard value and what it bills. Use the line's menu to:

• Change billed value: bill it for more or less. The difference is recorded as a write-up or a write-off.
• Edit narrative: change the words the bill prints. The time entry keeps its own words.
• Leave in work in progress: keep it off this bill. A later pre-bill picks it up.
• Write off: the client is never charged for it, and the write-off is reported.
• Move to another matter: the time was recorded on the wrong matter.

Each change needs a reason, which is kept with the line. Disbursements can be left off and put back the same way.

Under a fixed fee, milestone or scale fee, the time is marked covered by the fee. The arrangement's fee is charged and the time is not charged again.

How the bill prints

Bill settings sets how time is grouped (by phase, by fee earner or as one narrative you write), the bill date and notes for the approver. The totals panel shows fees, disbursements paid as the client's agent, other disbursements, each tax at its rate and the total, and updates as lines change.

Approve and post

1. Submit sends the pre-bill for approval. It cannot be changed while it waits.
2. An approver approves it or sends it back with a reason. A bill over the firm's threshold needs the responsible partner or the managing partner.
3. Post bill gives the bill its number, writes the journal and the tax, and locks the time and disbursements on it.

Posting is final. A posted bill is corrected only by a credit note.