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Getting to Know a Matter's Billing Page

In a law firm, billing serves as a formal record of the time, effort, and resources dedicated to a client's case or matter. It ensures transparency between the firm and the client, helping to build trust and accountability.

When viewing or working in a matter, you have access to all of the billing details associated with the matter. Each section of the matter's Billing page is covered below.

Tip: Familiarize yourself with the different billing terms used in Practice Management by reviewing Understanding Billing Terminology in Actionstep.

 

To access a matter's Billing page:

  • In Actionstep Practice Management, view a matter and click the Billing menu icon.

The left side of the page includes several different areas of billing you can work with. These are described in further detail below:

 

Overview Page

When viewing a matter's billing Overview page, you'll see a summary of the Fees, Disbursements/Expenses, Invoices/Bills, Payments, and Trust funds (or Client funds, if you're a UK user) held for that matter. (This can include protected trust funds.)

Above these panels, you'll see information about the billing arrangement for the matter. Here, you can click Edit to view the Matter Billing Options page (which you can also access by clicking Matter billing options in the left-side menu).

While viewing any of the individual sections of matter's Billing page, you will see an Invoice Now button. When there are unbilled fees or expenses for the matter, this button will show that amount. You can click this button to generate a bill for just this matter.

NOTE:  The Invoice Now amount is approximate. When the invoice process is started, calculations are applied to each item, which may result in small rounding discrepancies.

 

Fees and Disbursements / Expenses Pages

The Fees and Disbursements/Expenses page are similar in design and function.

Fees:

Disbursements/Expenses:

The Fees and Disbursements/Expenses pages show all billed/unbilled fees and disbursements/expenses on the matter. You can click a Date or a Description to view the full entry. As long as the entry has not been billed or invoiced, it can be edited or deleted.

While viewing the list of fees, you can:

  • Click the Filter drop-down list and choose options for viewing only selected entries.
  • Click the Refresh icon to update the list with changes others in your system might have made.
  • Click the More drop-down list and either export the list as a CSV file or print it. If you want this list sent to your email on a regular cadence, select Heads Up.

You can also select one or more fees or disbursements/expenses and, depending on the entry type and bill status, reassign to a different matter (fees only), add to a draft bill, write off, edit, or delete.

To learn more, see:

 

Invoices/Bills Page

The Invoices/Bills page shows the invoices or bills that have been generated for the matter—draft, approved, and finalized.

When viewing this list, you can:

  • Click the link in the Invoice/Bill No. column to view the details of the specific invoice. If the bill hasn't been approved, you can edit it.
  • Click the PDF or DOCX icons to view the invoice in the associated document type.
  • AR Date: This is the invoice date.
  • Payment Terms: Shows the timeframe for when the client must pay the invoice. 
  • Due Date: Shows the invoice due date.
  • View the Status and Payment Status columns to see where in the process the invoice is in being collected.
  • Total / Paid / Write-Off / Due: Shows the various amounts associated with the bill/invoice.
  • The Email column shows if the invoice was emailed. Clicking the link in this column displays the Compose Email workflow, using the selected billing email template.
  • Click the Filter drop-down list to filter the list to show only the invoices you are most interested in seeing.
  • Click the Refresh icon to update the list with changes others in your system might have made.
  • Click the More drop-down list and either export the list as a CSV file or print it. If you want this list sent to your email on a regular cadence, select Heads Up.

Invoices that have been paid are crossed out in this list:

To learn more, see Creating a Bill for a Specific Matter.

 

Payments & Write-Offs Page

The Payments & Write-offs page shows all payments made toward invoices or bills for the matter, including standard payments, payments from retainers, credits, and write-offs.

When viewing this list, you can:

  • Click the Receipt No. or Date link to view the details of the specific payment.
  • Click the Filter drop-down list to show only the invoices you are most interested in seeing.
  • Click the Refresh icon to update the list with changes others in your system might have made.
  • Click the More drop-down list and either export the list as a CSV file or print it. If you want this list sent to your email on a regular cadence, select Heads Up.

To learn more, see:

 

Matter Billing Options Page

The Matter Billing Options page lets you adjust how billing is managed for this matter.

See Setting Up Billing for a Specific Matter for complete instructions on the available options.

 

Additional Resources:

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