Contact Support
FAQ
In this article, you will learn about the 'Matter Billing Options', that are available within the billing menu in a matter.
Overview
'Matter Billing Options', not to be confused with Billing Settings, can be accessed via the Edit icon within the banner above the Matter Billing Overview, as pictured in the screenshot above. You can also access them by clicking on 'Matter billing options' on the sidebar to the left. Whilst the 'Billing Settings' control the general workings of billing at a global level, the 'Matter Billing Options' allow for more customization at a matter level.
Matter Billing
First of all, you'll want to determine whether or not billing is enabled for the matter at all. You can do so using the toggle under 'Enable' pictured in the screenshot above. If the matter is billable, you'll then want to select the Billing status. 'Use matter status for billing' will mean that the billing status mimics the state of the actual matter (open, closed). Otherwise, you can also set a static option of 'Open' or 'Closed' by default.
Basics
Here you can set the default bill template under 'Invoice template' - note that you can still override the default by selecting a different template at the time of generating the bill. You can also determine which email address the bill will be sent to - by default, the primary participant's email address will be available beneath this field. If you check the box next to their name, it will auto-populate the field with their email address. This email address will also be used for Mass Billing. You can also select an 'Email Template' for the email that is sent out along with the bill. Lastly, you can determine the number of copies that will be printed at the time of billing (1, 2 or Do Not Print).
Billing Arrangement
In this section, you can indicate whether a matter is to be billed on an hourly or fixed-fee basis. You can also create provisions to accommodate for situations where the WIP either exceeds or falls short of the quoted amount. Through the 'Fee Reductions' field, you can determine the behavior of discounts within the bill, in terms of whether or not they are visible as discounts to your client. Lastly, you can utilize the toggle pictured underneath the rest of the fields in the screenshot below to ensure that only disbursements will be billed out. This option can be disabled at any point to re-enable fees to be added to bills.
For more information on scheduled billing and recurring invoices see here: Scheduled Payments and Recurring Invoices
General Retainers
Retainers are made available globally via the 'Billing Settings' but you are also able to determine whether they are enabled at a matter level. The 'To pay' field determines what activities the retainer balance can be applied against, and the 'Payment automation' field determines how balances are applied at the time of billing: manually or automatically.
General Retainers must be enabled via Admin -> Billing Settings for these options to appear within the 'Matter Billing Options'.
Retainer replenishment
When Retainer replenishment is enabled, you can enter a minimum balance and top-up trigger amount. At the time of billing, the system looks at the retainer balance and trigger. If the balance has reached the trigger amount, a minimum retainer balance request is added to the bill.
Example: A matter has a minimum retainer balance of $5000 and a trigger value of $3000. The matter currently has a 'General Retainer' balance of $6000 and WIP of $3500. When a bill is created for the $3500, the balance will fall to $2500, which is lower than the trigger value. Therefore, the bill will add a request for $2500 to replenish the retainer balance to its require minimum amount.
Quote
You can use this section to record the quoted amount and what it includes. Depending on how you configure your 'Billing Arrangements' (see above), the system will check this amount against the billed amount and apply a provision depending on whether the quoted amount is higher or lower.
Fixed Fee
If you select 'Fixed Fee' as the arrangement under the 'Billing Arrangement section', you will see this section here. You can either set the Bill frequency to be based on every billing cycle, or to follow a custom schedule. The 'Auto-fill' button on the custom schedule allows you to add as many items as the amount entered into your quoted amount. Please refer to the GIF below for a demonstration.
Discount
Using this field, you can determine whether discounts will be: unavailable, based on a percentage, or a fixed amount.
Rates
In this section, you can assign a default rate label to the matter, or create custom rate overrides. You can also click on the blue text under the 'CLIENT RATE' column to open the client's contact record and set a specific rate for the specified client.
Trust Accounting
This section allows you to control how the trust funds for the specified matter are used. With the 'To pay' field you can determine whether funds are only applied to unbilled items included on bills, or to both new charges and past receivables. 'Payment automation' will determine whether the funds are applied automatically or manually by the user.
Mass Billing Settings
Use this checkbox to determine whether or not the specified matter will be included/excluded as part of Mass Billing.
Fee Allocation
This setting inherits the default value set within Admin -> Billing Settings, but can also be changed for one specific client.
E-Billing
If enabled, you can use this section to determine which UTBMS codes will be used on the specified matter.
Warning: This section is still being developed and will be expanded on in future to handle additional e-billing formats.
Related Articles