How it runs for law firms and solo practitioners
Invoices sync to the operating ledger, and BillingLine answers client questions about them in the firm's name.
What are outsourced invoicing services?
Outsourced invoicing services mean a remote billing team prepares, checks and sends your customer invoices instead of your office staff doing it between other tasks. The team works inside your accounting or billing software, follows your rate cards and contract terms, and issues credit notes and corrections. You keep control of pricing, approvals and the customer relationship.
What we handle for law firms and solo practitioners
- Generate pre-bills from unbilled time and costs for attorney review
- Apply approved write-downs and record the reason by matter
- Attach costs advanced and disbursements to the correct invoice
- Issue retainer replenishment requests when trust balances fall below the agreed floor
- Sync final invoices to QuickBooks Online or Xero and record the approval
The KPI that matters here
Pre-bills delivered to attorneys within 3 business days of the cutoff and final invoices issued within 10 days.
Law firms compliance notes
IOLTA and trust accounting (US and Canada)
Client funds sit in a separate trust or IOLTA account with an individual ledger per client, and the firm may never hold its own money there beyond what the rules allow for bank charges. We support the supervising attorney by keeping the client ledgers current, preparing the monthly three-way reconciliation and flagging any negative client balance the same day. We never have signing authority on trust accounts and never move client funds; the attorney approves and executes every transfer.
SRA Accounts Rules (UK)
Firms regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority must keep client money separate, reconcile client account at least every five weeks, return client money promptly when there is no longer a reason to hold it, and obtain an accountant's report within six months of the period end unless exempt. We prepare the reconciliations and the working papers for the COFA and the reporting accountant; the firm remains responsible for the client account.
Retainers, earned fees and transfers
An advance fee deposit is a trust liability until the work is done and invoiced. We prepare the transfer schedule showing which earned fees may move from trust to operating after the invoice is issued and any required notice period, and the attorney authorizes the transfer. Revenue is recognized when earned, not when the retainer is received.
Costs advanced and disbursements
Amounts the firm pays on a client's behalf are recorded as a receivable from that client and matter, not as firm expense. In the UK, disbursements need correct VAT treatment depending on whether the firm acted as agent. We track each cost to its matter and confirm the VAT position with the firm's accountant.
Law firms software we work in
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- Bill.com
- Clio
- LeanLaw
- CosmoLex
- PracticePanther
- LawPay
- All 50 platforms
More for law firms and solo practitioners
Other services for law firms
Invoicing and billing in other industries
Frequently asked questions
How does the pre-bill review work with our attorneys?
We generate pre-bills from unbilled time and costs in your practice management system and send them to each billing attorney with a short deadline. Attorneys edit narratives, approve write-downs and confirm disbursements. We apply the edits, record write-down reasons for the realization report and issue the final invoice. Nothing goes to a client without the attorney's sign-off.
Can you bill flat fees and hourly matters differently?
Yes, flat-fee matters are billed at the milestones in the engagement letter and hourly matters from reviewed time entries. Contingency matters carry costs advanced only until settlement. Each fee type is mapped to its own revenue line in the operating ledger so the practice area report shows fee mix without extra work.
How are retainer replenishments requested?
The engagement letter sets a floor for the client's trust balance. When an invoice would take the balance below the floor, the billing run includes a replenishment request stating the amount and the reason. The request is a trust deposit, not income, and is recorded to the client's trust ledger when it arrives.
Ask an AI assistant to summarize this page
Opens the assistant with a prefilled prompt so you can check our claims against the page yourself.