All of your time and expenses are entered and you are ready to create some invoices - here is a step by step guide on how to get the job done.
Note: click on any of the images to enlarge
You will start by navigating to your “BILLING” tab from the top of your LeanLaw screen:
This area contains the sub-folders that were designated when you chose your billing workflow Ready To Bill, Draft and Approve as well as the QuickBooks tab where you can find invoices that are ready to submit or have already been submitted. Also in this area you will find tabs to see trust and accounts receivable balances.
Ready To Bill
This folder contains everything from the time entry and expense folders, grouped by client and matter to prepare for billing. You can choose a single client, single matter (Pro version only) or bulk entries to prepare your draft invoice.
At the top of the screen you will find the filters for sorting by client, timekeeper and date range as well as additional “checkboxes” include/exclude billable or non-billable hours, fixed fees or expenses.
To move onto the draft stage, you can click the green lightning bolt icon which will immediately send the entries to draft or go through the step by step draft option with the gray arrow box.
To create bulk draft (pre-bills), you can select the checkbox to the left of each invoice and click on the green "Create Draft Invoices" button at the top right of the page.
Draft Invoices
Draft invoices (or pre-bills) are a first step in preparing an invoice.
Create Drafts: Start by making draft invoices (pre-bills). These drafts will go to the "Draft" folder automatically.
Review Electronically: In the "Draft" folder, you can electronically check what will be on the final invoice. You can make changes, save parts for later, or add more details if needed.
Check Client Info: On the draft, you'll also see client information like previous account balances and trust fund amounts. Note that these numbers are for your internal use and won't appear on the actual invoice.
Approval: Once you've edited and approved the draft, it moves to the "Approved" folder. If your workflow doesn't include an approval step, you can send it directly to QuickBooks.
Quick Submission: You have the option to skip the approval step and go straight to "approve and submit" from the draft, even if you have an approved folder in your workflow.
You are also able to “undo” a draft and send all of the entries and expenses back to the “Ready To Bill” folder.
Need to see this on a spreadsheet? Click on the top right "Export" button to download the current view as a .CSV file.
Review
This step is useful if you need another set of eyes on your invoices. You can assign a "reviewer" to an invoice to ensure its accuracy before sending it to the Approval section or QuickBooks.
Assigning a reviewer will allow you to filter by said reviewer.
You can make a reviewer assignment mandatory on invoices by going to your LeanLaw settings on the top right gear icon and navigating to Billing (Workflows/Fees), ensuring the Reviewer setting is set to "Yes".
Approved
If you use the “Approved” step, invoices that have gone through the draft process and have been approved will now be in the approved folder, ready to be submitted to Quickbooks. You can send individually or in bulk.
You also have the option to undo and “send back to draft” if you have found that a mistake had been made or if you decide to hold off billing for a particular client or matter.
Need to see this on a spreadsheet? Click on the top right "Export" button to download the current view as a .CSV file.
Manage Invoices
This tab will contain the list of invoices that have been processed and are ready to deliver to the client or have already been delivered. Here you can also:
Check past invoices, whether they're paid or unpaid.
Use the "Back to Draft" option at the bottom of the page to return an invoice to the draft folder.
Additional Actions - click on the three dots to the right of your desired invoice to:
Record payments, send emails or print invoices, and if trust funds are available, you can make a payment from trust.
Group invoices for bulk delivery by sorting them based on the delivery method.
Easily filter and sort invoices by various criteria using the left-hand filters.
Need to see this on a spreadsheet? Click on the top right "Export" button to download the current view as a .CSV file.
BEHIND THE SCENES - QUICKBOOKS: When an invoice is created in LeanLaw and submitted to QuickBooks, LeanLaw will automatically record the transaction into the proper accounts (Revenue and Accounts Receivable) in QuickBooks.