Legal billing software: recording time so the invoice holds up

The quiet loss Between a phone call, a short email and a document review, a lawyer loses a measurable share of billable time every week. Not because the work is unbilled by choice, but because it was never recorded.

Capture at the moment, not at month end Reconstructing a month from memory produces two effects: undercounting, and a record you cannot defend if the fee is challenged. Time capture has to sit where the work happens, inside the matter, in one click.

What makes an invoice defensible A dated line per task, attributed to a named person, attached to a matter, with a short description a client can understand. Add the fee agreement reference and the applicable rate. That is the whole difference between a discussion and a dispute.

Fixed fees still need time data A firm working on fixed fees needs recorded time even more: it is the only way to know which matter types are profitable and which are quietly subsidised.

Reminders are part of billing An invoice without a reminder schedule is a receivable. Automatic reminders at seven, twenty-one and forty-five days recover more than any renegotiation.

In Qadilex Time capture, invoice generation and reminders sit in the same place as the matter file, so nothing has to be re-entered.

Why time slips away Most unbilled work disappears in the gaps: a phone call between two hearings, a quick review of an attachment, a message answered in the evening. None of it feels worth recording at the time, and by Friday the details are gone. Recording at the moment of the task, from inside the matter, is the only method that survives a busy week.

A timekeeping routine that holds Start the entry when the task starts, not when it ends. Use short, factual descriptions a client can read: the act performed and the matter it belongs to. Review the day's entries once, in the evening, and correct what is unclear while you still remember it.

Descriptions that reduce disputes Clients rarely dispute the number of hours; they dispute not understanding them. "Reviewed correspondence" invites questions. "Reviewed opponent's letter of 12 March and prepared reply" does not. Write entries as if they will be read aloud.

From entries to an invoice An invoice built from recorded work needs no reconstruction: the entries are grouped by matter and period, expenses are attached, and the total follows the engagement terms. What remains is a review, not a rebuild — which is why firms that record daily invoice earlier in the month and get paid sooner.