Sheila Smith (Customer) asked a question.
We are very new to LEAP. We converted over from TimeMatters. Our billing is 90% flat fee billing. By this I mean, our representation letter states that the flat fee will be $7,500. We will bill $2,500 upon completion of task 1, $2,500 upon completion of task 2 and $2,500 upon completion of task 3. We want all staff to post their time as billable (hours x rate) and regardless of what that amount comes to, it is replaced by the flat fee for task 1 (in our example above). So the actual amount may come to $1,000 or it may come to $3,000 - we are charging $2,500 flat fee. So on until the entire flat fee is billed out. I was shown how I can generate an invoice and enter the amount of the flat fee and then it adjusts the time entries accordingly. I guess I am looking for input on how others who bill similarly (some refer to as interim billing) are dealing with this in LEAP. In TimeMatters I had the billing arrangement set up for each matter so it was very easy to keep track of. Thank you!
Will the client see all of the time entries, or do you just want them to see a description of Task 1 with the $2,500 on basically a single line?
Good Morning Scott,
We generally have shown all entries with no hours/rate and just a total at the bottom. However, we are not opposed to have a summary entry. The most important thing will be on the back-end - running reports that show how much each staff person contributed to the overall flat fee.
Thank you for your assistance.
I struggle with this as well Sheila. I avoid the flat fee arrangement and manually adjust the dollars because of the impact on the timekeeper's time. I asked long ago about this myself and never got a clear answer. They also don't have a summary format. I had our PMA create one for me and it is clunky and seems counter-intuitive but it works for now so that's what I stick with!
Thank you Cheri. Yes, I have been experimenting with the manual adjustment and maybe that is what I will have to go with. We have not even gotten to the bill layout and having them assist with creating that for us. I am frustrated overall because on top of the transition and all that entails, I am really behind on billing. I appreciate your feedback.
So I have found a way to do this. But the flat fee only shows on the first invoice with all the time entries as a list. Go to the matter details then go the accounting tab. There is a flat fee box to check. If you want to invoice your customer for the retainer first. You have to create an invoice to send then delete that invoice. Otherwise, the rest of the entries won't show as $0 entries as the flat fee only shows up on the first invoice furnished.
Thank you Kristina. I did find the Flat Fee checkbox and have used that. I am *hoping* that after I do that first bill (let's say $2,500 and it includes the entries that are posted under the matter but only bills that $2,500 regardless), I can go back and recheck that option and set it to the next $2,500 (for example) and when it is time to bill again I will get the same result - billing $2,500 regardless of what time entries come to). Have you found a different result?
I haven't tried rechecking that box but that's a good idea! What I would do is bill the customer with a draft invoice so you can still add additional entries later and change the amount. Otherwise, once you bill it, you won't be able to add any more entries. It's very tedious!
I miss PCLaw Time Matters. It was an ancient system, but the reports were robust and the spell check feature was superb! LEAP requires so many steps! No flat fee option where all time entries including additional entries would be included to the flat rate. You have to manually uncheck the numbering box to manually add another matter for the same client. You have to download the time & fees report to do timecheck on word. Half of the time the GL Link autosync doesn't work. The receipt allocation cannot be modified. The reports are not enough! You can't view details.
On our flat fee matter, we have all the timekeepers post all their hours as billable. When it come time to issue an invoice, I change the invoice format to Flat Fee and enter the flat rate by the total Professional Fees on the first line. Using this flat fee format it shows all the hours actually worked on the file plus the regular rates of each timekeeper. For our firm, most of our flat fee rates are less than the actual time recorded. This way, the client knows he had more time spent on their case than the flat fee they were charged. For the matters we actually make a profit, I enter a description by the Professional Fees with the flat rate on that line. You then would have to select all the entries and Set to Not Billable.
Lynn How do you change the invoice format to Flatt Fee?
Tracey,
I change the Layout Field to Flat Fee Layout with the Invoice before you change of the Status from Draft to Final. Check the totals again before making the status Final and Save.