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Building and Editing Invoices in LeanLaw

How to build and edit draft invoices in LeanLaw using the draft editor — including adding services, expenses, and fixed fees, adjusting invoice dates, and using bulk actions.

Once a matter is staged into a draft, the LeanLaw draft editor is where you shape the invoice — reviewing what's included, making adjustments, and preparing it for approval and delivery.

 

Opening the Draft Editor

  1. Click Billing in the top navigation.
  2. Go to the Draft tab (or Review or Approved, depending on your workflow stage).
  3. Click on the invoice you want to edit. The draft editor opens.

 

The Draft Editor Layout

The draft editor organizes invoice content into three sections:

  • Services: Time entries — billable hours from timekeepers on this matter.
  • Fixed Fees: Flat fee charges added to this matter.
  • Expenses: Soft costs (from LeanLaw) and hard costs (synced from QuickBooks).

Each section has its own Add and Update buttons, letting you add new items or bulk-update existing ones independently. 

If your draft invoice is missing one of the sections, use the Add Section option to add the new section.

 

Adjusting Invoice Date

The invoice date determines which billing period the invoice is attributed to in reports. To change it:

  1. In the draft editor, find the Invoice Date field near the top of the invoice.
  2. Click to edit and enter the correct date.
  3. Save the invoice.

💡 Best practice: Use the last day of the billing period as your invoice date. Revenue reports attribute billed amounts by invoice date — using the period end date keeps your billed revenue in the correct month.

 

📋 Already in QuickBooks Online? If the invoice has already been submitted to QuickBooks Online and you need to change the date, open the invoice directly in QuickBooks Online (three-dot menu → Open in QuickBooks), change the date there, and click Save (not Save and Send). Refresh LeanLaw to see the update.

 

Adding Items to a Draft

You can add items to an existing draft that weren't included when it was staged:

  • Add a time entry: Click Add in the Services section and select from unbilled entries for this matter.
  • Add a fixed fee: Click Add in the Fixed Fees section and select from available charges.
  • Add an expense: Click Add in the Expenses section and select from unbilled expenses.

 

Bulk Actions in the Draft Editor

The draft editor supports bulk actions for efficient invoice management. Select multiple items using their checkboxes, then use the Update dropdown to:

  • Move selected entries to a different client or matter
  • Mark selected entries as non-billable
  • Associate time entries with a Fixed Fee billing structure
  • Write down selected entries to zero (Pro feature)
  • Save selected items for later (returns them to Ready to Bill)
  • Mark selected items as billed (removes from billing workflow permanently without deleting)

⚠️ Mark as Billed: 'Mark as Billed' permanently removes an entry from the billing workflow without putting it on an invoice. Use this only for entries that should never be invoiced. Use 'Save for Later' instead if you simply want to defer to the next billing cycle.

 

Auto-Advance Workflow

When enabled, Auto-Advance automatically opens the next invoice in your queue after you save or approve the current one. This is ideal for high-volume billing runs where you're working through many invoices in sequence. Toggle Auto-Advance from within the draft editor.

 

Bulk Invoice Date Edits

To update invoice dates across multiple drafts at once, use the bulk date update tool available in the Draft, Review, and Approved tabs. Select multiple invoices using their checkboxes and update the date in one action.