Matter Billing Types in LeanLaw

When you create a matter in LeanLaw, you choose a billing type that controls how time entries are handled and how the matter is invoiced. LeanLaw supports five billing types. Understanding each one helps you set up matters correctly from the start.

Billing Types at a Glance

Billing Type	Best For
Hourly	Matters where attorneys bill for time spent. The most common type. Supports detailed time entry, rate adjustments, and standard invoice generation.
Fixed Fee	Flat-rate arrangements where the client pays a set amount regardless of time spent. Supports fixed fee charges, profitability tracking, and hybrid billing.
Contingency	Matters where the attorney's fee is a percentage of a settlement or award. No invoices are sent during the case — settlement details are recorded at resolution.
Pro Bono	Community service or charitable legal work where no fee is expected. Time is tracked for bar reporting and internal visibility but is non-billable by default.
Internal	Internal firm timekeeping — admin work, training, meetings, and business development. Never billed to a client and kept out of the accounting system entirely.

Setting or Changing the Billing Type

The billing type is set when you create the matter — select it from the Billing dropdown in the matter creation form. Once a matter has been created, the billing type can be changed from the matter's Billing & Rates tab.

⚠️ Change with caution: Changing the billing type after time entries or invoices have been created can affect how existing entries are handled. For example, switching from Hourly to Fixed Fee will change the default billable status of future entries. Review existing WIP before changing the billing type on an active matter.

Hourly

Hourly is the default billing type for most LeanLaw firms. Time entries are marked billable by default and are priced at the applicable rate — set at the firm, user, or matter level.

Time entries default to: Billable.
Invoiced from: Time entries and expenses staged in the Ready to Bill queue.
Rates: Each entry uses the timekeeper's standard rate, unless a matter-level override is configured for that user.
Flexibility: Individual time entries can be marked non-billable when needed (e.g., courtesy work, internal review time).
Fixed fees on hourly matters: You can add one-off fixed fee charges to an hourly matter without changing the billing type. This is useful for flat-rate phases within an otherwise hourly engagement.
LEDES/activity codes: Activity and task codes can be applied to time entries on hourly matters for e-billing clients.

💡 Tip: Hourly is the most flexible billing type. If you're unsure which type to use, start with Hourly — you can always add fixed fee charges or track non-billable time alongside billable entries.

Fixed Fee

Fixed fee matters charge a flat amount for a defined scope of work. Time can still be tracked for profitability analysis, but invoices are generated from fixed fee charges rather than time entries.

Time entries default to: Non-billable — time is tracked for internal profitability reporting only and does not appear on client invoices by default.
Invoiced from: Fixed fee charges added to the matter, not from time entries.
Recurring fees: Fixed fees can be set to recur monthly, quarterly, or yearly — useful for ongoing retainer arrangements.
Hour limits: An hourly limit can be set on a fixed fee charge. Time up to the limit is non-billable (covered by the flat fee). Time that exceeds the limit is automatically marked as billable hourly at a specified rate.
Profitability tracking: The Fixed Fee Profitability report compares time logged against the flat fee received, giving you visibility into which arrangements are profitable.
Templates: Fixed fee templates can be configured in Settings → Team Settings to pre-fill common amounts, descriptions, and LEDES codes.

📋 Time entries CAN appear on invoices: Although time entries default to non-billable on fixed fee matters, individual entries can be manually changed to billable if needed — for example, when work exceeds scope and the client has agreed to additional hourly billing. This setting is enabled in the Invoice PDF editor.

To add a fixed fee charge to a matter:

Open the matter and go to the Fixed Fees tab.
Click Add Fixed Fee.
Enter the amount, description, billing date, and optionally select a template.
If the matter is LEDES-enabled, set the activity and task codes.
The charge appears in Ready to Bill for the next billing cycle.

Contingency

Contingency matters are used when the attorney's fee is a percentage of a settlement, judgment, or recovery. No invoices are sent during the case.

Time entries default to: Non-billable — tracked for the firm's records and for use in the final settlement statement.
Invoiced from: No invoices during the case. A final settlement statement is produced at case resolution.
Expenses: Can be tracked and included in the final settlement calculation.

Contingency matter workflow:

Create the matter with Contingency billing type.
Track time and expenses throughout the case (recommended for the settlement statement and for profitability tracking).
When the case resolves, open the matter and navigate to the Contingency tab.
Enter the settlement amount, contingency fee percentage, and any expense recovery amounts.
LeanLaw calculates the attorney fee and produces a final settlement statement for the client.

📋 Contingency reports: Contingency-specific reports are available under Reports → Contingency. They show Summary, Detail, and Expense Period views across all active and resolved contingency matters. See: Reports & Analytics, Article 6.

💡 Tip: Individual time entries on a contingency matter can be manually marked as billable if needed — for example, if the client has agreed to pay for certain work regardless of the outcome. This allows you to invoice those specific entries while keeping the matter in Contingency type.

Pro Bono

Pro bono matters are used for community service or charitable legal work where no fee is expected. All time entries are non-billable by default, keeping pro bono work clearly separated from billable client work in your reports.

Time entries default to: Non-billable.
Invoiced from: Not billed by default. However, individual time entries can be changed to billable hourly if needed, and fixed fee charges or expenses can be added.
Reporting: Pro bono hours appear in productivity reports, letting firms track their community contribution separately from billable work.
QBO: Pro bono matters are included in the accounting system (unlike Internal matters). Any billable activity on a pro bono matter follows the standard invoicing workflow.

💡 Tracking pro bono for bar reporting: Many state bars require annual reporting of pro bono hours. Tracking all pro bono work in LeanLaw under the Pro Bono billing type makes it easy to pull this data from productivity reports at year-end.

Internal

Internal matters are for firm-side time tracking — administrative work, team meetings, training, business development, and other activities that should never be billed to a client.

Time entries default to: Non-billable — and cannot be changed to billable.
Invoiced from: Internal matters are completely excluded from the billing and invoicing workflow.
QBO: Internal matters are kept out of the accounting system entirely. No QBO transactions are created for internal time entries.
Reporting: Internal time appears in productivity reports (so partners can see how much non-client time is being logged) but is excluded from revenue and billing reports.

📋 No "actual" client required: Internal matters do not need to be associated with an external client. Instead, you can create an internal 'client' (e.g., 'Firm Administration') to group all internal matters, or create internal matters under a general firm account.