Legal billing needs matter-level detail and fee accuracy. Everhour keeps billable work organized before invoice time.
Fill in your details, add line items, hit Print when ready.
| Description | Qty | Rate | Tax | Amount |
|---|
The calculator gives you the number — Everhour takes it from there.
One click and you're timing. Start a timer, add an entry, edit the details. This is exactly how it feels in Everhour.
Set a budget, assign rates, and get alerted before you're over.
Measurement
Track your budget through time or costs
Every report you need — configured your way, always up to date.
Tracked hours flow straight into a polished invoice — no copy-paste, no manual math.
Use this page to prepare a legal invoice for a law firm, solo attorney, legal consultant, or legal team billing a client by matter. The finished invoice should identify the client, matter, invoice date, invoice number, fee model, work performed, reimbursable expenses, payment terms, and any advance payment or trust-account treatment that affects the balance due.
Legal invoices commonly use hourly, fixed-fee, contingent-fee, or advance-payment structures. The invoice should follow the written engagement terms, especially the stated fee basis, expense treatment, billing interval, and payment deadline. A matter-based invoice also needs enough detail for the client to understand what work was done, who did it, and how the amount due was calculated.
Hourly legal invoices usually need itemized time entries by date, timekeeper, description, rate, and amount. A litigation invoice might list "March 5, 2026, senior associate, draft motion to compel, 2.4 hours, $350/hour, $840." Fixed-fee work needs a clear service line instead, such as contract review, entity formation, or policy drafting, with the agreed price.
Contingent-fee matters require more care than ordinary hourly billing. Under ABA Model Rule 1.5, the agreement must be signed by the client and state the percentage, how expenses affect the fee calculation, and which expenses the client remains liable for regardless of outcome. Contingent fees are prohibited for securing a divorce or determining alimony, support, or property settlement, and for criminal-defense representation.
Legal invoices often include pass-through expenses such as filing fees, research charges, copying, travel, or service-of-process costs. A lawyer may charge reimbursable in-house costs or other expenses only as a reasonable amount agreed in advance or an amount that reasonably reflects the cost incurred. Avoid vague expense lines like "miscellaneous costs" when the client expects itemized support.
Corporate and insurance clients often require e-billing codes. LEDES 1998B uses a 24-field pipe-delimited ASCII format, and UTBMS codes classify legal services and expenses with task, activity, and expense codes. A standard PDF invoice can satisfy a small-business client, but a client with billing guidelines may reject the invoice if matter IDs, timekeeper IDs, UTBMS codes, or required narratives are missing.
A one-off legal invoice template is enough when you bill one client, one matter, and a small set of time entries or fixed-fee lines. It also works for a simple reimbursement invoice, provided the expense method matches the engagement terms and the client does not require LEDES or UTBMS coding.
A managed workflow becomes necessary when multiple timekeepers, matters, non-billable entries, write-downs, trust balances, or client-specific rules affect billing. Everhour can separate billable and non-billable time at the project, task, or member-rate level, then report billable time, non-billable time, billable amount, and cost for review before an invoice is finalized.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
High Performer
G2
Summer 2026
Best Ease Of Use
Capterra
Summer 2026
Rated in the top time trackers across G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius — with consistent praise for ease of use, integrations, and support.
A legal invoice should include the firm or lawyer name, client name, matter name or number, invoice date, invoice number, fee model, itemized services or fixed-fee lines, reimbursable expenses, payments or advances applied, amount due, payment terms, and remittance details. Hourly invoices should identify the timekeeper, date, work description, rate, and time spent.
United States invoices do not use a national VAT or GST invoice regime. Sales and use tax rules come from state and local jurisdictions, and the taxability of legal or other services depends on the applicable state rules. A firm may use a TIN or EIN for tax reporting workflows, but that is separate from a VAT or GST registration number.
Advance fees and expenses should be treated according to the engagement agreement and trust-account rules. ABA Model Rule 1.15 requires advance legal fees and expenses to be deposited into a client trust account and withdrawn only as fees are earned or expenses are incurred. The invoice should show earned fees, expenses applied, and any remaining advance balance clearly.
An e-billing client may reject a legal invoice that omits the matter ID, timekeeper information, required UTBMS task, activity, or expense codes, or the required LEDES format. The invoice also risks rejection when narratives are too vague, expenses lack support, or the billed fee model conflicts with the client engagement terms or billing guidelines.
Contingent-fee billing follows the signed client agreement rather than hourly totals alone. ABA Model Rule 1.5 requires the agreement to state the percentage, expense treatment, and any expenses the client must pay regardless of outcome. At the end of the matter, the lawyer must provide a written statement showing the outcome, client remittance, and how that amount was determined.
Everhour lets admins set project billing status, mark specific tasks as non-billable, use custom task rates, and set a member's project rate to 0 when that person's time should stay out of billable totals. Reports can show billable time, non-billable time, billable amount, and cost for invoice review.
Everhour Billing & Invoicing converts uninvoiced billable time and expenses into client invoices. Invoice lines can be grouped by project, task, person, date, or another available breakdown, so a legal team can shape the bill around the client's matter-level review process.
Track billable and non-billable legal work by matter, review billable amounts before sending, and use Everhour to keep invoice totals tied to approved time.
14-day free trial · No credit card · Cancel anytime
