Everhour tracks legal work time by matter and task, giving lawyers cleaner records for billing review.
Enter your time in and out for each day. Overtime and gross pay are calculated automatically.
| Day | Time In | Break Start | Break End | Break | Time Out | Total |
|---|
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.
A legal billable hours tracker helps you capture time by client, matter, task, activity, and billing status before details fade. The practical goal is a record you can review, edit, approve, and turn into an invoice without reconstructing the week from emails, calendar entries, and memory. For a lawyer, a useful entry ties each tenth or quarter hour to a specific matter and describes the legal work clearly enough for billing review.
The same record also protects the workflow after the invoice goes out. ABA Model Rule 1.5 makes the time and labor required one factor in fee reasonableness, and it requires the scope of representation plus the fee basis or rate to be communicated to the client before or within a reasonable time after representation starts, preferably in writing. Time tracking does not replace that communication; it supports the billing record behind it.
A strong legal time entry starts with the client, matter, date, timekeeper, duration, billing rate, and billing status. Add a plain activity description that names the work performed, such as drafting a motion section, reviewing discovery responses, preparing for a deposition, or joining a client call. The entry should show whether the time is billable, non-billable, written down, held for review, or ready for invoicing.
Legal e-billing can add more structure. UTBMS uses task codes for the legal area and phase, activity codes for the action performed, and expense codes for matter costs. Some clients also require LEDES invoices; LEDES 1998B is a 24-field ASCII pipe-delimited legal e-billing format and is widely used in the United States. A tracker helps only if the fields you capture match the invoice format the client expects.
The biggest decision is the level of detail. A vague entry such as "work on case" creates review friction and invites write-downs. A usable entry names the matter and the action, for example: "Research statute of limitations issue for Smith v. Apex, 1.2 hours, billable, litigation research." The description should be specific enough for the client and reviewer, without exposing privileged strategy in the invoice narrative.
Billing increments need the same discipline. Your engagement terms should explain the basis or rate of fees and expenses, and your tracking method should match that agreement. If the client requires task or activity coding, add those codes while the work is fresh. Clio reported that the average law firm utilization rate in 2025 was 38%, equal to 3.0 billable hours captured in an average 8-hour workday, so missed capture has measurable revenue impact.
A simple tracker is enough when you need to record a short matter, rebuild a day of time, or prepare a clean list for review. It works for a solo lawyer handling a small number of matters, especially when the final output is a straightforward invoice summary. Keep the export with the invoice file, engagement terms, and any client billing instructions so the record remains explainable later.
A managed workflow becomes necessary when several timekeepers work across many matters, client billing rules differ, or partners need approvals before invoicing. Everhour Time Tracking supports that step by capturing task and project hours through timers or manual entries, then feeding timesheets, reports, budgets, invoices, and review. Admin controls such as approvals, locked periods, reminders, and timer rules help keep legal time records consistent before billing or payroll review.
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 lawyer's billable time entry should include client, matter, date, timekeeper, duration, billing rate, billing status, and a clear description of the legal work performed. Client requirements can add UTBMS task and activity codes or a LEDES-ready structure. The strongest entries explain the task without turning the invoice narrative into a privileged legal memo.
Professional billing rules do not create one universal time-tracking format for lawyers. Client billing guidelines, e-billing platforms, engagement terms, and firm policy usually determine the required fields. For employee records, the FLSA requires covered employers to keep accurate records for non-exempt workers, including daily hours worked and total hours worked each workweek, but it does not require a particular timekeeping form.
Non-billable legal work should be tracked when the firm needs utilization, staffing, matter profitability, or workload data. Administrative time, business development, training, and internal meetings do not always reach a client invoice, but they explain where capacity goes. Without non-billable categories, a lawyer's day can look incomplete and matter profitability can look better than it is.
Calendar events are useful prompts, but they rarely contain enough billing detail by themselves. A meeting title does not show the final duration, billing status, matter code, client-approved category, or narrative description. Use calendar records to verify the day, then create a time entry that matches the engagement terms and any client billing rules.
Weekend legal hours do not automatically bill at a higher rate unless the fee agreement, client policy, court appointment terms, employment contract, or applicable law says so. Under the federal FLSA baseline, covered non-exempt employees receive overtime after over 40 hours worked in a fixed 168-hour workweek at at least 1.5 times the regular rate, not solely because work happened on Saturday or Sunday.
Everhour Time Tracking captures legal work through timers or manual entries against tasks and projects, so matter work can move into timesheets, reports, budgets, invoices, and review. Admins can use approvals, locked periods, reminders, and timer rules to keep submitted time stable before billing or payroll review.
Capture matter time as the work happens, review it before billing, and keep approved records consistent. Everhour Time Tracking turns lawyer time entries into cleaner timesheets, reports, and invoices.
14-day free trial · No credit card · Cancel anytime
