Everhour connects legal time tracking to budgets and billing, while lawyers still need client, matter, and task detail.
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 lawyer timesheet is for capturing time by client, matter, task, activity, billing status, and rate. The finished record should show who did the work, the date, the time spent, the work description, and whether the time is billable, non-billable, written down, or excluded from the invoice.
Legal time entries also support fee discipline. ABA Model Rule 1.5 requires lawyers to communicate the scope of representation and the basis or rate of fees and expenses to the client before or within a reasonable time after starting representation, preferably in writing. The time and labor required is one factor in fee reasonableness, so vague entries weaken review.
A complete entry usually starts with the matter, client, date, timekeeper, task, time amount, rate, and narrative. A litigation entry can read: client A, matter 2026-014, attorney review of discovery responses, billable, 1.2 hours, $325 per hour. The narrative should be specific enough for billing review without exposing unnecessary confidential detail.
Law firms that bill electronically often need more structure. UTBMS uses task codes for the area and phase of legal work, activity codes for the action performed, and expense codes for matter costs. LEDES 1998B uses a 24-field ASCII pipe-delimited legal e-billing format, so clean source entries reduce invoice cleanup later.
Law firm performance often breaks down between work performed, work invoiced, and work collected. 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. The same benchmark reported 88% realization and 93% collection.
Those gaps make timing and billing status matter. A lawyer who records work at the end of the week loses detail about short calls, research pivots, and internal review. A better habit is to track each matter as work happens, mark non-billable time clearly, and review entries before they become client-facing invoice lines.
A free timesheet is enough when you need a clean weekly record for one lawyer, one matter, or a small number of invoice lines. It works best when the client does not require UTBMS codes, LEDES formatting, approval steps, or recurring budget review across multiple matters.
A managed workflow fits firms that need tracked time to feed budgets, invoices, and review. Everhour Project Budgeting supports hour-based and money-based budgets, recurring budget periods, threshold email alerts, budget protection, expense inclusion controls, multiple billing methods, and client-level budgets for ongoing legal work.
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 timesheet should include client, matter, date, timekeeper, task or activity, time amount, billing status, rate, and a clear work description. Firms using e-billing also need the required task, activity, or expense codes before invoice export or submission.
Legal time entries need enough detail for client review, billing approval, and fee reasonableness review. The narrative should identify the work performed, such as drafting a motion section or reviewing discovery responses, while avoiding unnecessary confidential facts that do not belong in a billing record.
ABA Model Rule 1.5 does not create a universal time-tracking mandate. It requires communication of the fee basis or rate and lists time and labor required as one factor in fee reasonableness. Hourly legal work still needs accurate time records to support invoices and client review.
Client billing requirements decide this. UTBMS codes classify legal services by task, activity, and expense. LEDES 1998B is a 24-field ASCII pipe-delimited legal e-billing format used in U.S. legal e-billing. Firms serving clients that require those formats need structured entries before invoice submission.
Weekend work alone does not create federal overtime premium pay under the FLSA. Unless exempt, covered employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a fixed 168-hour workweek at not less than one and one-half times the regular rate. State law, policy, or contract terms can add rules.
Everhour Project Budgeting lets firms track hour-based or money-based budgets as time is logged. Legal teams can use recurring budget periods, threshold alerts, budget protection, expense inclusion settings, multiple billing methods, and client-level budgets to monitor ongoing matter work before invoices go out.
Everhour Reporting turns logged time, costs, budgets, clients, projects, members, comments, billable time, and invoice status into configurable reports. Firms can export reports as CSV, Excel/XLSX, or PDF for billing review, spreadsheet cleanup, or client-facing records.
Track matter time, monitor recurring budgets, and review billable work before invoicing. Everhour Project Budgeting connects legal hours to matter limits, alerts, and billing workflows.
14-day free trial · No credit card · Cancel anytime
