Turn timesheets into draft client invoices
Approved time and expenses are grouped by client and matter, priced at the right rate, cleaned up for narrative quality and assembled into a draft invoice. The billing manager reviews drafts, not raw time. For law, accounting and consulting practices that bill on the 1st and spend days getting there.
Function: Finance · Industry: Professional services
Turn timesheets into draft client invoices
6 steps
At a glance
- Trigger
- The billing cycle opens, or a project reaches a billing milestone.
- Typical inputs
- Approved time entries and expenses
- Engagement terms and rate cards
- Matter or project budgets and caps
- Prior invoices and write-off history
- Systems it usually connects to
- Clio
- QuickBooks
- Xero
- Google Sheets
- How the work splits
4 rules, 1 model, 1 person steps
How it runs, step by step
6 steps, each tagged by what does the work. Rules are fixed logic, a model reads or drafts, and a person decides.
- Rules Fixed logic in code
- Model AI reads or drafts, with a confidence score
- Person A named person decides
- 1
Collect billable items
RulesApproved, unbilled time and expenses are gathered per client and matter, with held entries excluded.
- 2
Apply rates and caps
RulesRate cards, fixed fees, retainers, discounts and budget caps from the engagement terms are applied in code.
- 3
Tidy the narratives
ModelA model rewrites vague entries such as "call" into clear descriptions based on the matter notes, keeping the original alongside.
- 4
Check the invoice
RulesRules test for entries outside the engagement scope, missing task codes, duplicate time and invoices that would exceed a cap.
- 5
Review and adjust
PersonThe billing partner or manager writes down, writes off or approves each draft.
- 6
Issue and record
RulesApproved invoices are sent through your billing system and posted to accounts receivable.
Where people approve
The decisions that stay with your team, whatever the confidence score says.
- The responsible partner or manager approves every invoice.
- Write-offs above a set amount need a second approver.
- Rewritten narratives are shown to the timekeeper where policy requires it.
KPIs to track
What to measure, before and after. Targets come from your own baseline.
- 01Days from period end to invoices issued
- 02Write-downs made at review, by reason
- 03Unbilled time older than 60 days
- 04Hours spent in the billing cycle by finance and partners
Questions about this workflow
Is rewriting time narratives acceptable to clients?
It depends on your client billing guidelines, so we configure it per client. Some require entries exactly as recorded. For those, the model only flags vague entries and asks the timekeeper to fix them.
Can it deal with different fee arrangements on the same matter?
Yes, as long as the arrangement is written down. Hourly, capped, fixed-fee and success-fee components are separate rules. Anything ambiguous in the engagement letter is sent to a person before the first invoice.
Which steps use rules, a model and a person?
Rules: collect billable items; apply rates and caps; check the invoice; issue and record. Model: tidy the narratives. Person: review and adjust. Rules are fixed logic in code. A model reads or drafts and reports its confidence. A named person decides.
What do we need to start?
Typically: approved time entries and expenses; engagement terms and rate cards; matter or project budgets and caps; prior invoices and write-off history. You also need read access to Clio, QuickBooks, Xero and Google Sheets, or the equivalents you use. A workflow audit measures your volumes and past cases first, then gives a fixed price for the build, so you can decide with real numbers.