Creating LEDES 1998B Formatted Bills

LEDES 1998B is a standard format for electronic legal billing that uses a very specific format guide.  The LEDES Oversight Committee has prepared a complete list of Timekeeper classification codes (last revised August 2014).

Contents

Downloading LEDES 1998B Formatted Bills
ABA (UTBMS) Task Codes
Overview of LEDES Fields in Clio
Law Firm ID
Client ID
Timekeeper Classification

Downloading LEDES 1998B Formatted Bills 

LEDES 1998B formatted bills can be generated by first creating the bill, opening it on your screen, and then clicking "Download LEDES1998B".

Once you have done so, the file will download to your computer and then you can open/save to your computer or send it to your printer.

ABA (UTBMS) Task Codes

Full Support article: UTBMS Codes 

In the event you wish to include ABA (UTBMS) task codes in your LEDES ouput file, you must first enable UTBMS codes in your Bill settings. You can then select appropriate codes in either your time or expense entries. Clio will automatically extract the relevant codes, and format them according to the LEDES 1998B file specifications.

The generated LEDES formatted bill will include the appropriate UTBMS Task and Expense codes:

Overview of LEDES Fields in Clio

ID Number	Name	Description + Clio mapping
01	INVOICE_DATE	Issue Date of the Invoice.
02	INVOICE_NUMBER	Clio Invoice Number.
03	CLIENT_ID	A unique number created by Clio and assigned to each Contact. This can be changed from the Edit Contact screen, under the LEDES Client ID field. The default value can be seen in the URL for that Contact.
04	LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID	The law firm assigned Matter code. This is identical to the Clio Matter Display Number.
05	INVOICE_TOTAL	Invoice total after any Discounts, Credit Notes and/or Taxes applied.
06	BILLING_START_DATE	The starting date for the billing period. If a date range was selected at Bill Generation in Clio (eg. Activities Date Range selected in the Filter on the Billable Clients tab), the start date will fill in here. If no date range was selected at Bill Generation, this will fill in with the date of the oldest line item on the Bill.
07	BILLING_END_DATE	The ending date for the billing period. If a date range is selected at Bill Generation in Clio (eg. Activities Date Range selected in the Filter on the Billable Clients tab), the end date will fill in here. If no date range was selected at Bill Generation, this will fill in with the date of the newest line item on the Bill.
08	INVOICE_DESCRIPTION	A descriptive summary of work performed. This will pull in the Matter Description from Clio.
09	LINE_ITEM_NUMBER	Number of the line item on the Bill ordered from the oldest to newest item.
10	EXP/FEE/INV_ADJ_TYPE	This field will identify the type of line item for each item on the Bill. This will be populated with either E(xpense), F(ee), IF (Invoice-level adjustment on Fees) or IE (Invoice-level adjustment on Expenses). Expense = E Time = F Tax = IE and IF (will create a line for the total of each) Invoice Discount = IE and IF (will create a line for the total of each with a negative amount) Credit Note = F (with a negative amount)
11	LINE_ITEM_NUMBER_OF_UNITS	This will be the Quantity field within either a Time or Expense entry.
12	LINE_ITEM_ADJUSTMENT_AMOUNT	This field will either be blank or "0" when downloading a LEDES Bill unless the line item has a discount applied to it within Clio. A line item discount will create a negative amount in this field.
13	LINE_ITEM_TOTAL	Total value of the line item.
14	LINE_ITEM_DATE	Date of the line item. Pulls from the Time or Expense entry date within Clio.
15	LINE_ITEM_TASK_CODE	Task Code that had been attached to the Time entry within Clio. Will populate as L120 ("Analysis/strategy") if nothing is selected within Clio.
16	LINE_ITEM_EXPENSE_CODE	Expense Code that had been attached to the Expense entry within Clio. Will populate as E124 ("other") if nothing is selected within Clio.
17	LINE_ITEM_ACTIVITY_CODE	Activity Code that had been attached to the Time entry within Clio. Will populate as A111 ("other") if nothing is selected within Clio.
18	TIMEKEEPER_ID	This draws from the users Initials field. This can be modified in the Clio settings in the Manage Users section.
19	LINE_ITEM_DESCRIPTION	This will be populated with the Time/Expense line item description as well as the activity note from Clio.
20	LAW_FIRM_ID	Drawn directly from the 'LEDES Law Firm ID, Tax ID or GST Number' field under Settings ->Account and Payment Info -> Account Information.
21	LINE_ITEM_UNIT_COST	This will populate with the users hourly rate for a Time entry or the cost of an Expense.
22	TIMEKEEPER_NAME	Full name of the time keeper in Clio.
23	TIMEKEEPER_CLASSIFICATION	The standard codes are "PT" (for partner), "AS" (for associate), "OC" (for of counsel), "LA" (for legal assistant), or "OT" (for other timekeeper). The full list of classification codes can be found on ledes.org. This is pulled from the "Job Title" field on the user's profile.
24	CLIENT_MATTER_ID	The client specific Matter code. This is mapped directly from the Client Reference Number field in the Matter and will not be populated if the Client Reference Number is blank within Clio.

Law Firm ID

Those requiring that the Law Firm ID, or Tax ID number be specified in their LEDES output files can record this value in the firm account settings located in the "Settings" menu, under "System > Account and Payment Info > Account Info".

Client ID

You can enter the Client ID that you want to use when generating the LEDES bill. Simply edit the contact card and in the "LEDES"  field (under "Billing Preferences"),  enter the Client ID and click "Save Contact". 

Timekeeper Classification

Timekeeper Classification codes (referred to as "Job Titles" in Clio) can be added to each user's profile and will appear on LEDES bills. 

Adding Job Title Codes

To add and manage Job Titles, go to your Settings panel and click on "Groups, Permissions, and Job Titles" in the System column, then click on "Job Titles". 

To add a new Job Title or to select from a list of LEDES codes, click the "Add" button.

In the "Add Job Title" pop-up, you have the following options:

1. Title: Enter the name of the Job Title.
2. Add from LEDES 1998B Timekeeper List: Click to select from a list of LEDES Timekeeper Classification codes.
3. Initials: Enter in the initials that you want to be displayed on the LEDES formatted bill. For a complete list of LEDES Timekeeper Classification codes, click HERE. 

Adding a Job Title to a User Profile

Once you have added the Job Titles that you would like to use, you will then have to select the appropriate title for each user.

To add a Job Title to a user, go to your Settings panel and click "Manage Users" in the System column, then click on the "Edit" quick link for the user that you would like to manage. Please note that only Administrators can edit user profiles. 

On the user's profile form, scroll down to the "Job Title" section and select the appropriate classification. 

Whenever making changes to a user's profile, be sure to click the "Save New Information" button.