Timekeepers completing timesheets at end of week rather than same-day, leading to reconstructed entries that are systematically underbilled?
Billing team chasing partners for bill approval every month-end because there's no approval workflow?
No visibility on WIP aging across matters until the billing team manually compiles it at month-end?
Trust account reconciliation done outside the billing system in a separate spreadsheet?
Legal Billing and Time Management Software
Timekeepers who complete timesheets at the end of the week are systematically underbilling. The work from Tuesday morning doesn't get recorded accurately on Friday afternoon. And when the billing team has to chase partners for bill approval every month-end because there's no workflow, the firm's cash position suffers for it.
We build custom legal billing and time management software for law firms, barristers' chambers, and in-house legal operations. From same-day time capture through bill generation, approval, and collection, the billing cycle runs on a system built for legal work.
Time capture on mobile, desktop, and email so entries are recorded when work happens
Matter-based billing with rate schedules per client and timekeeper, and LEDES 98B export for e-billing
Bill review and approval workflow so bills are reviewed and signed off before issuance without email chains
WIP aging, realization rate, and collection performance reporting for billing management
Legal billing software manages the full billing cycle from time capture through invoice issuance and collection. It supports matter-based billing with rate schedules per client and timekeeper, generates invoices in LEDES 98B format for e-billing clients, and handles write-offs and trust accounting with a full audit trail. RaftLabs builds custom legal billing tools for law firms and chambers that need more control over their billing process.
100+Products shipped
·24+Industries served
·FixedCost delivery
·12-14Week delivery cycles
Where legal billing systems break down
Most billing problems in law firms start with time capture. When the path from doing work to recording it is more than two or three taps, timekeepers put it off. By the time they get to it, the detail is gone. Reconstructed time entries tend to round down. The difference between accurate daily capture and Friday afternoon reconstruction is often ten to fifteen percent of billable time across a firm.
The second problem is the billing workflow itself. When bill approval requires a partner to respond to an email with an attached draft invoice, the process depends entirely on that person's inbox management. Month-end becomes a week of chasing, and the firm's cash position lags by a month because bills go out late every cycle.
A custom billing system solves both problems. Time capture is built into the workflow so recording happens at the moment of work. Bill approval is a structured workflow with automatic reminders rather than an email thread. The billing team can see WIP aging, approval status, and outstanding invoices without compiling reports manually.
What we build
Time capture across devices and channels
Timekeepers record time from their phone, desktop, or directly from email without switching to a separate application. A running timer on the matter workspace captures time automatically while work is in progress. End-of-day prompts show the timekeeper their calendar alongside their recorded time so gaps are filled at close of business rather than at end of week. Narrative templates and activity codes reduce the effort of each entry so the friction of recording accurately is as low as possible.
Matter-based billing with flexible rate structures
Billing rates are configured at the client, matter, or timekeeper level with the most specific rule applied automatically. Rate schedules are date-effective so rate increases on a given date apply to time recorded after that date without manual adjustment. Hourly, fixed fee, capped fee, and contingency billing types are all supported as matter configurations. Fixed fee matters still track time at the matter level so profitability analysis works even when the client is not billed by the hour.
LEDES 98B and UTBMS billing format
For clients that use e-billing platforms, invoices are exported in LEDES 98B format with UTBMS task and activity codes. The export validates against the LEDES specification before the file is generated so format errors are caught internally rather than rejected by the client's system. Client-specific billing guidelines such as rate caps, restricted activities, and required narrative formats are enforced at the time entry stage so non-compliant entries are flagged before they reach the bill.
Bill review and approval workflow
Draft bills are generated from the WIP ledger and sent to the responsible timekeeper or billing partner for review through a structured workflow rather than an email attachment. Reviewers can approve, adjust, write off individual entries, or return the bill with comments. Automatic reminders escalate unapproved bills before month-end without requiring the billing team to send chase emails. The approval history is stored against each invoice so there is a complete record of who approved what before issuance.
Write-off and write-down management
Write-offs and write-downs are recorded at the time entry or invoice line level with a reason code and the approving partner's authorisation. The write-off ledger tracks the volume and value of time written off by timekeeper, matter type, and client so realization analysis is accurate. Write-off approval can require a second sign-off above a threshold value. The data is available for compensation period review so billing performance is assessed against recorded time, not just collected fees.
Trust accounting and client fund ledger
Client trust funds are managed through a dedicated ledger with individual client sub-accounts linked to their matters. Receipts and disbursements are recorded with the matter reference and the transaction purpose. Three-way reconciliation between the bank statement, the trust ledger, and individual client balances is automated and runs on the billing team's schedule. Negative client balance transactions are blocked at the entry level. IOLTA reporting is generated on demand in the format required by your state bar rules.
Frequently asked questions
Timekeepers open the mobile app, select the matter from their active matter list or by searching, enter the narrative and duration or start a timer, and submit the entry in under thirty seconds. Push notifications at the end of the business day prompt timekeepers who have not reached their target hours to review their calendar and fill gaps. The mobile app works offline so time can be recorded during court appearances or client meetings without a network connection, and entries sync when connectivity is restored.
Yes. The system supports multiple offices with separate billing rate schedules, billing partners, and reporting views. Multi-currency billing is configured at the client and matter level. Exchange rates are updated on your preferred schedule, either manually or via an exchange rate feed. Consolidated reporting across offices is available to firm management while individual office billing managers see their own matters and WIP. Trust accounting is maintained separately per jurisdiction as required.
Client billing guidelines are stored as rules against the client and matter record. Rules cover rate caps by timekeeper level, activity codes that require pre-authorisation, narrative minimum word counts, and expenses that cannot be billed. When a timekeeper submits an entry that violates a billing guideline, the system flags the violation at entry time rather than at bill review. This catches non-compliant entries before they enter the WIP ledger rather than after the bill is drafted.
Standard reports cover WIP aging by matter and timekeeper, realization rate by timekeeper and practice group for the billing period, collection performance including days to collect by client, and billing performance against target hours by timekeeper. Write-off analysis shows the value and reason for all write-offs in the period. Reports are available on demand rather than compiled at month-end, so the billing manager has current data throughout the month rather than waiting for the monthly pack.
Tell us about your firm's billing cycle, the timekeeper problems you're trying to solve, and your e-billing requirements. We'll scope a system that pays for itself in recovered time.
