Timesheets filled in on Friday afternoon from memory -- time leakage across every engagement because the capture tool is friction-heavy and staff don't use it in real time?
Invoice generation taking days each month because time entries have to be manually pulled, reviewed, written off, and formatted before the client sees a bill?
Professional Services Time and Billing Software
Timesheets filled in on Friday afternoon from memory produce inaccurate bills. Time leakage across every engagement adds up to significant unrecovered revenue each month. And invoice generation that takes days of manual review before a client sees a bill delays cash flow and creates errors that damage the client relationship.
We build custom time and billing software for law firms, consultancies, accountancies, and agencies. Frictionless time capture linked to matter or project, WIP management with write-off workflows, and automated invoice generation -- so billing is accurate, fast, and consistent across every engagement.
Frictionless time capture linked to matter, client, and task
Billing rate management by staff grade and client
Write-off and write-up workflows with manager approval
Automated invoice generation with narrative formatting
Professional services time and billing software captures time entries linked to client matters or projects, manages WIP through billing review and write-off workflows, and generates invoices automatically from approved time. RaftLabs builds custom time and billing platforms for law firms, consultancies, accountancies, and agencies that need billing logic built for their specific engagement models and client billing formats.
100+Products shipped
·24+Industries served
·FixedCost delivery
·12-14Week delivery cycles
Why time leakage is a billing system problem, not a people problem
Most professional services firms have some version of the same problem: time is not captured as work happens, so it is reconstructed later. Reconstructed time is always understated. The person remembers the meeting and the main deliverable but not the two hours of research or the client call that ran long. The firm bills for less than the work cost, and no one can identify where the leakage is happening because the data does not exist.
The second problem is the billing process itself. Even when time is captured, turning that time into an invoice requires someone to pull the entries, review them for billing appropriateness, adjust narratives, apply write-offs, and format the invoice to the client's requirements. That process takes days at month end and is error-prone enough that billing errors reach clients -- which creates disputes, delays payment, and costs more time to resolve.
Custom time and billing software addresses both problems. Time capture that is fast enough to use at the moment work happens -- browser timer, mobile, calendar integration -- reduces the gap between time spent and time recorded. Automated invoice assembly from approved WIP eliminates the manual collation step. The result is faster billing, higher realization, and fewer disputes.
What we build
Time capture
Browser-based timer that runs against an open matter or project and records duration automatically when stopped. Mobile app for time entry on the move -- linked to the same matter and task records as the desktop interface. Calendar integration that reads meeting invites and suggests time entries with pre-populated matter and duration, requiring only confirmation rather than manual entry. Time entry linked to matter or project, activity code, and billing narrative. Daily and weekly timesheet views show entries against each matter and flag days below the firm's minimum billable expectation. Incomplete timesheet reminders sent automatically before the submission deadline.
Billing rate management
Rate cards defined by staff grade, matter type, and client agreement -- so the correct rate is applied automatically when a time entry is linked to a matter, without a billing administrator applying rates manually at invoice time. Rate escalation rules apply scheduled rate increases on the correct date without requiring manual updates across all active matters. Blended rate calculation for matters where the client is billed a single rate regardless of which grade of staff worked on the matter. Rate validation on time entry flags entries where the recorded rate does not match the client agreement so billing errors are caught at entry rather than at invoice review.
WIP management and review
Unbilled WIP view by matter and timekeeper showing all approved time entries not yet included on an invoice. Billing guidance notes against each matter -- partner instructions on what to bill, what to hold, and what to write off -- visible to the billing administrator at WIP review. Write-off and write-up workflow with manager or partner approval required before an entry is adjusted from the recorded amount. Billing lock on approved entries prevents further modification after the billing decision is made. WIP ageing report shows unbilled time by matter and the number of days since the entries were recorded -- surfacing matters where billing is falling behind.
Invoice generation
Automated invoice assembly from approved WIP -- matter, client, period, and billing narrative pulled from the time records into the invoice document without manual collation. Narrative formatting that expands brief time entry descriptions into client-appropriate billing language, with partner review before the invoice is finalised. Multiple invoice formats configurable by client -- detailed time listing, narrative summary, or fixed-fee format matching the engagement type. E-billing output in LEDES format for corporate clients and law firms using e-billing platforms. Invoice approval workflow with partner sign-off before the invoice is sent to the client.
Accounts receivable tracking
Invoice status tracking from issuance through payment -- showing sent, viewed, overdue, and paid status by invoice and client. Payment allocation against the correct invoice and matter when receipts are posted. Aged debtor reporting by client and practice group -- showing outstanding balances at 30, 60, 90 days and over. Statement generation for clients with multiple outstanding invoices. Payment reminder sequence sent automatically at defined intervals -- first reminder at seven days, escalation at 30 days -- without requiring manual outreach from the billing team. Dispute flag on invoices under query so they are excluded from the standard reminder sequence.
Matter and client profitability
Realisation rate by matter, timekeeper, and client -- showing the percentage of recorded time billed and collected against the standard rate. Standard rate versus actual rate comparison showing where discounts, write-offs, and rate exceptions are reducing recovered revenue. Matter profitability combining fees billed, direct costs, and time invested at cost rate to show net margin per matter. Client profitability rolling up all active and closed matters for a client into a revenue and margin view. Timekeeper profitability showing hours, billed amount, realization, and utilisation rate by person for the compensation or review period.
Frequently asked questions
Generic invoicing tools create invoices from line items entered manually. Professional services billing software generates invoices from time records -- capturing billable time against matters or projects, applying rate cards, managing WIP through a review and write-off workflow, and assembling the invoice automatically from approved entries. It handles the complexity of professional services billing: multiple rate structures on the same matter, narrative formatting requirements for client invoices, write-off tracking for realization reporting, e-billing output for corporate clients, and matter-level profitability analysis. Generic invoicing tools handle none of that. They are designed for product businesses billing from a list, not service firms billing from a time log.
All four models are supported and can coexist across different matters for the same client. Hourly matters generate invoices from approved time entries at the applicable rate. Fixed fee matters track time for internal profitability analysis but generate invoices on the fixed amount at defined milestones or dates. Retainer matters have a monthly billing amount with hours tracked against a retainer bank -- overages billed at a defined rate when the bank is exhausted. Contingency matters track time and cost throughout the matter with a deferred billing event at the contingency outcome. The system applies the correct billing logic based on the matter type so the billing team does not have to remember which model applies to each client.
Corporate clients with in-house legal teams typically require invoices in LEDES format -- a structured electronic format that their e-billing platform can ingest automatically. The system exports approved invoices in LEDES 98B format with UTBMS activity codes and task codes applied at the time entry level. If the client's e-billing platform requires a specific variant or additional fields, we configure the export template to match. File validation runs before export to catch format errors before the file is submitted. For firms with multiple e-billing clients on different platforms, each client has a separate export configuration.
A time and billing platform covering time capture, WIP management, invoice generation, and accounts receivable for a firm of 20 to 100 fee earners typically takes 14 to 18 weeks from requirements sign-off to go-live. Matter and client profitability reporting and e-billing output add two to four weeks. Integration with accounting systems -- Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, or NetSuite -- adds two to four weeks depending on the system. We migrate historical time records and matter data where the source system supports export. Fixed cost, agreed before development starts.
Talk to us about your time and billing software project.
Tell us your billing models, your current time capture process, and the point in the billing cycle that costs the most time. We will scope a system that fixes it.
