A Guide on Invoice-Related Reports

How To

Billing and invoicing is crucially linked to different activities in legal practice management, and its smooth integration with other legal tasks is vital for a law firm's overall efficiency and success. LEAP offers a diverse array of invoice-related reports, each designed to serve specific purposes and contribute to overarching objectives in financial management and client service.

This guide is created to provide insights assisting you in effectively utilising and distinguishing between popular invoice-related reports. By doing so, it aims to ease your reporting process, minimise potential confusion, and save you time in locating the most suitable reports.

The reports covered in this article include eight Office reports and five Management reports, as outlined below:

Office Reporting	Management Reporting
Aged WIP Report Aged Disbursements Report Aged WIP & Disbursements Report Pre Billing Guides Aged Debtors Report Statement of Account - Summary Invoices Report Print Invoices Report	Staff Receipted Funds Report Invoice Variance Report Staff Invoiced Funds Report Fee Contributions & Recovery Report Billing Realisation Summary

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When selecting a report, always begin by clearly defining your specific reporting purposes. It is essential to align your reporting goals with the unique needs and objectives of your legal practice. To facilitate this process, please refer to a comprehensive list of available LEAP reports and general instructions and tips on how to utilise LEAP reports.

In particular, this guide will delve into:

Billing Stages/Steps Focus Comparison: Explore the specific billing stages or steps that each report focuses on.
Common Filters Comparison: Compare common filters such as Date, Staff, and Reporting Group across these reports.
Other Comparisons: Examine additional factors including Detail Level, Invoice Status and Highlighted Features for a comprehensive understanding.

Billing Stages/Steps Focus Comparison: Tracking, Billing and Receipting

Understanding common billing process

When selecting invoice-related reports based on your reporting purposes, it can be beneficial to understand how these purposes correlate with the different stages and steps in the billing process. The visual representation below outlines the typical billing workflow within LEAP, consisting of three primary stages: Tracking Fees & Disbursements, Billing (Invoicing) and Receipting. The second stage, Billing, further encompasses three key steps: Draft, Final and Sent, and Adjustments. A table is further provided to outline the stages/steps these reports focus on.

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Note that variations in this process may exist across invoices and among law firms.

Report focus comparison

The table below shows the focus stage(s) of each report, denoted by the placement of reports in relation to the corresponding billing stages.

1. Tracking Fees & Disbursements	2. Billing			3. Receipting
	2.1 Invoice Draft	2.2 Invoice Final	2.3 Adjustments
√ Aged WIP Report √ Aged Disbursements Report √ Aged WIP & Disbursements Report Help to track yet-to-bill items prior to billing.
√ Pre Billing Guides: Helps to review and validate billing items before finalising and sending invoices to clients.
	√ Aged Debtors Report: Lists outstanding invoices (draft or final), including balances due and ageing periods. The report does not specify receipts applied to these invoices.
		√ Staff Receipted Funds Report: Shows Staff contributions to receipts within a defined receipting period. The report only consider finalised invoices.
	√ Invoices Report: Lists draft or final invoices created during a specified period along with billed amounts of fees and disbursements, payments received, and balances due. √ Statement of Account – Summary: Lists outstanding invoices (draft or final), including payments received (i.e. receipts applied against finalised invoices), the balances due, and their ageing periods.
√ Invoice Variance Report: Displays variances between initially recorded fees and their invoiced amounts, including any adjustments to invoices. √ Staff Invoiced Funds Report: Displays Staff fee contribution to invoices within a specified billing period. Neither of the reports considers payment received.
√ Billing Realisation Summary: Tracks the amounts of fee recorded and billed (i.e. billing realisation), and the amounts paid (i.e. billing collection). Note that the report only provides a Staff-based summary without further details. √ Print Invoices Report: Allows users to reprint invoices created during a specified period. The reprinted invoices displays details of billed items, invoice balance due, and payment received against the invoice. √ Fee Contributions & Recovery Report: Shows Staff contribution in terms of recorded and billed fees, and payments (receipts) allocated to them.

Common Filters Comparison: Date, Staff and Reporting Group

Comparison criteria explained

Here, we compare these reports based on the following criteria:

'At Date' or 'Date Range' Filter?

Type	Example
An 'At Date' Filter is used where you need a snapshot of information at a particular moment.
A 'Date Range' filter is usually applied when analysing trends, changes or patterns over a period, typically consisting of a 'Start Date' and an 'End Date'.

Specific Date or Dynamic Date Filter?

Specific date filters are date filters tailored to a specific transaction or activity type. The Staff Invoiced Funds Report and the Staff Receipted Funds Report are both an example, as the former exclusively uses invoice dates, and the latter uses receipting dates.
Dynamic date filters refer to date filters adapting to different transaction or activity types that are displayed in the report. The Fee Contribution & Recovery Report is an example, as its date filter aligns with each featured transaction type.

To learn more about the difference, please refer to this article (located under Report Common Filters: Date, Staff and Reporting Groups > Date Filters > Specific date filters vs dynamic date filters)

Including Reporting Group filter?

Reporting Groups refer to user-defined classifications within LEAP, allowing matters to be organised based on criteria like matter type, office location and department. Reports with this filter allow you to filter results by Grouping Groups.
To create a Reporting Group and assign a matter to a Reporting Group, please refer to this article (located under 'Reporting Group').

Staff Filter List Type?

There are two types of Staff filter involved: Single Staff List and Intersection Staff Lists.

Single Staff List

Only one Staff List is used to narrow down results.

Intersection Staff Lists

The Intersection Staff Lists are used to narrow down results by ensuring that the report outcome meets the criteria of all specified lists.

Example 1

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Example 2:

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In this example, choose a Staff type for 'Attribute Work to', and the Staff List will correspond to the chosen Staff type.

Example:

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Report comparisons

Reports/Criteria	At Date or Date Range Filter?	Specific Date / Dynamic Date Filter?	Including Reporting Group Filter?	Staff Filter List Type
Aged WIP Report	At Date	Specific (based on WIP transaction dates)	Yes	Intersection: Staff Resp, Staff Acting and Staff Assisting.
Aged Disbursements Report	At Date	Specific (based on disbursement transaction dates)	Yes	Intersection: Staff Resp and Staff Acting.
Aged WIP & Disbursements Report	At Date	Specific (based on WIP or disbursement transaction dates)	Yes	Intersection: Staff Resp and Staff Acting.
Pre Billing Guides	At Date	Dynamic Date	No	Single Staff List, depending on your choice for ‘Matters’ filter.
Reports/Criteria	At Date or Date Range Filter?	Specific Date / Dynamic Date Filter?	Including Reporting Group Filter?	Staff Filter List Type
Aged Debtors Report	At Date	Specific (based on invoice transaction dates)	Yes	Intersection: Staff Resp, Staff Acting, Credit and Staff Assisting.
Statement of Account – Summary	At Date	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Staff Receipted Funds Report	Date Range	Specific (based on receipt transaction dates)	No	Single Staff List
Invoices Report	Date Range	Specific Date (invoice transaction dates)	No	Intersection: Staff Resp, Acting and Assisting
Reports/Criteria	At Date or Date Range Filter?	Specific Date / Dynamic Date Filter?	Including Reporting Group Filter?	Staff Filter List Type
Invoice Variance Report	Date Range	Specific Date (invoice transaction dates)	No	Single Staff List
Staff Invoiced Funds Report	Date Range	Specific Date (invoice transaction dates)	No	Single Staff List
Billing Realisation Summary	Date Range	Dynamic Date	No	Single Staff List, depending on your choice for ‘Attribute Work to’.
Print Invoices Report	Date Range	Specific Date (invoice transaction dates)	No	Not Applicable
Fee Contributions & Recovery Report	Date Range	Dynamic Date	Yes	Single Staff List, depending on your choice for ‘Attribute Work to’.

Other Comparisons: Detail Level, Invoice Status and Features Highlighted

Criteria explained

In this comparison, we assess these reports based on:

Detail Level: This refers to the depth of information or granularity included in each report, allowing you to choose the level of specificity that best suits your needs.

Please note that in this context, 'Transaction' specifically refers to fee or disbursement transactions.

To illustrate the concept of 'Detail Level', consider the Aged WIP Report. Its 'Detail Level' is:

Staff (Group By)
Matter
Transaction

This means that the report encompasses breakdowns by Staff (when 'Group By' is selected for Staff), by matter, and by transaction (fee).

Invoice Status: This criterion helps identify whether the report focuses on draft or final invoices, further providing clarity on the billing step(s) covered.
Features Highlighted: It highlights noticeable features in each report that facilitate quick identification and selection, ensuring you can efficiently locate the most suitable report for your requirements.

Report comparisons

Reports	Detail Level	Invoice Status	Features Highlighted
Aged WIP Report	Staff (Group By) Matter Transaction	Option to include or exclude items on Draft invoices (i.e. treating entries on draft invoices as unbilled or billed).	Options to include or exclude: Non-Billable items WIP on hold (Billable – Later Invoice) Items on Archived matters.
Aged Disbursements Repot	Staff (Group By) Matter Transaction	Treats entries on draft invoices as unbilled.	Option to include or exclude: Items on hold (Billable – Later Invoice).
Aged WIP & Disbursements Report	Staff (Group By) Matter Transaction	Treats entries on draft invoices as unbilled.	Option to include or exclude: Items on hold (Billable – Later Invoice).
Pre Billing Guides	Matter Staff Transaction Individual guides downloadable on a matter basis.	The ‘Aged Debtor Summary’ lists Totals on both draft and final invoices.	Allows users to download Pre-billing Guide for each featured matter. Summary Items and Detail items customisable. Option to list aged debtors and trust account balances in addition to detailed billed and unbilled items.
Reports	Detail Level	Invoice Status	Features Highlighted
Aged Debtors Report	Staff (Group By) Matter Invoice	Option to include or exclude items on draft invoices (i.e. treating entries on draft invoices as billed or unbilled).	Lists any available Credits on matters.
Statement of Account – Summary	Matter Invoice Individual Statement of Accounts downloadable on a matter basis.	Option to include draft invoices.	Option to provide a summary for all invoices or only outstanding invoices.
Staff Receipted Funds	Staff Matter Receipt	Considers finalised invoices only.	Contribution based on receipts allocated to fees billed.
Invoices Report	Staff (Group By) Matter Invoice	Option to select either draft invoices, final invoices, or both.	Option to show only Discounted/Adjusted invoices only. Option to include or exclude reversals of invoices transacted outside date range.
Reports	Detail Level	Invoice Status	Features Highlighted
Invoice Variance Report	Staff Invoice Transaction	Option to select either draft invoices, final invoices, or both.	Captures variances between initially recorded fee amounts and their invoiced amounts.
Staff Invoiced Funds Report	Staff Matter Transaction	Option to select either draft invoices, final invoices, or both.	Contribution based on billed fee amounts.
Billing Realisation Summary	Staff	Lists amounts on both draft and finalised invoices.	Provides a Staff-based summary covering the whole billing cycle, from fee recording to billing realisation and collection.
Print Invoices Report	Matter Invoice Transaction Downloadable on a matter basis.	Option to select either draft invoices, final invoices, or both.	Invoices are grouped by matter and downloadable on a matter basis. Compared to State of Account - Summary, a reprinted invoice can provide a detailed transaction breakdown.
Fee Contributions & Recovery Report	Staff Matter	Considers finalised invoices only.	Contribution assessed based on recorded and billed fee amounts and as well as paid amounts.

Last Modified Date

20/02/2024 2:09 pm

Title

A Guide on Invoice-Related Reports

URL Name

A-Guide-on-Invoice-Related-Reports-NZ

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