Time is the raw material of a fee-earner's bill. MatterFirst captures it two ways — a running timer and time you add after the fact — and prices every minute from your rates.
Before you start
- A matter to record time against
- A rate for the person, their rate level, or the firm (Settings › Money › Rates & time) so billable time can be priced
Which rate is used
Every entry is priced by the order Settings › Money › Rates & time spells out under Which rate is used? — first match wins: the matter's agreed rate, then your rate in the matter's rate set, then your own rate, then your rate level, and finally the firm rate, "used for anyone without their own rate." If none of these applies, a billable entry is saved but can't be invoiced until a rate is set — or mark it non-billable.
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1
Open Time
Time & billing › Time (/app/time) lists your time entries. The bar at the top starts the running timer; Add time records time after the fact. On a matter, ⋯ All actions › Start timer starts the same timer for that matter, and the Money tab's Record time adds an entry there.
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2
Start the running timer
Find the matter, type what you're working on (optional), and click Start timer. The timer then shows how long it has run, with Stop timer; stopping saves the time as an entry. ⋯ beside it lets you change the matter or note.
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3
Add time after the fact
Click Add time. Pick the matter, say what you did, set the date and Hours (it takes 0.5, 30m or 1:15 and reads it back), and choose a Category (Attendance, Research, Drafting, Correspondence, Phone call, Court, Travel, Administration, Other). Turn Billable off for non-chargeable work. The drawer shows the rate that will be used and the amount before you save; if there is no rate, it says so and the entry still saves, flagged as needing a rate before it can be invoiced.
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4
Set your rates
Rates live in Settings › Money › Rates & time (/app/settings/rates): the firm hourly rate, a rate for each rate level and for particular people, and rate sets a matter can use. Which rate is used? on that page spells out the order, first match wins.
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5
See a matter's time on its Money tab
On a matter, open the Money tab and choose Time to see the time recorded against it, with time suggested from your own work to add in place. It's all ready there for invoicing.
Tips & pitfalls
- There is one running timer: start it on Time or from a matter's ⋯ All actions, and stop it from either.
- Non-billable time is still recorded and reported; it just will not be pulled onto an invoice.
- A billable entry flagged as needing a rate saved fine, but no rate applied, so it cannot be invoiced until you set one in Rates & time or on the matter.
Key takeaways
- Time is recorded on Time & billing › Time, with the running timer or Add time, or from the matter.
- Entries have a Category and can be billable or non-billable.
- Rates come from Rates & time, first match wins: the matter's agreed rate, its rate set, the person's own rate, their rate level, then the firm rate.
- A matter's time shows on its Money tab, ready for invoicing.
Put the lesson into practice.
Book a guided session and our team will help you configure MatterFirst for your own practice.
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