Legal Billing Template for a Draft Client Bill

Use this legal billing template to assemble authorised matter entries into an editable draft client bill. Enter your firm, client and matter details before replacing the fictional charges.

Keep the agreed charging basis beside the bill reference. Complete the blank bill and due dates from the matter record.

Choose time, fixed fee or external cost for each line. Enter the approved description, quantity and rate, then give each line its own work or supplier reference.

Use this billable hours invoice template to list approved time entries. Check each time line’s calculated amount against the approved entry before issue.

For time entries, quantity means hours. For fixed fees and external costs, quantity means items. A single fixed fee uses one item.

Bill only authorised work actually chargeable under the matter’s terms. Time saved through statement analysis does not create additional billable hours.

The draft multiplies each quantity by its rate and rounds that line to cents, with half a cent rounded up. It then applies your entered tax.

“GST included” treats the line amount as inclusive and subtracts your entered GST to show the net amount. “GST entered” and “Other tax” add your entered tax.

“No GST” requires an explicit zero tax entry. Blank tax fields make the draft unavailable, so the template never selects a tax rate for you.

The fictional example has $2,500.00 before tax and $250.00 of entered tax. A $110.00 inclusive credit reduces $2,750.00 to $2,640.00.

An applied payment of $500.00 leaves an unpaid draft balance of $2,140.00. Each calculation remains in the document for checking against the approved records.

Resolve missing quantities, invalid amounts and duplicate references before export. Credits above entered charges and payments above the remaining balance also block export.

The fictional statement-analysis line records supplier reference SUP-207 and its approved allocation to matter MAT-482. Its $880.00 inclusive amount contains the entered $80.00 GST.

Replace that illustration with the actual supplier invoice and authorised matter allocation. Retain its source reference and approved tax treatment on the bill.

Record a payment only when money has already been received and applied to this bill. The separately entered $1,500.00 held in trust does not reduce the balance.

Preparing this draft does not authorise a trust withdrawal. Record any lawful withdrawal and allocation through the practice’s authorised trust-account process.

Edit the generated document directly, then download its current text or open the print view. Both retain the matter details, line descriptions and calculations with the source references.

Changing a particular regenerates the draft and replaces manual document edits. Download those edits first. Clear entries removes your entered particulars, while Reset example restores the fictional bill.

This page keeps your entries in the current tab without sending them to a server or saving a draft in browser storage. Reloading clears your changes.

Complete the client-rights and review fields using the applicable jurisdiction’s requirements. The template supplies no nationally compliant bill or automatic rights notice.

For example, Victoria’s billing guidance explains bill responsibility and client-rights notices. The South Australian Law Society’s guidance identifies its prescribed client-rights form.

Have the responsible practitioner complete the required notices and approval record before issuing the bill.