Service 02
Billing & Accounting
Invoices that go out on time, AR that stays current, and financial records that don't require a scramble at year-end.
What this covers
Tracking billable time, generating invoices that actually get sent on time, following up on outstanding accounts, keeping your financial records straight so you're not scrambling at year-end.
Billing is where most small firms leak revenue — not because they're doing bad work, but because the billing cycle isn't owned by anyone. Time entries fall behind. Invoices go out late or not at all. AR ages without follow-up. Treating billing as an operational function, not an attorney task, changes this.
Specific work I handle
- Time entry review and reconciliation: making sure billable hours are captured before invoicing
- Invoice generation on a consistent cycle: weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly depending on your practice
- Accounts receivable tracking and follow-up on outstanding balances
- AR aging reports so you know exactly where your receivables stand
- Financial record-keeping so year-end isn't a reconstruction project
- Trust accounting support where applicable
Who this is for
Solo attorneys who are doing their own billing and falling behind on it. Small firms where billing is shared between attorneys and nobody fully owns the cycle. Any practice where invoices go out inconsistently — or where the AR report is something no one looks at until the problem is obvious.
"The gap between hours worked and hours billed isn't a billing problem. It's a systems problem."
— Thomas Hatherly
Common questions
Why are my invoices always going out late?
Late invoices are almost always a systems problem, not an intention problem. The most common causes are incomplete time entries that delay billing, no one assigned to own the billing cycle, and approval bottlenecks that require attorney review before an invoice goes out. Fixing the cycle means assigning billing as an operational function with a consistent schedule, not something that happens when there's a spare hour.
Can a contract paralegal handle billing and AR for a solo practice?
Yes. Solo practices often benefit most from this arrangement: the attorney can focus entirely on client work while billing, AR tracking, and follow-up run on a set schedule. I handle time entry review, invoice generation, outstanding balance follow-up, and reporting. Everything stays transparent so you always know where your receivables stand.
How often should a small law firm invoice clients?
The most effective cadence for small firms is monthly, with invoices going out within 48 hours of the billing period closing. This keeps the work fresh in the client's mind, signals that the firm runs on a schedule, and builds the expectation that payment should also happen on a schedule. Inconsistent billing trains clients to pay slowly.
What is an AR aging report and why does it matter?
An AR aging report shows all outstanding invoices organized by how long they've been unpaid: current, 30 days, 60 days, 90+ days. It tells you at a glance where your cash flow risk is and which clients need follow-up. Keeping it current is one of the most straightforward ways to improve collection rates.
All Services
Ready to get started?
Book a short discovery call or go straight to Upwork.