Right now, TimeSolv will not allow you to consolidate matters when one is a Flat/Fixed Fee matters and another is a Time & Expense Hourly matter when it comes to Invoicing. Indeed, if you try to check "consolidate", and error appears, which says it cannot be done (as to the Flat/Fixed Fee matter) because it is a Flat/Fixed Fee matter., and therefore, will not let you consolidate those matters. Simply put, since there is the capability to set max amounts and hours in Flat/Fixed Fee matters, it would be great if the system: 1) allowed you to consolidate matters with different invoice templates, and 2) when the Flat/Fixed Fee matter reaches its hours limit, the remainder of the time entries be billed on at the associated hourly rate.
A common practice among attorneys is to offer “blended” engagements, which means the engagement is neither all hourly, all contingency and/or all flat fee.
For example, my firm offers flat fee engagements for a certain # of hours, wherein once that certain # of hours is exceeded, additional work is charged for on an hourly basis.
Here is an example of how this works:
Flat Fee of $1,000 for 5 hours of attorney time.
Work over and above 5 hours will be billed at $350.
The attorney performs a TOTAL of 10 hours of work in increments of 2 hours each day (to keep the math simple for illustration purposes).
Day 1 – 2.0 hours (part of $1,000 flat fee)
Day 2 – 2.0 hours (part of $1,000 flat fee)
Day 3 – 2.0 hours (after the first hour is performed on this day, the Flat Fee 5 Hours of allotted time is now exhausted; therefore, the second 1.0 hour of Day 3 should be billed on an hourly basis)
Day 4 – 2.0 hours (billed on an hourly basis)
Day 5 – 2.0 hours (billed on an hourly basis)
______________________
TOTAL Hours @ Flat Fee = $1,000
TOTAL Hours @ Hourly Rate = $1,750 (5 Hrs x $350/hr)
______________________
TOTAL FEES Due: $2,750 ($1,000 Flat Fee + $1,750 Hourly Fees)
The above is how the invoicing and calculations should be done if TimeSolv was able to allow a function us to consolidate for invoicing – matters that have both Flat/Fixed Fee portions and Time & Expense Hourly portions and/or separate matters for the same Client where one is Flat/Fixed Fee and the other is Time & Expense Hourly.
Please feel free to call me to discuss if you have any questions.
Thanks in advance for your consideration!
