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Timekeeper Rates

Timekeeper Rate Review | Overview

Instead of reviewing timekeeper billing rates only when invoices are submitted, your law department can review all of a law firm's billing rates in one table that also includes useful index data, such rates for comparable timekeepers.

How rate sheet review works

  1. At the company's request, a law firm uses Tracker to submit the proposed billing rates for all of their timekeepers into Tracker. Companies can also upload rate sheets on behalf of firms. Timekeeper rates have an effective date, such as the beginning of the next fiscal year, and include information about each timekeeper’s location and professional classification.
  2. Tracker compares the proposed timekeeper rates to historical rates for each timekeeper and also to rates for timekeepers in the same metro areas, in the same timekeeper classifications, and working on the same matter types, and presents that information to the company rate reviewer in the Rate Analysis table.
  3. The rate reviewer can then accept, edit, or reject the pending timekeeper rates.
  4. Tracker then automatically notifies the law firm.
Definitions
  • Pending
    : The company is in the process of reviewing the rate sheet's timekeepers
  • Accepted
    : The company accepted the list of timekeepers and rate as submitted without making changes
  • Modified
    : The company reviewed all timekeepers on the rate sheet and made at least one change to a timekeeper
  • Closed
    : All timekeepers have been reviewed with various statuses (accepted, rejected, or modified)
  • Rejected
    : The company did not accept any of the rates on the rate sheet
Prerequisites
  • Your Tracker system administrator must set up timekeeper rate review and designate at least one timekeeper rate reviewer for your company. Your system administrator also chooses whether invoice approvers can continue to approve timekeeper rates in invoices.
  • Your company must notify your law firms that they are required to submit rate sheets.
  • Analytics must be enabled for your company. If Analytics is enabled for any users in your company, rate analysis information is available to all timekeeper Rate Reviewers.

Who can approve timekeeper rates?

The process of approving timekeeper rates and the role of approver depend on whether rates are submitted in rate sheets or with individual invoices.
Rates can be loaded into Tracker by:
  • Firm Admins, Firm Office Admins, and firm users who have billing permissions.
  • Company System Admins can also upload rate sheets on behalf of firms.
Rate sheets contain the rates for multiple timekeepers associated with a law firm, and can be reviewed by a designated timekeeper rate reviewer or an assigned reviewer. Law firms usually submit rate sheets annually, and the timekeeper reviewer receive an action items alert when a rate sheet is submitted. Assigned reviewers receive an action items alert when a timekeeper reviewer assigns one or more pending timekeeper rates to the assigned reviewer. The pending timekeeper rates are displayed on the Pending Rates page. (Financial > Rates > Pending rates.)
You can set up rules that automatically assign a rate reviewer according to certain conditions.
A rate submitted for the first time in an invoice is either a rate for a new timekeeper or a changed rate for an existing timekeeper. These new or changed rates can be processed in one of two ways, depending on the system setting:
  • Rate reviewer only
    : As with rate sheets, an Action Items alert notifies the reviewer when new or changed rates have been submitted in an invoice, and those rates are displayed on the Timekeeper Audits page under the Financial menu. The rates are reviewed separately from the invoice that contains them, which is not listed in pending invoices until the rates have been approved, reduced, or rejected.
  • Rate reviewer or invoice approver
    : The new or changed rates are displayed on both the Timekeeper Audits page under the Financial menu and Inv. Audits for the relevant pending invoice.
    • If the timekeeper rate reviewer processes the rates first, the rates are flagged in the pending invoice for the invoice approver's information.
    • If the invoice approver processes the invoice and rates first, the rates are no longer displayed on the Timekeeper Audits page under the Financial menu.

This article applies to:

  • PRODUCT: Legal Tracker
  • Audiences: Company