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File specifications

Unbilled Amounts File Format Specifications

If the Accruals module is turned on for your company, law firms and vendors can post unbilled amounts to Tracker electronically. This feature replaces a difficult manual process with an automated, electronic process. It is comparable to transitioning from paper invoicing to electronic invoicing, except that this data involves unbilled amounts rather than physical invoices.
You are not required to use this feature. Firms can enter unbilled amounts into Tracker manually. For most firms, however, it is more efficient to generate and upload a file.
This specification was developed to follow the LEDES specification where possible. For example, for the field containing your matter number, we have used the LEDES field name of LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID. Also, we have followed the formatting requirements of the LEDES specification for currency fields.

Required Fields

Depending on your client’s Tracker configuration, your file must contain three or four required fields. The required fields are explained below. Required fields can be in any order in your file. You can also include optional fields in your file. The optional fields can be helpful for standardizing a process you can use for all clients on Tracker. Tracker ignores the optional fields when you upload the file, but they can help you create a standard file that will work for all clients.
CLIENT_ID
The law firm-assigned client code. A null value (“”) will be an error. Conforms to the LEDES 1998B specification.
Format: Character, Maximum length: 20
LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID
The law firm-assigned matter code. Multiple LAW_FIRM_MATTER_IDs can be billed in the same file. A null value (“”) will be an error. Conforms to the LEDES 1998B specification.
Format: Character, Maximum length: 20
PRIOR_MONTHS_ UNBILLED
The amount of services rendered by your firm from the beginning of the client’s fiscal year through the end of the last full calendar month that have not been uploaded.
Format: Currency, Maximum length: 12.2
  • This field must include unbilled amounts only for services rendered in your client’s current fiscal year. Example: You are posting unbilled amounts on October 20 and your client’s fiscal year starts on July 1. The PRIOR_MONTHS_UNBIILED will be the amount of services rendered by your firm from July 1 – September 30 that have not been invoiced to your client in Tracker.
  • This amount should not include Delivery on Hold Invoices (invoices that your firm has uploaded into Tracker, but have not yet been delivered to the client because of incomplete tasks in the matter.) You do not have to include these invoices because Tracker automatically includes the amount in the client’s final accrual.
  • This amount should include any rejected invoices that your firm intends to repost to the system.
  • This field is not relevant when posting unbilled amounts in the first month of the fiscal year. If your client requires you to post unbilled amounts monthly, when you post unbilled amounts for the first month of the fiscal year, the PRIOR_MONTHS_UNBILLED amount is not applicable (only the CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE field is applicable), because the unbilled amounts can only include services rendered in the current fiscal year. You can leave this field in the file because Tracker automatically ignores it if you are posting unbilled amounts for the first month in the fiscal year.
CURRENT_MONTH_ ESTIMATE
This field is required if your client requires unbilled amounts before the end of the month. CURRENT_MONTH_ ESTIMATE shows whether unbilled amounts are posted before the end of the month ( the field is required) or after the end of the month (the field is not required and if it is included in the file will be ignored). If you include this field for clients that require unbilled amounts posted after the end of the month, it will be ignored.
Format: Currency, Maximum length: 12.2
In Tracker, this field must always contain the estimate for the entire month. Many clients require that your attorneys provide the estimate. In that case, you will have to circulate a file to your attorneys so that they can provide an estimate. However, some clients allow you to generate this full month estimate by extrapolating the unbilled amounts for the current month into a full month estimate. Before using the extrapolation approach, make sure you confirm with your client that this approach is acceptable.
Example: All your timekeepers have entered time through the 12th of the month, and the amount incurred through the 12th is $22,345. If you extrapolate this amount, the CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE would be $55,863 ($22,345 x 30 / 12).

File Types and Field Delimiters

Tracker lets you upload the following types of files:
  • CSV (comma separated value)
  • Tab-delimited text file
  • Pipe-delimited text file
Below is additional information about the delimiters and other requirements for each of these file types.
CSV (comma separated value)
A .csv file is an industry-standard data export file format. This is the recommended format. If your data is in a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel®, you can easily convert it to a .csv format. You can upload data from a .csv file directly into Tracker without further modification, or send the file to attorneys, who can open it in Microsoft Excel.
  • Fields are separated with commas.
  • The file has an extension of .csv.
  • Any embedded commas in a field must be set off with double-quote characters (",").
  • A comma must not appear after the last field in a row.
Tab-Delimited Text File
This is a common file format that can be saved using Microsoft Excel.
  • Fields are separated with tabs.
  • The file has a file extension of .txt.
  • A tab character must not appear after the last field in a row.
Pipe-Delimited Text File
This is the delimiter used in the LEDES 1998B format, so Tracker supports this format for the unbilled amounts file as well. Fields are delimited by the “|” character (ASCII hex 7C or
Alt
 key +
124
), also known as the pipe.
  • Fields are separated with pipe.
  • The file has a file extension of .txt.
  • The pipe cannot be used for any purpose other than as field delimiter. In other words, it cannot appear in a text field.
  • The pipe must not appear after the last field in a row.

File Requirements

File Name
There are no requirements about the file name, other than a CSV file must end with “.csv”, and the text file formats must end with “.txt”.
Rows
Each row of data is a separate record. Tracker does not use a delimited between rows. Blank rows are ignored. If there is an extra line between rows, it is ignored.
Header
The first row is the header row and designates the field order for your file. The fields can be in any order, but must include CLIENT_ID, LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID, PRIOR_MONTHS_UNBILLED, and if unbilled amounts are required before the end of the month, CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE. Additional fields can also be included, although Tracker does not save the data from these extra fields.
Example:
The following is an acceptable header row that contains an extra field for LAW_FIRM_ MATTER_NAME in a pipe-delimited file.
CLIENT_ID|LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID|LAW_FIRM_MATTER_NAME|PRIOR_MONTHS_ UNBILLED|CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE
Currency
All currency amounts in the file must be in the same currency. The currency of the amounts is not specified in the file. The user posting the file in Tracker selects the currency when uploading the file.
  • Currency fields may contain only digits 0 to 9, decimal point (“.”), or dash (“–”). In other words, no spaces, commas, or other characters (except those mentioned above) are allowed in currency fields.
  • Negative numbers must be indicated with a leading dash. When used, the dash character must be the first character in the field.
  • Field lengths for currency fields represent the number of digits allowed in the field, to the left and the right of the decimal point. For example, 12.2 indicates a number in the range from -999999999999.99 to 999999999999.99.
  • Leading zeros are acceptable. However, in negative numbers they must follow the dash.

Recommended Workflow to Generate a Standard File

One of the reasons that accruals can be burdensome for firms is because clients have traditionally imposed a multitude of accruals processes and data requirements. The Accrual module in Tracker is designed to enable firms to produce a file that can be uploaded for all clients, regardless of how they have set up Tracker. This file also makes it possible for firms to create a standardized process for all clients (note that a visual diagram of this process is also attached as Appendix 1).
Step 1. Create a standard export of data from your time and billing system
To create a standard file that you can use for all clients, we recommend that you export the following data from your time and billing system. These fields do not have to be in a specific order—you can reorder them to suit your needs. We recommend using the .csv format if possible.
Field
Reason for Including the Field
CLIENT_ID
Required
LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID
Required
LAW_FIRM_MATTER_NAME
Not required. However, we recommend including it in your standard export. If you need to circulate the file for review by your firm’s attorneys, they need to know the matter name your firm uses.
LAW_FIRM_LEAD_ATTORNEY
Not required. However, we recommend including it in your standard export. If you need to circulate the file for review by your firm’s attorneys, you need this field to know which attorney should review the unbilled amounts.
PRIOR_MONTHS_UNBILLED
Required
CURRENT_MONTH_UNBILLED
Not required. However, we recommend including it in your standard export for two possible reasons:
  1. If your client allows you to calculate the CURRENT_MONTH_ ESTIMATE by extrapolating the current unbilled amount for the month, you will need this field of data to calculate the CURRENT_ MONTH_ESTIMATE.
  2. Most clients require your firm’s attorneys to provide the unbilled estimate for the entire current month. In this case, your attorneys typically want this field to be included in the file so they can see how much has been spent to date. This may affect the amount they enter for the CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE.
This field is how much your firm has incurred to date for the current month.
CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE
Required if the client requires unbilled amounts before the end of the month.
Step 2. Calculate the CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE
Scenario
Next steps
Unbilled amounts after the end of the month
Skip to Step 3 and upload the file.
Unbilled amounts before the end of the month and you are calculating the CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE by extrapolation
If the client allows you to estimate the current month amount by extrapolating from your time and billing system, generate the CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE by calculating what the amount would be over the full month.
Unbilled amounts before the end of the month and your client requires your firm’s attorneys to directly provide the CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE
  1. Circulate the file to your firm’s attorneys. The attorneys should fill in the CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE, then return the spreadsheet to you. (The spreadsheet already has the matter name and lead attorney, so attorneys can be responsible for their own matters.) If you follow the standard approach suggested in Step 1, the spreadsheet already has the CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE data, which will help prepare the CURRENT_MONTH_ESTIMATE field.
  2. When an attorney returns the file, convert the file to one of the formats accepted by Tracker.
Tip | You do not have to wait until all attorneys have returned their spreadsheets. You can upload each one as they are returned.
Step 3. Upload the File
  1. Click
    Billing
     in the left navigation.
  2. Select
    Accruals
    .
  3. Select
    SpeedPost (upload unbilled amounts for multiple matters using a flat file)
     in the
    Select Posting Method
     field at the top of the page.
  4. Next to
    Unbilled Amounts File
    , click
    Browse
    and follow the instructions for attaching the file.
Step 4. Confirm That all Unbilled Amounts Were Entered
Click
Billing
 in the left navigation and select
View Invoices
. If no matters are showing, you have successfully uploaded your unbilled amounts.

This article applies to:

  • Product: Legal Tracker
  • Audiences: Firm