Invoice Delivery on Hold
If you post an invoice to a matter that has incomplete tasks, Tracker uploads and saves the invoice, but it is not delivered to the client until all the incomplete tasks for the matter are resolved.
When an invoice for a matter with incomplete tasks is uploaded, Tracker saves the invoice and assigns a status of
Delivery on Hold
. This feature enables companies to enforce the completion of assigned tasks while allowing billing clerks to complete their billing responsibilities. The invoice is delivered to the client after all of the incomplete tasks for the matter are resolved. If an invoice has a status of
Delivery on Hold
for more than 45 days, Tracker automatically rejects the invoice back to the firm.Tracker provides several tools to help firms manage the resolution of incomplete tasks. For example, billing clerks can trigger reminder email messages to the responsible parties. Tracker also sends automatic reminders to responsible attorneys if tasks are not completed within seven days of the invoice upload.
More Information
Invoice delivery may be held during an accrual period. Some companies set up their accruals modules so that unbilled amounts posted by firms are reviewed during a specific period. During this period, which typically lasts only a few days, any invoices posted by a firm are assigned the
Delivery on Hold
status and are not delivered. This ensures that the invoice amount is not double counted with the unbilled amount already posted by the firm. Although these invoices have a temporary status of Delivery on Hold
, law firm users do not need to take action because the invoice will be delivered automatically after the review period.SpeedPost. If you use SpeedPost to post multiple LEDES invoices in one file, you are notified whether any invoices were held on the Invoice results page. If you use a manual posting method, Tracker displays an alert when an invoice is held. The alert includes a clickable link for viewing the incomplete tasks, responsible users and the email reminder history.
Viewing Delivery on Hold Invoices
The following users can view or access Delivery on Hold invoices:
User type | Details |
|---|---|
Company Users | Company users cannot view or access any Delivery on Hold invoices, and those invoices are not included in a company report. The amounts of the invoices will be included in their accruals but the actual invoices will not. |
Law Firm Users | The following general rules for viewing and accessing invoices apply to Delivery on Hold invoices:
|
There are three ways to view held invoices:
- View all invoices with theDelivery on Holdstatus across all matters you have access to.
- View the invoices associated with a specific matter.
- Run a report that includes invoices with theDelivery on Holdstatus.
View Delivery on Hold Invoices
To view all
Delivery on Hold
invoices:- ClickBillingin the left navigation.
- ClickView invoices. You may need to complete this step ifAccrualsdisplays because unbilled amounts are due.
- Any invoice for a matter that has incomplete tasks associated with it is listed under theINVOICES ON HOLDcollapsible section.
- ClickView incomplete tasksif you want to view detailed information (including the responsible parties) about the tasks.noteThe posting date displays asTBDand the days pending displays asN/Abecause the invoice has not yet been submitted to the company for review.
View Invoices Associated with a Matter
To view the invoices associated with a matter:
- ClickMatters, thenMatter Listin the left navigation.
- Click the matter name for the matter that has incomplete tasks associated with it.
- ClickInvoices. Any invoice for a matter that has incomplete tasks associated with it is listed under theINVOICES ON HOLDcollapsible section.
- ClickView incomplete tasksif you want to view detailed information (including the responsible parties) about the tasks.noteThe age of the invoice displays as two hyphens (--) because the invoice has not been submitted to the company.
Run a Report with Delivery Status Information
To run a report with delivery status information:
- ClickReports, thenReport Listin the left navigation.
- Click one of the build your own or pre-configured invoices reports links.
- ClickAdd fieldsto select the columns you want to include in the report. For example, you may want to addShort matter nameso you can identify the matter in the report.
- Add the Delivery status filter. To add the filter, clickAddfilters, expandAll report filters > Invoice fields, clickSelectforDelivery status, select theDelivery on Holdcheck box then clickSave.
- Configure the remainder of the report.
- ClickRunin the toolbar.
Resolving Incomplete Tasks and Delivering the Invoice
Regardless of whether you view one Delivery on Hold invoice or a list of invoices, clicking
View incomplete tasks
lets you view a list of the tasks that must be completed before Tracker will deliver the invoice(s). The list also includes the attorneys responsible for the incomplete tasks and a history of the email reminders that were sent regarding the incomplete tasks. From this list, you can send additional email reminders.Possible incomplete tasks include the following:
- Matter profile incomplete (applicable only to the lead firm in a matter).
- Status report due (applicable only to the lead firm in a matter).
- Budget or budget reforecast due.
- Service of process (SOP) response due.
When all of the incomplete tasks are resolved, the invoice is delivered immediately to the client without further action by your law firm.
Resolving Incomplete Tasks
Any user who is a Matter Administrator or Matter Editor can resolve incomplete tasks in the matter. We strongly recommend that your firm require the lead attorney or that attorney's delegates to resolve tasks because of the following:
- The lead attorney and delegates have the most direct access to the information required to complete the tasks.
- The lead attorney and delegates receive alerts when a task becomes due so they are aware of the tasks before an invoice is submitted.
- Requiring other users, such as billing clerks, to resolve incomplete tasks can result in exposure of sensitive information.
- Your clients evaluate attorney performance based on the data entered in Tracker so the lead attorney and delegates have the greatest interest in providing accurate and current information.
note
Attorneys are always responsible for the data entered in Tracker. Your clients expect that matter information, budget, and status reports in a matter come directly from your lead attorney and their law firm evaluations are based on that assumption. Consequently, even if the lead attorney does not directly enter the information, the lead attorney must specify or dictate the information to the person who does.
Determining whether an Invoice Was Delivered
When an invoice is delivered, the invoice status changes from
Delivery on Hold
to Pending
. Tracker displays the posting date, which is the date the invoice was delivered. When an invoice is rejected, Tracker sends a rejected email notification to the user who posted the invoice and to any Matter Administrator or Matter Editor for the matter associated with the invoice. Matter Administrators and Matter Editors also receive Action Items alerts.
How Delivery on Hold Affects Invoice Dates
The following invoice dates are affected by Delivery on Hold invoices:
Date type | Details |
|---|---|
Date Posted | An invoice is not considered posted until the invoice is delivered. The Date Posted column displays TBD until the invoice is delivered. The invoice is delivered immediately when all incomplete tasks are complete and the Date Posted column shows the date the invoice was delivered. |
Invoice Date | The invoice is entered by the billing clerk when the invoice is uploaded. It is not changed when an invoice is held. There may be a significant delay between the invoice date and the date posted (the delivery date) because of the Invoice Delivery on Hold feature. For example, a billing clerk uploaded an invoice with incomplete tasks, which triggered the Delivery on Hold status. The billing clerk entered an invoice date of 01/01/2019. The firm attorney took 40 days to complete all of the incomplete assigned tasks. When the invoice is finally delivered to the client, the invoice date remains 01/01/2019, but the date displayed in the Date Posted column is 02/09/2019 (the date the invoice was actually delivered). |
Created on Date | The Created on date, which is displayed in the footer of every invoice, is a timestamp generated by Tracker to show when the invoice form was saved. This date is used for auditing purposes. It cannot be edited or altered by the Delivery on Hold feature. |