Time Tracking and Billing for Lawyers: From Hours to Payment

Time Tracking and Billing for Lawyers: From Hours to Payment

If there's one thing that unites all lawyers, regardless of specialty or firm size, it's billing. And if there's something most do poorly, or at least inefficiently, it's also billing. The reality in the vast majority of Spanish law firms is that time tracking is done in Excel spreadsheets (when it's done at all), invoices are generated manually at month's end, and the real profitability of each case is unknown until it's too late to act.

The Hidden Cost of Not Tracking Time

According to legal industry studies, lawyers who don't use a time tracking system fail to bill between 20% and 40% of hours actually worked. Not because they decide not to charge, but because they simply don't record them.

The causes are predictable:

• Forgetting: "I'll note it later" becomes "how much time did I spend on the Martínez case Tuesday?"
• Multitasking: When working on several cases simultaneously, accurately assigning time is nearly impossible without real-time tracking
• Minor tasks: 5-minute calls, quick emails, brief consultations that individually seem insignificant but accumulated represent hours of work
• Administrative fatigue: After a full day of legal work, filling out time sheets is the last priority

The result is money left on the table. A lawyer billing at 150 EUR/hour who loses 25% of recordable hours is failing to earn over 75,000 EUR per year. For a 5-lawyer firm, that can exceed 300,000 EUR annually.

Integrated Time Tracking in Lexiel

Lexiel solves this problem by integrating time tracking directly into the lawyer's workflow, eliminating the friction that causes record loss.

One-Click Timer

Every case in Lexiel has an integrated timer activated with a single click. When you open a case to work on it ( reviewing a document, drafting a brief, researching case law ) you simply press the timer button. When you finish, you stop it. Time is automatically recorded with:

• Start and end date/time
• Linked case
• Activity category (meeting, drafting, research, hearing, administration...)
• Billable / non-billable indicator

Billable and Non-Billable Tracking

Not all time spent on a case is billable. Internal administrative tasks, training, or certain non-chargeable activities need tracking equally ( for productivity and cost analysis ) but must be clearly distinguished from billable time.

Lexiel allows marking each entry as billable or non-billable with a simple toggle. You can configure default rules: for example, client meetings default to billable, internal administrative tasks to non-billable.

Manual Entry and Correction

If you forgot to start the timer, you can add time entries manually, specifying the date, duration, and activity description. You can also edit existing entries to correct errors or add information.

Expenses and Disbursements

A lawyer's billing isn't limited to hours worked. Disbursements (expenses incurred on behalf of the client) are common items that many firms manage poorly.

Lexiel allows recording expenses and disbursements per case with 12 categories specific to Spanish legal practice:

• Court costs: judicial fees, deposits
• Registry fees: Land Registry, notary, Commercial Registry
• Process agent: fees and disbursements
• Expert reports: expert opinions, valuations
• Travel: trips to courts, prisons, notary offices
• Translations: sworn and non-sworn
• Copies and certifications: registry certificates, certified copies
• Technology: digital certificates, database queries
• Communications: certified mail, registered post
• Publications: announcements in Official Gazette
• Agency: delegated administrative procedures
• Other: unclassifiable expenses

Each expense is recorded with date, amount, description, and optionally a receipt (photo or PDF). When generating the invoice, disbursements are automatically included as a separate line item with the breakdown required by tax regulations.

Invoice Generation with VeriFactu

Since January 2026, the VeriFactu system is mandatory for billing in Spain. Lexiel generates invoices that fully comply with VeriFactu requirements:

• Correlative numbering: Lexiel automatically assigns correlative invoice numbers without gaps or duplicates
• Chained hash: Each invoice includes the previous invoice's hash, creating an unalterable chain
• Digital signature: Invoices are digitally signed, guaranteeing integrity
• AEAT submission: Automatic communication to the Tax Agency per established deadlines
• Professional PDF: PDF generation with the firm's branding (logo, colors, contact details)

The billing process is straightforward:

1. Select the case (or multiple cases for the same client)
2. Review included time entries and expenses
3. Adjust amounts if needed (discounts, retainers, prior partial payments)
4. Generate the invoice
5. Lexiel creates the PDF, registers the invoice in VeriFactu, and optionally sends it to the client via email or the Client Portal

Profitability Reports

Tracking time is pointless if you don't analyze the data. Lexiel provides profitability reports at three levels:

Per case: How many hours have you spent? What's the effective hourly rate? How much have you billed vs. actually worked? If you set an hour budget, are you on track or deviating?

Per client: Which clients are most profitable? Which consume more time than they generate in billing? What case patterns yield the best return?

Per lawyer: In multi-attorney firms, what's each professional's productivity and profitability? Who has the most billable hours? Who bills more per hour worked?

These reports aren't just statistical curiosities. They're management tools enabling informed decisions: adjusting prices, renegotiating terms with unprofitable clients, redistributing workload, or identifying practice areas with better returns.

Accounts Receivable Analysis

Billing is only half the work. Collecting is the other half. Lexiel includes an invoice aging panel showing:

• Outstanding invoices grouped by age (0-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days, >90 days)
• Total outstanding amount per client
• Each client's payment history (average punctuality, partial payments)
• Automatic alerts for overdue invoices

Comparison with Excel (The Usual Tool)

The ROI of Good Time Tracking

Consider a typical firm with 3 lawyers billing at an average of 120 EUR/hour:

• Without a system: 25% unrecorded hours → 75,000 EUR/year lost per lawyer → 225,000 EUR total
• With Lexiel: 5% unrecorded hours (80% improvement) → 15,000 EUR/year lost per lawyer → 45,000 EUR total
• Recovery: 180,000 EUR additional annual billing

The cost of Lexiel for 3 users (Professional plan) is 3,564 EUR/year. The return on investment from time tracking improvement alone exceeds 5,000%.

Stop Losing Billable Hours

Lexiel's time tracking and billing is included in all plans. Free 14-day trial.

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