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Run each matter like a project from instruction to bill
Many legal systems are built around file structures and compliance frameworks, and the work of the matter gets buried inside them. DAY ONE starts from the work: the matter set up with its stages, each task and deliverable owned by a named person, time logged from the task itself, and the bill built from what was done.
From instruction to bill
One record follows the matter from the first instruction to the final bill, so the team, the partner and Finance work from the same facts.
Take the instruction
A client brings a matter. It becomes a client and an opportunity, with the work you propose and the people who could do it.
Billed: nothing yet.
How it worksAgree the fee and the stages
Set how the matter is billed: a fixed fee, hourly rates, a staged fee, or a retainer for ongoing advice. The stages, such as advice, drafting, negotiation and completion, become milestones. Hourly rates start from your Price List and the Engagement Rate for each role. Once signed, a contract is locked, and a change becomes a new contract.
Billed: the fee basis is agreed here.
Scoping and QuotingStructure the matter like a project
Each stage breaks into tasks and deliverables with an owner, a due date and a priority. The partner sees who holds each one, and work waiting on the client or the other side shows as blocked.
Billed: fixed-fee work accrues in work in progress, and a staged fee once the milestone's completion is approved.
Delivery and TimeLog time to the task
The partner, senior associate, lawyer and paralegal pick up their tasks and log time from the task itself, at their own role's rate. Time is approved before it is billed.
Billed: approved hours at the role rate.
ResourcingReview and approve the bill
Work in progress is logged against all the work and reported by client and by business unit. A draft invoice is built from approved time, completed milestones and approved expenses, then approved by a manager and by Finance. The client's Invoice Level, set at client, matter or contract, decides how the work is grouped.
Billed: fixed fee, staged fees, hours and expenses in one invoice run.
Invoicing and WIPIssue it and hand to accounting
The approved invoice goes to the client, and your accounting system takes it from there. It stays your ledger.
Billed: nothing further. The ledger carries it from here.
Integrations
Keep the team accountable, task by task
Every stage of the matter breaks into tasks, each with an owner, a due date and a priority. A lawyer finds the next task, opens its menu and chooses Log Time, so the hours start from the work. A task waiting on the client shows as blocked, so the partner knows who to chase.
To do 4 tasks
- Draft the amendments to the lease
- Prepare the disclosure schedule
- Partner review of the draft
- Brief the client on the negotiation position
In progress 3 tasks
- Negotiation call with the other side's lawyers
- Respond to comments on the draft
- Update the key dates schedule
Blocked 2 tasks
- Client's instructions on the rent review clause
- Client's signed approval of the draft
How each kind of work is billed
A firm rarely bills every matter one way. The basis is set when the matter is scoped, and all of them go through the same approvals.
Fixed fee
One agreed price for the matter. Time is still recorded against it, and the fee accrues in work in progress while the work runs. The schedule can bill on signature, upfront or in arrears.
Staged fee
A matter billed as each stage is complete, such as advice or completion. The stage's completion is approved, then it is billed.
Hourly
Time priced from the Price List and the Engagement Rate for each role. Hours are logged to tasks and approved before they are billed.
Retainer
A client retains a set amount of ongoing work. DAY ONE tracks the unders and overs, and additional work is billed on top.
Expenses
Costs on the client's matter are approved as expenses, then billed in the same invoice run as the time and the stages.
Several in one matter
A fixed-fee advice stage, hourly negotiation and a retainer afterwards can sit as separate contracts in one matter. Extra work becomes a new contract in the same matter.
Trace an invoice to the work behind it
Open an invoice waiting for approval and see every line: the fixed-fee milestone, and the time behind the rest, with who entered it and for how long.
- $18,840.00Traced Revenue
- 15.00Total Hours
- $18,840.00Outstanding
Invoice lines 5
- Milestone: AdviceN/A0.00$14,000.00
- Draft amendmentsPriya Nair, Senior Associate6.50$2,470.00
- Review draftDaniel Webb, Partner1.50$780.00
- Disclosure scheduleMei Tan, Paralegal4.00$720.00
- Negotiation callSam Okafor, Lawyer3.00$870.00
- Total$18,840.00
Pick a situation from your own matters
On this matter, .
What it means for each role in a law firm
Finance leaders: explain a bill from the record
Follow an invoice line to the time and costs behind it, and to the fee it was agreed on. Work in progress is logged against all the work.
Partners and delivery: see every matter task by task
Each stage breaks into tasks with an owner and a due date, and time is logged from the task. Record the fee basis before the first hour, so the team works from the same terms.
Owners and CEOs: try one matter first
Quickstart starts with a defined scope and a core team. Map one matter and judge the fit on real work.
Salesforce leaders: a matter and billing record
DAY ONE does not handle trust accounting, and your existing systems for it stay in place. The Security page shows who owns each control.
Questions from law firms
Can't see your question? Ask us directly.
Is DAY ONE a legal practice management system?
DAY ONE runs the matter, your word for the work and recorded as an engagement, as a project: its stages, the tasks and deliverables each person owns, the time logged to them, and the bill built from it. It does not handle trust accounting, conflict checks or compliance obligations, so keep the systems you use for those.
Does DAY ONE handle trust accounting or legal-compliance obligations?
No. DAY ONE does not handle trust accounting and makes no legal-compliance claim. Trust accounts stay in your trust system.
Can we bill some matters as a fixed fee and others on hours?
Yes. A matter can be set up as fixed fee, staged by milestone, time and materials, or a retainer, and several can sit in one matter. Fixed-fee schedules can bill on signature, upfront or in arrears.
How does the team log time?
Time is logged to the task. A lawyer finds the task, opens its menu and chooses Log Time. Time is approved before it is billed, and work in progress is logged against all the work.
What happens when the client widens the scope?
Extra work agreed with the client is a new contract in the existing matter; a signed contract is not edited in place. Ask us to walk through it on a recent matter of yours.
Is client and matter data confidential, and who can see it?
Matter data is held in a Salesforce org (your own, or one provided with the bundled edition) and visible only to people your permission sets allow. No compliance claim is made. Security.
Do we need Salesforce already?
On Salesforce; works with your Salesforce org, or available as a bundled edition if you don't use Salesforce.
Do we have to replace our accounting system?
No. You keep your accounting system.
Walk through a matter from instruction to bill
Tell us how a recent matter was scoped, run and billed, and where your current system gets in the way.