Time Tracking

Record billable and non-billable time against matters using the built-in timer or manual entries. Track unbilled time, set per-user hourly rates, and seamlessly convert time entries into invoice line items.

Timer widget

The timer widget lives in the sidebar and is accessible from any page in the application. It shows the currently running timer with elapsed time, the matter name, and controls to pause or stop.

Timer Running

01:23:45

M-42 · Widget Fastener

Drafting independent claim 1 and dependent claims

Stop

The sidebar timer showing an active session on matter M-42

Start a timer

Open any matter page and click the Start Timer button in the time tracking section, or click the timer icon in the sidebar. Enter an optional description of the work you are about to do.

Work on the matter

The timer runs in the background. You can navigate to other pages, other matters, or even close the browser tab — the timer continues server-side.

Stop the timer

Click Stop on the sidebar widget or return to the matter page. The elapsed time is converted to a time entry. You can edit the description and adjust the duration before saving.

One timer at a time

Only one timer can run at a time. Starting a new timer will stop the current one and save it as a time entry. This prevents accidentally leaving timers running on old matters.

Manual time entries

If you prefer to log time after the fact, or need to record time spent outside the application, you can create manual time entries directly on any matter.

Open the time entry form

On the matter page, navigate to the Time tab and click + Add Time Entry.

Fill in the details

Enter the duration (in hours, e.g., 2.5), a description of the work performed, and the date the work was done. The user and hourly rate are pre-filled but can be adjusted.

Save

Click Save. The entry appears in the matter's time log and in the unbilled time dashboard until it is invoiced.

Logging patent drafting time

You spent 2.5 hours this morning drafting claims for matter M-42 "Widget Fastener", then another 0.5 hours in the afternoon reviewing the prior art search results from the associate. You create two manual entries:

2.5 hours — "Drafting independent claim 1 and dependent claims 2-8 for widget fastener mechanism"
0.5 hours — "Reviewing prior art search results; assessing relevance of JP2024-123456 and US11,234,567"

At your rate of $550/hr, these entries represent $1,375 and $275 respectively in unbilled time.

Editing entries

Time entries can be edited at any time before they are invoiced. Click on any entry in the matter's time log to open it for editing. You can change the:

Duration — adjust up or down in decimal hours
Description — refine the work description for the invoice
Date — correct the date if it was entered on the wrong day
User — reassign the entry to a different team member (admin only)

Invoiced entries are locked

Once a time entry has been included on an invoice, it cannot be edited or deleted. If you need to make corrections after invoicing, create an adjustment entry or a credit note in Xero.

Hourly rates

Hourly rates are configured at two levels:

Organisation default rate

Set in Settings → General. This rate applies to all users unless overridden. Typical IP firm rates range from $350 to $750 per hour.

Per-user rate

Set on each user's profile under Settings → Users. Use this when partners and associates have different billing rates. The per-user rate overrides the organisation default.

Differentiated billing rates

Your firm has a senior partner billing at $650/hr and a junior associate at $400/hr. Set the organisation default to $650, then override the associate's rate on their user profile to $400. When either records time, the correct rate is applied automatically.

Unbilled time dashboard

The unbilled time view shows all time entries across your organisation that have not yet been included on an invoice. Access it from the sidebar under Time or from the main dashboard.

You can filter by user, matter, matter type, and date range. The dashboard shows totals per matter and per user, making it easy to identify which matters have accumulated billable time ready for invoicing.

Unbilled Time

$12,450.00

Matter

Hours

Rate

Amount

M-42 Widget Fastener

8.5

$550

$4,675.00

M-43 ACME Logo

3.0

$550

$1,650.00

M-44 Solar Panel Mount

6.5

$650

$4,225.00

M-45 SmartLock Device

3.5

$400

$1,400.00

Unbilled time dashboard showing accumulated time across matters

Quick invoice from unbilled time

Select one or more time entries from the unbilled time view and click Create Invoice to generate an invoice pre-populated with those entries as line items. This is the fastest way to bill for time-based work.

Descriptions and categorisation

Good time entry descriptions are essential for transparent client billing. Each entry has a free-text description field that appears on invoices. Write descriptions that clearly communicate the work performed:

"Worked on patent" — too vague

"Drafting response to first examination report; amending claims 1-3 to overcome novelty objection based on D1 (US10,987,654)" — specific and defensible

AI-assisted descriptions

When using the timer, the AI assistant can suggest a description based on the matter context and the actions you performed during the session (emails sent, documents generated, step changes made).

Invoicing

Generate invoices from time entries and sync to Xero

Working with Matters

Learn how to manage matters, tasks, and correspondence