Billing question Forum

[Anonymous User]

Whether big firm or small firm, does someone sit down with you when you're hired and explain how to bill your time? I don't mean how to draft your entries and what increments to use. I'm thinking like what do you do when you're working on a project and get up to use the restroom/get coffee/stop in the hall to chat for a minute/etc. Do you just keep the clock running? Also, do you round up or down when you're in between?

[Anonymous User]

bump

[dood]

Whether big firm or small firm, does someone sit down with you when you're hired and explain how to bill your time? I don't mean how to draft your entries and what increments to use. I'm thinking like what do you do when you're working on a project and get up to use the restroom/get coffee/stop in the hall to chat for a minute/etc. Do you just keep the clock running? Also, do you round up or down when you're in between?

yes.
depends on person, but i doubt many are stopping the timer for a two minute break to get a glass of water.
you use a timer that rounds, or if manual, just round up to the nearest 1/10.

[Desert Fox]

my firm never told me how to bill.

[Anonymous User]

my firm never told me how to bill.

Can't tell if serious or flaming.

[Desert Fox]

my firm never told me how to bill.

Can't tell if serious or flaming.

Not flaming. They taught us how to write an entry that doesn't get rejected. But there is absolutely no training on what counts as billable or ethical billing in general.

[fats provolone]

they don't tell you bc they want you to err on the side of more hours but can't say it explicitly

[Desert Fox]

they don't tell you bc they want you to err on the side of more hours but can't say it explicitly

Yea exactly.

[dood]

they don't tell you bc they want you to err on the side of more hours but can't say it explicitly

Yea exactly.

are you billing right THIS SECOND?!

[kalvano]

Whether big firm or small firm, does someone sit down with you when you're hired and explain how to bill your time? I don't mean how to draft your entries and what increments to use. I'm thinking like what do you do when you're working on a project and get up to use the restroom/get coffee/stop in the hall to chat for a minute/etc. Do you just keep the clock running? Also, do you round up or down when you're in between?

My firm gave me some guidance, which is basically asking "is what I'm billing for advancing the interests of the client?" If the answer is yes, bill it. If not, then don't.

[fats provolone]

Whether big firm or small firm, does someone sit down with you when you're hired and explain how to bill your time? I don't mean how to draft your entries and what increments to use. I'm thinking like what do you do when you're working on a project and get up to use the restroom/get coffee/stop in the hall to chat for a minute/etc. Do you just keep the clock running? Also, do you round up or down when you're in between?

My firm gave me some guidance, which is basically asking "is what I'm billing for advancing the interests of the client?" If the answer is yes, bill it. If not, then don't.

yea but don't forget partners are your clients

[Anonymous User]

Don't ask, don't tell. They'll tell you if you're billing too much. Usually, you aren't.

[ditch digger]

Don't ask, don't tell. They'll tell you if you're billing too much. Usually, you aren't.

I don't think there is any such thing as "billing too much" at my firm, so long as your billables accurately reflect the the work you have done for the client.

[Anonymous User]

When I first started at my firm I tried asking seniors about billing. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a straight answer out of anyone. I got the sense that everyone get comfortable with what they do, but not comfortable enough to pass their practice on.

Just bill everything honestly and let the partners deal with it. That strategy has worked for me without a single complaint.

[Anonymous User]

My firm also gave me no training or insight into billing.

I've learned to bill everything. Be productive when your timer is running, but bill everything. Your rate builds in the fact that you're slow and take 30 minutes to accomplish what a senior associate/partner can accomplish in 10 minutes.

No mercy. Be honest, but don't feel bad if you screw something up and have to do it three times. Just bill it all.

[OklahomasOK]

I didn't get any insight besides another associate telling me to be more detailed in my entries. Advice is this thread echoes a lot of what I've learned over time too, bill for everything you do, even if it's to the firm for general admin crap you get stuck with. All of the hours you work matter.

[Anonymous User]

Do hours billed to the firm go toward your annual requirement?

[gk101]

Do hours billed to the firm go toward your annual requirement?

firms occasionally say those hours count, but 95% of the time they are lying.