Set the fees on a matter

Open the matter's fees

A new matter starts with your firm's default fees. To change them for one matter:

1. Open the matter and go to its Billing tab.
2. On the Fee arrangement card, click Change. You can also open the matter's Settings tab and choose Fees.
3. Turn each kind of fee on or off with its switch, fill it in, and click Save changes.

Fixed professional fee

1. Turn on Fixed professional fee and enter the Amount.
2. Under How to bill it, choose one:
   • All at once: the whole fee goes on Ready to bill as soon as you save.
   • In instalments: click + Add instalment for each part and give it a label, an amount and a due date. Split evenly shares the fee across the instalments. Each instalment moves to Ready to bill on its due date. The instalments must add up to the fee.
   • By stage: click + Add stage, name the stage, give it a share and say when to invoice it. The shares must add up to 100%.
3. When a stage happens, click Mark reached beside it. Its amount moves to Ready to bill.

Each stage and instalment shows a status: Not reached or Scheduled, then Ready to bill, then Billed.

Appearance fees

1. Turn on Appearance fees.
2. Choose the Court level, or leave it on Each hearing's court to charge each hearing at the firm's fee for its court.
3. Leave Fee per appearance empty to use the firm default, or type an amount to set this matter's own fee. Use the default puts it back.

The card shows which outcomes charge the fee (set by your firm) and how many appearances have been charged so far. When you record a Held or Adjourned outcome, the fee goes to Ready to bill. With appearance fees off, recording an outcome adds nothing.

Hourly

Turn on Hourly to bill logged time at each person's rate. With it off, time is still logged for reports but not billed.

When hourly is on, the Billing tab shows Rates on this matter. Click + Add a rate for this matter to charge someone differently here. It is used instead of their firm rate for new time on this matter.

Retainer

1. Turn on Retainer and enter the Amount.
2. Choose Monthly or Quarterly.
3. Pick the date it Starts. Once saved, the card shows when it will next be invoiced.

Disbursements

Disbursements are always billed at cost, plus your firm's handling charge if it has one, with no VAT. Record them as expenses. See log time and expenses.

Ready to bill

The Ready to bill list on the matter's Billing tab collects everything waiting to be invoiced: stages reached, appearances recorded, instalments due, retainers, disbursements and billable time.

Tick what should go on the next invoice and click the button that appears, for example Invoice 3 items · ₦450,000. See create and send an invoice.

If time is logged on the same day as an appearance on the matter, Chronica flags it as Likely double billing and leaves it off the invoice. Click Bill anyway to include it.

Questions

Who can change a matter's fees?

Anyone in your firm who can open the matter.