Time Entries

Time entries are one of two types of billable or non-billable activities that form a bill. Expenses are the other type of activity. Time entries can be created separate from other Clio manage events, but you can also add time to other events in Clio Manage, such as documents, calendar events, tasks, and communications. Just click Add time beside each line item.

Tip: Track performance metrics for billable time for yourself or your entire firm using the personal and firm dashboards.

 

Add new time and fixed rate entries

You can create a new time entry or fixed rate entry from several locations within Clio Manage, making it a convenient way to keep on top of your time and expenses throughout the day. It can be done in the main Activities page in Clio Manage, the Activities page within a matter, and from the global Create new button on the top right of your Clio Manage screen.

Note: You can select past, current, or future dates for activities just in case you missed or forgot to enter entries earlier.
  1. You can access the modal to add a new time or flat rate entry from various locations in Clio Manage:
    • Go to Activities, then click New time entry, or
    • from the Clio Manage header, click Create new, or
    • from a matter’s Dashboard subtab, click Add time.
  2. Once in the modal, you can add the time or select an activity category, along with other details. Depending on how you navigated to the modal, some of the information may already be entered.
    Tip: Make sure that you understand the Rate and Rate Hierarchies when entering details to understand which rate and currency will be used to calculate the time entry amount. You can also learn about creating activities with flat rates here in order to select them for the Activity category.
    • Optional: If you enabled UTBMS codes, scroll past your custom activity categories to select the relevant UTBMS code category.
    • Optional: If you have grants enabled, you can choose a relevant grant to associate with the time entry.
    • Optional: If you want to track non-billable time, check the non-billable check box. When you do so, you can also choose whether you would like to include the non-billables entry on a bill by checking Show the entry on the bill.
    • Optional: To track Personal Attorney Involvement (PAI) time, check the PAI time check box.
  3. Click Save entry to save the entry and exit the modal. Alternatively, click Save and create another to save the entry and open a new time entry modal. Click Save and duplicate to save the time entry and create a new entry with the same information pre-populated.

 

Play and pause timer

You can use the timer in Clio Manage to capture time easily and accurately for time entries. The timer can be started from anywhere in Clio Manage, making it a convenient and efficient way to stay on top of your activities. 

Note: You can also start the timer by opening a new time entry and clicking the play button. If you go to any unbilled time entry in the Activities tab and click the play button, this will start the timer for that entry, allowing you to add more time.

  1. Click the play button in the Clio Manage header.
  2. Click the pause button to stop the time. A new time entry modal will open where you can save your time entry.
Tip: Click the clock beside the timer in the Clio Manage header to open the timekeeper. The timekeeper shows all of your time entries created that day. You can restart timers, edit entries, or create new time entries from one place. Cycle through previous days by clicking the arrow buttons.

 

Create non-billable time entries

By default, time entries marked as non-billable will not appear on a generated bill because they are set to $0. If you need to show a non-billable time entry on a bill, you can do so easily when creating the time entry. By showing non-billable time on a bill, you can bill more accurately for non-billable activities, report on non-billable time using the "matter productivity by user" report, and show your clients extra value invested in their case. 

Important: If you mark an activity as non-billable and choose to show it on the bill, it can only be shown when generating the bill using bulk billing (the New bills button in the Billing tab). The activity will not show on the bill invoice if you generate a Quick bill. 

  1. Create a new time entry or edit an existing time entry.
  2. Check the box for Non-billable to not charge for the time entry. 
    • When a time entry is marked as non-billable, the Discount box is greyed out and set to 0%. You can still choose to show or not show the entry on the bill. 
  3. Check the box for Show this entry on the bill to show the time entry on the bill at a $0 rate.
  4. Complete the remaining details and then click Save entry.

 

Write-off time entries

If a client disputes time on their case, you can mark the time entry as a write-off. Once written-off, the time entry will not appear on a bill. Writing-off time entries instead of marking them as non-billable and showing them on a bill allows you to distinguish between money not billed because of disputes compared to money not billed for extra value invested in a case.

Tip: You can view written-off time entries in the Activities table under the Invoice status column. These time entries will also appear as written-off when you export them to CSV from the table. 

Note: When you write-off a time entry, it will not appear on the Firm Dashboard or the Work in progress section of the matter's Dashboard and in the following reports: matter balance summary, client activity, client account management, work in progress, revenue, matter productivity by user, productivity by user, and originating solicitor revenue. 

  1. Create a new time entry or edit an existing time entry.
  2. Check the box for Written-off to not charge for the time entry. 
  3. Complete the remaining details and then click Save entry.

 

Change contingency fee and fixed rate non-billable time

When creating time entries for contingency fee and fixed rate matters, all hourly and fixed rate time entries will automatically default to non-billable time and will not appear on the bill invoice. You can also change this setting and choose to set time entries for these matters to billable time. Once changed, the hourly time entries for these matters will automatically have a $0.00 rate that you can update manually. Follow the steps below to change the default behaviour.

Tip: Learn more about the contingency fee and fixed fee matters workflow here.
  1. Go to Settings > Billing > Bill Settings.
  2. Scroll down to Non-billable time.
  3. Uncheck the box for Set hourly time entries on fixed fee and contingency matters to non-billable by default.

 

Change time and decimal rounding settings

Clio Manage has two options for time rounding when creating time entries and generating bills to suit your firm’s needs:

Decimal rounding
This option rounds all time entries to the nearest two decimal places. For example, if you create a time entry for 0.248 hours, the time entry will appear as 0.25 hours in the Activities table and on the bill.
Time rounding
This option rounds all time entries up to the nearest minute increment of your choice. For example, if you set your minute increment to 5 and create a time entry for 22 minutes, the time entry will be rounded up to the nearest interval of 5 minutes, which is 25 minutes. If you set your time entry in hours, such as 1.20 hours, the time entry is calculated as 72 minutes and then gets rounded to the nearest 5 minute increment, which is 75 minutes or 1.25 hours.
Important: When you change time and decimal rounding settings, ALL time entries are affected for all users at the firm. This includes activities that have already been created and activities that have already been generated on bills.

To change your time and decimal rounding settings:

  1. Go to Settings > Billing > Bill Settings.
  2. Scroll down to Time Rounding.
  3. Check or uncheck the boxes for Enable decimal rounding and Enable time rounding.
  4. Click Save Bill Settings.

 

Duplicate time entries

You can duplicate a time entry from the main Activities page in Clio Manage or from the Activities subtab within a matter. 

Note: If an activity has been generated on a bill, the duplicate button will appear next to the time entry.
  1. Go to Activities and find the time entry you want to duplicate.
  2. Click the down arrow next to Edit and select Duplicate.
  3. Make any necessary changes and then select Save entry.

 

Edit time entries

You can edit an unbilled time entry from the main Activities page in Clio Manage or from the Activities subtab within a matter. All users can edit time entries, but only administrators can edit time entries in bulk. Time entries that were marked as Written-off cannot be edited in bulk.

Note: You cannot edit hourly and flat rate entries in bulk.
Important: The edits you make will affect ALL selected time entries. The original time entry details will not be saved anywhere in Clio. Additionally, the matter field will be blocked if the selected time entries are from different matters.
Edit single time entry Edit time entries in bulk
  1. Go to the main Activities tab or the Activities subtab in a matter.
  2. Find the time entry you want to adjust and click Edit.
  3. Make any necessary changes and then select Save entry.

 

Delete time entries

You can delete an unbilled time entry from the main Activities page in Clio Manage or from the Activities subtab within a matter. All users can delete individual time entries, but only administrators can delete time entries in bulk.

You can track deleted time entries in the Recovery bin, from a matter’s timeline, and from the Firm Feed. Deleted items will remain in the Recovery Bin for six months in case they need to be re-added and billed to clients. It is possible to recover deleted items, but Clio does not guarantee that the lost data can be recovered. The best practice is to ensure the item is not needed before deleting it, with the recovery bin available as a failsafe. 

Delete one time entryDelete in bulkRecover deleted activity
  1. Go to Activities.
  2. Check the box next to the time entry you want to delete.
  3. Click Delete.
  4. When the warning prompt appears, select Delete entry.

 

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