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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.