Generate Invoices in Clio Manage

In Clio Manage, you can generate an invoice for one matter with Quick invoice, or generate invoices for many clients and matters at once from New invoices. Generating invoices turns unbilled time and expense entries into draft invoices. Each invoice gives your firm and your client a clear record of the work billed on a matter.

Generate a quick invoice

You can generate a quick invoice for any billable matter, including closed matters, that has unbilled time or expense entries. You can edit the entries on a draft invoice or an invoice pending approval. After approval, entry edits require the firm setting that allows editing of approved invoices. You can also change an entry by deleting or voiding the invoice. The Work in progress card is hidden for users with restricted billing rate visibility.

After you click Generate Invoice, the invoice moves to the draft state. If you select Skip the invoice approval process, it moves directly to the unpaid state instead.

1. Go to a matter and select the Dashboard tab.
2. Click + on the Work in progress card in the Time and Expenses section to open New Quick Invoice.
   • To start from a contact, go to the contact and find the matter under Client's matters. Click the down arrow next to Edit and select Quick invoice.
3. Review the client's contact details under To, and update the address if needed.
   • An address update here also updates the address on the contact record.
   • The contact's name and phone number stay as they are on the contact record. An email address entered here saves to the contact only when the contact has no email address.
   • Editing these fields requires permission to edit contacts.

4. Review the matter's unbilled entries, which load into the form. Click x next to a time, expense, or fixed fee entry to leave it off this invoice.

   Note: Excluded entries stay in Clio Manage, and you can include them on a later invoice.

5. Click Add a time entry, Add an expense entry, or Add a fixed fee entry to create a new entry on this invoice. The new entry also saves to the matter.
   • To add a hard or soft cost expense, generate the invoice first. Then edit the invoice to add the expense.
6. Click Show options to set the Issue Date, Due Date, Detail Level, or Invoice tax, or to select Skip the invoice approval process. Learn more under Choose invoice generation options.
7. Click Generate Invoice.
   • To generate this invoice and start another, click Generate and create another.

Generate invoices in bulk

You can generate invoices for many clients and matters at once from New invoices, or combine one client's matters into a single invoice. New invoices lists every billable client with unbilled time or expense entries, across all of that client's billable matters. Every client and matter on the list starts selected. Filters narrow the list, and generating invoices covers every client and matter that stays selected.

After you click Generate invoices, one invoice generates in the draft state for each selected matter, and the Job Status tab tracks the progress of the job. With Combine multiple matters for one client into a single invoice selected, one invoice generates for each selected client instead. If you select Skip the invoice approval process, the invoices move directly to the unpaid state.

A matter with only non-billable time entries or non-billable expense entries appears on the list only when Show this entry on the invoice is selected on at least one of those entries. A time entry with zero duration saves as unbillable and stays off the invoice. The matter still lists when it has other unbilled entries, and a matter with expenses and no time entries also lists. Time entries with a duration greater than zero stay on the invoice, including entries billed at a rate of zero.

1. Go to Invoices and click New invoices.
2. Click Filter to narrow the list to the clients and matters to invoice.
   • You can filter by Client, Matter, Responsible Solicitor, Originating Solicitor, Time & expenses date range, Matter Status, and Matter Custom Fields, or enter a term in Search.
   • If your firm bills in more than one currency, you can also filter by Currency.
3. Select or clear the checkbox next to each client and matter.
   • To clear every selection, click Deselect All.
   • If a matter has expenses in more than one currency that are not converted to the matter's billing currency, each currency has its own checkbox and generates its own invoice.
4. Click Generate.
5. Choose the options in the Generate invoices modal. Issue date is required. Learn more under Choose invoice generation options.
6. Click Generate invoices.

Invoice matters with multiple clients

When more than one party is jointly liable for an invoice, you can add each party as a client on the matter. This is called joint billing. The joint invoice lists every client on the matter, so there is no need to edit the invoice in an external tool. When you add a client to the matter, you can choose whether that client is an invoice recipient. Invoice recipients receive a copy of the invoice.

Joint invoices generate from New invoices only. Quick invoice supports matters with one client.

Choose invoice generation options

You can customise invoices with the options in this section while you generate them. The Generate invoices modal in New invoices holds the full set of generation options, and each option applies to every invoice in the job. Show options on a quick invoice holds the issue date, due date, detail level, invoice tax, and the option to skip the invoice approval process. After generation, you can change the issue date, due date, invoice template, and tax by clicking Edit on the draft. The detail level is set at generation only.

• Issue date: The date the invoice is issued. You can select any past, current, or future date.
• Due date: The date the invoice is due. You can select a date, or select the Use contact's grace period to calculate the due date checkbox. With that checkbox selected, the due date follows the grace period in the contact's payment profile. The grace period sets the due date only. The issue date stays as selected.
• Invoice template: The layout of the invoice. Choose Use each matter's default template, or choose Use one template for all generated invoices and select the template from the list. To create or edit templates, see Design Bills With Billing Templates.
• Detail level: How time and expense entries are listed on the invoice.
  • All details: Each activity within the Time & expenses date range is its own line item.
  • Activity summary: All activity for each activity category combines into a single line item.
  • Aggregate: Entries combine into one or more totals, based on the combination you choose. A separate total generates for each matter and each tax setting. Aggregated invoices exclude non-billable entries. Aggregate offers these combinations:
    • All items aggregated: The invoice lists one combined total for all entries on each matter. This is the default combination.
    • Aggregated by type: The invoice lists a separate combined total for each entry type: time entries, expenses, and fixed fees.
    • Only time entries aggregated: The invoice lists one combined total for time entries. Each expense and fixed fee is its own line item.
    • Only expenses aggregated: The invoice lists one combined total for expenses. Each time entry and fixed fee is its own line item.
    • Only fixed fees aggregated: The invoice lists one combined total for fixed fees. Each time entry and expense is its own line item.
• Time & expenses: Choose Include all, Include time entries only, Include expenses only, or Include fixed fees only.
• Refine descriptions with AI: Select this checkbox to polish time and expense descriptions for clarity and professionalism. Refined entries are highlighted in blue for review. To refine descriptions on a schedule, see Automate Invoicing.
• Other options:

  • Combine multiple matters for one client into a single invoice: When a client has more than one matter with billable entries, select this checkbox to put all of those matters and their entries on one invoice.

    Note: Matters for one client combine into a single invoice only when they all use the same currency.

  • Include unbilled matters with a zero balance: Select this checkbox to generate invoices for matters with a zero balance, for example a matter with non-billable time entries that should still show on the invoice for transparency.
  • Skip the invoice approval process: The invoice moves directly to the unpaid state, and you can accept payment on it without approval from another user. Learn more in Invoice States and Approvals.
• Invoice tax: Select a tax rate from the list, or keep Do not apply tax. If you set a default tax rate or rates, the list preselects those rates. A tax rate applied to an individual expense entry overrides the rate selected here. To add another tax, click + Add tax rate.
• Notify members of your firm: The firm members who receive a notification when the invoice generates. You can notify each member by email, internal message, or both. This option is hidden by default. To turn it on, see Enable firm notifications on invoices.

Track bulk invoice jobs

You can monitor the progress of bulk actions on the Job Status tab of Invoices. Bulk actions include generating invoices for multiple clients, approving invoices and applying trust funds, and deleting draft invoices. You can track each job and look up the errors on a failed job.

1. Go to Invoices and select the Job Status tab.
2. Scroll to review the action type, current status, user, and date of each bulk action.
   • While a job runs, its progress counts the invoices generated so far, for example 2/3 invoices generated.
   • When a job completes, click See invoices to open the generated invoices.
3. Click the Today dropdown to filter jobs by Today, Past 2 Days, or Past 7 Days.
4. Click More actions next to a job and select Clear to clear its log.
   • To clear every log, click Clear all.
   • Clearing a log removes the job record only. The generated invoices stay in the draft state.

Enable firm notifications on invoices

You can turn on a setting that notifies firm members of your choice when an invoice generates. After you save the setting, the Notify members of your firm option is part of every invoice generation, and using it stays optional. Changing this setting requires permission to manage billing settings, which the Administrator and Billing roles include.

1. Go to the user menu and select Manage settings.
2. Select Invoicing > General.
   • If your settings menu lists Billing instead of Invoicing, select Billing > General.
3. Scroll to Invoice notifications in the Creating invoices card.
4. Select the Display notification section during invoice generation checkbox.
5. Click Save changes.

Up next

• Invoice States and Approvals: Submit draft invoices for approval, approve them, and send them to clients.
• Edit Invoices: Change an invoice's details and entries after it generates.