The expense you paid for a client is not your expense
A law firm inadvertently mixes three kinds of money: its own fees, expenses paid on a client's behalf and recoverable, and a retainer it has not yet earned. Run all three as revenue and expense and the firm's profit is systematically wrong in one direction or the other.
The matter as an accounting unit
Fees against the matter
Every matter is a cost centre with its own revenue and expense, so you see profit per matter rather than only for the firm as a whole.
Recoverable, not incurred
Court fees, experts and travel post as receivable from the client rather than as your cost, so your profit is not depressed by money you will get back.
Staged fees
An engagement staged across preparation, first instance and appeal bills each stage as it is reached, so collection follows the work.
Retainers and collection
A retainer is a liability
What you have taken but not yet earned posts as a liability and becomes revenue as you deliver, so no month looks excellent and is followed by a hole.
Aged arrears
Late clients appear with how late they are, so the follow-up happens before the matter outlives the debt.
The firm and its partners
Fee splits between lawyers compute from recorded work, so settlement is reading a report rather than having an argument.
Common questions
Does it track hearing dates?
Hesbba is a financial and administrative system: matters as cost centres, fees, expenses and collection. A hearings calendar and legal document management are not part of what we offer, and we do not describe it as a full case-management system.
I bill some clients hourly
Time posts to the matter at its hourly rate and bills periodically or at a threshold. The gap between time recorded and time billed is visible — and it is usually wider than expected.
Also worth reading
- ERP platformHesbba's ERP brings sales, inventory, purchasing, payroll and accounting into one ledger, posting every document the moment you save it.
- AccountingAccounting software that creates entries from your invoices and expenses automatically, with a ready chart of accounts, a live trial balance and a full audit trail.
- Inventory & purchasingWarehouse software for multiple locations, receipt, issue and transfer notes, barcode stock counts, and inventory cost posted to the ledger on every movement.
- Services & consultingSoftware for service firms tracking contracts, recurring invoices, collection and cost centres, with profitability per client or project.
- Education centresSoftware for education centres managing cohorts and courses, instalment fees, instructor payouts, and profit per cohort.
- Clinics & medical centresClinic software covering appointments, insurance company accounts, doctor shares and medical supplies in one ledger.
Know what each matter earns
Enter one matter with its fees, its recoverable expenses and a retainer, and read the real profit.