Work in Progress (WIP) typically consists of unbilled time records or tasks. This data can be quite complex since each record is typically associated with a matter and one or more fee earners. You can either use the task import specification to import tasks in bulk, or do it manually as follows:
- Enter the records into Actionstep using the time sheet entry screen - either as one time entry per matter, one time entry per lawyer per matter or every time entry individually. Students can be an excellent resource for this type of data entry.
- Create an invoice from the prior system which lists all the outstanding WIP. This invoice would not be posted through to Accounting, but would be uploaded into the Actionstep matter as a document for billing reference later on.
- Keep a printout of the outstanding WIP as a reference for billing later.
Factors to consider:
- The accuracy of and depth required from the WIP reports in Actionstep - If you are interested in WIP by Lawyer all visible in Actionstep, then the records need to be entered at the start.
- The detail shown in billing - if your clients expect to see every line of time on the Invoice, every line will need to be entered at some point - not necessarily until the client is billed.
- Fee recovery reporting - our fee recovery reports depend on the time having been entered against each lawyer.
- Staff Bonus payments - if you pay any form of bonus dependent on staff time spent on a paid matter, our reports for this will also pick up on the time entry.
Example Scenario:
- Pre-bill all the time from your old system and load that as a word document into the Actionstep actions.
- Enter one time record per fee earner per action with the description of “Time from prior system” (thus the WIP figure per action and lawyer is true in Actionstep)
- When it comes time to bill these entries, you will edit the invoice and insert the narration from the initial Pre Bill to justify the time entry.