Fee Earner Performance Reporting

Overview

ℹ️ Feature Availability: The functionality described in this article is being released in stages. Some features are generally available, while others are currently unavailable (marked with *) and will become available in a future release. If you cannot see a feature described below, it may not yet have been released to your organisation.

Fee Earner Performance Reporting enables Fee Earners and Team Leads to monitor both productivity and financial performance.

The introduction of *Billable Hours Targets extends performance reporting beyond traditional financial metrics by allowing users to compare recorded billable hours against defined targets, alongside revenue performance.

Performance information is available through:

  • Billable Hours target reporting
  • Time Performance dashboard widget
  • Revenue Performance dashboard widget
  • Fee Earner Performance reports
  • Team performance reporting (Team Leads)
  • Matter-level listing reports
Users can only view performance information they are authorised to access.

What's New

The latest enhancements introduce four major additions to Fee Earner Performance Reporting. 

New FeatureBenefit
*Billable Hours TargetsMeasure recorded billable hours against defined targets rather than financial values alone.
*Time Performance WidgetProvides a visual view of productivity, including Recorded and Utilisation views.
*Revenue Performance WidgetTracks Recorded, Billed and Collected values against financial targets with drill-down capability.
Fee Analysis Pivot EnhancementsIntroduces additional time and value adjustment metrics to analyse write-ups, write-downs and adjusted billable hours.
Each of these enhancements is covered in more detail within the relevant section of this article.

Billable Hours Targets

Before performance can be measured, a Billable Hours Target Set must be created and assigned to the relevant Fee Earners or Teams.

Billable Hours targets define the expected number of billable hours for individual Fee Earners or Teams. You can enter monthly targets using decimal hours or enter an optional annual total and split it evenly across the 12 months. Any rounding difference is applied to the final month, and the monthly values can be edited afterwards. Targets can be zero but cannot be negative. Target information can also be imported and exported using a spreadsheet. 


Measuring Performance Against Billable Hours Targets

*Billable Hours targets introduce a productivity measure based on recorded billable time rather than financial performance. Unlike financial targets, Billable Hours targets measure productivity based on the time recorded by a Fee Earner, giving firms visibility of performance regardless of the value ultimately billed or collected.

When a Billable Hours Target Set is selected within the Fee Earner Performance Report, the report displays:

MeasureDescription
ActualFinalised billable hours recorded for the selected period
BudgetConfigured Billable Hours target
VarianceActual minus Budget
Percentage Actual divided by Budget

Billable Hours:

  • use finalised billable work only
  • exclude non-billable time
  • are displayed as hours rather than currency

Existing WIP, Billing and Collection reporting remains unchanged.


Dashboard Widgets

The dashboard widgets provide a visual, current view of productivity and financial performance, complementing the detailed information available within the Fee Earner Performance reports. 


Configuring Dashboard Widgets

Both the *Time Performance and *Revenue Performance widgets can be configured to display the information most relevant to the user or team.

When adding a widget to a dashboard, users can define:

  • Widget Title
  • Performance Scope (Myself, My Team or All Teams)
  • Compare to
  • Performance Targets
  • Performance Threshold (%)

The threshold determines when the widget displays Green, Amber or Red performance indicators.

  • Green = Target achieved or exceeded
  • Amber = Below target but at or above the configured threshold
  • Red = Below the configured threshold

Time Performance Widget Configuration

The Time Performance widget allows you to configure:

SettingDescription
View performance forDisplay performance for yourself, your team or all teams (subject to permissions).
Billable Hours TargetSelect the Billable Hours Target Set used by the widget.
Threshold (%)Defines the percentage used to calculate Green, Amber and Red performance status.
The widget uses the Target Set marked Used for dashboard when no specific Billable Hours Target is selected.


Revenue Performance Widget Configuration

The Revenue Performance widget allows you to configure separate financial targets for each performance measure.

SettingDescription
View performance forDisplay performance for yourself, your team or all teams (subject to permissions).
WIP TargetSelect the Target Set used when viewing Recorded performance.
Billing TargetSelect the Target Set used when viewing Billed performance.
Collection TargetSelect the Target Set used when viewing Collected performance.
Threshold (%)Defines the percentage used to calculate Green, Amber and Red performance status.
The configuration screen uses the labels WIP Target, Billing Target and Collection Target because these are the underlying Target Sets used by the widget. 
Once configured, the widget displays these as:
  • Recorded (WIP Target)
  • Billed (Billing Target)
  • Collected (Collection Target)
The widget uses the Target Set marked Used for dashboard for each target type where no specific Target Set has been selected.

*Time Performance Widget

The Time Performance Widget provides an at-a-glance view of productivity, helping Fee Earners monitor progress against Billable Hours targets and understand how recorded time is being spent.

Recorded

This view compares recorded billable hours against the configured Billable Hours target.

The chart displays:

  • Actual Billable Hours
  • Target Billable Hours
  • Variance
  • Performance Status (RAG)

Users can quickly identify whether they are on track to achieve their productivity target.

Utilisation

The Utilisation view shows how recorded time has been spent.

It displays:

  • Billable Hours
  • Non-Billable Hours

Unlike the Recorded view, Utilisation measures how time is allocated, not whether targets have been achieved.

No RAG indicator is shown for Utilisation.



Comparing Performance Periods

The current reporting period is always This Month. Using Compare to, users can compare this month’s performance with: 

  • This Financial Year (default)
  • Last Month
  • A selected previous month

*Revenue Performance Widget

The Revenue Performance Widget provides a financial view of how recorded work progresses through the billing lifecycle, from time recorded to invoices issued and fees collected.

The widget contains three performance views.

ViewWhat it measures
RecordedValue of recorded work against target
BilledValue invoiced against target (default)
CollectedFees collected against invoices compared with the Collection Target

Each view displays:

  • Actual Value
  • Target Value
  • Variance
  • Performance Status (RAG)
The current period is always This Month.
Users compare This Month with This Financial Year, Last Month or a selected previous month.

How Written-Off and Deleted Time Affects Performance

ScenarioBehaviour
Written-off timeWritten-off time continues to contribute to Time Performance and the Recorded view of Revenue Performance.  It does not automatically contribute to Billed or Collected performance. 
Deleted timeIs removed from performance calculations and reduces the values displayed on the charts.

Written-off entries remain visible because they reflect work that was completed, even if it was later written off financially. Because written-off work was still recorded, it continues to contribute to Time Performance and the Recorded view of Revenue Performance. 

Deleted entries are removed from the calculations because the underlying time record no longer exists.

If Recorded figures appear higher than expected because time has been written off, drill down into Recorded or Utilisation to identify entries with a Written Off status.

Drill Down Analysis

Selecting Recorded or Utilisation opens Work Items for the selected reporting period. Selecting Billed or Collected opens Targets Breakdown. 

Drilling into a metric allows users to investigate:

  • Recorded work
  • Written-off entries
  • Billing activity
  • Collections

Reports

Available Reports

Navigate to:

Reports → Management

The following reports are available depending on your role and permissions.

ReportDescription
Fee Earner PerformanceDetailed performance reporting against targets
Fee Earner SnapshotSummary performance metrics
Aged WIPOutstanding work in progress balances
Aged BillingOutstanding billed amounts
Matter ListingAnalyse matters and view billing & financial information as at a specific date
Matter BalancesAnalyse matters and view billing and financial information

Fee Analysis Pivot Enhancements

The Fee Analysis report includes additional metrics that provide greater visibility into time and value adjustments made during the billing process.

These metrics help firms understand the impact of write-ups and write-downs on both recorded time and billed revenue.

Unlike the Time Performance and Revenue Performance widgets, which focus on current productivity and financial performance, Fee Analysis Reporting helps firms understand how recorded work has been adjusted during the billing process.

New Reporting Metrics

MetricDescription
Time AdjustedThe monetary difference between the original billed value and the final billed fee. Negative values indicate a write-down; positive values indicate a write-up.
Time Adjusted (Unit Duration Hours)The difference between the original hours included on a bill and the adjusted hours actually billed.
Adjusted Time Billed (Unit Duration Hours)The final billed hours after any time adjustments have been applied.

Understanding the Metrics

The additional metrics provide a clear view of how work has been adjusted during billing.

StageMetric
Original hours selected for billingTime Billed (Unit Duration Hours)
Time adjustmentTime Adjusted (Unit Duration Hours)
Final billable hoursAdjusted Time Billed (Unit Duration Hours)
Original monetary valueTime Billed
Value adjustmentTime Adjusted
Final billed valueFees Billed
This creates a clear Input → Adjustment → Output view of both time and monetary adjustments.

Interpreting Adjustments 

AdjustmentMeaning
Negative Time AdjustedTime or value has been written down.
Positive Time AdjustedTime or value has been written up.
Zero AdjustmentNo adjustment has been made.

Where invoice discounts are applied, the adjustment value is distributed proportionally across the affected Fee Earners.

Time adjustments and monetary adjustments are independent. It is possible for the billed hours to change without changing the billed value, or for the billed value to change while the billed hours remain the same.

Listing Reports

Fee Earners can also access:

  • Aged Billing
  • Aged Debtors
  • Matter Balances

Unlike performance reports:

  • Filters are pre-populated.
  • Filters can be changed.
  • Matter-level security is always enforced.

Access & Permissions

Users assigned to the Lawyer or Paralegal roles can access their own performance information.

Fee Earners Access

  • Fee Earner Performance
  • Fee Earner Snapshot
  • Aged WIP

When a Fee Earner runs these reports:

  • The Fee Earner filter is automatically populated.
  • The filter is locked.
  • Only the user's own performance data is displayed.
Fee Earners cannot access performance data for other Fee Earners.

Team Lead Access

Users assigned the Team Lead permission can access Team-level performance reporting.

Team Reporting Behaviour

The following reports support Team reporting:

  • Fee Earner Performance
  • Fee Earner Snapshot
  • Aged WIP

When a Team Lead runs these reports:

  • The Team filter is automatically populated.
  • The Team filter is locked.
  • Results include all members of the Team.
  • Individual Team members can be analysed.
  • Users cannot access performance data outside their Team.
Team Leads must be assigned to the appropriate Team and granted the Team Lead permission before Team reporting becomes available.
Partner, Manager and Accountant roles already have broader reporting access and do not require the Team Lead permission.

Team Lead Configuration

To enable Team reporting:

RequirementDescription
Team AssignmentUser must belong to the appropriate Team
Team Lead PermissionTeam Lead permission must be enabled

Navigate to:

Directory → Employees

Open the employee record and verify both settings have been configured.

Team-level reporting is only available when both requirements have been met.

RAG Performance Indicators

IndicatorMeaning
GreenTarget achieved or exceeded
AmberBelow target but at or above the configured threshold
RedBelow the configured threshold
Utilisation measures how recorded time is allocated and therefore does not display RAG indicators.

Best Practices

  • Keep Target Sets up to date.
  • Use the Time Performance Widget for day-to-day productivity monitoring.
  • Review Billable Hours alongside Revenue Performance for a complete view of performance.
  • Use the Revenue Performance Widget to monitor Recorded, Billed and Collected performance.
  • Drill into dashboard metrics to investigate written-off activity.
  • Use Fee Analysis Reporting to identify write-ups and write-downs.
  • Review Time Adjusted and Adjusted Time Billed metrics to understand pricing behaviour.
  • Review negative variances early.
  • Use This Financial Year comparisons for trend analysis. 
  • Ensure Team Leads are assigned before using Team reporting.

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