Overview

Billing Grades standardise how work is billed across your firm based on seniority, expertise, or billing level, rather than individual staff members alone.

They help ensure:

• Consistent pricing
• Scalable billing structures
• Accurate time-based billing
• Clear separation between job title and charge-out rate

Billing Grades work closely with Job Titles and Billing Rates, allowing firms to apply flexible pricing while maintaining control and consistency.

What are Billing Grades

A Billing Grade represents a level of seniority or expertise that determines how time is billed. 

Common Examples

• Partner
  
• Senior Associate
• Associate
• Junior Lawyer
• Paralegal

Billing grades:

• Are assigned to users
• Work alongside Job Titles
• Determine which billing rate is applied
• Allow multiple staff with the same job title to bill at different rates

Two users may both have the job title Lawyer, but one may be billed at a Senior rate and the other at a Junior rate.

Why Use Billing Grades

Billing Grades provide flexibility and structure when managing billing across a firm.

Key Benefits

• Enables tiered pricing based on experience
  
• Ensures consistent billing across similar roles
• Simplifies rate management
• Works seamlessly with billing rate sets
• Supports complex billing structures

They are particularly useful in firms where:

• Staff at the same level bill at different rates
• Rates change as staff gain experience
• Multiple pricing models exist

Creating a New Billing Grade

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Navigate to Settings → Firm Settings
2. Under the Billing section, select Billing Grades
3. Click Add Billing Grade
4. Enter the Billing Grade name (e.g. Senior Associate, Junior Lawyer etc)
5. Click Publish Billing Grades to save

The new Billing Grade is immediately available across the system once published.

Editing an Existing Billing Grade

To update a Billing Grade:

1. Navigate to Settings → Firm Settings
2. Select Billing Grades
3. Locate the billing grade you wish to edit, make the required changes
4. Click Publish Billing Grades to save

Changes automatically apply anywhere the Billing Grade is currently used.

Deleting a Billing Grade

To remove a Billing Grade:

1. Navigate to Settings → Firm Settings
2. Locate the relevant Billing Grade 
3. Click the trash can icon

Ensure the Billing Grade is not actively linked to users or rate sets before deleting.

How Billing Grades Work with Job Titles & Rates

Billing configuration is structured as follows:

• Job Title - define a person's role
• Billing Grade - define billing level
• Billing Rate - define the charge-out amount

Example:

This structure allows:

• Consistent job titles
  
• Flexible pricing
• Clear billing logic

Tips & Best Practices

• Keep billing grade names clear and consistent
  
• Align grades with experience levels
• Review grades regularly as staff progress
• Avoid creating too many grades unnecessarily
• Use billing grades alongside rate sets for flexibility
• Avoid using billing grades as job titles
• Avoid frequent renaming once rates are in use

Billing Grades work closely with Job Titles and Billing Rates. For more information refer to the guides here.