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Pre-Bill Review

Pre-bill review software that checks each pre-bill against the guideline its client wrote and shades each flag by how often that client has cut that kind of line.

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The problem

Each entry reread by eye against guidelines that differ from client to client

Once a month the billing partner works through a stack of pre-bills, usually as PDF markups, before they go out. It is the last moment to fix a bill without the client seeing it. The partner reads hundreds of time entries against outside counsel guidelines that differ by client: block billing, narratives, agreed rates, approved timekeepers, staffing, clerical work and expenses.

Each rule gets the same attention, though each client enforces only some of them. Evenings go to flags a client lets pass, and the one its reviewer cuts slips through. It comes back as an e-billing rejection: the line is cut, appealed by hand or written off weeks later, with no reason on record.

Built forBilling partnersBilling specialistsDirectors of billingLaw firm finance chiefs

The Problem Today

Clients’ AI now reviews each invoice line and cuts what breaks their own rules.

18%
of firm invoices clients rejected in 2025, against 11% before published
71%
of firms rely mainly on manual guideline checks published

Checked manually today

  • Pre-bills
  • Guidelines
  • Rates
  • Narratives
  • Each rule checked the samePartners reread rules the client does not enforce
  • Write-offs with no reasonCut lines surface long after the bill went out

The Solution

  1. Each entry checkedAgainst the client’s own guideline, with the clause cited
  2. Shaded by what clients cutPast rejection notices predict which flags each client will cut
  3. Splits and rewrites draftedFrom the timekeeper’s own records, with the hours unchanged
  4. The partner signsWrite-downs carry a reason code and a named approver

Built-in controls

  • No bill changes until the partner signs
  • Write-downs over the limit need the director
  • Each agent run and each approval kept on the record

What You Get

Bills leave the firm fitted to each client’s rules, with a reason on record for each cut.

6 hours
of partner review for 46 pre-bills, down from about 14 our estimate
  • Time spent where clients cutRules a client lets pass stay cool on the map
  • Fewer lines to appealLines are fixed before the client’s review sees them
  • Write-downs explainedEach with a reason code and an approver
Guideline, map, fixes, signature

What the pre-bill review software does with each bill before it is signed

The month’s review as it runs: the rules, the client’s record, the map, the fixes and the signature.

  1. 01Client billing guidelines

    Each client’s billing guideline turned into rules that cite clause and page

    How it works

    • The guideline and the engagement letter’s rate terms become rules in seven families
    • Each rule quotes its clause, links to its page and states its limit, such as one task per entry
    • Beside each rule, how often this client cuts it: 94% for block billing, 18% for vague narratives
    • A clause the reader cannot settle waits for the billing specialist to confirm

    Billing specialistNine clients’ guidelines stop living in one person’s head and a spreadsheet of who cuts what.

  2. 02What this client cuts

    Rejection notices read line by line to show what each client cuts

    How it works

    • Each rejection and reduction notice from the last 12 months read line by line
    • For each rule family: flagged lines sent, lines cut, the share and the dollars
    • For one client, 138 flagged lines sent, 89 cut and $41,870 cut across 14 invoices
    • Rates are recalculated after each new notice, and each figure links to the notice behind it

    Director of billingCan show the partners which rules each client really enforces, now that rejections have become a line in the partners’ meeting.

  3. 03Heat map

    A heat map of the month’s pre-bills, shaded by likely rejected dollars

    How it works

    • 46 pre-bills down the side, seven rule families across, the hottest bill first
    • Each cell shaded by likely rejected dollars, learned from that client’s own notices
    • The month on one line: 3,912 entries, 214 flagged, $96,300 likely rejected
    • The five cells most likely to come back cut are listed to start with

    Billing partnerSees where this month’s cuts would come from before rereading 3,912 entries across 46 bills over three evenings.

  4. 04Shaded by flag count

    A switch between flag counts and dollars shows which flags matter

    How it works

    • A switch shades the map by flag count, the way a rule-only check would
    • In that view one bill’s 22 vague narratives glow brightest on the map
    • Its panel shows why they matter little: this client cut 1 of 41 such flags last year
    • Shaded by dollars again, the same cell holds $320 and turns cool

    Billing partnerSkips an evening of rewriting narratives a client rarely cuts and spends it on the rules that client enforces.

  5. 05The hottest cell

    Each cell opens to the clause it breaks and the client’s record

    How it works

    • The hottest cell, 11 block-billed entries, opens to the clause it breaks, §4.3, with a link to page 6
    • Under it, the client’s record: 31 of 33 block-billed entries cut in 12 months
    • Each flagged entry listed with its amount and its chance of a cut
    • One button drafts splits for all 11

    Billing partnerGoes straight to the cell on the largest bill that this client’s reviewer cuts almost each time it appears.

  6. 06Splits drafted

    Block-billed entries split into task lines with the hours unchanged

    How it works

    • Reads each entry’s records: the documents, the calendar and the emails
    • Splits each entry into its tasks, 11 entries into 34 lines
    • Checks the new lines against the guideline: 4 are internal conferences
    • Re-scores them with the client’s history: $18,420 down to $1,260, the 32.8 hours unchanged

    Billing partnerGets entries the client will accept without asking each timekeeper to rewrite a month of time from memory.

  7. 07One entry, split

    Each drafted task line shows the record it was split from

    How it works

    • A 3.6-hour entry’s four tasks highlighted in the narrative as it was billed
    • Drafted lines of 1.4, 1.5, 0.4 and 0.3 hours, each with its evidence
    • Evidence such as time logged on the production, document edits, a calendar call and three emails
    • If the hours stop adding up to 3.6, the split cannot be approved

    Senior associateHer entry is split from what she did, the hours stay as she recorded them, and she confirms the split before it is billed.

  8. 08Write-downs

    Write-downs carrying a reason code and the approver the firm’s limits name

    How it works

    • 12 recommended for the month, with $15,620 billed on them
    • Each with a reason code, such as WD-02 for an internal conference not approved in advance
    • The partner approves write-downs of 10% of a bill or less, the director anything larger
    • Two at 13.2% and 13.6% of their bills are routed to the director

    Director of billingSees each write-down with its reason and its approver, where today write-offs turn up weeks after the bill went out with nothing on record.

  9. 09Signing the pre-bill

    A signing check listing each change and what is still at risk

    How it works

    • 11 block-billed entries split into 34 lines, approved
    • 3 rates corrected to the agreed $940, from $985
    • One timekeeper’s 2.5 hours held until the client approves her
    • $5,210 still likely rejected; signing writes the approved changes back

    Billing partnerSigns knowing what changed on the bill and what is still at risk, with nothing touched in the billing system until she signs.

Around the map

The cooled cell, the pre-bill, the queue and the firm’s own limits

What the partner, the director of billing and finance open around the heat map.

The cell after approvalThe block-billing cell drops to $1,260. Four internal conference lines remain, $1,800 billed, which the client cuts 7 times in 10. The month shows $79,140.
The pre-bill, line by line32 flagged of 268 entries, each with its rule, its likely cut and its status. The block-billed lines show their splits, and the three rates are corrected.
A client that lets narratives goA second client cut 1 of 41 vague narratives but 12 of 12 lines billed above the agreed rate. Its cells on the map shade to match.
The sign-off queue46 pre-bills by likely rejection, each marked needs you, review flags, ready to sign, with billing or signed, and the days left to the bill run.
The record behind the billEach agent run, split, rate correction, write-down, routing and signature, with who and when. The finance controller reads it and changes nothing.
The firm’s own limitsRule families on or off per client, a $50 floor for showing a line, a 12-month history window, approval limits and who may do what.

One client cut 31 of 33 block-billed entries and 6 of 34 vague narratives

That client’s rejection notices over 12 months, 14 invoices, by rule family. The heat map’s shading is made of tables like this one.

Rule familyLines cutShare cutCut
Block billing31 of 3394%$21,400
Vague narrative6 of 3418%$1,920
Rate above the agreed rate9 of 9100%$6,180
Unapproved timekeeper6 of 786%$3,350
Staffing14 of 2070%$4,630
Non-billable task12 of 1580%$3,210
Expense11 of 2055%$1,180

Timekeepers confirm their splits, and larger write-downs go to the director

Agents prepare the fixes; six decisions on a bill belong to a person with a role.

Signing the billThe responsible partner alone signs. The billing specialist prepares the pre-bills and runs the bill run, but cannot sign or write down.
Splitting someone’s timeThe timekeeper confirms each split of their own entry, and the total hours stay as recorded.
Write-downs above the limitAnything over 10% of a bill or over $10,000 needs the director of billing’s approval.
Settling an unclear ruleWhen a guideline leaves a term undefined, such as reasonable travel, the billing specialist decides how it reads before it is used.
Keeping a flagged lineThe partner may keep a line or reject a flag, with a reason in her own words kept with the bill.
Approving your own entryNobody approves a split of their own time.

The pre-bill, the guideline, the rate exhibit and each client’s notices

What the agents read, and where each flag and each split comes from.

Pre-billsEntries, timekeepers, rates and expenses from the firm’s time and billing system.
Client billing guidelinesEach client’s guideline or outside counsel guidelines, read into rules with clause and page.
Engagement letter rate exhibitsThe agreed rates per role for the year, behind each rate check.
Rejection and reduction noticesEach client’s e-billing notices, read line by line to learn what it cuts.
Timekeepers’ recordsDocuments opened, calendar entries and emails: the evidence behind each drafted split.

Before the first bill run with pre-bill review software

What is pre-bill review software?

Pre-bill review software checks the firm’s draft bills before they go out. This one reads each pre-bill against the guideline its client wrote, ranks each flag by how often that client has cut that kind of line, and drafts splits, rewrites and write-downs for the billing partner to approve and sign.

What should a billing partner check on a pre-bill?

The rules the client enforces: block billing, vague narratives, rates above the agreed rate, timekeepers the client has not approved, staffing, clerical work and expenses. The heat map shows which of these this client actually cuts, so the partner reads those lines first.

How does it know which flags a client will cut?

The rejection predictor reads that client’s past rejection and reduction notices and scores each flag by how often the client cut that kind of line. A client with too little history gets the firm-wide rate instead of a guess.

Does it change time entries in our billing system?

The agents change no entry. Approved splits, rewrites, rate corrections and write-downs are written back to the time and billing system only when the partner signs the bill.

How does it split a block-billed entry without inventing work?

The narrative drafter splits the entry from the timekeeper’s own words and records, such as documents opened, calendar entries and emails. The total hours stay the same, and the timekeeper confirms the split of their own time.

Who approves a write-down?

The billing partner approves write-downs within the firm’s limit for one bill, and larger ones need the director of billing. Each carries a reason code and a named approver. The partner can instead keep a line with a note to the client.

Are our clients’ bills used to train AI models?

No. Pre-bills, guidelines and rejection notices are read for this firm alone, and none of them becomes training material. The audit trail records each agent run and each person’s action; finance reads it and nobody edits it.

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We’ll walk you through the heat map, the splits and the signing on pre-bills your firm has already sent.

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