Add an Overhead Charge to Invoices

Instead of itemizing soft cost charges to clients, you can include an overhead charge on your invoices to cover these costs.

Overhead charges can be implemented at the firm, matter, or invoice level.

At the Firm Level

To set an overhead charge at the firm-level:

1. From the left navigation panel, click Setup.
2. From the Setup screen left navigation, click Firm Settings.
3. From the tabs atop the Firm Settings screen, click Financial.
4. Under the Misc Settings section, locate the Overhead Charges field.
5. Designate a percentage in the field.
6. To the right of the field, use the drop-down to calculate overhead charges for Time and Expense Card, Expense Card, or Time Card.
7. Click Save.
   A Financial Settings message displays indicating Update successful.
8. Click OK.
   Overhead charges will apply to invoices for new matters when applicable.

At the Matter Level

You can apply overhead charges at the matter level rather than the firm level.

You can also override a firm-level percentage at the matter level. Such changes would only apply to invoices for that specific matter going forward. 

To apply an overhead charge at the matter level:

1. From the left navigation panel, click Matters.
2. From the toolbar atop the Matters screen, for a new matter, click Add. For an existing matter, single-click the matter to highlight it and click Edit.
3. On the Add Matter or Edit Matter screen, click Advanced Settings to expand the section.
4. From the tabs atop the Advanced Settings section, click Billing Info.
5. in the Settings section, locate the Overhead Charges field and drop-down.
6. Designate a percentage in the field.
7. To the right of the field, use the drop-down to calculate overhead charges for Time and Expense Card, Expense Card, or Time Card.
8. Click Save.
   A Financial Settings message displays indicating Update successful.
9. Click OK.
   Overhead charges will apply to invoices for this matter when applicable.

At the Invoice Level

You can apply an overhead charge to a single invoice when you:

• Add or edit an invoice from Matters
• Edit an invoice from Activities

From Matters

To apply an overhead charge to the single invoice:

1. From the left navigation panel, click Matters.
2. From the Matters screen, either double-click the relevant matter, or single-click the matter, from the toolbar click Details. 
3. For a new invoice, click Create Invoice. For an existing invoice, single-click the invoice to highlight it and click Edit.
4. The Add Invoice or Edit Invoice message box opens, as applicable. If the Edit Invoice message box opens, click OK.
5. Take the appropriate action:
   • New invoice:
     1. 1. Click Advanced Settings to expand the section.
   • Existing invoice:
     • 1. Single-click the invoice to highlight it.
       2. From the toolbar atop the screen, click Edit.
          Note

          If the invoice was finalized, you must first unfinal it.

       3. Click Advanced Settings.
6. Locate the Overhead Charges field and drop-down.
7. Designate a percentage in the field.
8. To the right of the field, use the drop-down to calculate overhead charges for Time and Expense Card, Expense Card, or Time Card.
9. Click outside the field.
   The system calculates the charge and populates the Overhead Charges field.
10. Click Generate.
    The Matters screen updates to display your invoice change.

From Activities

To apply overhead charge to a single invoice:

1. From the left navigation panel, click Activities.
2. From the Activities screen left navigation, click Invoices.
3. On the Invoices screen, single-click the relevant matter to highlight it. 
4. From the toolbar atop the screen, click Edit.
5. On the Edit Invoice screen, click Advanced Settings to expand the section.
6. Locate the Overhead Charges field and drop-down.
7. Designate a percentage in the field.
8. To the right of the field, use the drop-down to calculate overhead charges for Time and Expense Card, Expense Card, or Time Card.
9. Click outside the field.
   The system calculates the charge and populates the Overhead Charges field.
10. Click Generate.
    The Matters screen updates the Invoice Amount to reflect the overhead charge.
11. To view the charge within the invoice, double-click the invoice to generate it.