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Three Billing Tips for D.C. Law Firms
May 06, 2026
Across the country, one issue that seems to unite attorneys is this: We're not great at billing our clients.
We didn't go to law school to learn how to become bill collectors, and my school certainly didn't offer many "how to run a law firm" management courses. So, when and how exactly are we supposed to pick up the details on invoicing?
Many firm owners learn receivables by trial and error (legal pun intended). With that in mind, here are a few billing tips and tricks I've picked up over the years to help you along the way.
Tried-and-True Advice
1. It's a mental game.
Clients come to you at some of the worst moments in their lives. The least we can do is be predictable in our billing schedule.
Clients shouldn't be waiting months to receive an invoice, and sending bills sporadically doesn't foster confidence (or trust) between you and your client. Whether you bill monthly or on another cadence, the key is consistency.
As a practical rule of thumb, send invoices around the fourth of every month. If the client gets paid on the first, their paycheck has likely cleared by the time your bill arrives, making yours one of the first bills they'll pay rather than something that gets pushed to "later."
2. The call is coming from inside the house (yes, you).
Often, the real reason firms fall behind on billing is simple: hours don't get logged. We've all been there — waiting until the end of the month to input time, only to realize we're trying to reconstruct an entire month of work like it's a missing evidence timeline.
As we all know, the problem is that it's nearly impossible to re-create every billable increment for a month. We forget details. You log 6 hours for a day that happened two weeks ago, but you know you were at the office for 10. Now you're losing revenue for the firm — and for yourself. You and your staff need a rule for tracking time. Ideally, this happens daily, but weekly is more realistic for many firms.
And if you have a few "problem children" at your firm (it's me, dear reader, I was the problem) who struggle to track time consistently, one of the best investments I made was adopting Smokeball's Autotime feature. It runs in the background and tracks what you're doing and for which matters. It's honestly a lifesaver.
3. It's time to join the modern day.
Look, we attorneys are not always known for being early adopters of change (I once dealt with opposing counsel who used a typewriter for pleadings and correspondence — in 2018). But if there's one place where modernizing pays off quickly, it's billing.
It's time to adopt technology that can automate the most frustrating parts of the process. Your firm administrator will thank you. Your future self will, too.
That means using software like Smokeball, which lets you:
- Print prebills in bulk (and separated by attorney)
- Automate invoice creation
- Send bills to clients all at once — without going case by case
Instead of manually pushing invoices one matter at a time, you can press a button and your bills go out in a batch.
And if you bill hourly, it's also worth thinking about adopting an evergreen retainer policy, which can also be automated with the right system.
Bottom line, billing doesn't have to be the headache it was "back in the day." Technology exists now to make it easier, more consistent, and far less painful. Use it and give yourself one less thing to chase at the end of every month.
More About Smokeball Bill and the D.C. Bar
Smokeball, a leading legal practice management software platform, has partnered with the D.C. Bar to provide its members with free access to Smokeball Bill, the trust accounting and billing software solution for law firms. This tool helps solo and small firm practitioners effectively and efficiently manage their client trust accounts for improved client service.
Jordan L. Turk, Attorney and Director of Education and Attorney Development at Smokeball, is a practicing attorney in Texas.
