CounselGO Quickstart Guide

The following topics are covered in this article:

• What is CounselGO?
• Get an Account
• Add a Client
• Add a Timekeeper
• Submit an Invoice
• Manage CounselGO Users
• FAQs

What is CounselGO?

CounselGO is a portal for submitting invoices to vendors' clients who are using SimpleLegal to manage their e-Billing and legal matters. CounselGO also helps track the matters that are referred to vendors by clients and the timekeepers who work on them. It delivers invoices to clients in a manner that makes tracking, review, approval, and processing efficient.

Get an Account

As a vendor, to request access to CounselGO, please contact your client directly. They can create a CounselGO account for your firm.

Each client can also assign two (2) CounselGO admins for each vendor. The CounselGO admins can create other CounselGO users for your firm. The CounselGO admins can also deactivate users, set up contacts to receive the client's monthly request to submit the firm's unbilled activity (accruals), and re-send registration emails. 

After a CounselGO account is created, the user will receive a registration email to set up their password. 

Add a Client

If your firm already has a CounselGO account and needs to bill additional clients, the process is the same as above. After the client creates the CounselGO account in their environment, the new client simply appears on the your client list within CounselGO.
 

Add Timekeepers

Timekeepers are the people who perform the actions that will be invoiced. In CounselGO, invoices required timekeepers. Make sure to set up your timekeepers before attempting to submit invoices.

When creating an invoice without using a LEDES file, when there is an hourly line item, the list of timekeepers in the drop-down list includes all approved and pending timekeepers submitted to your client as well as any law firm internal timekeepers.

1. From the left navigation bar, click Timekeepers.
   
   

   If the client does not allow vendors to submit timekeepers, only the Law Firm Internal tab appears.

   If the client allows its vendors to submit timekeepers, there are 2 tabs: 

   • Submitted to Client - Timekeeper rates that have been submitted to the client. Rates can be pending (approval), approved, or rejected.
   • Law Firm Internal - Timekeeper rates that have not been submitted to the client and reside only in CounselGO.
2. To upload any timekeepers that will be submitted to the client, click the Submitted to Client tab, then click Download Template.
3. Review any instructional text from the client.
4. Fill in the timekeeper data in the .CSV file and click Submit. The client will be notified of the submission
5. The client reviews and approves or rejects the timekeepers. 

 

Law Firm Internal Timekeepers

These are timekeeper rates that have not been submitted to the client and reside only in CounselGO.

1. To add any Law Firm Internal timekeepers click the New Timekeeper button. 
   
2. Complete the timekeeper details.
3. Click the Save button.

Submit Invoices

Prerequisites

• Invoices required timekeepers. Make sure to set up your timekeepers before attempting to submit invoices.
• Many clients require that a PDF copy of the invoice be submitted with the LEDES formatted file. Therefore, CounselGO recommends that you confirm billing guidelines with your clients before invoicing.

CounselGO recommends that you verify that the PDF and LEDES invoice amounts you submit to the client reflect any discounts, so that the PDF and electronic amounts match across formats (PDF, LEDES, etc.).

Submit Standard LEDES Formatted Invoices

(https://ledes.org/) Formats 1998B and 1998BI V2 are supported.

As a general rule, please use the standard LEDES format for producing invoices for clients using SimpleLegal if possible. There are a number of advantages to this method, including ease of processing for approval and payment.

1. Click the New Invoice (top right) button.
   
2. Click I have LEDES files. 
   
3. Drag and drop one or more LEDES invoices onto the page, or add them by clicking Choose Files and the file select window.
4. If you have a PDF copy of the invoice and the file name of the PDF includes the matching invoice number, you can upload them at this time.
   CounselGO uses the invoice numbers in the file names to match the PDF to the invoice.
5. Once you have uploaded all invoices, click Next, Validate Invoices to load the invoice information into CounselGO. If successful, the Review page appears.
   
   
   • Get an Error? Please refer to the Common LEDES Validation Errors in the FAQ section of this document or contact [e-mail] for assistance.
6. With the validated LEDES invoice(s) loaded, you can add attachments, change the currency, enter a matter name, or add notes.
   Here is a list of ISO 4217 currency codes. See "Active Codes"
   IMPORTANT! Take care when choosing the matter. Selecting the wrong matter will delay processing. 
   
7. Review the information on this page. Errors on invoices generally require the client to reject the invoice and then request you to submit it again.
8. Click Everything Reviewed Submit All Invoices.

Submit Non-LEDES PDF invoices

1. Click the New Invoice (top right) button. 
   
2. Click I don't have LEDES files. 
   
3. In the top panel, enter in invoice details:
   • Invoice Number
   • Invoice Description
   • Invoice Date
   • Billing Period Start and End Dates
   • Currency
   • Additional Notes/Comments
4. Add Attachments to upload a PDF of the invoice or other evidence.
5. Select Client Matter... drop-down list of assigned matters, select the matter that this invoice applies to.
   Select Other if a referred Client Matter ID is not required.
6. Firm Matter ID.
7. Click the + Line Item button.
8. Complete the required fields on this page.
   • Type: Select the line item billing type (hourly fee, expense, flat fee, adjustment, tax).
   • Date: Date the line item occurred.
   • Description of Services: The description of the work done for this line item.
   • Units/Hrs: Enter the # of units (for expenses, flat fees, hours, etc.) 
     NOTE: CounselGO calculates the Line Total. You cannot enter it manually. To set the flat fee or fixed cost, enter a '1' as the hours and the desired amount for the rate.
   • Cost/Rate: Enter the line item cost or hourly rate here. 
     If there are rates with the same ID, the one with the most current effective date will be listed.
   • Taxable: If the invoice includes tax, tick the Taxable checkbox and enter in the Tax Rate and Tax Type.
9. Click Save and Add Another to continue adding line items or click Save if there are no more line items to be added.
10. After you have added all of the line items, please review the entries.
11. When the invoice is ready, click Submit To Client (top of the Manual Invoice page).

Once you submit an invoice, the invoice cannot be recalled. If you find an error, please reach out to your client to reject the invoice so you may correct the invoice and resubmit it. 

Manage CounselGO Users 

You can manage your law firm's CounselGO users without the assistance of your client.

From the left navigation bar, click Users. 

From here you can add a user or update an existing user's details.

Add a CounselGO User

1. From the Users list page, click the New User button. The Add User pop-up window appears.
   
2. Provide the user's Email address, First Name, and Last Name.
3. Tick the box beside each permission this user requires.
4. Click the Save button.

Update a CounselGO User's Permissions

1. From the Users list page, click name of a user. The user's details display on a pop-up window.
2. Make any necessary changes to the user's Email address, First Name, Last Name, or permissions.
3. Click the Save button.

FAQs

Why won't my LEDES invoice load or validate in CounselGO?

Common issues with LEDES files include

• missing header identifier row ( LEDES1998B[] or LEDES98BI[] )
• missing or extra columns ( 24 columns for LEDES1998B and 51 columns for LEDES98BI )
• missing brackets at the end of each line of the file ( should always be [] )
• incorrect field delimiters ( should always be pipe delimited | )
• unrecognized or non-ASCII characters 

Why hasn't my invoice been paid yet?

The first action should be to contact the client and request a status of any unpaid invoice. If there appears to be an error or issue with the invoice, please contact the Support Team at [e-mail] along with the invoice number(s) and the Support Team can investigate further.

Videos

How to submit invoices in LEDES format - general walkthrough video

How to submit invoices in PDF format - general walkthrough video

Contact Us: Please contact [e-mail] for any other questions. We are happy to help.