Budget Proposal Requests QuickStart Guide

With SimpleLegal's Budget Request feature, legal departments can request budget proposals from their vendor law firms to estimate the cost of upcoming work. This allows firms to collaborate on and approve a budget, which provides both parties with more predictable accounting of future activities.

This article covers the following topics:

• Vendors can access Budget Proposal Requests by clicking on the link from the email notification or by going to the Budgets list page in CounselGO.
• After submitting a proposal, it is reviewed by the client for approval or rejection. If rejected, you may receive an additional notification to adjust and resubmit the proposal.
• For approved budgets, you may be asked to refresh/update the budget from time to time. 

Budget Request Notification & Submission

When a client creates a budget proposal request, they select one or more vendor contacts to receive an email notification that includes a link to view/submit the request in CounselGO. 

1. Click Submit Proposal from the email notification to open CounselGO. 

NOTE: If you are not logged into CounselGO, you will be prompted to enter your credentials. You can also access your list of requests by going to Budgets from the left-side navigation bar. 

2. View the Budget Request form in CounselGO. The due date is listed at the top of the form for reference.

3. Enter responses/details into all fields. The fields are described below. 

Scope (required)	Define the extent and boundaries of the work that will be completed with the funds associated with the budget.
Risk	Note and detail areas where there is any specific risk involved in accomplishing the scope within this proposed budget or timeframe.
Assumptions	Note and detail the assumptions made to create this budget.
Budget Details	The Budget Details section displays fields depending on its type (i.e,. Monthly, Quarterly, Phase, or Life of Matter). Use this section to break down the funds within the proposal based on the type of budget.  For Phase budgets (as shown in the image below), CounselGO displays the phases identified per UTBMS codes. For more information, click here.
Total Budgeted	For each field under the Budget Details, enter a proposed amount. In the image shown below, amounts are being entered for a Quarterly budget.
Total	CounselGO automatically generates the total of amounts per row under the Budget Details section.

3. Review the information entered for the proposal to check for any edits or other details needed.

REMINDER: Once a proposal is submitted, it cannot be edited until the proposal is rejected or a refresh is requested. Double-check that you have entered the intended details before continuing.

4. Click Submit Proposal in the top-right corner of the form.  

5. Click Yes when prompted to confirm. 

6. Click OK. 

This changes the status of the Budget Proposal Request from Your Action Required to Proposed. The client is notified the proposal is ready for their review. You will also be notified via email once the client accepts or rejects the proposal.

Finding Budget Requests in CounselGO

1. Log into CounselGO and click on the client name from the list.

2. Go to Budgets from the navigation bar on the left. 

3. Look for budgets with the status as Your Action Required. 

4. Click on the budget row to view the details.

5. Follow the instructions in the previous section to complete and submit the proposal. 

Reviewing a Rejected Budget Proposal

If a budget proposal is rejected, you will receive an email notification with any notes/instructions to move forward. 

To view or resubmit the proposal:

1. Click the link from the email or open the proposal from the Budgets page in CounselGO. 

2. View the reason or other notes at the top of the page.

3. Scroll down to the Budget Details to check for any other comments from the client. 

4. Edit the fields and respond to comments as needed. 

5. Click Resubmit Proposal in the top-right corner of the page. 

6. Click Yes when prompted to confirm.

7. Click OK from the confirmation window. 

This will change the budget status from Rejected to Proposed. You will be notified once the client has approved or rejected the budget proposal via email. 

Submitting a Budget Refresh

During the life of the budget or matter, the client may ask for a budget refresh. A budget refresh is a request to review and update the budget. By keeping the budget current, both the client and vendor stay up to date on anticipated costs and can plan more efficiently.

1. Open the client in CounselGO and go to Budgets from the left-side navigation bar.

2. Click on the budget that requires a refresh from the list to view the details. 

3. Review the details and click either Edit Proposal or No Changes to Budget at the top of the page.

4. If you edited the proposal, you must click Resubmit Proposal in the top-right corner of the page. 

Once the refresh proposal is submitted, CounselGO notifies the client to either approve or reject the updates.