Submitting a LEDES Invoice

Submit Standard LEDES Formatted Invoices

Prerequisites

• Based on the client's configuration, invoices may require 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. Confirm billing guidelines with your clients before invoicing.

(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 button in the top-right corner. 

2. Click Upload LEDES Files.

3. Drag and drop one or more LEDES invoices onto the page, or add them by clicking Choose Files.

NOTE: 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. You can also upload them on the next page.  

4. Once all invoices are uploaded, click Next, Validate Invoices to load the invoice information into CounselGO. This may take a few moments. 

TIP: Get an error? Please refer to the Common LEDES Validation Errors section in this article or contact [e-mail] for assistance. 

5. From the review page, you can add attachments, change the currency, enter a matter name, or add notes. Confirm you select the correct matter before submitting the invoice. 

6. Review the information on this page and click Everything Reviewed, Submit All Invoices. 

Once submitted, the invoice cannot be recalled. If you find an error, please ask your client directly to reject the invoice so that you may correct and resubmit the invoice. 

PDF Attachments 

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.).

LEDES File Validation Errors

If you receive an error message or see the View Errors button under the Validation column on the Review page, this means that there are issues that need to be addressed. 

Click the View Errors button for additional guidance on what the LEDES file may be missing or the information that needs to be fixed. 

Other common issues with LEDES files formatting include the following:

• 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 

Invoices Not Submitted to Client

If a LEDES invoice could not be submitted due to errors, it will automatically be stored under the Draft Invoices > LEDES section of CounselGO. You may be able to correct and resubmit them from there. 

Related Articles:

• Resubmit LEDES File Invoices with errors from Draft Invoices tab