The operating problem
Start with an approved vendor invoice requiring matter allocation. A successful handoff produces a reviewed allocation draft for the billing team. Define the accountable owner before connecting systems. The workflow does not decide client chargeability or release payment. A source event is a request to evaluate the current state; it is not permission to make an irreversible change.
Use your own working copy
The free workbook for this process opens in a browser and works offline after download. It includes editable checks and notes, a text export, and a print view. It is a planning resource: it does not send messages, read account data, or run actions in business systems. No vendor account is needed to use the workbook.
Map the process
1. Validate invoice identity
Check supplier, invoice number, entity, date, currency, and duplicate status.
2. Resolve candidate matters
Use approved references and show any ambiguous matter association.
3. Prepare allocation rows
Apply staff-supplied splits and confirm the allocated total matches the invoice.
4. Review chargeability
The responsible lawyer or billing owner checks client terms, permitted costs, and evidence.
5. Handoff approved coding
Create the authorized billing draft with the allocation approval attached.
Information to check
These reference fields describe the process. Use invented values while planning. Keep real records in an appropriate private system; the public website does not need them.
| Reference field | Working record | Check before progressing |
|---|---|---|
| vendor_invoice_id | vendor_invoice_id | Resolve the stable source reference in the correct client, entity, and engagement. |
| matter_id | matter_id | Resolve the stable source reference in the correct client, entity, and engagement. |
| allocation_amount | allocation_amount | Resolve the stable source reference in the correct client, entity, and engagement. |
| chargeability_approval | chargeability_approval | Use the authorized owner or reviewed decision; unknown values stop the handoff. |
Acceptance checks
- An ambiguous matter blocks allocation.
- Allocation totals must reconcile to the invoice.
- A repeated source event creates only one current review task.
- A changed source version invalidates an earlier approval.
Walk through a successful example, a duplicate, a missing item, an incorrect match, and an interrupted handoff with synthetic records. Record the expected result, observed result, owner, and recovery action. Checklists record your work; checking a box does not establish that an external action happened.
Ownership and review
Name the person responsible for the process and the person who can resolve an exception. Define which decisions require qualified professional review. Use stable references, limit access to private records, and document when work must stop. Educational material does not establish legal, accounting, tax, security, or regulatory compliance.
Run a measured pilot
Choose a small, reversible sample. Measure handling time, waiting time, review, rework, and errors before changing the process. Include the effort of maintaining the new method. Expand only when the observed result meets your acceptance criteria; a longer checklist is not proof of improved performance.
Use the free workflow planner to define your next step, or compare the assumptions in the opportunity calculator.