Free tool for UK law firms

How much billable time is your firm giving away?

Minutes that never reach a timesheet. Bills that go out late and get written down. Fees that sit in WIP and debtors for months. Put in your own numbers and see what it adds up to. Two minutes, no email needed.

Your firm

Pick the closest fit. We pre-fill typical values for that type of firm. Change anything that doesn't match your reality.

Annual fee income your figure£m

Chargeable hours per fee earner a year planning assumptionhrs

Hours actually recorded as chargeable, not the target. We use it to value a lost minute at your real billing rate.

Billable minutes a day that never reach a timesheet planning assumptionmin

Per fee earner. Quick calls, short emails and advice given in passing. Timesheets rebuilt on Friday lose the most.

Avoidable write-offs planning assumption%

Recorded time written off because the bill went out late, the narrative was thin, or scope crept without an updated estimate. As a share of fee income. Leave out discounts you chose to give.

Lock-up planning assumptiondays

WIP days plus debtor days: from time recorded to cash in the bank.

Cost of money planning assumption%/yr

Your overdraft, loan or partner capital rate.

Where the money goes, and how it comes back

Most fee leakage happens between the work and the bill. You don't need a new practice management system to close it. We build a thin layer over what you already run (Clio, LEAP, Actionstep, Outlook, Excel) so every billable minute travels from inbox to cash.

Step 1

Captured as it happens

Time entries are drafted from emails, calls and documents the same day. Fee earners confirm them instead of rebuilding the week on Friday.

Step 2

Watched against the estimate

Matter budgets update as time is recorded. The fee earner hears about scope creep before the client does.

Step 3

Billed while it's fresh

Interim bills go out on a fixed rhythm with clear narratives, so less gets written down at billing.

Step 4

Chased to cash

Partners see WIP and debts by matter, age and owner. Reminders go out without anyone having to remember them.

How we calculate it

Unrecorded time  = fee income × (lost minutes ÷ 60 × 230 days)
                   ÷ chargeable hours per fee earner
Write-offs       = fee income × avoidable write-off share
Lock-up cost     = fee income × (lock-up days ÷ 365) × cost of money
Total            = sum of the three, shown ±20%

Read this before you quote it

These are estimates from your inputs, not a forecast or a guarantee.
Typical values are planning assumptions for that type of firm. Your own figures will always be better.
A lost minute is valued at your average realised rate: fee income divided by chargeable hours. Fixed-fee work leaks differently, through scope creep rather than unrecorded time.
The year counts 230 working days per fee earner (46 weeks), after holidays and bank holidays.

Want to see it on your own matters?

In 30 minutes we go through your numbers, show you where the biggest leak sits, and tell you plainly whether it's worth fixing with software or with a change of process.

Book the review

Common
Questions

What is fee leakage in a law firm?

Fees the firm has earned but never receives in full. The calculator counts three sources: billable time that never reaches a timesheet, write-offs that could have been avoided, and the cost of money tied up in lock-up (unbilled work in progress plus unpaid bills).

Which figures do I need?

Six numbers: annual fee income, chargeable hours per fee earner per year, billable minutes lost per fee earner per day, the share of fees written off that could have been avoided, lock-up days and your cost of money. If you don't know one, start from the typical value for your type of firm and replace it later.

How do firms usually cut it?

They record time as the work happens instead of at the end of the week, bill as soon as a matter reaches a milestone, and track work in progress and debts by matter, age and owner so nothing ages unnoticed. The win-back estimate assumes half of the unrecorded time and avoidable write-offs come back and lock-up falls by up to 20 days.