eBilling : LEDES 1998B Format

LEDES 1998 was the first standard issued by the cross-industry consortium led by PricewaterhouseCoopers for ebilling.  The format documentation is no longer available.  The standard was quickly updated and replaced by LEDES 1998B. LEDES 1998B is  an ASCII, pipe delimited format containing 24 fields.  It is currently the most-widely used ebilling standard in the legal industry in the US. It is not intended that the LEDES 1998B format will be modified in the future.

CaseFox fully supports LEDES1998B eBilling Format

LEDES 1998B Field Specification Rev 8/23/2007 to display in Excel format only Rev. 7/2014 wth respect to Timekeeper Classifications (row 25)
Field Label	Field Nbr	Type	Required/Optional	Description	Notes
INVOICE_DATE	1	Date * 8 YYYYMMDD	Required	The invoice date. A null value ("") would be an error.	For each INVOICE_NUMBER, only the first INVOICE_DATE appearing for that INVOICE_NUMBER is valid (i.e., all others after the first can be disregarded).
INVOICE_NUMBER	2	Character * 20	Required	The alphanumeric, law firm assigned invoice number or code. Multiple INVOICE_NUMBERs can be billed in the same LEDES file. A null value ("") would be an error.
CLIENT_ID	3	Character * 20	Required	The law firm assigned client code. A null value ("") would be an error.	For each LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID, only the first CLIENT_ID appearing for that LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID is valid (i.e., all others after the first can be disregarded).      LAW_FIRM_ID and CLIENT_ID are included as fields in order to enable automatic bill routing, should that be desired.
LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID	4	Character * 20	Required	The law firm assigned matter code. Multiple LAW_FIRM_MATTER_IDs can be billed in the same invoice if acceptable to the receiving system. A null value ("") would be an error.	LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID and CLIENT_MATTER_ID are included in order to provide a key for differentiating between various matters being billed. The LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID is the law firm's key and the CLIENT_MATTER_ID is the client's key. Both must be included, if available. The only situation where CLIENT_MATTER_ID would not be reported by a law firm is if that client does not have its own independent system for identifying matters.
INVOICE_TOTAL	5	Currency * 12.4	Required	The sum of all LINE_ITEM_TOTAL values in this invoice. A null value ("") would be an error.	For each INVOICE_NUMBER, only the first INVOICE_TOTAL appearing for that INVOICE_NUMBER is valid (i.e., all others after the first can be disregarded.              Because INVOICE_TOTAL is defined as the sum of the LINE_ITEM_TOTALs for that INVOICE_NUMBER, there exists the possibility that the sending application may make an arithmetic mistake when calculating INVOICE_TOTAL. The receiving application is encouraged to verify that INVOICE_TOTAL is equal to the sum of that Invoice’s LINE_ITEM_TOTALs, within a reasonable variance to account for rounding errors that may have been made when the sending application calculated the individual LINE_ITEM_TOTALs.  If the INVOICE_TOTAL is not within a reasonable variance (e.g., 1%) of the sum of the LINE_ITEM_TOTALs, there is clearly an error that must be resolved by the sending law firm before payment.
BILLING_START_DATE	6	Date * 8 YYYYMMDD	Required	The starting date for the billing period. A null value ("") would be an error.	For each INVOICE_NUMBER, only the first BILLING_START_DATE appearing for that INVOICE_NUMBER is valid (i.e., all others after the first can be disregarded
BILLING_END_DATE	7	Date * 8 YYYYMMDD	Required	The ending date for the billing period. A null value ("") would be an error.	For each INVOICE_NUMBER, only the first BILLING_END_DATE appearing for that INVOICE_NUMBER is valid (i.e., all others after the first can be disregarded).
INVOICE_DESCRIPTION	8	Character * 15 KB	Optional	A descriptive summary of work performed which is charged on this invoice during the applicable billing period. Limited to 15KB of text.	For each INVOICE_NUMBER, only the first INVOICE_DESCRIPTION appearing for that INVOICE_NUMBER is valid (i.e., all others after the first can be disregarded).
LINE_ITEM_NUMBER	9	Character * 20	Required	The sequence number of this line item. This number must be unique for each line item in an invoice. Usually, the time entry primary key in the law firm's financial system is used here. LINE_ITEM_NUMBERs must be unique per INVOICE_NUMBER but need not be consecutive.  A null value ("") would be an error.
EXP/FEE/INV_ADJ_TYPE	10	Character * 2	Required	An identifier indicating whether the line item is an expense ("E"), a fee ("F"), an invoice-level adjustment on fees ("IF"), or an invoice-level adjustment on expenses ("IE"). A null value ("") would be an error.
LINE_ITEM_NUMBER_OF_UNITS	11	Numeric*10.4	Required except if an Invoice Level Adjustment	The number of units billed on this line item. For fee items, this is the number of hours being billed. For expense items, this is the number of items being expensed. For invoice-level adjustments, this field is ignored. A value of zero "0" or null ("") would be an error unless the line item is an invoice-level adjustment.
LINE_ITEM_ADJUSTMENT_AMOUNT	12	Currency * 10.4	Optional	The numerical value of any adjustment applied to this line item. A positive value indicates a premium, a negative value indicates a discount. A null ("") or zero ("0") value indicates no adjustment.
LINE_ITEM_TOTAL	13	Currency * 10.4	Required	The numerical value of this line item. This must be (LINE_ITEM_UNIT_COST * LINE_ITEM_NUMBER_OF_UNITS) + LINE_ITEM_ADJUSTMENT_AMOUNT. A null value ("") would be an error.	The LINE_ITEM_TOTAL is defined as the algebraic result of the following formula:  (LINE_ITEM_UNIT_COST * LINE_ITEM_NUMBER_OF_UNITS) + LINE_ITEM_ADJUSTMENT_AMOUNT      It is sometimes the case that between the sending and receiving system amounts may be rounded differently, or to fewer or more decimal places, than intended by the billing party. The receiving party should make every attempt to round using the same method as the sending party. Realizing that rounding errors will sometimes occur, the sending and receiving parties should mutually agree to an acceptable rounding error below which the sending party will accept payment as complete.      There exists the possibility that the sending application may make an arithmetic mistake when calculating LINE_ITEM_TOTAL. The receiving application is encouraged to verify that LINE_ITEM_TOTAL is properly calculated, within a reasonable variance to account for rounding errors that may have been made when the sending application calculated it. If the LINE_ITEM_TOTAL is not within a reasonable variance (e.g., .1%) of the value specified by the formula above, there is clearly an error that must be resolved by the sending law firm before payment.
LINE_ITEM_DATE	14	Date * 8 YYYYMMDD	Required	The date the fees/expenses were incurred. Typically, this date is between the BILLING_START_DATE and the BILLING_END_DATE. A null value ("") would be an error.
LINE_ITEM_TASK_CODE	15	Character * 20	Required for Task Items	The task code (e.g., using the UTBMS code set) for this line item. Most expense items probably do not have a LINE_ITEM_TASK_CODE associated with them (in which case this field would be left null).	Task Codes may be used without Activity Codes but Activity Codes should not be used without Task Codes.  Requirement for use is set by the receiving client.
LINE_ITEM_EXPENSE_CODE	16	Character * 20	Required for Expense  Items	The expense code (e.g., using the UTBMS code set) for this expense line item. Most fee items probably do not have a LINE_ITEM_EXPENSE_CODE associated with them (in which case this field would be left null).
LINE_ITEM_ACTIVITY_CODE	17	Character * 20	Required for Task Items	The activity code (e.g., using the UTBMS code set) for this fee line item. Most expense items probably do not have a LINE_ITEM_ACTIVITY_CODE associated with them (in which case this field would be left null).	Task Codes may be used without Activity Codes but Activity Codes should not be used without Task Codes.  Requirement for use is set by the receiving client.
TIMEKEEPER_ID	18	Character * 20	Required for Task Items	A unique identifier for the timekeeper for this line entry. Typically, the identifier used here is the primary key for a timekeeper used in a law firm’s financial system (e.g., an employee number, initials, or anything else so long as it uniquely identifies a particular timekeeper). For fee line items, a null value ("") would be an error. Most expense items probably do not have a TIMEKEEPER_ID associated with them (in which case this field would be left null).
LINE_ITEM_DESCRIPTION	19	Character * 15 KB	Required for Task Items	Free form description of this line item. May be up to 15KB of text. If an expense item uses a LINE_ITEM_EXPENSE_CODE, this field may be left null.
LAW_FIRM_ID	20	Character * 20	Required	An identifier uniquely identifying the sending law firm. The law firm's Federal Taxpayer ID must be used if the law firm has one (i.e., at the very least, all law firms operating in the US). A null value ("") would be an error.	LAW_FIRM_ID and CLIENT_ID are included as fields in order to enable automatic bill routing, should that be desired.
LINE_ITEM_UNIT_COST	21	Currency * 10.4	Required except if an Invoice Level Adjustment	The standard (i.e., undiscounted) unit cost of the line item. For fees, this would be the hourly rate. For expenses, this would be the cost per unit. For invoice-level adjustments, this field is ignored. A value of zero ("0") or null ("") would be an error unless the line item is an invoice-level adjustment.
TIMEKEEPER_NAME	22	Character * 30	Required for Task Items	The name of a timekeeper. Names must be entered Last name first, then a comma, followed by First name (e.g., "Arnsley, Robert"). THIS FIELD IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION ONLY AND MUST NOT BE USED BY THE RECEIVING APPLICATION AS A PRIMARY KEY FOR TIMEKEEPER. This field is mandatory. Most expense items probably do not have a TIMEKEEPER_NAME associated with them (in which case this field would be left null).	The TIMEKEEPER_NAME and TIMEKEEPER_CLASSIFICATION fields are provided for information only. The receiving application must not use these fields as a primary key for timekeeper. Use of these fields is mandatory for fee line items in order to preclude the need for a separate look-up table of timekeeper names and classifications in the receiving application.
TIMEKEEPER_CLASSIFICATION	23	Character * 10	Required for Task Items	The staff classification of a timekeeper. A full list of the codes to use can be found in the LEDES Revised Timekeeper Classifications Reference Document available on LEDES.org. Most expense items probably do not have a TIMEKEEPER_CLASSIFICATION associated with them (in which case this field would be left null).	The TIMEKEEPER_NAME and TIMEKEEPER_CLASSIFICATION fields are provided for information only. The receiving application must not use these fields as a primary key for timekeeper. Use of these fields is mandatory for fee line items in order to preclude the need for a separate look-up table of timekeeper names and classifications in the receiving application.
CLIENT_MATTER_ID	24	Character * 20	Required except if Client does not assign Matter Identifiers	The client assigned matter code. Multiple CLIENT_MATTER_IDs can be billed in the same invoice. A null value ("") would be an error, unless the client does not assign matter identifiers.	LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID and CLIENT_MATTER_ID are included in order to provide a key for differentiating between various matters being billed. The LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID is the law firm's key and the CLIENT_MATTER_ID is the client's key. Both must be included, if available. The only situation where CLIENT_MATTER_ID would not be reported by a law firm is if that client does not have its own independent system for identifying matters.
© 1998, 2007, 2014 The LEDES Oversight Committee.  All rights reserved worldwide.

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