Which billing types does Blawby support?

Flat fee, hourly, retainer (with balance draws), and contingency. Each can be set per matter and per engagement.

Are retainers handled in trust?

Yes. When your practice is configured for trust routing, client retainer payments deposit into your trust account; processing fees are charged separately to a card linked to your operating account.

How does automated invoicing work?

From a matter, Blawby generates an invoice from logged time and expenses with one click. The client receives a hosted Stripe payment link; the invoice marks paid automatically when payment clears.

How to Future-Proof Your Law Firm's Revenue: Flat Fees, Retainers, Hourly Billing, and Automated Invoicing

Why Predictable Revenue Matters for Law Firms

Unpredictable cash flow is one of the biggest headaches for solo and small firm attorneys. Clients want clarity on cost, you need to keep the lights on, and the work itself rarely fits the same shape twice. The answer isn't picking one billing model — it's pairing the right one with each matter and letting the platform handle the rest.

Blawby supports four billing types out of the box. Each can be applied per matter and per engagement letter, with rates set on the firm or on the individual user (attorney vs. admin). Combined with automated, matter-driven invoicing, this gets you a billing flow that respects how you actually practice without burning your team's evenings on admin.

The Four Billing Types Blawby Supports

Billing type	Best for	Where it lives in the product
Flat fee	Predictable scope: wills, uncontested divorce, traffic, simple LLC formation	Matter billing settings + flat-fee line items on invoices
Hourly	Variable-scope litigation, transactional work	Time entries with attorney/admin rates; invoice generation pulls unbilled time
Retainer	Ongoing representation, deposits against future work	Retainer balance per matter; invoices draw from the balance and refill on top-up
Contingency	Personal injury, certain employment matters	Contingency percentage on the engagement; invoiced on settlement

You're not locked in. A matter can switch billing types as it evolves — for example, a divorce that starts uncontested (flat fee) and moves into litigation (hourly).

Flat Fees: Simplicity Clients Love

A flat fee is a set price for a defined scope, regardless of the time it takes. It's especially effective for predictable, repeatable work. Clients appreciate cost certainty; you benefit from streamlined billing and fewer disputes.

How to Get Started with Flat Fees

Identify your most predictable services. Review your case history to find matters with consistent scope and effort.
Set clear, all-inclusive prices. Factor in your time, overhead, and likely complications. Be transparent about what's in and out of scope.
Spell out the boundary in the engagement letter. Blawby's engagement step lets you fix the scope; if a case becomes more complex, your terms can specify how billing adapts.
Generate flat-fee invoices in a few clicks from the matter, then track payment in real time.

Tip: Flat fees mix well with hourly billing. Quote a flat fee for a defined consultation, then switch to hourly if the work expands beyond the quoted scope.

Learn more about legal pricing strategies

Retainers: Steady Cash, Earned as You Work

A retainer is a deposit a client pays up front against future work. Blawby tracks the retainer balance on the matter, and each invoice draws against it; you can prompt the client to top up when the balance runs low.

Why Retainers Work

Up-front cash. You collect before the work, which smooths cash flow.
Predictable client behavior. Clients are more committed when they've put money down.
Trust-safe by default. With trust routing configured, retainer dollars land in your trust account and only move to operating once they're earned.

How to Use Retainers in Blawby

Set the retainer amount on the engagement letter. Make the deposit a condition of representation.
Log time and expenses against the matter as you work.
Generate an invoice from the unbilled summary — the invoice draws from the retainer balance.
Top up when low. Send a payment request directly from the matter to refill the balance.

Read the IOLTA Compliance Guide for how trust dollars and operating fees stay separate.

Hourly Billing: Made Easier by Time Tracking Tied to Matters

Hourly billing fights you when time is logged in spreadsheets and copied into invoices manually. Blawby ties time tracking to the matter directly:

Time entries are logged on the matter with start/end or duration.
Each entry uses the rate appropriate for the user — attorney or admin — set on the firm or per user.
The matter's Billing tab shows an unbilled summary: total billable hours and unbilled expenses.
One click generates an invoice that pulls those entries as line items.

The result: less time chasing what was logged where, and clean invoices clients can read.

Contingency: When the Matter Is the Investment

For personal injury, certain employment cases, and other matters where the firm fronts the work, the engagement letter records the contingency percentage and any costs that come off the top. Time and expenses still log to the matter for internal visibility, but the invoice issues at settlement.

Automated Invoicing: Less Admin, More Results

Manual invoicing eats time that could go to client work. Blawby's invoicing flow is built around the matter:

One-click invoice generation from unbilled time, expenses, flat-fee line items, or retainer draws.
Hosted payment links so clients can pay by card or ACH without an account.
Real-time status tracking — Draft → Sent → Paid (or Overdue), all visible on the matter.
Email + push notifications when an invoice is sent, viewed, or paid.

Why Automate

Save time. Stop building invoices from scratch.
Get paid faster. Reminders go out automatically; payment links are one tap.
Reduce errors. Pulling from the matter's logged time and expenses removes a transcription step.
Better client experience. Clear, timely communication and a no-friction pay flow.

Explore invoicing best practices

Compliance and Trust Accounting: Built In, Not Bolted On

Compliance friction is what kills most legal billing setups. Blawby handles it like this:

Automatic separation of earned and unearned funds. Trust-eligible payments route to your trust account; the platform never deducts fees from those dollars.
No fees from trust. Processing and platform fees are charged separately to the operating-account card you connect at setup.
Searchable audit trails. Every transaction logs on the matter with timestamps, amounts, and the user who made the change.

Read about IOLTA compliance

What Happens When You Combine All Four

Firms that treat the four billing types as a toolkit — choosing the right one per matter, with retainer top-ups for ongoing work and automated invoicing across all of them — get:

More predictable monthly revenue.
Less time on admin per matter.
Fewer billing disputes (because scope and rates are explicit in the engagement).
Cleaner trust-account compliance, by default.

Comprehensive Best Practices for Revenue Strategy

Pick the billing type at the engagement step, not after work has started. Trying to switch mid-stream creates client friction.
Log time the day it happens, even on flat-fee matters. You'll see scope creep before it eats your margin.
Use retainer top-ups as a workflow, not an apology. Build them into your matter cadence.
Reconcile trust monthly. Blawby gives you the records; the discipline is yours.

Ready to Make Your Revenue Predictable?

Start using flat fees, retainers, hourly billing, and contingency the way each matter actually requires — and let matter-driven invoicing handle the admin. See how Blawby can help your firm simplify billing and boost your bottom line.