CounselLink Answer Center for Clients

Budget Overview Page

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The Budget Overview page displays information about the matters using the budget, the budget amounts, and any comments entered by users who have access.

Different budget types—Single-Matter, Multi-Matter, and Law Firm—display different tabs and information.

This article covers the following:

Financials on the Budget Overview

The Financials section provides a high-level view of budget performance by showing how approved spend compares to projected budget amounts.

Viewing the Financials in the Budget Overview

Section Description
Budget Structure Displays the structure used by the budget. The lightning icon () next to the structure name indicates the budget is a Primary Budget.
Budget Period

Shows how much of the budget has been used for the selected period.

  • The green number indicates the amount spent for the selected period.
  • The number to the right of the bar indicates the total budgeted amount.

You can select different fiscal years by clicking the drop-down list. Additionally, you can add a fiscal year by clicking on +Add Fiscal Year.

Life of Matter budgets will not have a drop-down for fiscal year selection.
Threshold Notifications If threshold notifications are configured, this area indicates whether a threshold has been met toward the total budget.
Historical Spend For Life of Matter budgets, this section displays Matter Historical Spend and Law Firm Office Historical Spend for Matter Budgets. For Law Firm Budgets, historical spend is included in the Actuals calculation for Law Firm Offices.

Amounts Tab

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Matter Budget amounts are broken down on the Amounts tab based on the selected Budget Structure. For example, a Fees and Expenses structure displays separate fee and expense values.

Columns in the Matter Budget Amounts Tab

Column Value
Budget Period The budget's time frame (i.e., Life of Matter, Annual, etc.).
Status The status of the budget (i.e., Active).
Date The date of the budget creation.
Original Budget The first approved budget amount.
Current Budget

The most recent budget amount.

  • For Pending Approval budgets, this is the amount submitted by the law firm for client approval.

  • For Approved or Active budgets, this is the most recent approved/active amount.
Actual

Approved invoice spend within the specified budget period.
Balance Remaining The remaining balance, calculated as the Current Approved Budget minus approved invoice spend.
% of Budget The percent of the Current Approved Budget which the approved invoice spend represents.

To customize the display, click the gear icon in the upper-right corner.

Edit Amounts

If you have the Budget Setup role, you can edit the budget amounts on this tab.

  1. Click Edit Amounts.

    Depending on your budget structure, different options display:

    • Fees and Expenses: The Edit Budget Amounts page displays.

    • Summary: the Edit Budget Amounts window displays.

    • Phase Code Set or Task Code Set: The Edit Code Amount page displays:

  2. Edit the budget amounts as needed.
  3. Enter comments in the Change Reason field if needed.
  4. Click Save.

Amounts Tab on a Law Firm Budget

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Law Firm Budget amounts are broken down by law firm on the on the Amounts tab.

Columns in the Law Firm Budget Amounts Tab

The columns mirror the Matter Budget Amounts tab.

To customize the display, click the gear icon in the upper-right corner.

Actions Available on a Law Firm Budget Amounts Tab

From the Amounts tab on your Law Firm Budget, you can edit amounts, view spending reports, view budget approval history, and add law firms.

Reviewing Law Firm Budgets

If you have requested budget amounts from the law firm, you will see some review options. 

Editing Amounts

If you wish to edit an amount on a budget:

  1. Select the law firm(s) to edit.

  2. Click Edit Amounts. The Edit Budget Amounts window displays.

  3. Edit the budget amount as needed.
  4. Enter comments in the Change Reason field if needed.
  5. Click Save.

Viewing Spending Report

After invoices have been approved, you can view a Spending Report and download it to Excel.

  1. Select the law firm(s) for which you would like to view.

  2. Click View Spending Report. The Spending Report displays for the selected law firms.

    The report displays the following:

    Field Description
    Law Firm Invoice # Invoice number of the invoice created by the law firm.
    Law Firm Office Name Name of the law firm at the office level.
    Invoice Date Date of the invoice creation.
    Level Budget levels for which the budget amounts are added to a budget.
    Invoice Approved Amounts (USD) Invoice amounts approved by the client.
    Applied Amount (USD) Invoice amounts applied to the budget.
    Matter/Year Default display budget framework for a spending report.

To view a specific period, select a fiscal year from the Fiscal Year list on the Budget Overview page.

Budget Approval History

Budget Approval History provides a quick view of budget activity for Life of Matter and Annual budget periods.

The following list is displayed in the report:

Field Description
Law Firm Invoice The law firm office name.
Budget Period The amount of time in the budget period.
Initiated By The user who initiated the budget approval.
Current Budget The current amount approved.
Actuals Approved invoice spend within the period.
% of Budget Percentage of the Current Approved Budget represented by spend.

To customize the display, click the gear icon in the upper-right corner.

More Actions

You can add or remove law firm offices from the budget using More Actions.

  1. Click More Actions.

  2. Select Add Law Firm Office. The Add Law Firm Office window displays.

  3. Select the office(s) to add.
  4. If the budget is not Life of Matter:
    • Click Add to Selected Fiscal Year to add the law firm to the fiscal year selected in your overview.
    • Click Add to All Fiscal Years to add to all fiscal years available in your budget.

Matters Tab on the Multi-Matter Budget Overview

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Once you've set up a Multi-Matter Budget, you can manage the Matters attached to it through the Matters tab on the Budget Overview page.

This tab only appears on a Multi-Matter Budget Overview page, not a Single-Matter Budget.

Viewing the Columns in the Multi-Matter Budget Overview

Column Value
Matter ID Click to open the Matter Overview page.
Client Matter ID Client Matter Number.
Matter Title Matter title.
Actuals Approved invoice spend for that Matter within the specified budget period. If you've selected to aggregate spend by law firms in your setup, this number will only reflect the spend by those firms.
Date Added Date that the Matter was added to the Multi-Matter Budget.
% of Actuals The matter’s share of total approved spend on the Multi-Matter Budget (not a percentage of budgeted amounts).
Matter Contact Office Contact office for that Matter.
Matter Status Current status of the Matter (i.e. Active).
Date Created Date the Matter was created.
Matter Type Matter type.

To customize the display, click the gear icon in the upper-right corner. Your selections remain the next time you access the tab.

Adding or Deleting Matters from a Multi-Matter Budget

You can add or remove matters only if they were manually added to the budget. If the budget uses criteria-based selection or related matters, add/remove options are disabled.

You can add up to 10,000 matters to a Multi-Matter Budget.

Adding Matters

  1. Navigate to the Matters tab on the Multi-Matter Budget Overview page.

  2. Click Add Matters. The Add Matters window displays.

  3. Search for the Matter(s) you wish to add and select the check mark next to the Matter Number.
  4. Click Add Matters. A message on the overview page confirms the matter has been added.

Removing Matters

  1. Navigate to the Matters tab on the Multi-Matter Budget Overview page.
  2. Select the Matter(s) by placing a check mark next to the Matter Number.

  3. Click Remove Matters. A confirmation window displays.

  4. Click Yes, Continue. The Matter is removed from the Multi-Matter Budget.

Tasks Tab on a Single-Matter Budget Overview

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The Tasks tab allows you to manage any tasks that have been added to the matter.

Using the Actions on the Tasks Tab

You can add new and manage existing tasks directly from this tab. See this topic for more information on tasks.

Action Description
+Add Task

Adds a task to the matter.
Edit Task Edits the selected task.
Delete Task

Deletes one or more selected tasks.
Reassign Task Reassigns the selected task to a different user.
Change Status Changes the status of one or more selected tasks,

 

Viewing Tasks in the Tasks Tab

Once a task has been added to the matter, you can view some general information about it in the list.

Column Description
Task

Displays the name of the task. The description is displayed below the name if it contains one.

Click the task name to open a slide-out panel with details. Use the menu icon in the corner to perform task actions (including adding a comment and viewing task history).
Task Type Displays whether the task is Internal or Law Firm.
Assignee Displays the assigned user. Click the name to view details, or click the pencil icon to reassign.
Due Date

Displays the task due date (if set).
Status Displays the task status. Click the status to change it.

History Tab

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The History tab displays all of the events and changes in the Budget, including the old / new value(s) if they are available for specific events.

Viewing the Columns in the History Tab of the Budget Overview

Column Value
Event Description Short description of the change that occurred on the budget.
Event Date The date the change occurred.
Old Value Value of the budget or field prior to the change.
New Value Value of the budget or field after the change.
Initiated By Name of the user that performed the change.
Details Any comments the user included during the change.