This article covers the following:
- Overall Workflow Process
- Understanding the Automated Validation Process
- Understanding Invoice Workflow Actions and Process
Overall Workflow Process
CounselLink provides multiple tools to help you review invoices efficiently. To use them effectively, it is important to understand the basic Invoice Workflow process:
A law firm submits an invoice through CounselLink.
CounselLink performs automated validation checks.
The invoice is reviewed against your billing guidelines.
- You review the invoice, make adjustments as needed, and approve or reject it.
- If approved, payment is processed outside of CounselLink.
Click this link to take a free course on working with invoices in CounselLink. The course covers invoice workflow, searching for invoices, and reviewing invoices efficiently.
Understanding the Automated Validation Process
Before you review a submitted invoice, it goes through automated validation.
Step 1: Validation Review (Formatting and Accuracy)
The first review for imported invoices is called the Validation Review. This review checks:
Whether the file is in an acceptable format
Whether data is formatted correctly (for example, dates must follow the required format)
Whether totals are mathematically correct
Whether all required information is included
Both imported invoices and invoices created within CounselLink proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Billing Guideline Review
The Billing Guideline Review ensures charges align with your organization’s billing requirements.
CounselLink uses SmartReview® technology to read, categorize, and evaluate the text descriptions of each charge.
Depending on your guidelines configuration, charges that violate billing guidelines may be:
- Flagged for further review
- Automatically adjusted to comply with guidelines
- Automatically adjusted and approved without manual review
- Returned to the law firm (if violations are significant)
When charges are adjusted, a system-generated note appears below the affected charge line.
If your organization does not have workflow configured, invoices may bypass manual review after automated processing.
If an invoice passes guideline review, the assigned invoice reviewer receives an email notification that the invoice is ready for manual review.
Invoice Rules
Invoice rules enforce your organization’s billing requirements. A rule consists of:
- A specific charge description
- A defined action when that rule is violated
For example, a rule might specify: Duplication Charges over 10 cents each – Charge Adjustment.
Rules are defined during your implementation process. Your organization determines:
- Which charges are acceptable
- Which charges trigger rule violations
- The consequences of violations
For every invoice charge line that violates a rule, one of three statuses appears:
- Charge Adjustment – Charge is reduced
- Charge Flag – Charge is highlighted; no reduction is made
- Return Invoice – Entire invoice is rejected and is not visible to the client
Rules Violations and Rule Priority
Rules fire in order of importance. If a charge violates multiple rules, the rule with the highest priority is applied first.
For example, if a charge:
- Is older than 90 days, and
- Exceeds the approved Fee Offer rate
Only the higher-priority rule is displayed initially.
If the user edits the charge (for example, corrects the date), all rules are re-evaluated. Any remaining violations are then displayed.
Users can continue adjusting charges until all violations are resolved. Once the invoice is saved, the Invoice Overview page reflects its updated state.
Understanding the Invoice Workflow Actions and Process
Your organization’s invoice workflow determines:
- Who receives an invoice at each step
- What actions are available
- When notifications are sent
- How invoices move through review and approval
Workflow behavior is configured specifically for your organization, so the steps and available options may vary.
How This Impacts You
Your experience in invoice review depends on:
- Your assigned role
- The workflow step
- Whether your step uses individual assignment or a queue
- Whether approval authority applies to you
If you have questions about how your workflow is configured, contact your system administrator.
1. Workflow Steps
Each invoice moves through one or more workflow steps. Each step represents a stage in your organization’s review or approval process and may be visible to the law firm.
What You’ll See
- A step name (for example: First Review, Manager Review, Accounting Review)
- The current step displayed on:
- Invoice Overview
- Invoice Search (filters and columns)
- Reports
2. How an Invoice Is Assigned
When an invoice enters a workflow step, it is assigned based on your organization’s configuration.
Assignment May Be Based On:
- A specific individual
- The Matter Contact
- The Invoice Contact
- A workflow task role (WF Task 1–28)
- A group queue (shared by multiple users)
| Assignee | Description |
|---|---|
| Matter Contact | The Matter Contact often performs the initial invoice review. They must be assigned the Matter Contact role in the system. |
| Invoice Contact | The Invoice Contact often has approval authority. They can approve invoices up to their authority limit. |
| Workflow Task Roles (WF Task 1-28) |
These roles:
Depending on configuration, a workflow task role may be assigned to one or more users. |
3. Group Queues (Shared Review)
If more than one user shares the same workflow role, a group queue may be used.
How Group Queues Work
- Invoices enter a shared queue. Any user with the workflow role can access the queue.
- A user accepts an invoice assignment.
- Once accepted, other users cannot access it.
- The invoice may be returned to the queue or reassigned depending on configuration.
This setup is commonly used for centralized or team-based review processes.
4. Actions Available in a Workflow Step
The actions available to you depend on the step and your role.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Complete | Completes your review task. After completing, the invoice moves to the next configured workflow step or the workflow ends. |
| Approve |
Approves the invoice (if you have authority). When an invoice is approved:
After approval, the invoice may move to the next step or the workflow may end. |
| Reassign (Within the same step) |
If enabled, you may see a Reassign button. Reassigning:
This button appears when more than one active user shares the role for that step. |
| Lateral reassignment (Advanced routing) | Some workflows allow invoices to move to another workflow task directly. If configured, reassigning may advance the invoice to a different workflow step. This supports additional reviewers beyond standard Matter/Invoice Contacts. |
| Reject | If enabled, the Reject button sends the invoice back according to your organization's workflow configuration. |
| Collaborative Review (Law Firm Reassignment) | In collaborative workflows, the invoice may be assigned to the law firm. This allows additional clarification or updates before continuing the review process. |
5. Notifications
You may receive an email when an invoice enters your workflow step or the invoice is assigned to your or your queue. Depending on your organizations configuration, notifications may be sent individually or batched into a single email.
If reminders are configured, you may receive reminders after a set number of days or until the task is completed.
Some workflow steps include a time limit. If a task times out, the system automatically moves the invoice to the next configured step. The countdown begins on the date the invoice was assigned to the step and will expire at 6:00 PM PDT.