Fees, retainers & billing workflows

Billing & payments · Free reading guide

An invoice, a payment, and permission to move client funds are different questions. The responsible attorney should resolve the treatment of fees and retainers under the engagement terms and applicable rules.

Build your understanding

• Connect engagement documents to billing setup.
• Document who resolves questions about fee treatment.
• Keep approval evidence with the transaction it supports.

A practical starting exercise

Create a one-page map of this workflow using fictional examples. List the source information, the person who prepares it, the reviewer, and the question each step should answer. Mark any point where responsibility or evidence is unclear.

Bring those open questions to your supervisor or adviser. The exercise is intended to organize a conversation; it is not permission to change account treatment, move money, or replace an established control.

This is a reading topic, not a video course. It does not issue a completion certificate or professional credit.