Collections and evidence

Billing Specialist follows each filing payment through its invoice number, due date and payment status. The record links directly to the filing deliverable, which connects it to the engagement and client. This lets the team investigate a late or disputed amount without losing the contractual work that led to the charge.

A received payment has a paid date and reference note, together with a payment method such as ACH, Wire Transfer or Check. The collection workflow records a Payment Record operation receipt when the payment is marked Received. Use bank or provider confirmation as the basis for that entry; agree the connection and matching procedure during setup.

• Follow the payment position. Keep Scheduled, Invoiced, Received, Overdue and Disputed meaningful to Billing Specialist. Review due dates and reference notes before contacting the client. A dispute needs an explanation of the charge and engagement context, with a named person responsible for follow-up.
• Record confirmed collection. Match the received amount to the intended filing deliverable and enter the paid date. Inspect the payment operation receipt after recording the collection. Compare the deliverable’s received money with its outstanding amount before deciding that the obligation is fully settled.
• Retain decision evidence. Review decisions identify a subject, outcome, reviewer and notes. Operation receipts identify the action, reference and result. Attach supporting documents to the correct record so a later reviewer can distinguish a business decision from the result of an attempted operation.

Choose the source for payment confirmation and the person responsible for matching it. Agree how partial collections will be represented and reconciled, how duplicate confirmations are identified, and how disputes are resolved. Test the approach with the person who maintains the accounting records before using it for the firm’s opening balances.

Define which documents reviewers need to retain and who can open them. An attachment’s parent record and document kind should make its purpose clear. Confirm access to receipts, engagement letters and deliverables using ordinary staff accounts, especially when a file link points to external storage.

Use an invoiced filing deliverable that the client disputes because they believe the fee includes additional advice. Billing Specialist marks the payment Disputed and records the issue in the reference note. Engagement Manager reviews the engagement letter and delivery evidence to explain the agreed scope. Partner decides any commercial change through the firm’s review procedure.

When the client subsequently pays, Billing Specialist matches the bank confirmation, records the paid date and marks the payment Received. Check the Payment Record receipt and the deliverable’s received amount. Ask Engagement Manager to explain whether a balance remains before the manager changes the deliverable to Paid.

Then inspect an operation with a Failed result. Its presence should prompt investigation of the referenced record; it should not be interpreted as proof that an invoice or collection succeeded. The rehearsal ends when the team can trace the original charge, the review decision and the confirmed collection without substituting one for another.

• Payments Overdue Or Disputed — Follow overdue or disputed charges with invoice and client context.
• Filing Deliverables Ready To Invoice — Check the approved filing commitments preceding collection work.

Use invoice to collected fee for collection rehearsal and filing deliverable to invoice to trace the preceding billing decision.