Invoice Types (LawPay Integration)

Lawmatics has a powerful integration with LawPay that allows you to automate the sending of invoices and collection of payment. This article will explain how to get invoices setup and how to use the feature. It is important to note that in order to use this feature you must have a LawPay integration set up.

If you do not use LawPay but still want to use Lawmatics for billing, feel free to sign up for LMPay, our in-house billing solution.

Invoice Types

In order to send invoices and receive payment via automations through our LawPay integration you will need to have invoice types set up. In order to create invoice types, simply navigate to the Settings page and select Integrations form the left side navigation panel, then click on LawPay. If you have not already connected your LawPay account, make sure to do that first. Once it is connected,  you will see a section on this page entitled 'Invoice Types', as depicted below.

You should create an invoice type for all the different line items that you charge for. For example, 'Retainer Fee', 'Flat Fee' and 'Consultation Fee' are all great examples of items that should be created as individual invoice types.

When an invoice type is created, a corresponding field will be created on matters designed to capture the amount of the invoice for the particular matter. We automatically create the custom field for you and we add the word 'Amount' to the end of the invoice type name when creating the field. Be sure not to add the word 'Amount' yourself to the invoice type name.

For example, if you have created invoice types for Consultation Fee and Retainer Fee, as shown above, then you will see fields for each of these in the starred custom fields section on a matter's details page. This is shown below.

When creating an invoice type, you have the option to set a default value for the invoice type. This will create a default value that gets filled in as the amount in the invoice type's custom field.

Note how the consultation fee invoice type was created with a default, but the retainer fee was not, so we see that reflected on the matter's details page above.

You can click the edit button at the bottom right of a matter's profile to populate a value into these fields and/or change the default if you had set one for a certain invoice type.

Once you have invoice types setup, you will be able to send invoices via automations and also use the payment of an invoice type as a trigger for an automation. Whenever using invoices in an automation, you will always be prompted to select the invoice type that applies for that automation.

You can also always send a one-off invoice manually from the matter details page by clicking on Send Invoice from the bottom action bar.

Resending a Pending Invoice

You may also want to see an overview of all invoices that have been sent as well the status of those invoices. To view this, click on the settings gear icon near the top right, then select Integrations from the bottom left, and then select LawPay.

Here you can see all invoices that have been sent, which matter they were sent to, the amount of the invoice, the current status, the invoice type, the date, and you have actions on the far right to resend or cancel the invoice.

FAQ's

Can I move the invoice types out of the starred custom field section on my matters?
No, the invoice types will stay in this section by default and this can't be customized at this time.
Why did my automation fail on the "send invoice" action?
It is likely that you did not have an amount populated into that invoice type for this matter, causing the automation to fail. To troubleshoot this, start by taking a look at the send invoice action in the automation and confirm which of your invoice types you have selected there. Then go to your matter, and check that this invoice amount is populated in the starred custom fields section. If it is not, click the edit button at the bottom right to enter the amount and then click save. You can now retry the automation.
How will I be notified when an invoice is paid?
Each user can opt to turn on notifications for Charge Success, found in settings > notification settings. Once an invoice is paid, you will view the invoice as well as the funds directly in your LawPay account.