Block Billing Best Practices

Although we do not recommend using block billing for most areas of law, block billing is possible in Smokeball if it is your firm’s preference. Reach out to your account manager if you have questions about using block billing for your firm.

Read on to learn how to enable block billing in Smokeball and edit invoices which block billing entries.

Enable block billing

1. Select the gear in the upper right-hand corner to open Smokeball settings.
2. Select the Staff & Users tab.
3. Select the staff member who will use block billing.
4. Select the Billing tab on the Staff Member’s Details window.
5. Check Group activities as one time entry.
6. Select Save.
   
   
7. Repeat Steps 1-6 for other staff as needed.

How to edit an invoice created with block billing

You can edit block billing entries on an invoice so long as the invoice remains in the draft stage.

1. Select the Time & Fees tab within the matter.
2. Click on the entry which used bulk billing to open the Time/Fees Details window.
3. Use the Add item... link to add an additional entry. Use the Description field if you need to revise the specific entry (e.g., you want to indicate 5 internal messages reviewed instead of 2 internal messages reviewed). You can also edit the Duration of the entry and toggle the entry as Billable in the Description field. 
4. Optional: You can select the garbage can icon in the description to delete the entry entirely.

You can also access the Time/Fee Details window from the draft invoice page so long as you select the View arrow.

How to edit time entries with block billing

It is also possible to edit time entries made through block billing on Smokeball desktop so long as the invoice remains in the draft stage.

1. Select the Time & Expenses tab.
2. Select the staff member who is using block billing.
3. Select a time entry and edit the subject and duration using the widget on the right side of the screen.