Billing Worklist
The Billing Worklist (Accounting ▸ Billing Worklist) is a single, firm-wide list of every matter with work waiting to be billed, and the matters where that work is stuck. It is the planning surface for a billing run: clear the blocked files, then bill the rest.
What the list shows
Section titled “What the list shows”| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Matter | The matter reference — [Matter ID]-[Matter Name] |
| Client | The matter’s client |
| Responsible | The responsible lawyer(s) on the file |
| Unbilled WIP | Unbilled time + unbilled fees + recoverable disbursements, one line per currency |
| Oldest unbilled | The date of the oldest unbilled item on the matter (see the caveat below) |
| Unrated time | How many time entries carry no resolvable rate |
| Blocked | No rate — held back when the matter has unrated time |
Work appears here as soon as it is docketed and leaves when it is billed on a client invoice. A matter dropping off the list has been billed — the work has not disappeared.
Money is shown per currency
Section titled “Money is shown per currency”A matter worked in more than one currency shows one amount per currency (CA$9,000.00 on one line, US$400.00 on the next), never a single blended total. Athenty has no exchange-rate machinery, so summing across currencies would produce a figure denominated in nothing.
That has one visible consequence: Unbilled WIP is sortable only when the visible list holds a single currency. Use the Currency filter above the table to select one code, and the value column becomes sortable. While the list is mixed, a note under the table says so. A matter with no unbilled work shows an em-dash, never $0.00 — a dash means “nothing was computed”, and $0.00 would claim a balance that was.
Oldest unbilled — read it as age-of-record
Section titled “Oldest unbilled — read it as age-of-record”Time entries and flat fees carry no separate date of work field, so the date the row was recorded stands in for them: a docket entered a week late is dated a week late. Disbursements use their own date incurred where one is set, and fall back to their recorded date otherwise. The column is an aging signal for a billing run, not a legal or accounting date — do not compute a deadline from it.
Blocked work — “No rate — held back”
Section titled “Blocked work — “No rate — held back””Time entered against a matter with no resolvable rate cannot be priced. It is recorded, but a billing run has nothing to charge for it, so it is quietly skipped — the single most common way earned revenue never gets invoiced. That is what the Blocked flag makes visible.
To release the entries, set the timekeeper’s rate for the rate class the entry uses — under Settings ▸ Team ▸ the timekeeper’s rates, or via the matter’s default rate class for that person — then re-open each flagged entry and save it. The rate box pre-fills from the rate card, so it is usually one click.
A new docket can no longer be saved without a rate at all, so entries flagged here are historical rows recorded before that rule took effect.
Use the Blocked only toggle to work through just these matters.
Where it fits
Section titled “Where it fits”The Billing Worklist answers “what should we bill?”; Invoices is where you act on the answer — New bill from WIP pulls a matter’s eligible WIP onto a draft invoice. Once invoiced, the balance moves to A/R Reports for collection.
Who can see it
Section titled “Who can see it”The Billing Worklist is available to owner, admin, and accountant roles, and to users with bookkeeping access — the same permission as A/R Reports.