How to Read Your Invoice
General Information
In the right hand corner of the first page below the heading you will find the
- Invoice #:
- Client:
- Date:
- Printed Date:
On the left are the
- Client/Agency Division
- Attention line
- Address.
If any of these are not correct please contact Dept. of Justice Billing Unit with corrections.
Matter Information
The invoice lists the individual entries in Matter Number order. The misc. (General Advice) matter for the client normally prints first. The remaining matters follow in alphanumeric order.
On the left hand side is the matter name and on the right is the Matter Number. The next line shows your contact person, if one is listed in our billing system.
Itemized Billing Information
Below each Matter will be an itemization of staff time spent on that matter -
- Date - the actual date of work. This may not be the same as the month of the invoice for various reasons. The attorney's time may not have been entered within the billing period. A client/agency change may have taken place for that matter.
- Empl - the number listed under "Empl" is called the Timekeeper Number and corresponds with the Summary list at the end of each invoice. Each attorney, paralegal, or other legal staff is assigned a timekeeper number.
- Description - a detailed narrative of the work performed by DOJ staff.
- Hours - the amount of time the timekeeper worked.
- Total Hours - total hours of work performed by all timekeepers for the matter.
- Matter Total - actual dollar value of the hours billed.
Expense Information
If any expenses were incurred they are listed directly below the Total Fees. Expenses include any direct cost other than staff time that are related to a specific matter. The listing shows date of entry and description of the expense which includes:
- Type of expense.
- Payee; the person or company we paid.
- Date; actual date of the service.
- The invoice number, VP number (our document number for this paid service), and any other pertinent documentation are included in the description of the expense.
- To the right of the description is the cost for the service.
Summary
At the end of each invoice is a summary that lists the billing employee, total hours, and applicable rates.
Example:
| No. | Name | Rate | |
| 0361 | Jayne Smythe | 1.00 hours at $90.00 | 90.00 |
| 1946 | Joseph Doe | 8.00 hours at $51.00 | |
Division recap
After the summary of employee hours is a summarization of the matters billed on the invoice. There is one line for each matter listing; matter number, matter name, total fees, total cost and total bill for each matter.
* * * * DIVISION RECAP* * * * *
| Number | Name | Fees | Costs | Total |
| GF0857-00 | Blue, Francis V. | 110.20 | 10.00 | 120.20 |
| GX1234-00 | Smertz, Fred | 235.10 | 43.65 | 278.75 |
