Bob, Billing and Collections
Mid · Operations · Available now

Bob.

Billing & Collections

Generates invoices, sends reminders with the right tone for the right client, reconciles payments, and surfaces overdue accounts before they age. The work nobody wants to do, done right.

Monthly salary
$599
vs. $2,500 to $4,000 for a comparable billing coordinator
One-time hiring fee
$1,500
Billing system access, rate schedule setup, client tone calibration, 30-day onboarding
Hire Bob See Sample Work Available now  ·  14-day setup
01 / The Role

What Bob actually does on a Tuesday.

Bob owns the billing cycle from the moment time entries are ready to the moment a payment hits the account. He knows which invoices are due, which clients pay on time, and which ones need a different approach on the follow-up. Partners never have to think about whether billing got done this week.

The work he takes off your team: the Monday morning invoice run that always gets pushed to Wednesday. The 30-day reminder that is carefully worded but awkward to send. The 90-day overdue account that nobody wants to call. The month-end reconciliation that reveals three payments that never got logged correctly. Bob handles all of it with appropriate firmness and no awkwardness, because he does not feel awkward.

He calibrates tone by client history. Long-standing clients who occasionally run late get a warmer follow-up than a new client on their first invoice. You set the escalation thresholds and tone guidelines during onboarding. Bob applies them consistently every time.

A typical week for Bob. (Billing is weekly, not daily.)

  • Mon 08:00
    Weekly invoice run. Bob reviews all billable time entries from the prior week, cross-references against matter files, generates invoices in the firm's standard format, and queues them for partner sign-off.
  • Mon 10:00
    23 invoices approved. Bob sends them from the firm's billing address, attaches PDFs, and logs each in QuickBooks and the CRM. Total sent: $87,400 across 23 matters.
  • Tue 09:00
    AR aging review. Four accounts are now past 30 days. Bob drafts a tailored follow-up for each, calibrated to the client's relationship history. Queued for partner review before sending.
  • Wed 14:00
    Three payments confirmed. Bob reconciles against outstanding invoices in QuickBooks, marks matters as paid in the CRM, and sends payment confirmations to each client.
  • Thu 10:00
    One account at 60 days. Bob escalates to the partner with a summary of prior contact and two options: a firmer written notice or a recommendation to call. Partner picks the call.
  • Fri 17:00
    Weekly billing summary. Invoices sent, payments received, outstanding balance by aging band, accounts requiring partner attention. Sent to managing partner every Friday at 5pm.
02 / Sample Work

What Bob's actual output looks like.

Three real examples. Invoice format, billing rates, and follow-up tone are all calibrated to your firm during onboarding.

Invoice · Matter BillingGenerated Monday 10:04
Hartwell & Reed LLP
200 S 6th St Suite 1400, Minneapolis MN 55402
billing@hartwellreed.com
INVOICE
Invoice No.HR-2026-0847
Invoice DateNovember 14, 2026
ClientBracken Properties, Inc.
Due DateDecember 14, 2026 (Net 30)
MatterNorth Loop Commercial Lease Review (CRE-2026-0847)
DateDescriptionHoursRateAmount
11/10Title search review and counterparty research2.5$350$875.00
11/11Draft lease addendum review and markup3.0$350$1,050.00
11/12Sub-clause analysis: use restriction and subletting1.5$275$412.50
Total Due $2,337.50
Email · 30-Day ReminderTone: long-standing client
Dashboard · Weekly AR SummaryFriday 17:00 · Auto-generated
Accounts Receivable Summary
Week ending November 14, 2026 · Hartwell & Reed
$87,400
Current (0 to 30 days)
23 invoices
$16,200
31 to 60 days
4 invoices · follow-up sent
$4,200
61 to 90 days
1 invoice · escalated to partner
$0
90+ days
No accounts this week
ClientInvoiceAmountAgeAction
Bracken PropertiesHR-2026-0804$4,20062 daysEscalated to Daniel
Loop Development LLCHR-2026-0801$6,80038 days2nd reminder sent
Riverside HoldingsHR-2026-0812$5,10031 days1st reminder sent
Midwest Title Assoc.HR-2026-0798$4,30034 days1st reminder sent
Payments this week3 invoices cleared$14,600N/AReconciled in QB
03 / What Bob Connects To

The billing and payment systems your firm already runs.

Bob plugs into your billing software, payment processor, and CRM. No migration. Setup during the 14-day onboarding.

Billing software

Invoice generation

QuickBooks, Xero, Clio Billing, Bill4Time, FreshBooks
Legal billing

Matter billing

Clio, TimeSolv, Tabs3, PCLaw, AbacusLaw
Payment processing

Online payments

LawPay, Stripe, Clio Payments, ACH reference tracking
Email

Reminders & receipts

Gmail, Outlook, Microsoft 365
CRM & matter mgmt

Client records

Clio, HubSpot, Salesforce, MyCase, Filevine
PDF generation

Invoice documents

Built-in PDF output from billing tools, DocuSign-ready formatting
Reconciliation

Bank matching

QuickBooks bank feeds, Xero bank rules, manual upload workflows
Slack & Teams

Partner escalations

Slack, Microsoft Teams (for overdue account alerts)
IOLTA and trust accounting: Bob can be configured to handle IOLTA billing workflows, including retainer drawdown invoices and trust account reconciliation, with appropriate review checkpoints before any trust fund movement. Configuration is done during onboarding in coordination with your bookkeeper or accountant.
04 / Onboarding

Fourteen days from offer letter to running the billing cycle.

Bob learns your rate schedules, invoice format, and client-specific follow-up rules during a structured 14-day onboarding.

Days 1 to 3

Access & rates

Bob connects to your billing software, CRM, and payment processor. You walk him through your rate schedule, invoice template, and any client-specific billing arrangements (contingency, flat fee, hybrid).

Days 4 to 7

Shadow mode

Bob generates invoices and drafts reminders for partner review before any of it goes out. You correct formatting, tone calibration, and rate application. Each round narrows the error rate.

Days 8 to 11

Supervised live

Bob sends invoices and reminders directly. You review the weekly AR summary each Friday and flag any accounts that need a different approach. Escalation thresholds lock in.

Day 14

Unsupervised

Bob runs the billing cycle independently. The Friday AR summary keeps you informed without requiring you to actively manage it. The 30-day check-in is already on the calendar.

05 / The Numbers

What Bob is measured on. What he costs. What he saves.

Performance targets

  • Invoice accuracy rate> 99%
  • Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) reduction15+ days
  • Collections rate at 30 days> 80%
  • Partner time spent on billing per week< 30 min
  • Payment reconciliation turnaroundSame day
  • AR aging accuracy (vs. billing system)> 99%

Year one cost vs. billing coordinator

  • Bob: monthly salary × 12$7,188
  • Bob: one-time hiring fee$1,500
  • Bob: total Y1$8,688
  • Billing coordinator Y1 (low end)$30,000
  • You save (low end)$21,312
06 / Common Questions

About hiring Bob specifically.

Can Bob handle billing across multiple partners with different rate schedules?

Yes. During onboarding, you provide the rate schedule for each timekeeper (partners, associates, paralegals, any fixed-fee arrangements). Bob applies the correct rate to each time entry before generating the invoice. If a time entry is ambiguous, he flags it for review rather than guessing.

What happens when a client disputes an invoice?

Bob surfaces the dispute to the relevant partner with the original invoice, the client's message, and the relevant time entries attached. He does not negotiate on your behalf or offer credits. Once the partner decides how to respond, Bob drafts the reply for their approval and processes any approved adjustments in the billing system.

Can Bob handle IOLTA and trust account billing correctly?

Yes, with an important caveat. Bob can manage retainer draw-down invoices and flag when a trust account needs replenishment, but any actual movement of trust funds goes through a review checkpoint before Bob takes action. Trust accounting compliance ultimately remains your responsibility, and Bob's workflow is designed with that in mind: he prepares, you approve.

How does Bob handle split-billing matters with multiple clients?

Split billing instructions are configured during onboarding (e.g., "this matter is billed 60% to Client A and 40% to Client B"). Bob applies the split automatically on each invoice run. If the split changes or if a time entry is ambiguous, he flags it before generating the invoice.

What if a client has been flagged as a collection risk?

You can designate individual clients as requiring escalated review. For those clients, Bob does not send any follow-up without partner sign-off first, regardless of how far past due the account is. He still generates the AR aging data and drafts the communication options, but you decide what gets sent and when.

Mid · Operations · $599/mo

Hire Bob.
The billing cycle runs itself.

Two weeks of guided setup. Running the full billing cycle unsupervised by day 14. Performance guaranteed for the first 90 days. If he does not meet standard, we replace him or refund the hiring fee.

$599/mo + $1,500 one-time  ·  14-day setup  ·  90-day guarantee  ·  Cancel with 30 days notice