Invoice Data Extraction for
Law Firms
Law firms deal with a uniquely varied mix of vendor invoices — from court filing receipts to expert witness fees to standard office vendors. SkipEntry extracts data from all of them, including the matter or client codes needed for proper cost allocation.
No credit card required.
The law firm AP problem
Even a small firm of 5 attorneys can generate 50–100 vendor invoices per month. The challenge is not just volume — it's variety. Court filing receipts look nothing like an expert witness invoice. A process server bill is different from a LexisNexis statement. Government agency receipts are often hand-stamped paper documents.
Beyond variety, law firms need to track expenses by matter or client — not just by vendor. A court filing fee for Client A needs to be coded differently than the same fee for Client B. This requires extracting matter numbers or client codes that appear on invoices, and routing costs correctly for billing and reimbursement.
SkipEntry handles all invoice formats without templates, and custom fields let you extract matter numbers or client codes from anywhere on the invoice — so costs land in the right place automatically.
Invoice types SkipEntry handles
Any vendor, any format — including non-standard court and government documents.
Court filing fees
Invoices and receipts from courts and government agencies — often non-standard formats, sometimes hand-stamped receipts. SkipEntry reads them all.
Expert witness fees
Expert invoices often include detailed breakdowns of hours, report preparation, and deposition time — all extractable as line items.
Process server invoices
Service of process invoices from process servers and sheriff offices, often with case number references needed for matter cost allocation.
Legal research subscriptions
Westlaw, LexisNexis, Clio, and other legal research platform invoices — recurring bills that need to be coded to overhead or specific matters.
Office and IT vendor invoices
Office supplies, IT services, phone, internet — standard business invoices that need to land in the right GL account.
Scanned receipts from government agencies
Court receipts and government filing confirmations are often printed or stamped. SkipEntry handles scanned paper documents with the same accuracy as PDFs.
Key extraction fields for law firms
Standard invoice fields plus legal-specific data points for matter cost allocation.
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Vendor name | Match to existing vendor record in QBO/Xero |
| Invoice date and due date | AP aging and payment scheduling |
| Invoice number | Duplicate detection and record matching |
| Amount and line items | Accurate expense capture per invoice |
| Matter number or client code | Allocate costs to specific matters for client billing |
| Case or file reference | Link vendor invoice to active matter for cost recovery |
Matter number extraction: the key use case
Many law firm vendor invoices reference a matter number, file number, or client code — either printed on the invoice by the vendor, or added by your team as a reference. SkipEntry custom fields can extract these codes automatically, so each expense is tagged to the correct matter without manual re-coding.
This is critical for firms that bill client costs to clients (hard costs) or need to track matter profitability. Even for non-billable expenses, having costs tagged to the right matter enables accurate matter cost reporting and budgeting.
Matter number extraction
Extract matter or file numbers from vendor invoices for automatic cost allocation to the correct matter in QBO, Xero, or your legal accounting software.
Client code tagging
Tag vendor costs to specific clients for cost recovery billing and matter profitability tracking — without manual coding after import.
Export to QuickBooks, Xero, or legal software
Many law firms use QuickBooks Online or Xero for general accounting, while some use Clio, LEAP, or other legal practice management software for matter-level accounting. SkipEntry exports clean CSV that can be imported into any system — QBO, Xero, or a legal software with its own import format.
Even if your practice management software has its own AP workflow, SkipEntry can handle the data extraction step and export in whatever format your system expects.
Related reading
- Batch Invoice Processing— How to process large volumes of invoices efficiently with AI extraction.
- Bookkeeping Automation Guide— A practical guide to automating routine bookkeeping tasks for professional services firms.