How to Create a Bill in Clio: A Step-by-Step Guide for Law Firms
- Irvine Bookkeeping
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Learning how to create a bill in Clio is about more than generating a document — it is the full billing cycle that ends with money actually moving into your operating account. Clio Manage takes you from filtering unbilled time all the way through applying trust payments and recording the draw, but each step has to be done in the right order to keep your books and your trust account accurate. This step-by-step guide walks you through exactly how to create a bill in Clio, from the Billing menu to the final bank transfer. Follow these steps and your Clio billing will be clean, compliant, and fully reconciled.
How to Create a Bill in Clio Step by Step
Creating a bill in Clio Manage is a multi-step process that moves from initial time-entry filtering all the way to final payment and delivery. Each step in the Clio Manage billing workflow builds on the last, so follow them in order. Strong law firm billing depends on getting this sequence right. Here is the full step-by-step process for how to create a bill in Clio, including the trust accounting steps that many law firm billing guides leave out.
Step 1 — Access the Billing Menu
Navigate to the main menu in Clio and select Bills, then choose Billable Clients. This is where the Clio billing process starts, showing you every client with unbilled activity ready to turn into a bill.
Step 2 — Filter and Set Dates
Use the filter to define the period for which you want to invoice. This date filter controls which time entries and expenses appear on the bill, so set it deliberately.
Best practice tip: Even if you are billing for a specific window (for example, September 1st through September 15th), set the start date all the way back to 01/01/2000. This ensures you capture any historical time entries that were entered late, so you never underbill.
Frequency: A strong best practice for law firms is to run bills twice a month. Billing twice monthly improves client communication and keeps cash flow steady.
Step 3 — Generate the Bill
With your clients and dates set, you are ready to generate the bill in Clio. Configure the generation options carefully, because the dates you set here drive due dates and reminders.
Select the matters or clients you wish to bill.
Set the Generate date (typically a few days after the billing period ends).
Set a Due Date (for example, one week after the generation date).
Click Generate to move the bills into Draft status.
Step 4 — Review the Draft Bill
Go to the Draft status tab to view the bill. Reviewing the draft before approval is the control step that catches errors while they are still easy to fix. Check the following for accuracy:
Time charges and descriptions.
Filing fees or other expenses.
Bill totals and the Statement of Account.
Step 5 — Approve the Bill
Once you have verified that the draft is correct, click Approve. This status change can be performed by the bill's creator or delegated to another staff member — but keep the approval as a real control, since it is your last checkpoint before the bill goes to the client.
Step 6 — Apply Trust Payments (If Applicable)
If the client has funds in a trust account, you can apply them to the approved bill in Clio. This is the trust draw, and it must be recorded carefully to stay compliant:
Navigate to Payments and select Add a Payment.
Set the payment date and select the Source as the trust account.
Ensure the funds are being applied to the Operating Account.
Click Post the Payment.
Verification: After posting, check the bill to confirm the balance due is now zero and that the trust draw is accurately reflected.
Step 7 — Share the Bill
Click the Share button to email the bill directly to the client from within Clio. Sharing the bill through Clio keeps a record of the communication tied to the matter, which helps if a client ever questions when or whether they were billed.
Step 8 — Perform the Physical Bank Transfer
This final step is the one law firms most often miss. Moving money within Clio does not automatically move money at your bank. After recording the trust draw in Clio, go to your bank's portal and manually transfer the funds from the trust account to the operating account so the actual bank movement matches the payment recorded in Clio. Skipping this step is how a Clio trust balance and the real bank balance drift apart — and that drift is exactly what causes trust accounting compliance problems.
Why Do the Trust Steps Matter When You Create a Bill in Clio?
The trust steps are what separate basic Clio billing from compliant law firm billing. When you apply a trust payment to a bill in Clio, you are moving a client's money from their trust funds to pay your firm's earned fees — and that movement is governed by strict trust accounting rules. Recording the trust draw in Clio keeps your client ledgers accurate, but it is only half the job. The matching physical bank transfer is what keeps the real trust account balance correct. Both must happen, every time, or your records and your bank stop agreeing.
This is why creating a bill in Clio Manage is really a bookkeeping task, not just an admin one. A law firm that records trust draws in Clio but forgets the bank transfers will slowly build a gap between what Clio shows and what the bank holds. Over months, that gap becomes a trust accounting violation waiting to be found at reconciliation or, worse, during a State Bar review. Doing the full Clio billing workflow correctly — generate, approve, apply trust, share, and transfer — and then reconciling three ways every month is what keeps a law firm both paid and compliant. This is exactly where professional law firm bookkeeping protects a firm, because clean law firm bookkeeping treats billing and trust accounting as one connected system.
What Are the Best Practices for Creating Bills in Clio?
A few habits make creating a bill in Clio cleaner and safer. Run your bills on a regular schedule — twice a month is a strong rhythm — to keep cash flow steady and clients engaged. Always use a wide start date when filtering so late-entered time from prior periods is captured and you never underbill. Keep the draft-then-approve sequence as a real review step, since it catches rate errors and wrong client information before the bill goes out. And treat the trust draw and the physical bank transfer as a single, inseparable action: whenever you record a trust payment in Clio, complete the matching bank transfer the same day so your Clio records and your bank never fall out of sync. Finally, reconcile your trust account three ways every month — comparing the bank balance, the Clio trust ledger total, and the sum of each client's trust balance. When all three agree to the penny, you know every bill, every trust draw, and every bank transfer was recorded correctly, and your law firm is ready for any review.
Is Your Clio Billing and Trust Accounting in Sync?
Irvine Bookkeeping handles Clio billing, trust draws, and monthly three-way reconciliation for law firms — so your bills go out on time and your trust account always balances to the penny. Book your free 30-minute consultation with Tammy Hoang, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
Keep Your Clio Billing Clean and Compliant
Once you know how to create a bill in Clio, the full cycle is straightforward: access the Billing menu, filter and set your dates, generate the bill, review the draft, approve it, apply trust payments, share it, and complete the physical bank transfer. The law firms that stay compliant are the ones that never skip the last step — they record the trust draw in Clio and move the money at the bank the same day, then reconcile every month. That discipline is what keeps billing clean and the trust account audit-ready.
Irvine Bookkeeping helps law firms across California manage their Clio billing, trust accounting, and monthly books. We generate and reconcile bills, record trust draws correctly, verify every bank transfer, and reconcile your trust account three ways every month. Picture a firm where the bills always go out on time and the trust account always balances. Yes, that is one call away. Book your free 30-minute consultation today and let us handle the billing while you practice law.
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