How to Create an Invoice in Clio: A Step-by-Step Guide for Law Firms

Knowing how to create an invoice in Clio is one of the most important skills for getting your law firm paid on time. Clio Manage turns your tracked time and expenses into a clean, professional invoice in just a few steps — but only if you follow the billing workflow correctly. This step-by-step guide walks you through exactly how to create an invoice in Clio, from opening the Billing section to sending the finished bill to your client. One quick note on terms: Clio calls invoices bills, so the words bill and invoice mean the same document throughout this guide. Follow these nine steps and your Clio invoicing will be fast, accurate, and ready to collect.

What Do You Need Before Creating an Invoice in Clio?

Before you create an invoice in Clio, two things should be in place. First, make sure your time entries and expenses for the matter are recorded in Clio Manage, because the invoice is built directly from that unbilled activity. Second, confirm you have the right billing permissions — only users with billing or administrator access can generate and approve bills in Clio. Having your time captured and your permissions set means the Clio invoice process will be quick and accurate, with every billable entry ready to pull onto the bill. With those basics confirmed, you are ready to walk through how to create an invoice in Clio.

How to Create an Invoice in Clio Step by Step

To create an invoice in Clio Manage, follow these step-by-step instructions. Each step matches the Clio billing workflow exactly, so you can follow along directly inside your own Clio account. Work through them in order — the sequence matters, especially when verifying entries before you generate the bill. Mastering this law firm billing workflow is what keeps your invoicing fast and your cash flow steady.

Step 1 — Sign In and Access Billing

Open the Clio website and sign into Clio Manage, ensuring you have the necessary permissions to view and create bills. From the main dashboard, navigate to the Billing section. This is where every invoice in Clio begins, and it is where all your unbilled work is waiting to be turned into a bill.

Step 2 — Initiate New Bills

Select the option to create new bills. Clio will display all unbilled time entries and expenses that are ready for invoicing. This view is the heart of Clio billing — it shows you exactly what work can be billed across your matters before you generate a single invoice.

Step 3 — Select Matters

Choose the specific bill or bills you wish to generate. Clio lets you create an invoice for a single matter or generate bills for multiple matters at once, which is a major time-saver when you run your billing in batches. Select the matters you want to invoice and move to the next step.

Step 4 — Verify Information

Before you generate anything, double-check the client or matter name, the date range of the work, and that all expected entries are included. This is the most important step in how to create an invoice in Clio: pause here and correct any discrepancies before proceeding. Catching a missing time entry or a wrong rate now saves you from issuing a corrected invoice later.

Step 5 — Configure Dates

Click generate, then set the issue date (the date shown on the invoice) and the due date (the payment deadline). These dates are not just cosmetic — in Clio they drive interest rules and automated payment reminders, so setting them correctly keeps your collections on track from the moment the invoice goes out.

Step 6 — Adjust Invoice Settings

Configure the bill options to meet your firm's standards. Here you can choose the invoice template (Clio offers bill themes for branding and layout), decide how to group time and expenses, and set tax settings, discounts, and rounding rules. These settings control how the finished Clio invoice looks and reads, so set them to match your firm's billing style.

Step 7 — Generate the Invoice

Click generate bills to finalize the creation of the invoice. Clio will produce the draft bill from all the entries and settings you selected. At this point your invoice in Clio exists as a draft, ready for review before it goes to the client.

Step 8 — Review the Draft

Select see invoice to open and review the document carefully. Check the client information, totals, taxes, and formatting, and make any necessary edits at this stage. Reviewing the draft is what protects you from sending an invoice with a wrong total or a missing entry — always review before you send.

Step 9 — Deliver the Invoice

Use the send bill option to email the invoice as a PDF directly to your client. Alternatively, you can export the invoice to save a copy locally if you prefer to handle delivery yourself. Once delivered, your Clio invoice is out for collection — and if you use Clio Payments, your client can pay directly from the bill by card, eCheck, or ACH. Adding a Clio Payments link to the invoice is one of the simplest ways to get paid faster.

What Are the Best Tips for Invoicing in Clio?

A few habits make Clio invoicing cleaner and collections faster. Bill on a regular schedule — many firms run invoices twice a month — because consistent billing keeps clients engaged and smooths out cash flow. Always use the draft-then-approve sequence rather than sending immediately, since the review step catches rate errors, wrong client information, and accidental write-offs before the invoice reaches the client. Setting up a reusable invoice template, or bill theme, in Clio also saves time by giving every bill a consistent, branded, professional look without rebuilding the layout each time.

For law firms, trust accounting adds one more layer to invoicing in Clio. When you apply trust funds to an invoice inside Clio, remember that recording the trust draw in Clio does not by itself move the money — you still perform the actual bank transfer from the trust account to operating, and then reconcile. Keeping the Clio invoice records and the trust account in agreement every month is exactly the kind of detail that protects a law firm from compliance trouble. Clean Clio billing is not just about sending bills; it is about keeping the whole financial picture accurate.

Why Does Clean Clio Invoicing Matter for Your Firm?

Knowing how to create an invoice in Clio correctly does more than send a bill — it directly affects how fast your law firm gets paid. Accurate, professional invoices issued on a consistent schedule reduce billing disputes, shorten the time between work and payment, and keep your accounts receivable clean. When Clio invoicing is sloppy — wrong totals, missing entries, irregular timing — clients delay payment and partners lose visibility into the firm's real cash position. Strong law firm billing also benefits from Clio Payments, which lets clients pay directly from the invoice by card, eCheck, or ACH, so the bill collects itself faster. A disciplined Clio billing process turns invoicing from an occasional admin chore into a reliable engine for steady cash flow, which is the foundation of healthy law firm bookkeeping and a financially healthy firm. This is exactly why so many firms pair good law firm billing habits with professional law firm bookkeeping support.

Too Busy Practicing Law to Manage Your Billing?

Irvine Bookkeeping handles Clio invoicing, trust accounting, and monthly books for law firms — so your bills go out on time and your trust account always balances. Book your free 30-minute consultation with Tammy Hoang, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.

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Get Your Law Firm Billing Running Smoothly

Once you know how to create an invoice in Clio, the process is genuinely fast: access Billing, initiate new bills, select your matters, verify the entries, set your dates, adjust the settings, generate, review, and send. The firms that get paid quickly are the ones that bill on a regular schedule, review every draft before sending, and keep their Clio invoicing tied cleanly to their trust accounting. Good billing is good business — it is how the work you have already done turns into cash in the bank.

Irvine Bookkeeping helps law firms across California keep their Clio billing, trust accounting, and monthly books clean and current. We manage invoicing, reconcile your trust account three ways every month, and deliver financials you can actually use. Picture a firm where the bills always go out on time and the books are always ready. 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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