Time & billing

Writing time (stopwatch, quick entry, manual), write-offs, and from billing queue to sent invoice.

Nederlandse versie: /handleiding/tijd-en-facturatie

What is this? Time you spend on a case is recorded against the matter — even when the case isn’t billed hourly (for example a fixed fee or legal aid). That way it’s always visible how much work went into a matter. Invoicing happens per matter, from the recorded hours. The interface is in Dutch; on-screen names are quoted below.

Three ways to write time

All three end up in the same hours administration of the matter:

1. With the stopwatch (while you work)

1. Click “Tijd schrijven” (write time) in the top bar. The stopwatch window opens.
2. Click “Start” when you begin; “Pauzeer” (pause) and “Hervat” (resume) work in between. The timer keeps running as long as the window is open.
3. Done? Search the “Dossier” (matter) (search by number or name), pick an “Activiteitcode” (activity code), fill in the “Omschrijving” (description — “Waaraan heb je gewerkt?”, what did you work on?). The “Te schrijven uren” (hours to write) field is pre-filled from the timer — adjust if needed.
4. Click “Tijd schrijven”.

2. With quick entry (one typed line)

See it in action:

1. Click “Uren” (hours) in the left rail. At the top sits the “Snelinvoer” (quick entry) field.
2. Type one line in the format <matter> <duration> [activity] <description>, for example: 2024.001 1u30 advies Telefonisch overleg cliënt. Accepted duration formats include 1u30, 1:30, 0,5, 30m, or 90.
3. Check the “Voorbeeld” (preview — Dossier, Duur, Activiteit, Omschrijving) and click “Toevoegen” (add).

3. Manually or afterwards

1. Click “Uren”, then “Nieuwe boeking” (new entry).
2. Search the “Dossier”, fill in “Datum” (date), “Gewerkte uren” (hours worked), “Declarabele uren” (billable hours), “Soort” (class — Declarabel, Intern, or Niet-declarabel), “Activiteitcode”, and “Omschrijving”.
3. Click “Boeking opslaan” (save entry).

If you enter more “Declarabele uren” than “Gewerkte uren” (zero worked hours included), the warning “Meer declarabele dan gewerkte uren” (more billable than worked hours) appears right under the hour fields. Saving only works once you tick “Ja, dit klopt — meer declarabele dan gewerkte uren” (yes, this is correct). Changing the matter, the class or the hours afterwards clears the tick, so you confirm again, even if you change them back. Filing such an entry, or a task with such an entry, to a matter from “Nog te koppelen” (to be filed) asks for the same confirmation again before anything moves. The confirmation is stored on the entry and in the audit trail, and the entry is marked “Bevestigd: declarabel > gewerkt” (confirmed: billable > worked) in the billing queue and the WIP report, with worked and billable hours side by side.

The hours page shows your week with a “Weektotaal” (week total), and per week “geschreven” (written), “verwacht” (expected), and “verschil” (difference) — the same picture as the dashboard widget “Mijn uren deze week”.

From a task or an appointment

The detail page of a task and of an appointment carries a “Geschreven tijd” (logged time) card:

• “Start timer” starts the stopwatch for that task or appointment, on its matter. When you later log the timer from the stopwatch in the top bar, the entry stays linked to the task or appointment.
• “Tijd registreren” (log time) opens the entry form with the matter, description, and date filled in. For an appointment the appointment’s length is suggested as the duration; for a task it is not, because a task does not record how long the work took. Everything stays editable.

The card also shows the time already logged against the task or appointment. In the matter’s hours list, every linked entry links back to its task or appointment. Open an appointment from the matter’s “Agenda” tab with “Details”.

Suggestions from your own activity (optional)

Under “Niet-geschreven activiteit” (unwritten activity), Basenet can propose time entries based on your own calendar, email, and documents. This is off by default per user; turn it on with “Aanzetten voor mij” (turn on for me). Only you see your suggestions, and nothing is written unless you click “Accepteren” (accept) (“Negeren”, ignore, is always available).

How to write off hours

To bill less than was worked (goodwill, training):

1. Click “Afboeken” (write off) on the time entry.
2. Fill in the “Nieuw declarabel” (new billable) number of hours and a “Reden” (reason — required).
3. Click “Afboeking toepassen” (apply write-off). The original hours worked stay recorded for realization reporting.

Hours on an invoice are locked and show the label “Gefactureerd” (invoiced).

How to create an invoice

1. Open the matter and click the “Facturatie” tab.

2. The “Factureerwachtrij” (billing queue) lists the not-yet-invoiced billable hours, with “Uren”, “Tarief” (rate), and “Bedrag” (amount). Select the lines you want to invoice.

3. Click “Conceptfactuur maken” (create draft invoice).

4. Review the draft invoice (“Netto”, “Btw”, “Bruto”). You can:

   • add a manual line or “Correctie” (correction) under “Handmatige regels en correcties” with “Regel toevoegen” (add line) (Aantal, Bedrag in euro);
   • for a fixed-fee arrangement, tick “Resterende vaste prijs opnemen” (include remaining fixed fee).

   

5. Click “Goedkeuren” (approve). The invoice gets a final “Factuurnummer” (invoice number).

6. Under “Verzenden” (send) pick the “Kanaal” (channel) — “PDF”, “UBL”, “Peppol”, or “LEDES” — and click “Factuur verzenden” (send invoice). The “Peppol-status” appears on the invoice afterwards.

7. Afterwards you can create a payment link (“Betaallink maken”) for the client and forward the invoice to the connected accounting system with “Naar boekhouding boeken” (post to accounting).

The firm-wide invoice list lives under “Facturatie” in the left rail, showing per invoice the “Status” (Concept, Goedgekeurd, Verzonden, Betaald, Gecrediteerd) and the payment status.

Fixed fees, legal aid, and other arrangements

The matter’s “Financieel” tab holds the “Financiële afspraak” (financial agreement): “Standaardtarief (€/u)” (standard rate), “Vaste prijs (€)” (fixed fee), “Voorschot (€)” (advance), rate exceptions per employee, “Factuursplitsingen” (invoice splits — multiple payers), and “Gefinancierde rechtsbijstand (toevoeging)” (legal aid) with the “Eigen bijdrage (€)” (client’s own contribution). For a legal-aid matter that doesn’t continue as an hourly case, Basenet blocks hourly invoicing.

A matter can carry several toevoegingen (legal-aid grants), for example a new one once the first grant’s points are used up. “Toevoegingen op dit dossier” (toevoegingen on this matter) lists each grant with its status; “Extra toevoeging aanmaken” (add another toevoeging) adds one. The new grant becomes the active one: invoicing (the own contribution and the hourly block) runs through it. Earlier grants stay visible as history and can still be edited, or made active again with “Actief maken” (make active). The matter overview shows how many grants there are and which one is active. Note: Gaat door als uurdossier vanaf (continues as an hourly matter from) belongs to each grant. If the previous grant had that date and the new active grant does not, hours after it fall under the toevoeging again (not billable hourly) until you set the date on the new grant too.

Bankruptcy converted into a debt restructuring

When a bankruptcy (faillissement) is converted into a debt restructuring (schuldsaneringsregeling, WSNP) and the estate is insufficient, the trustee’s salary is limited to the estate balance on the day the bankruptcy ends. Record this on the insolvency matter’s overview, in the “Omzetting naar schuldsanering” (conversion to debt restructuring) block:

1. Fill in “Datum uitspraak schuldsanering” (date of the debt restructuring judgment). Basenet fills in “Einde faillissement (peildatum)” (end of bankruptcy, the reference date) with the judgment date plus the 8-day appeal term; change it if the judgment became final on another day.
2. Fill in “Saldo boedelrekening op peildatum” (estate account balance on the reference date): the actual balance on the account, not the balance from the report. “Saldo volgens laatste verslag” (balance according to the latest report) sits next to it, so a difference stands out.
3. Under “Andere boedelschulden die voorgaan” (other estate debts ranking first), enter the disbursements and third-party costs still to be paid. They come off the available balance.
4. To set the cap yourself, fill in “Handmatig plafond (optioneel)” (manual cap). A “Toelichting handmatig plafond” (reason for the manual cap) is then required.
5. Click “Omzetting vastleggen” (record conversion).

Basenet then shows three lines: the computed salary (hours × rate, including VAT), the cap, and the part “Niet gedeclareerd wegens plafond omzetting” (not claimed because of the conversion cap). Salary plus VAT must fit within the cap. An advance paid on or before the reference date is no longer on the estate account: it comes off the computed salary. An advance paid after the reference date comes off the cap. Hours up to and including the reference date count; later hours belong to the debt restructuring and are listed separately, outside the cap and outside the salary request. A salary declaration on this matter now uses the cap instead of the regular estate balance, and its period stops at the reference date. The three lines also appear in the Bijlage H report and its CSV export; “Bijlage H tot de peildatum” (Bijlage H up to the reference date) opens that report. “Wijzigen” (edit) corrects the details, and “Omzetting verwijderen” (remove conversion) removes it, for example when the judgment is overturned on appeal. Every change is recorded in the audit trail. Nothing is written to an invoice automatically.

What does Peppol mean?

Peppol is a secure, Europe-wide delivery channel for electronic invoices: the invoice arrives directly and accurately in the recipient’s accounting system instead of as a loose PDF attached to an email. See also the Glossary.