Build LEDES 1998B Billing File — UK Solicitor (Fixed-Layout)

Q: What does the Build LEDES 1998B Billing File — UK Solicitor (Fixed-Layout) skill do?

Assemble a UK law firm's recorded time and disbursement entries into a LEDES 1998B pipe-delimited electronic billing file for a client's e-billing system — UTBMS task/activity/expense codes, F/E line types, GBP 2-decimal amounts and INVOICE_TOTAL reconciliation, with a worked example.

Q: How do I run the Build LEDES 1998B Billing File — UK Solicitor (Fixed-Layout) skill?

Copy the skill and paste it into your own Claude or ChatGPT, then provide your source data. FinchContext skills run inside your own AI assistant, so your financial data never leaves your control.

Q: Which region does the Build LEDES 1998B Billing File — UK Solicitor (Fixed-Layout) skill cover?

United Kingdom. It targets the local tax authority / e-invoicing format described on this page.

Skill: Assemble UK solicitor time and expense into a LEDES 1998B file

Region: United Kingdom Category: Legal / eDiscovery Does: Takes a UK law firm's recorded time and disbursement entries and assembles the LEDES 1998B electronic billing file for submission to a client's e-billing / matter-management system, coded with UTBMS task/activity codes and GBP amounts. Spec: LEDES Oversight Committee (LOC) — LEDES 1998B pipe-delimited fixed-layout, UTBMS task/activity/expense codes

A standard format for transmitting legal invoices to clients electronically. Field names below follow the LEDES 1998B layout, not a verbatim schema.

When this applies

A UK firm bills a corporate/insurer client that mandates LEDES e-billing (often litigation/eDiscovery matters).
One invoice (or multiple) per file; line items are fee (time) or expense (disbursement) entries.
Amounts in GBP; UK VAT shown where charged.

Structure (entries → LEDES 1998B)

Line 1 header: LEDES1998B[]
Line 2 field names (pipe-delimited, terminated with [])
  INVOICE_DATE|INVOICE_NUMBER|CLIENT_ID|LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID|
  INVOICE_TOTAL|BILLING_START_DATE|BILLING_END_DATE|
  INVOICE_DESCRIPTION|LINE_ITEM_NUMBER|EXP/FEE/INV_ADJ_TYPE|
  LINE_ITEM_NUMBER_OF_UNITS|LINE_ITEM_ADJUSTMENT_AMOUNT|
  LINE_ITEM_TOTAL|LINE_ITEM_DATE|LINE_ITEM_TASK_CODE|
  LINE_ITEM_EXPENSE_CODE|LINE_ITEM_ACTIVITY_CODE|TIMEKEEPER_ID|
  LINE_ITEM_DESCRIPTION|LAW_FIRM_ID|LINE_ITEM_UNIT_COST|
  TIMEKEEPER_NAME|TIMEKEEPER_CLASSIFICATION|CLIENT_MATTER_ID[]
Data rows: one per line item, each ending []

Data rules

Delimiter — pipe |; every record terminated with the [] end-of-line token.
EXP/FEE type — F for fee (time), E for expense (disbursement), IF/IE for adjustments.
UTBMS codes — task (Lxxx litigation), activity (Axxx) and expense (Exxx) codes per the agreed code set.
GBP rounding — monetary fields to 2 decimals; INVOICE_TOTAL must equal the sum of LINE_ITEM_TOTAL.
Dates — YYYYMMDD; consistent invoice/billing period.
Identifiers — CLIENT_ID, LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID/CLIENT_MATTER_ID, TIMEKEEPER_ID; INVOICE_NUMBER unique.

Worked example (outline)

LEDES1998B[]
INVOICE_DATE|INVOICE_NUMBER|...|CLIENT_MATTER_ID[]
20260531|INV-2026-044|ACME|M-1001|3120.00|20260501|20260531|May fees|1|F|3.00|0.00|975.00|20260512|L210|||TK-07|Review disclosure docs|FIRM01|325.00|J Smith|Associate|M-1001[]
20260531|INV-2026-044|ACME|M-1001|3120.00|...|2|E|1.00|0.00|45.00|20260520|||E118|Court filing fee|FIRM01|45.00|||M-1001[]

Invoice total £3,120.00 reconciles to line totals; uploaded to the client's e-billing portal.

Validation checklist

Header LEDES1998B[] and field-name row present
Every record terminated with [], pipe-delimited
F/E types correct; valid UTBMS task/activity/expense codes
Monetary fields 2 dp in GBP; INVOICE_TOTAL = sum of line totals
Dates in YYYYMMDD
Unique INVOICE_NUMBER; client/matter/timekeeper IDs consistent
VAT handled per client e-billing requirements

Last updated: 2026-06-04 — confirm the current LEDES 1998B layout, UTBMS code set and client e-billing rules against current authority (ledes.org) guidance before use.