Billing & Rates
All things invoicing and payments.
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All things invoicing and payments.
Last updated
Was this helpful?
Priori clients are charged a composite rate (or "Priori Rate") for projects initiated on our platform. The composite rate is displayed on our platform at all times and is comprised of your standard hourly rate plus the Priori management fee payable by the client for their use of our platform and services.
The standard formula is:
Composite Rate = Your Legal Fees + Priori Management Fee
For example, if a client receives a proposal on our platform and a provider's profile has a listed rate of $240 per hour, that is the composite rate that the client would be charged if the company engaged the lawyer for the project, reflecting legal fees of $200 per hour plus payment to Priori of $40 per hour.
The same formula applies to flat, hourly, success, mixed-fee and all other rates on our platform except for expense reimbursements (on which Priori does not assess a management fee.)
The composite rate is only charged if a client chooses to engage a lawyer on our platform. There is no cost associated with a client submitting an RFP, receiving a proposal or scheduling screening calls with suggested providers.
Invoices for clients introduced to you via the Priori platform must be sent to the client via Priori. Unless otherwise agreed on an engagement, the standard billing period is between the 1st and the 7th of each month for the preceding month’s work.
The following video shows how to send invoices on Priori:
Not a problem! All major legal billing and practice management platforms, including Priori, support a common file format called the Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standard (LEDES). Platforms such as Clio, RocketMatter and many more allow legal professionals to build invoices as LEDES files.
To bill a Priori client while using your practice management software to log time, simply build the invoice as you normally would, using your agreed rate (exclusive of Priori's fee.) Then, export that invoice to LEDES 1998b format, and upload that LEDES file to the relevant matter in Priori. Our system will automatically add the Priori management fee to each line item, and you can then review and send the invoice to the client from our platform.
The following video shows how to upload a LEDES file on a Priori project:
Invoices are payable per the client's standard payment terms. Stripe will automatically initiate payout to your linked bank account two business days after the client makes payment, and you can expect your fees to reach your bank account approximately two business days after that payout is initiated.
Priori does not guarantee payment of client fees. As in the usual course of business, all providers are expected and encouraged to do their own due diligence on prospective clients and, if you have any concerns regarding payment, you have the option of requesting payment of an up front or retainer invoice when sending a formal proposal to a client or opening a project.
Payments (less any processing fees) are otherwise automatically directed to your bank account promptly following payment by the client on the Priori platform.
We've set up our platform so that providers can select which bank account to link to their Priori account. Many lawyers link their IOLTA accounts to our platform (for matters billed on retainer), while others prefer to link their operating account. You're welcome to link whichever account works best for you and your practice.
Stripe does not deduct any processing fees from amounts paid by clients via bank transfer or wire/ACH.
The processing fees are 2.9% + 30c per credit card transaction and are automatically deducted from the amount deposited in your account following payment by the client. The same percentage is deducted from the Priori management fee portion of the invoice paid to Priori.
Credit card payments. As an online platform Priori offers clients the option to pay invoices by credit card. We understand that processing fees reduce the amount ultimately deposited in providers' bank accounts following payment by a client, however providers should not attempt to prevent Priori clients from exercising the option to pay by credit card. Processing fees should instead be accounted for in the rates quoted to clients for projects on our platform.
For projects requiring a retainer, lawyers have the option of adding a Retainer line item to invoices sent to clients on the Priori platform.
To send a retainer invoice, when you add a new line item to an invoice, select 'Retainer' under 'Type' and enter the retainer amount.
Screenshot. Selecting Retainer line item type.
Once the retainer invoice has been sent to and paid by the client, the legal fee component of the retainer will be processed and deposited in the bank account you have linked to the Priori platform and the Priori management fee component is deposited in our connected account. For lawyers receiving retainers, lawyers can link the appropriate account for such funds.
Once you are ready to submit an invoice on the project, you can add your line items, build the invoice and then select 'Use Retainer?' before sending the invoice to the client. Our system will then automatically apply the available retainer balance against the invoice. You can also elect to top up the retainer at this time.
If the project is completed and there is a retainer balance remaining on our platform, you can let us know and we will refund any remaining Priori management fee component of the retainer to the client. You can separately refund the remaining legal fee component.
If you would like to adjust your rate on a project, we ask that you request approval for the rate change from your client. Once that approval is obtained, you can add the new rate in the Settings section of the project on Priori. Go to Settings --> select the Rates tab --> Add the new rate. Once added, you can select the new rate when adding line items to the project.
The reason we ask lawyers to obtain approval before updating their rate is to avoid any issues with invoices being approved and paid. Please feel free to reach out to network@priorilegal.com with any questions on approach.
As a reminder, the formula for calculating rates on our site is:
Composite Rate = Your Legal Fees + Priori Management Fee
You can always view the % management fee for your matter and calculating your new rate by logging into the dashboard.
Please see the Tax Forms page for information about tax forms for our Marketplace.
Clients may pay invoices via credit card, linked bank account or wire/ACH and our platform handles routing your legal fees to you using our third-party payment processor, .
To receive payments for Priori projects, you can link a bank account to your Priori account and (once linked) verify your identity for our payment processor . That information must be provided before you can receive payments via our platform.
Our third-party payment processor () charges processing fees to transfer client payments by credit card.
If you would like to edit or delete a sent invoice, please email with the invoice number and a brief description of the change that needs to be made. One of our team will contact you to process the change.
Priori lawyers are engaged by and work directly with Priori clients for the duration of their engagements, and legal fees paid by Priori clients are automatically directed to lawyers’ linked bank accounts by our third-party payment processor () promptly following payment by clients. Priori does not have direct access to or directly hold any legal fees paid by Priori clients.
