Brightflag’s invoice flags help you identify billing guideline breaches and billing inefficiencies on an invoice. These flags are powered by Brightflag’s artificial intelligence (AI) using language analysis.
🤖 How Does Brightflag’s AI Generate Flags?
- Brightflag’s AI analyzes invoice narratives to detect billing breaches and inefficiencies.
- These flagged line items are compared against your company’s billing guidelines and industry best practices.
- Any violations are highlighted, allowing for quick review and action.
⚙️ How Are My Company’s Billing Guidelines Configured?
- Your company’s billing guidelines are built into Brightflag’s rules engine.
- Flags are triggered based on these pre-configured guidelines.
- Your Brightflag system administrator can modify the flag configurations at any time.
📂 Flag Categories & Descriptions
👥 Staffing Flags
| Flag |
Description |
| Non-Lawyer Time |
Ensures only pre-approved timekeeper roles are permitted to bill. |
| Significant Paralegal/Partner Time |
Highlights excessive time spent by junior or senior lawyers on a matter. |
| Staffing Supervision |
Identifies lawyers billing for supervision of staffing issues. |
| Read-In Time |
Tracks time spent "getting up to speed" due to staff turnover. |
💰 Fee Flags
| Flag |
Description |
| Research |
Tracks time spent on any form of research. |
| Administrative Support Costs |
Highlights excessive time spent on admin tasks like printing, copying, or scanning. |
| Internal Communications |
Flags excessive internal emails, calls, and meetings. |
| Billing Process |
Identifies time spent on invoicing, budgeting, or submitting invoices. |
| Meeting Participation |
Tracks multiple timekeepers attending the same meetings or calls. |
| Court Attendance |
Tracks multiple timekeepers attending the same hearings or depositions. |
| Time Recordings > X Days |
Identifies time recordings exceeding a set number of hours per day. |
| Training Time |
Highlights time spent on legal training. |
| Travel Time |
Ensures work is performed while traveling or prohibits travel billing. |
| Significant Time Spent on X |
Flags billing for activities like audit letters, engagement letters, conflict checks, etc. |
📌 Expense Flags
| Flag |
Description |
| Prohibited Expenses |
Tracks and rejects law firm overhead expenses. |
| Prior Approval Required Expenses |
Flags expenses needing prior approval. |
| Third-Party Expenses |
Identifies third-party vendor charges (investigators, mediators, experts, etc.). |
| Out-of-Town Travel Expenses |
Highlights billed expenses related to travel (hotels, flights, meals, etc.). |
📝 Billing Format Flags
| Flag |
Description |
| Block Billing |
Prevents firms from combining multiple tasks into a single line item. |
| Insufficient Narrative Detail |
Flags vague or unclear descriptions. |
| Insufficient Timekeeper Detail |
Flags missing timekeeper rates or line totals. |
| Non-English Narrative |
Highlights line items billed in a language other than English. |
| Time Increments > 6 Minutes |
Identifies work not billed in six-minute increments. |
| Unspecified Expenses |
Flags disbursements labeled as "Misc" or with unclear descriptions. |
| Repetitious Work |
Highlights repeated tasks by the same timekeeper within an invoice. |
| Repetitious Work Across Separate Invoices |
Detects repeated work billed by the same vendor within a single matter. |
📊 Budget Flags
| Flag |
Description |
| Budget Warning |
Alerts when a matter is approaching its budget limit. |
| Budget Overrun |
Flags when a matter exceeds its budget. |
| Vendor Budget Monthly Overrun |
Detects when a vendor surpasses their monthly budget. |
| Vendor Budget Fiscal Quarter Overrun |
Detects when a vendor surpasses their quarterly budget. |
| Matter Budget Fiscal Quarter Overrun |
Flags when a matter exceeds its quarterly budget. |
| Vendor Budget Fiscal Year Overrun |
Flags when a vendor exceeds their yearly budget. |
| Budget Overrun - Vendor Specific |
Customizable vendor-specific budget overrun alerts (e.g., 75% or 150%). |
⚠️ Error Flags
| Flag |
Description |
| Incorrect Gross Total |
Ensures fees, expenses, and discounts add up correctly. |
| Time Entry Calculation Error |
Flags miscalculations of rate × hours worked. |
| Discrepancy in Narrative Totals |
Checks if the line total matches the overall invoice total. |
👤 Timekeeper Flags
| Flag |
Description |
| New Timekeeper |
Flags new timekeepers who haven’t been pre-approved. |
| Timekeeper Rate Increase |
Detects when a timekeeper charges more than their agreed rate. |
| Rejected Rate Request |
Flags timekeeper rates that were previously rejected but have been billed. |
| Pending Rate Request |
Identifies timekeeper rates that haven’t been approved yet. |
| Incorrect Rate Period |
Flags when a timekeeper charges a higher rate before the approval date. |