Fee Templates

October 23rd, 2026

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A fee template controls the fees that can be charged for a type of work.

Fee templates overview

A fee template controls the fees that can be charged for a type of work. It sits in configuration, holds no money, and is never billed itself. A template describes the fees a firm charges for a type of work, for example, the rates agreed with a particular client or the standard charges for residential conveyancing.

Firms typically run several templates on a site. Templates vary by area of work, by client, and by charging model.

How a template becomes a real fee

When a template is added to a work item, a commercial model is created. The commercial model is the fee arrangement for that work item, and it holds the estimate and the actuals.

A configurator builds and publishes a fee template in Admin.
A published version of that template is added to a statement of work, an instruction or a matter, creating a commercial model.
Clio Operate builds a fee structure from the template version. The estimate and the actuals both come from this structure.
Fee earners work the estimate through its phases, then record actuals against it.

Terminology

Term	What it means	Who uses it
Fee template	The configuration-level blueprint. Defines sections, elements and rules.	Configurators
Template version	A published snapshot of a template. Commercial models pin to a version, not to the template.	Configurators
Section	A block of fees within a template. Each section has a type, which decides how its fees are calculated.	Configurators
Element	A single line within a section, for example, one job role and its hourly rate, or one fixed fee.	Configurators
Commercial model	The instance of a template version on a work item. Holds the estimate and the actuals.	Configurators and fee earners
Financial Frameworks	The widget on a work item that displays its commercial models.	Fee earners
Estimate	The projected fees, also referred to as the quote.	Fee earners
Fee actual	A real fee recorded against the work item. Creates unbilled revenue.	Fee earners

How a template is put together

A fee template has four levels, and knowing which level a setting sits at saves a lot of hunting. Each level does one job.

Level	What it is	What is set here
Template	The whole thing. One per charging arrangement.	The name a fee earner sees, the currency, whether tax applies, and whether the estimate can be adjusted at all. See Create a template.
Version	A published snapshot of the template. A work item uses a specific version of a template, not simply the current version.	Publishing a template creates a version. This is how a change to a template does not affect existing commercial models on matters. See Versions and publishing.
Section	A block of fees within the template. A template usually has several.	The section type decides how amounts are arrived at, and whether the section feeds the estimate, the actuals or both. See Sections.
Element	A single fee within a section.	The amount or the rate, whether it is mandatory, whether a fee earner may change it, and whether it is created automatically. See Elements.

Estimate, actuals or both is the decision that shapes everything else

Targeting is set on a section, and again on an element where the section feeds both. It decides what the template actually produces: a quote, a set of controls on what can be recorded, or both. A template whose sections are all targeted at actuals produces no estimate at all, which is normal on legal aid and time and materials work. Settle this per section before configuring anything else, because it changes which of the other settings are relevant.

What a template controls

Which fees can be on an estimate, and whether each one is mandatory, recommended or optional.
Which fees can be recorded as actuals, creating unbilled revenue.
The amounts and rates, either entered into the template or drawn from a rate card.
Whether the estimate starts in draft for adjustment, or goes straight to active.
Whether any fees are created automatically as soon as the commercial model becomes active.
The tax rate applied to the estimate.
The charge-out rates available when a fee earner records time against the work item.

A template also acts as a boundary. A fee earner cannot invent a fee on a work item. Every fee has to exist as an element in the template the commercial model is based on.

Where fee templates connect to the rest of Clio Operate

Area	Connection
Rate cards	Sections can draw their amounts from a rate card instead of holding them in the template. Rate cards are versioned, so rate changes flow through automatically.
Time Recording	Fee templates hold the charge-out rates used by time recording. The fee selector on a time entry lists the sections available on that work item's active commercial models.
Chart of Accounts	Fee actuals can post to an unbilled revenue account, named in the Unbilled Revenue global feature. A firm that does want separate accounts for unbilled hourly and unbilled fixed fees sets those as fee type overrides in the feature. This is optional, fees do not have to recorded in unbilled revenue.
Statement of Work	A commercial model on a statement of work can be inherited by the instruction or matter created from it.
Tax	Tax-enabled templates reference a tax code. Fee amounts are always net.
Approvals	A commercial model can be linked to an approval workflow, so an estimate needs sign-off before it becomes active.
Business Rules	The Hourly Rates by Business Rule section type resolves its rate by evaluating a business rule against the time recorder.

Before you start creating fee templates

Permissions

Templates are maintained in Admin, so a configurator needs access to the Finance area of Admin.

Order of work

A fee template sits in the middle of a chain. Build it too early and its sections have nothing to point at. Build it too late and there is nothing for a statement of work to carry.

Step	What to do	Why it comes here
1	Build the Rate cards.	A section can only point at a rate card that already exists. Rate cards also carry the rate history, so this is where an annual uplift is made later.
2	Configure the tax rates	The tax code selection is mandatory as soon as tax is enabled on a template.
3	Enable and configure the Unbilled Revenue global feature.	Fee actuals can post to an unbilled revenue account, named in the Unbilled Revenue global feature. Whether a fee type posts at all is set there too, by Record Unbilled Fees in Chart of Accounts, so a firm can record fees without carrying them in the chart of accounts. The same feature is where separate accounts for unbilled hourly and unbilled fixed fees are set.
4	Enable the Fee Structures global feature and set its approval model.	This is the master switch. The per work type feature cannot be configured until it is on, and the global feature is not valid without an approval model.
5	Enable Fee Structures on each relevant work type, and set its Purpose. Reach the settings from the global feature, which lists the work types, or from the work type under Manage Features.	A template cannot be attached to a work type that does not have the feature enabled. A template resolved against one returns Fees are not enabled for this work item type.
6	Build and publish the fee templates.	This is the step the rest of this article covers. Only published versions can be used on a work item.
7	Attach commercial models to the statements of work that matters will inherit from.	Inheriting from a statement of work is the most common way a template reaches a matter.

Steps 4, 5 and 7 are covered in Make fees available to use.

Also needed, depending on the section types used

Each section type has its own prerequisites. The eight types are described under Section types, so read that first where the template's shape is not yet settled.

Four of the eight section types depend on configuration that sits outside Fees. Put these in place before building a section of that type, because the section cannot be saved without an element and the element cannot be completed without them.

Section type	What it needs first
Hourly Rates By Job Role	Job roles. Elements match to a job role, so the roles need to be in place and assigned. A user holds one job role, recorded directly against the user. It used to be set on one of their allowed teams, so a user could effectively carry more than one. The assignment dates matter as much as the role, because a fee is priced at the role the person held on the date the time was recorded. See Record fee actuals. Where the section matches on a user defined field instead, that field needs to exist and be selectable through Data Composer.
Hourly Rates By Time Code	A time classification, and the time codes within it. The section references the classification, and its elements are filtered to the codes inside it.
Hourly Rates By Business Rule	An aspect and a business rules. The field the rule queries has to exist on the user record, and the rule has to be written to read it. Legal aid grading is the usual case.
Any section using rate cards	The matching rate card type. Fixed Fee draws from Fixed Price Services, Disbursements from Purchase Items, and Hourly Rates By Job Role from Charge Out Rate.

Rate card rules matter as much as the rate cards

Elements are evaluated against the work item when a template is attached, and elements that fail their rate card rules are dropped. A template with correct amounts but wrong matching rules resolves to nothing on a matter. Check the rules on the rate card items, not only the rates.

How job roles, rate cards and fees fit together

An Hourly Rates By Job Role section is the only part of Fees that depends on three features at once. Four things have to be right, each configured somewhere different, and the fee earner sees the same symptom whichever one is missing: a message above the fee selector and no fee.

What	Where it is configured	What happens if it is missing or wrong
A job role, assigned to the person, with a start date that covers the date of the time entry	Admin, under user management	No role is recorded on the entry. The fee earner is told the time booker has no role
A Charge Out Rate card with an item for that job role, in the matter’s currency	Admin > Finance > Rate Cards	No element matches. The fee earner is told the role does not apply to the selected fee section
A rate on that item, in force on the date of the entry	The rate card item	An element matches but carries no price for that date, and the fee earner is told to ask for the rate card prices to be updated
A template section with Use rate cards on, and an element linked to that item	The fee template editor	The template’s own typed rate is used instead, or no element matches at all

Two things follow from that chain.

The date matters as much as the role. The rate comes from the job role the person held on the date the time was recorded, and from the rate in force on that same date. Neither is taken from today. So back-dated time can price differently from the same work recorded today, and correctly so.
This only applies to the job role route. Hourly Rates By Time Code and Hourly Rates By Business Rule do not use rate cards at all. Their rates are held on the template, so none of the above applies to them. A configurator who assumes every hourly section needs a rate card will go looking for configuration that is not required.

Decisions to make first

Decision	Why it matters
Currency	A template holds a single currency. Currency locks as soon as the first element exists, and the template picker on a work item only offers templates whose currency matches that work item.
Estimate, actuals or both	A template can drive the estimate only, the actuals only, or both. This is set per section.
Draft or auto-activate	Where the amounts are fixed and there is nothing for a fee earner to adjust, auto-activate removes the draft stage. Where the fees are expected to be tailored per matter, leave the draft stage in place.
Rate cards or template amounts	Rate cards are versioned, so a rate change is made once and flows through to every template that references it. Amounts typed into a template have to be maintained template by template. When to use a rate cardUse a rate card where the amounts are reused and likely to change, for example, annual charge-out rate uplifts. Type amounts directly into the template where they are bespoke to one client and unlikely to change, so there is no rate card to maintain alongside.
How much flexibility a fee earner gets	Requirement level, allow override and allow multiple together decide how far an estimate can be varied from the template.

Using the fee template editor

The Fee template editor is where a template is built. A configurator drags sections and elements in from the toolbox, then configures each one in a panel that follows whatever is selected.

The idea is familiar to anyone who uses the visual workflow designer: drag items in from a toolbox, and configure whatever is selected in a panel. This tab covers the mechanics of the fee template editor: where an item can be dropped, which configuration tab is showing, and which actions belong to a section rather than to an element.. What each setting does is under Configure sections and elements.

Open the editor

Navigate to Admin > Finance > Fee Templates.
Select New to create a template, or select an existing template to edit it.
The Fee template editor blade opens. Maximise it if the layout is cramped.

Blade layout

The editor has three working areas, plus the blade toolbar above them.

Blade toolbar	Save, Save and publish, Clone, Delete, Usages, and minimise and maximise.
Toolbox	Every section type and element available, ready to be dragged onto the template.
Design	The template as it stands. This is where sections and elements are added, selected, reordered and deleted.
Configuration	The settings for whatever is selected, under a Template tab plus a Section or Element tab. The Configuration area shows the Template tab at all times, and then either a Section tab or an Element tab, depending on what is selected in the Design area.

Add sections and elements

Everything available sits in the Toolbox. Drag a section type or an element from there onto the Design area.

A section or element cannot be dropped anywhere. As an item is dragged across the Design area, a red line appears wherever it can be dropped, so the valid positions are shown rather than guessed at.

A section cannot be saved until it holds at least one element

Quick add is dragged onto a section like any other element, but instead of creating one element it opens the Rate Card Search blade to the right of the editor, so several elements can be created in one action.

Drag Quick add onto the section.
Select Search on the toolbar to return every rate card, or type in the Search field to find particular ones.
Where the results run to several pages, use Next and Previous on the toolbar to move through them.
Select the items required. The … menu at the top of the list offers select all on page, unselect all on page and clear selection. Select all and unselect all act on the page displayed, not on the whole result set. A selection made on page one survives moving to page two, so a multi-page selection is built up page by page and cleared in one go with clear selection.

Select Confirm. An element is created for each item selected, taking its name and value from the rate card item.

The configuration tabs

The Configuration area displays whatever is selected in the Design area. There are three states.

With this selected	The Configuration area shows
Nothing	The Template tab only.
A section	A Section tab alongside Template, with the Section tab's contents displayed.
An element	An Element tab alongside Template, with the Element tab's contents displayed.

What each setting on those tabs does is covered under Configure sections and elements.

The design area

The Design area has three views: Designer, Estimate and Actuals.

Designer view

Each section displays its section type and what it targets, estimate or actuals or both. Each element inside it displays:

The element title.
The requirement, which is the value of Include in estimate: optional, mandatory or recommended.
The cardinality, which indicates whether the element allows multiple.

Errors and review flags

Where there is a problem on a section or an element, Error displays in red beside it with a count for the number of errors. Errors are generally fields that need to be completed. Review sometimes displays in orange.

Working with sections and elements

Selecting a section or element displays a toolbar to its left.

Action	On a section	On an element
Delete	Deletes the section and everything in it.	Deletes the element.
Clear	Removes every element from the section, leaving the section and its settings in place.	Not offered.
Move up and down	Changes the section's position in the template.	Changes the element's position in the section.

Each section also carries an arrow to expand or collapse it, and a double arrow at the top of the Designer view expands or collapses every section in the template at once.

Bounds

The template and its elements display with green dotted lines around them. Selecting a section or an element puts a solid green line around it. A cog icon called Show/Hide bounds turns the dotted lines off.

Scrolling and reset

The Design area scrolls, and it is possible to scroll far enough that nothing is displayed at all. A curved back arrow called Reset returns the display to the top of the template.

Estimate and Actual views

These are previews of Estimates and Actuals to see what the template will produce before it is published. See Preview before publishing.

Create a template

View the fee template list

Navigate to Admin > Finance > Fee Templates.
Review the list. It displays the template name, an indicator showing whether an unpublished draft exists, the current version number, and the currency.

Create or edit a template

Select New to create a template, or select an existing template to edit it.
The Fee template editor blade opens. There is a Maximise option if the layout is cramped.
Select the Template tab in the properties panel. These settings apply to the whole template, and several of them decide what the sections and elements can do.

Next Step

Add sections and elements to the template.

Sections & elements

Fee template sections

A section is a block of fees. Its type decides how amounts are arrived at, what its elements are configured with, and which screens the resulting fees display on. A template can hold as many sections as it needs, including several of the same type, for example, one section per phase of a matter.

An element is a single line within a section. Element settings decide whether a fee earner gets that line automatically, whether they can remove it, whether they can change its amount, and whether the fee is created for them.

Section Types

Eight section types are available. The type decides how the fee is calculated, what its elements capture, and whether it can drive estimates, actuals or both.

Section type	What it charges for	Estimate	Actuals	Rate cards
Fixed Fee	A flat amount per fee, either typed into the template or drawn from a rate card.	Yes	Yes	Optional
Fixed Fee Tiered	A flat amount that varies by threshold band, for example, by property purchase price.	Yes	Yes	Optional
Fixed Fees - Hourly Rates	A fixed amount derived from hours multiplied by a rate.	Yes	Yes	Optional
Hourly Rates By Job Role	Charge-out rates that vary by the job role of the person recording time.	Yes	Yes	Optional
Hourly Rates By Time Code	Charge-out rates that vary by the time activity recorded.	Yes	Yes	No
Hourly Rates By Business Rule	Charge-out rates resolved by evaluating a business rule against the person recording time.	Yes	Yes	No
Conditional Tiered Success %	A percentage of an outcome value, varying by threshold band.	Yes	Yes	No
Disbursements	Expected disbursements on a bill. Not created automatically.	Yes	No	Optional

Expand each section below to find out more about each section type along with worked examples.

Fixed fee

Use it for transactional fees, for example, an onboarding fee, an abortive fee or a set fee for a defined piece of work.

Elements capture a display name and a fixed amount, or link to a rate card item on a Fixed Price Services rate card. Where the section does not use rate cards and Specify estimate as a range is on, elements capture a from and a to amount instead.

Elements can also carry a Trigger, a free text description of the event that causes the fee to be charged.

Worked example: criminal defence

A firm charges a set fee for police station attendance and a separate fee for a court appearance, both fixed whatever the time taken.

Element	Amount	Requirement	Allow multiple
Police station attendance	£250	Recommended	Yes
Magistrates' court appearance	£400	Optional	Yes

Both allow multiple, because a matter can involve several attendances. Neither is mandatory, because not every matter reaches court.

Fixed fee tiered

Use this where a flat fee varies by a threshold that is known for the matter. A residential purchase is the standard example. The solicitor charges a fixed fee, and that fee depends on the purchase price of the property.

Purchase price from	Purchase price to	Fee
£1	£150,000	£400
£150,000	£500,000	£600

Each element is one band, capturing a From Value, a To Value and a Fee Amount. Elements sort by their from value.

Worked example: residential conveyancing

Set Threshold type to currency and Validate overlapping thresholds to Must Be Sequential, so the bands cannot leave a gap. Each band is one element, all mandatory, with no override allowed.

Element	From	To	Fee
Up to £150,000	£1	£150,000	£400
£150,000 to £500,000	£150,000	£500,000	£600
Over £500,000	£500,000	£2,000,000	£900

Give each element a display name. Where a name and both values are set, only the name displays, which reads better than a range on the estimate.

Section settings specific to this type

Threshold type sets the data type of the band boundaries: currency, integer or decimal. Use integer where the threshold is a quantity rather than a value, for example, a number of transactions completed.
Validate overlapping thresholds sets how strictly bands are policed. Allow Overlap applies no validation, Don't Allow Overlaps blocks the save where bands overlap, and Must Be Sequential requires the bands to run consecutively.

Conditional tiered success %

Use this for percentage-based fees, commonly no win no fee arrangements. The fee is a percentage of an outcome value rather than a set amount.

Each element captures a From Value, a To Value and a Success Fee percentage. The from value is inclusive and the to value is exclusive. Validate overlapping thresholds works the same way as on Fixed Fee Tiered.

Worked example: debt recovery

Debt recovery is a typical example. A firm charges a higher percentage on smaller debts, because the work is much the same and the recovery is smaller. Commission is charged on each payment the debtor makes, at a percentage that falls as the debt rises, because a larger debt returns more in absolute terms for similar work.

Element	From	To	Success fee
Small debt	£0	£10,000	15%
Standard debt	£10,000	£50,000	10%
Large debt	£50,000	£250,000	7.5%

Turn Allow multiple on. An instalment plan can run for years and commission is charged each time the debtor pays, so the actuals group under one element with a quantity against them.

Personal injury work charged as a percentage of damages recovered is the other common use.

Fixed fee hourly rate

This type works out the amount from hours multiplied by a rate, but produces a fixed sum. It belongs with the fixed fee surfaces rather than the hourly ones, and its fees are recorded manually rather than generated from time entries.

When a fee earner adds one of these fees, the role and rate display read-only, and they enter the hours. The amount is calculated. The description pre-fills from the role and the rate, and can be edited.

The name says hourly, the behaviour is fixed

This type is the legacy hourly fees handler. It lets a firm quote for hourly work and capture the result as a fixed fee. It is not the type to use for charge-out rates driven by time recording.

Worked example: A quoted piece of advisory work.

The firm quotes six hours of partner time to review a commercial lease, and bills it as one fixed sum rather than tracking the time.

Element	Role	Rate	Hours	Amount
Lease review	Partner	£350	6	£2,100

The fee earner enters the hours when recording the fee, and the amount is calculated. The description pre-fills from the role and the rate.

Hourly rates by job role

The most common way to hold charge-out rates. Elements match to organisational roles, so a time entry recorded by a partner picks up the partner rate.

Section settings specific to this type

Match elements based on selects whether elements match on organisational role, which is the default, or on a user defined field.
Field appears only when matching on a user defined field, and selects the field through Data Composer.
Allow user to pick element if not matched lets a fee earner select an element manually where no automatic match is found.

Element settings specific to this type

Elements capture the role, the hourly rate, and optionally estimated minimum and maximum hours. The minimum and maximum amounts are calculated from the rate and the hours, and are read-only.

Where the section uses a Charge Out Rate rate card , the element links to a rate card item and takes its rate from there. This is the setup that carries the least maintenance. Updating a rate means dating a new rate on the rate card item, and every template referencing it picks the new rate up automatically.

Worked example: litigation on hourly ratesBuild a Charge Out Rate rate card with one item per job role, then turn Use rate cards on and use Quick add to create an element per item.

Element	Job role	Rate
Partner	Partner	£350
Associate	Associate	£240
Paralegal	Paralegal	£185

When the partner rate rises to £355 on 1 January 2027, date the new rate on the rate card item. Every template referencing it picks it up, with no template edits.

Hourly rates by time code

Use this where the rate depends on the activity rather than the person. The section references a Time classification, and its elements are filtered to the time codes within that classification.

Legal aid work is the standard example. Travel and waiting attracts a lower hourly rate than attending court, so each carries its own element and rate.

Elements capture the time code and the hourly rate, and optionally minimum and maximum hours.

Worked example: legal aid

The Legal Aid Agency pays a lower rate for waiting than for advocacy, so the rate follows the activity rather than the person. Select the time classification on the section, then add an element per time code.

Element	Time code	Rate
Advocacy	Attending court	£65
Preparation	Case preparation	£50
Travel and waiting	Travel and waiting	£30

A fee earner sitting outside court all morning and appearing for an hour produces two fees at two rates from one day's time recording.

Hourly rates by business rule

Use this where the rate depends on something about the person that is not their job role. Legal aid grading is the main case in practice.

The pattern is to hold the grade on a bespoke aspect on the user record, then write a business rule that reads that aspect and resolves the rate. Legal aid rates are set by grade rather than by the firm's own role hierarchy, so the grade needs somewhere to live that is independent of job role.

Worked example: legal aid grading

Two fee earners can hold the same job role and different legal aid grades, so job role cannot resolve the rate.

Add aLegal aid gradefield to an aspect on the user record, with values A, B and C.
Write a business rule that reads the field and returns the grade.
On the section, set the rule. Add one element per grade.

Element	Grade	Rate
Grade A fee earner	A	£70
Grade B fee earner	B	£58
Grade C fee earner	C	£46

Turn Allow user to pick element if not matched on while the grades are still being populated, so an ungraded user is not blocked.

Disbursements

Covers the disbursements expected to appear on a bill. This type is estimate-only, and disbursements are never created automatically.

The section draws from a Purchase Items rate card. A template can either pre-specify a locked set of disbursement heads, or leave the list open for a fee earner to search and select from. Elements can pre-specify a rate card item and its amount, so a section arrives with its disbursements already listed.

This type does not display the targeting settings, because it only applies to estimates.

Worked example: conveyancing disbursements

Pre-specify the disbursements that always apply and leave the rest for the fee earner to search for. Elements draw from a Purchase Items rate card.

Element	Amount	Requirement	Tax
HM Land Registry fee	£135	Mandatory	Override to zero rated
Local authority search	£95	Recommended	Template rate
Bankruptcy search	£4	Optional	Template rate

The Land Registry fee is the case for an element-level tax override: everything else on the template bills at the standard rate, and this one carries no tax.

Configure sections & elements

A section is a block of fees. Its type decides how amounts are arrived at, what its elements are configured with, and which screens the resulting fees display on. An element is a single fee inside a section. A template can hold as many sections as it needs, including several of the same type, for example one section per phase of a matter.

The two are configured together, because the properties panel carries a Section tab and an Element tab and the panel follows whatever is selected. Which fields display depends on the section type, so both tables below are set out by type. What each type is for, and when a firm would use it, is under Section types.

For full instructions and videos on how to use sections and elements in the Designer, see Using the fee template editor.

Add a section

Drag a section type from the toolbox into the centre view.
Check the Title. It defaults to the template name plus the section type, so it does not have to be typed for every section. The default is not compulsory.
Check the System Name. It generates from the title and has to be unique. Adding a second section of the same type means entering a different title before the save is enabled.
Configure the remaining settings in the Section tab of the properties panel.

A section cannot be saved until it holds at least one element.

Add elements to a section

There are two routes. Which one is available depends on whether the section uses rate cards.

Add one element at a time

Drag an element onto a section from the toolbox.
Configure the element in the Element tab of the properties panel.
Where the section uses rate cards, select Search to search the rate card items on the selected rate card, then select the item to link the element to.

Quick add, for sections using rate cards

Drag Quick add onto the section.
Select Search. Clio Operate displays every rate card item on the selected rate card.
Select the items required, or select all of them.
Confirm. An element is created for each item selected, taking its name and value from the rate card item.

Quick add is the faster route where a section needs many elements. Each element displays the rate card item name and its value, so nothing is keyed by hand.

Section fields

Some fields are on every section type. The rest depend on the type, so read down the column for the type in question. What each field does is in its own row, so nothing about a field sits elsewhere.

Key

Short	Section type
CTS	Conditional Tiered Success %
DISB	Disbursements
FF	Fixed Fee
FFT	Fixed Fee Tiered
FFHR	Fixed Fees - Hourly Rates
HRBR	Hourly Rates By Business Rule
HRJR	Hourly Rates By Job Role
HRTC	Hourly Rates By Time Code

Field	CTS	DISB	FF	FFT	FFHR	HRBR	HRJR	HRTC	What it does
Title	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Displayed as the section heading. Generates automatically from the template name plus the section type, and can be overtyped. The default is not compulsory.
Type	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	The section type, set by whichever type was dragged in from the toolbox. It cannot be changed after the section is added, so a section of the wrong type has to be deleted and rebuilt. The type decides how amounts are arrived at and which of the fields below display, which is why this table is set out by type.
Description	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	What the section is for. Optional, and not seen by the fee earner.
Enabled	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Whether the section is in use. On by default. Disabling it keeps the configuration without offering the fees.
Targeting	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Whether the section applies to the estimate, the actuals, or both. Defaults to both where the type supports it. Disbursements are estimate only. Targeting changes which other settings are relevant. Setting a section to estimate only makes the actuals settings obsolete, and the designer adjusts the available options accordingly. It also controls the element-level targeting setting, which only displays where the section is set to both.
Specify element as a range	—	—	—	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Elements capture a from and a to amount instead of a single figure, and the estimate displays a range. Use it where an exact figure is not meaningful, for example on time and materials work. On the types that carry hours, this is what turns the hours field into Minimum Hours with a Maximum Hours alongside it, giving the estimate a bracket. Not available when the section uses rate cards, because the rate card sets a single amount. A ranged element also cannot be set to create its fee actual automatically, because the amount to create is not known; a fee earner recording one by hand is prompted to enter an amount within the estimated range. Currently unavailable on Disbursements, because the general section configuration group is hidden for that type. This is expected to change.
Use rate cards	—	Y	Y	—	Y	—	Y	—	Whether elements draw their amounts from a rate card instead of holding them in the template. Rate cards are versioned, so a rate change is made once on the rate card and every template referencing it follows. Amounts typed into a template have to be maintained template by template. Use a rate card where the amounts are reused and likely to change, and type them in where they are bespoke to one client. Turning this on also enables Quick add, which creates an element per rate card item in one action.
Rate card type	—	Y	Y	—	Y	—	Y	—	Which rate card the section draws from. Displayed only when Use rate cards is on, and the list is filtered to the types valid for that section type. Fixed Fee draws from Fixed Price Services, Disbursements from Purchase Items, and Hourly Rates By Job Role from Charge Out Rate. Labels in the designer read Rate Card Types, Rate Card Item Type and Rate Card Item. See the Rate cards article for how to build and maintain them.
Enable time booking	—	—	Y	Y	Y	—	—	—	Whether time can be recorded against this section. Not displayed on the hourly rates types, where time booking is always on by design. Turning it on for a fixed fee section lets a fee earner book time to that section without generating any further fees or unbilled revenue. The time entry is logged and linked, so the firm can see how much time went into delivering the fixed fee. Combined with internal cost rates, this is how a firm reviews profitability on fixed fee work. A £1,000 fixed fee delivered at an internal cost of £500 is profitable. The same fee at an internal cost of £1,100 needs reviewing. A section with time booking on displays in the fee selector on a time entry, so this setting also decides what a fee earner can book time to.
Exclude from estimated totals	—	—	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Excludes the whole section from the estimate total displayed in the Financial Frameworks widget. Use it where sections deliberately overlap. Some firms configure one section per stage plus combined sections, for example Stage 1, Stages 1 and 2, and Stages 1 to 3. Only one applies to a given matter, so the overlapping sections are excluded to stop the same fees being counted twice. Tiered sections are the other common case, where summing every tier would inflate the total. Not offered on Conditional Tiered Success %, which carries no monetary value to affect the total, and currently unavailable on Disbursements for the same reason as Specify element as a range. The default for a newly added section needs confirming: the feature description and the spec acceptance criteria say on, the spec overview says off. Sections on templates that predate the feature default to off, so they stay included.
Validate overlapping thresholds	Y	—	—	Y	—	—	—	—	How strictly the bands are policed. Allow Overlap applies no validation. Don't Allow Overlaps blocks the save where bands overlap. Must Be Sequential requires the bands to run consecutively, so no gap can be left between them. Must Be Sequential is the safe choice on a value-banded section, because a gap means a matter whose value falls in it resolves to no fee at all.
Threshold type	—	—	—	Y	—	—	—	—	The data type of the band boundaries: currency, integer or decimal. Use integer where the threshold is a quantity rather than a value, for example a number of transactions completed. Not offered on Conditional Tiered Success %, where the bands are always monetary.
Allow user to pick element if not matched	—	—	—	—	—	Y	Y	Y	Lets a fee earner choose an element by hand where nothing matched automatically. Without it, time recorded by someone the section cannot match has no rate to use. Worth turning on wherever the matching depends on data that may be missing, a bespoke grading field being the usual case.
Time Classification	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Y	The time activity the rate is matched on. This is what lets travel and waiting attract a lower rate than attending court, which is the reason the type exists.

Element fields

Details aspect

On every section type.

Title	The fee name a fee earner sees on the estimate. Mandatory. Where the element links to a rate card item, it defaults to the item name and can be varied.
System Name	Mandatory. Defaults from the title and the section system name, and has to be unique.
Enabled	Whether the element is offered. On by default. Disabling keeps the configuration without offering the fee.

Targeting aspect

Targeting. Narrows this element to the estimate only or the actuals only. Displayed only where the section targeting is set to both. Not on Disbursements, which are estimate only.

Tax aspect

Displays only where tax is enabled on the template.

Override template's tax code. Off by default. When on, a tax code selection is mandatory and applies to this element instead of the template tax code.

Use it for the exceptions. A typical UK template bills at the standard rate throughout and overrides the one or two elements that are zero rated, a court fee recorded as a disbursement being the usual case.

Estimate configuration aspect

Include in estimate. Mandatory, Recommended or Optional. The main lever on how much a fee earner can change, because it decides what a new estimate starts with.

Mandatory is on the estimate by default and displays without a delete action, so it cannot be removed. Use it for a core fee or a disbursement that always applies.

Where every element is mandatory and none allows the amount to be overridden, there is nothing for a fee earner to adjust. In that case turn Auto-activate and lock estimates on at template level, so nobody has to open and approve an estimate they cannot change.
Recommended is on the estimate by default and displays with a delete action. Use it for a fee relevant to most matters using this template, but not compulsory.
Optional is not on the estimate and does not display until a fee earner adds it with the plus action. Use it for a fee available with this template but not expected on every matter.

Actual configuration aspect

Automatically create fee. Off by default. Creates the fee actual automatically once the commercial model becomes active. It takes effect at that moment, not later.

Use it for fees that are certain. An onboarding fee is a good candidate, because the work is done as soon as the matter opens. A fee that depends on an event, for example a change of ownership, is a poor candidate, because the fee should only exist once the work is done.

Available on the three fixed fee types, and only where the section is targeted at actuals. An hourly rates section never auto-creates, because its fees come from time entries. It is also unavailable on a ranged element, because the amount to create is not known.

Because the fee is on the estimate too, it only auto-creates if it is included there. Removing it from the estimate is how automatic creation is prevented without changing this setting.

It interacts with two others. Where Allow override of amount is on and the amount has been changed on the estimate, auto-create uses the estimate value rather than the template default. Where Allow multiple is on, each instance on the estimate creates its own fee actual.

The state these fees start in is set on the template, by Auto-created fee phase. See Create a template.

Aspect specific to the section type

What displays in this aspect depends on the section type, so read down the column for the type in question. The fields are in the order the blade displays them, and the short names are in the key above.

Field	CTS	DISB	FF	FFT	FFHR	HRBR	HRJR	HRTC	What it does
Allow multiple	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	—	—	—	Off by default. Lets the element be added more than once to the same section, which suits a fee charged repeatedly, for example a commission taken each time a debtor pays. Not displayed on the hourly rates types, where time recording always allows multiple. Where an estimate holds two instances of the element and Automatically create fee is on, two fee actuals are created. On the actuals side, repeated instances group under one element with a quantity against them. Adding a second instance is often the only change available to a fee earner where everything else on the template is locked.
Default goods service item	—	Y	—	—	—	—	—	—	The goods or service the disbursement relates to.
Description	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Copied to the estimate when a commercial model is created, then to the actual when a fee is recorded. Each copy can be overridden, so the template, the estimate and the actual can all differ. That is how a firm personalises a quote and then a bill. Read-only where it comes from a rate card item. Not used for hourly fee actuals, which take their description from the time entry narrative.
Business Rules: Select	—	—	—	—	—	Y	—	—	The business rule evaluated against the person recording time, to decide whether this element applies. This is what lets a rate resolve from something held on a bespoke field, legal aid grading being the usual case. Where no rule matches, the fee earner can only pick an element by hand if Allow user to pick element if not matched is on for the section.
Rate card item	—	Y	Y	—	Y	—	Y	—	The rate card entry the element takes its amount from. Displays where the section has Use rate cards on. Select Search to search the items on the selected rate card, then pick the item to link to. On Hourly Rates By Job Role the rate card item carries the job role, which is how the element is matched to the person recording time. That makes it the lowest-maintenance setup of all: a rate change means dating a new rate on the rate card item, and every template referencing it picks the new rate up automatically.
From Value	Y	—	—	Y	—	—	—	—	The lower boundary of the band. Elements sort by this value, so the bands display in order whatever sequence they were added in.
To Value	Y	—	—	Y	—	—	—	—	The upper boundary of the band. Where a name and both values are set, only the name displays, which reads better on an estimate than a range.
Fee Amount	—	—	—	Y	—	—	—	—	The fee charged where the matter value falls in this band.
Default Amount	—	Y	Y	—	—	—	—	—	The amount the fee defaults to. This is the amount field on a plain Fixed Fee as well as on a Disbursement. Where the element links to a rate card item, the amount comes from there instead.
Success Fee	Y	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	The percentage charged where the value falls in this band. A percentage rather than an amount, because the fee value is not known in advance. The widget displays the minimum and maximum percentages as a range rather than a figure for the same reason.
Hourly rate	—	—	—	—	Y	Y	Y	Y	The charge-out rate for this element. Where the section uses a rate card, it comes from the rate card item and is read-only.
Hours, or Minimum and Maximum Hours	—	—	—	—	Y	Y	Y	Y	The estimated hours for this element. Combined with the hourly rate to give the element's estimated amount, so a rate of £350 and 10 hours contributes £3,500 to the estimate. The resulting amounts are calculated and read-only. Where the section specifies the element as a range, the field is labelled Minimum Hours and a Maximum Hours field displays alongside it, giving the estimate a bracket. Hours affect the estimate only. Actual hourly fees are priced from the hours recorded on the time entry, not from the template, so leaving this blank does not stop a fee earner recording time. It only means the element quotes nothing.
Allow override of amount	Y	Y	Y	—	—	—	—	—	Off by default. Lets a fee earner change the amount, both on the estimate and when recording an actual. Where the amount has been overridden on the estimate and Automatically create fee is on, auto-create uses the estimate value rather than the template value. Where it is off, the value displays locked at the template or estimate figure.

Versions and publishing

Fee templates are versioned so charges can be changed without disturbing matters that are already in flight. A commercial model pins to a template version, not to the template, so publishing a new version has no effect on work items already using an earlier one.

Save

Saves the template as a draft. The draft has no version number. The template's current version number does not change, and nothing repoints to this version, so nothing live changes. A draft is not offered when adding a template to a work item.

Saving again while a draft exists, overwrites that draft in place.

Draft displays as an indicator on the fee templates list view and after the template name in the fee editor. A Versions tab now displays and shows details of when the template changes in draft and published.

Preview before publishing

In the Design area of the blade you can preview Estimates and Actuals to see what the template will produce before it is published. If any elements are mandatory or recommended they display automatically. Optional elements can be added.

Discard a draft

Select Delete Draft on the toolbar to throw away unpublished work in progress. The action displays only where a draft exists and the template has been saved at least once.

Published versions are not affected, so anything already in use on a work item carries on unchanged. Where the draft is the template's only version, the template itself is removed. The confirmation, titled Discard Draft, says both of those things before anything is deleted.

Save and publish / publish

If a template has not been saved before the Save and publish button is available. If it has already been saved and published, the Publish button is available. Publishing a template increments the version number, and the template's current version pointer moves to the new version, so it is used on all new commercial models using this template.

Saving after a version is published creates a new version rather than changing the published one.

The version number displays on the fee templates list view and after the template name in the editor. The Version tab displays details of the versions and drafts prior to that are removed.

Published versions do not change

A matter using version 3 stays on version 3. Publishing version 4 does not retro-fit it. Moving a commercial model to a newer version is a separate, deliberate action.

Version history

The Versions tab lists the template's versions in two groups:

Current. One entry: the live version, with its date and the user who published it. Displays as Draft where the live item is an unpublished draft.
Previous Versions. Every earlier version, each with its version number, date and user. Displays only where earlier versions exist. Each previous version carries a … menu with two options:
- View - Opens that version in the editor, read-only. A safe way to read a superseded template without risking a change to it.
- Restore - Loads that version's content back into the editor to work from. Displays only to someone who can edit the template.

Restore a version

Restoring is the first of three steps rather than a revert. It loads the old content into the editor, and nothing is written until the work is saved.

Open the Versions tab and find the version to restore, under Previous Versions. The current version has no menu.
Select the … menu, then Restore.
Read the confirmation and confirm. It tells you the editor will now be editing that version, and that saving creates a draft which still has to be published to become current.
The version's content loads into the Design area, and a message above it confirms which version is being edited. Nothing has been saved at this point.
Make any changes needed.
Select Save to keep the work as a draft, or Save and publish to make it current.

Publishing after a restore takes the next version number. So restoring version 3 when 5 is the highest, then publishing, gives version 6 holding version 3's content. Version 3 itself is untouched, every commercial model pinned to it stays pinned, and only new attachments pick up version 6. That means there is no way to make an earlier version current again, and no way to change what an existing matter uses by working on versions. Moving a matter to a different version is done from the work item.

A version carries the template settings in force when it was published

A commercial model pins to a version rather than to the template, so the settings travel with the version it pinned to. Auto-created fee phase is the clearest example: it is stored on the version, so changing it on the template affects only versions published after the change. Commercial models already attached keep the behaviour they were created with. See Create a template.

Repricing and version upgrades

The usual repricing pattern runs like this.

Update the template with the new amounts and publish a new version.
Select Usages to review which statements of work and matters use the template, and which version each one uses.
Update the statement of work to the new version, so new matters pick it up.
Leave existing matters on the version they were opened with.

To go back to an earlier set of amounts, restore that version and publish it forward rather than retyping them.

Where the template draws its amounts from rate cards, repricing is done on the rate card instead. Date the new rates on the rate card items, and every template referencing them picks the new rates up automatically.

Manage templates

Other features in the Fee template editor

Clone a template

Cloning is quicker than building a similar template from scratch.

Open the template in the editor.
Select Clone from the toolbar.
Enter a Name and check the System Name. The name pre-fills as Copy of the original and the system name as copy-of- the original, and both can be changed. The system name is checked for uniqueness.
Confirm. A copy opens in a new editor, ready to edit.
Save or publish the copy.

Nothing is saved until the copy is saved

Cloning opens a copy in the editor and writes nothing. Close the blade without saving and the clone is gone and the original is untouched. That makes it a safe way to try a variation on a template that is already in use.

The copy does not inherit the original's system names. Every section and element system name is regenerated from the new template's system name plus the item's title, so the two templates never collide.

Review usages

Select Usages to see which work items use the template. The list displays the work type, the work item reference as a link, the work item title, and the template version in use. Use it before a repricing exercise, and before attempting a deletion.

Browse the data composer

Fee data usually has to be referenced somewhere outside the template: an estimate total on a quote document, a section total in a report, a field a business rule needs to read. Each of those needs the correct field path, and the context browser is where to find it.

Select Context Browser on the toolbar to open it.

It sits on the fee template toolbar because the person building a template is usually the same person who then has to surface those figures on a document or a report, so it saves leaving the editor to go and look.

The commercial model data graph lists every field that fee and commercial model data exposes to the rest of Clio Operate. It is a reference tool and changes nothing on the template.

Use it for	What you are looking for
Quote and bill documents	The merge field path for an estimate total, a section total, or a template's friendly name.
Calculated fields	What is already derived, and what a new calculation can build on. The browser opens with calculated fields enabled.
Reports and list views	Confirming a field is queryable before specifying a column against it.
Business rules	Checking the field a rule needs to read exists on the graph.

It shows the whole graph, not this template's fields

The context browser opens the entire commercial model graph rather than a view scoped to the template being edited. A configurator expecting to see the fields their own template produces will instead see everything the graph offers, and has to find the relevant paths within it.

Delete a template

Clio Operate checks usage before deleting. Where any commercial model has been built from any version of the template, the deletion is blocked and a message displays the number of work items involved. Otherwise the deletion cascades through the versions, sections and elements.

Resolve the usages before deleting, or disable the template instead by setting Enabled to off. Disabling keeps existing commercial models working while stopping the template being selected on anything new.

Deleting the only version deletes the template

Where a template has one version and that version is deleted, the template goes with it. Where several versions exist, the current-version pointer falls back to the next highest version number.

Import and export

Fee templates move between environments through configuration import and export, in the same way as budget structures. A Fee Templates node lists the templates available.

Run the conversion job before importing anything

Fee template elements used to reference goods and services by legacy id keys and now use a compound key. Import is blocked with an error, not a warning, while either the package or the target environment still holds elements on the old keys. The Modeller Assistant job Fees - Convert Template Goods/Service References to Compound Key converts them. Run it before attempting any import.

Behaviour	Detail
What can be exported	Enabled templates are selectable. A disabled template is not offered.
Which version is exported	Only the current version. Exporting a template with several versions captures that one version, not its history.
Importing a template that already exists	A warning displays, then the import adds a new version numbered above the target's highest.
Importing an older version	The imported version does not become the live version.
Re-importing the same package	Creates a further new version each time.
Importing into a clean environment	Creates the template in full and it is usable straight away, with no already-exists warning.
Missing rate card	Importing a template whose rate card is absent warns without blocking the import.
Inactive rate card	Where the rate card exists but is inactive, an unselectable warning displays.
The Fee Structures global feature	A fee template and the Fee Structures global feature can each be imported without the other. Importing the global feature warns where its approval rule is missing from the target.

Dependencies

Dependency	Type	Why
Rate card types	Recommended	A template references a rate card type, but a rate card cannot travel in a package, so the import warns rather than blocks.
Rate card items	Recommended	Elements reference specific rate card items. The import succeeds without them and the template cannot price until they exist in the target.
Business rule sets	Mandatory	An Hourly Rates by Business Rule template declares its rule set dependencies.
Time classifications and time code sets	Mandatory	An Hourly Rates by Time Code template declares its classification and time code set dependencies.
Approval rules	Recommended	Approval rules attached to the template or version.

Troubleshooting fee templates

Why a template does not appear on a work item

Most questions about a missing template come down to one of these.

Cause	What to check
The template is still a draft	Only published versions are offered. Select Save and publish.
Currency mismatch	The template currency has to match the work item currency. This is a hard filter. Where the currency cannot be resolved for the work item, the picker returns nothing without displaying an error.
The template is disabled	Check Enabled on the template.
Fees are not enabled on the work type	Check the Fees global feature configuration for that work type.
The work type restricts templates to the commercial agreement	The picker narrows to templates already used on the work item's statement of work. Where that statement of work holds an alternative option, only those models are offered.
Rate card rules excluded every element	Elements are evaluated against the work item and failing elements are dropped. A template that resolves to nothing returns The selected fee template has no fee elements that apply to this work item. All elements were excluded by the Rate Card rules attached to the configured items.

Why two matters on the same template look different

A template is not used exactly as written. Every element is evaluated against the work item, failing elements are dropped, and sections left empty are dropped with them. Surviving elements pick up the rate card item and default price resolved for that work item. A template can therefore produce a different result on two different matters.

Rate card rules matter as much as the rate cards

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	Title	Mandatory. The template name, displayed in the fee template list in Admin. This is a configurator's name rather than a fee earner's, so it can be as descriptive as the firm needs.
	System Name	Mandatory. Generates from the title and has to be unique. The designer blocks the save while a duplicate exists, so a template copied from another needs its system name changing before it will save.
	Friendly Name	The default title given to the commercial model when the template is added to a work item, and the name that can appear on a quote document. A fee earner can override it. This is the fee earner's name for the arrangement, so it is worth setting even where the title is clear, because the title is not what they see.
	Description	What the template is for.
	Currency	A template holds a single currency. It locks as soon as the first element exists, so it has to be right before any building starts. Changing it afterwards means a new template. The template picker on a work item only offers templates whose currency matches that work item. Where the currency cannot be resolved for the work item, the picker returns nothing and displays no error.
	Auto-activate and lock estimates	Skips the draft estimate stage. The commercial model goes straight to active when the template is added to a work item, and the estimate cannot be adjusted. Turn it on where every element is mandatory and none allows the amount to be overridden, because there is then nothing for a fee earner to adjust and no reason to make them open and approve an estimate. Leave it off wherever a fee earner is expected to shape the estimate.
	Tax enabled / Tax Code	Whether the template calculates tax. Turning it on makes a tax code selection mandatory, and the template can use the system default tax code or name a specific one. Tax is calculated from the net amounts rather than added as a line of its own, and it appears on the estimate only. Fee amounts throughout the template are always net. It also switches on the element setting Override template's tax code, which is how the exceptions are handled, a zero rated court fee being the usual case. See Elements.
	Auto-created fee phase	The state that automatically created fee actuals start in. Draft by default, with Submitted and Approved the other options. Revising is not offered, because it is only reachable from Submitted. It affects only fees the template creates on its own, which means elements with Automatically create fee switched on. Fees a fee earner records by hand always start in Draft whatever this is set to. The value is held on the template version, so it travels with the published version a commercial model pins to. A fee actual's state drives its chart of accounts posting status, so this is an accounting decision rather than a workflow shortcut. See Posting to the chart of accounts. Draft posts nothing, Submitted makes the fee ready to post, and Approved posts it immediately. Choosing Approved means that the moment the commercial model activates, unbilled revenue is recognised, the fee is already locked for editing because only Draft and Revising are editable, and the fee is immediately eligible for write-off. Picking it to save clicks removes the review step before revenue is recognised.
	Enabled	Whether the template can be used at all. A disabled template is not offered in the picker on a work item, even where a published version exists.