How to Track Legal Time in ClickUp

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How to Track Legal Time in ClickUp

ClickUp gives law firms a flexible way to capture every minute of billable and non-billable work across matters, clients, and practice areas. Use this guide to set up accurate lawyer time tracking that keeps your team compliant, efficient, and ready for invoicing.

This tutorial is based on best practices from the official lawyer time tracking article and turns them into a simple, actionable workflow for your firm.

Why Use ClickUp for Lawyer Time Tracking

Legal work demands precision. Missed minutes mean missed revenue, and incomplete records can cause compliance and client issues. A dedicated ClickUp workspace for your practice helps you:

  • Capture billable time directly where work happens
  • Create consistent matter records across the firm
  • Avoid double-entry in spreadsheets or separate timers
  • Improve visibility into utilization, realization, and profitability

Because everything lives in one place, you can easily connect time entries to tasks, matters, and clients and keep a full audit trail.

Step 1: Plan Your Legal Workspace in ClickUp

Before you start timers, outline how your firm will organize work in ClickUp. Clear structure prevents chaos later.

Design Your Hierarchy in ClickUp

Use this simple structure for most firms:

  • Workspace: Your entire law firm
  • Spaces: Practice areas (e.g., Litigation, Corporate, Family Law)
  • Folders: Client groups or matter types (e.g., Smith Family, M&A Deals)
  • Lists: Individual matters or cases
  • Tasks: Specific work items within each matter

This hierarchy lets every time entry roll up from task to matter to client, giving you clear reporting.

Create a Legal Time Tracking Policy

Decide firmwide rules before rolling out ClickUp:

  • Minimum time increment (e.g., 6 minutes / 0.1 hour)
  • What counts as billable vs. non-billable
  • Required description style for entries
  • When entries must be logged (e.g., same day)

Document this policy and store it in a shared ClickUp Doc for your team.

Step 2: Set Up Matter Templates in ClickUp

Templates save hours of admin for recurring matter types and ensure uniform time tracking practices.

Create a Matter List Template

  1. Create a new List for a sample matter in your chosen Space.
  2. Add key tasks that appear in most similar cases (e.g., Intake, Research, Drafting, Hearings).
  3. Configure custom fields for legal tracking, such as:
    • Client Name
    • Matter Number
    • Practice Area
    • Billing Type (Hourly, Flat, Contingency)
    • Billing Status (Open, On Hold, Closed)
  4. Click the List settings and save it as a template.

Next time you open a new matter, apply this template and instantly have a consistent structure for time tracking and reporting.

Standardize Task Templates in ClickUp

Within your matter List, create templates for repeatable work:

  • Client intake call
  • Draft complaint
  • Prepare for deposition
  • Court appearance

Each task template can include default assignees, due dates, checklists, and even preset time estimates for planning and capacity decisions.

Step 3: Enable and Configure Time Tracking in ClickUp

With your structure in place, turn on the built-in time tracking tools.

Enable Time Tracking for Your Workspace

  1. Open your ClickUp settings as a Workspace admin.
  2. Navigate to the time tracking settings section.
  3. Ensure time tracking is enabled for all Spaces used by your legal team.
  4. Review any available options such as manual entries, timers, required notes, and rounding.

Make sure every attorney and staff member has access to the Spaces where they will log time.

Choose How Your Team Logs Time in ClickUp

ClickUp supports multiple ways to track time. Train your team to pick the method that fits the work:

  • Task-level timers: Start/stop timers directly on a task while doing the work.
  • Manual entries: Add time later with a clear description of the work performed.
  • Bulk logging: Use list views to quickly add time across multiple tasks.

For high-stakes or complex matters, real-time timers are ideal to reduce missed hours.

Step 4: Log Billable and Non-Billable Time in ClickUp

Accurate categorization is essential for compliance and reporting.

Set Up Billable Indicators

To distinguish billable and non-billable work:

  1. Create a custom field on tasks or on time entries labeled “Billable”.
  2. Use options such as Yes/No or Billable/Non-Billable.
  3. Consider adding an “Origin of Work” field (Client Request, Internal, Business Development).

Encourage attorneys to tag each time entry appropriately so you can quickly filter and audit later.

Daily Time Entry Routine in ClickUp

Share this simple routine with your team:

  1. At the start of a task, open the relevant ClickUp task and start the timer.
  2. Pause the timer if you switch to a different matter or non-billable activity.
  3. At the end of the day, review the day’s entries in your time sheet view.
  4. Confirm each entry has:
    • Correct matter and client
    • Billable/non-billable status
    • Clear description of work performed

This discipline keeps your records clean and defensible.

Step 5: Use ClickUp Views for Legal Time Oversight

Once your team is logging time, views and dashboards bring the data together for partners and managers.

Create Time-Focused List and Table Views

On each matter List, add views focused on time tracking:

  • Time by Task: Group tasks by assignee and show total tracked time.
  • Time by Day: Display daily totals for each team member.
  • Unbilled Work: Filter to open matters and billable entries awaiting invoicing.

These views make it easy to identify missing entries or inconsistent logging patterns.

Build Partner Dashboards in ClickUp

Create dashboards for partners and practice leaders to see:

  • Total billable hours by attorney
  • Time by client or matter
  • Utilization trends for the month or quarter

Use charts and widgets to summarize data so leadership can spot issues early—such as overworked associates, underutilized resources, or matters exceeding budget.

Step 6: Support Invoicing and Compliance with ClickUp

ClickUp handles time capture and organization, which you can then align with your billing system.

Prepare Time Data for Billing

To support invoicing:

  1. Filter time entries by billing period and client.
  2. Export time data if needed for your external billing platform.
  3. Use custom fields to mark entries as “Invoiced” or “Ready for Billing”.
  4. Run a quick review for vague descriptions or incorrect categorization.

This process ensures you bill accurately while keeping your internal records organized.

Maintain an Audit-Ready Trail

Because each entry is linked to a specific ClickUp task and matter, you maintain a clear record of:

  • Who did the work
  • When it was done
  • How long it took
  • What was completed

This level of detail supports internal audits, client questions, and professional responsibility requirements.

Step 7: Train and Improve Your Firm’s Use of ClickUp

Time tracking only works if everyone participates consistently.

Roll Out Training for Attorneys and Staff

Provide short, focused training on:

  • How to navigate your firm’s ClickUp structure
  • How to start/stop timers and add manual time
  • How to apply your firm’s time entry policy
  • Where to find their weekly or monthly time summaries

Record a short internal video tutorial and store the link in your onboarding materials for new hires.

Review Metrics and Refine Your Process

On a monthly or quarterly basis:

  • Review time tracking completeness across the firm
  • Update matter templates to reflect lessons learned
  • Adjust custom fields for better reporting
  • Align ClickUp data with your financial reports

Continuous improvement ensures your system remains aligned with firm strategy and client needs.

Next Steps: Extend Your Legal Workflow Beyond Time Tracking

Once your firm is successfully tracking time, you can expand your ClickUp setup to manage intake, document workflows, and client communication. For additional optimization ideas and consulting support, you can explore resources from specialized partners such as Consultevo.

By combining a clear workspace structure, consistent policies, and the built-in time tracking capabilities of ClickUp, your law firm can protect revenue, strengthen compliance, and give partners real-time insight into the health of every matter.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

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