Understanding Invoice Flags

When you submit an invoice through Brightflag, the system may highlight certain line items using flags. These flags are generated by Brightflag’s AI and are used by your client to identify billing guideline breaches or potential inefficiencies.

Think of flags as a feedback tool—they help your client quickly review the invoice, identify issues, and decide whether to approve, adjust, or reject individual line items.

Why Are They Called “Flags”?

We call them flags because they act as warning signals. A flag doesn’t necessarily mean your invoice will be rejected outright—but it does indicate a potential issue your client will likely review. In some cases, clients configure their Brightflag settings to automatically reject flagged line items when a billing rule is clearly breached.

This makes it essential to understand which flags may appear and how to avoid triggering them by following your client’s billing guidelines carefully.

🤖 How Are Flags Generated?

Brightflag’s AI analyzes invoice narrative text to detect possible breaches or inefficiencies based on:

The billing guidelines set by your client.
Industry best practices related to legal billing.

If a line item matches a rule violation or inefficiency, Brightflag will flag it, helping your client review and take the appropriate action quickly.

⚙️ How Do Billing Guidelines Work?

Your client has defined billing rules within Brightflag.
These rules trigger flags automatically when a line item appears to breach them.
Each client may configure these rules differently, depending on their internal policies.
Clients can also update these rules at any time, so it’s a good idea to review billing guidelines regularly.

📂 Flag Categories & Descriptions

Below is a breakdown of the different types of flags that might appear on your invoice and what they indicate:

👥 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.

By understanding and avoiding common flags, you’ll improve the chances of your invoices being approved quickly and in full. For more help, refer to your client’s billing guidelines or reach out to them directly for clarification on specific policies.

Invoice Rejection Reasons / Flags