WIP Report Explained for Law Firms
- Pooja Venugopal
- 13 hours ago
- 1 min read
WIP stands for Work In Progress—and a WIP Report shows all billable work your firm has done but hasn’t yet invoiced. It’s one of the most important financial tools for managing law firm cash flow and revenue.
✅ What a WIP Report Includes:
Client or Matter Name
Timekeeper (lawyer/staff responsible)
Date of work done
Billable hours recorded
Hourly rate or fixed fee value
Total unbilled amount per matter
Age of the work (how long since the work was done)
🎯 Why It’s Crucial for Law Firm Cash Flow:
Forecasts Future Income – WIP is potential revenue.
Highlights Billing Delays – Aged WIP = delayed invoicing = delayed cash.
Improves Accountability – Identifies who is logging time, and who isn’t.
Supports Lockup Calculations – WIP + Debtors = Total lockup days.
Drives Better Billing Habits – Encourages regular time entry and faster billing cycles.
🔍 How to Use a WIP Report Effectively:
Review weekly or fortnightly to stay on top of billables.
Sort by age to flag stale or forgotten time.
Discuss in team meetings to reduce aged WIP and improve cash conversion.
Bill progressively instead of waiting for matter completion.
💡 WIP Tip:
If your WIP is consistently high, you might have:
Time not getting billed
Bottlenecks in your billing process
Clients unaware of accruing fees
Scope creep with no additional invoicing
📊 WIP Report + Cash Flow = Power Combo
Use your WIP report alongside your Aged Receivables and Payments Received reports to monitor:✔ What’s been worked✔ What’s been billed✔ What’s been paid
Book a FREE call with us if you wish to free up your time doing accounting tasks and focus on what truly matters.
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