Billing Guidelines: How the Hierarchy Works
Last updated: October 1, 2026
Overview
Billing practices are never one-size-fits-all. This is why Billables AI lets you set billing guidelines across different levels of granularity:
Your individual profile (user-level),
Firm-wide (org-level); finally,
At the client and matter level.
Most firms utilize a combination of all three types of billing guidelines.
This article explains where to set guidelines at each level; and most importantly, what happens when guidelines at different levels conflict with each other.
For a full overview of billing guidelines, see: 📄 Intro to Billing Guidelines
The three levels
Level | Where it's set | Who it applies to | Example guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
Individual ("My Preferences") | Settings → My Preferences | Your time entries. | All emails from name@mydomain.com should be marked as Admin Non-billable. |
Organization ("Org Preferences") | Settings → Org Preferences (admin-only) | Everyone at the firm. | All narratives should be in present tense. |
Client / Matter | Billing Codes page → edit a specific client or matter (admin or billing codes editor only) | Only entries tied to that specific client and/or matter. | Use 'review and analyze' instead of 'research'. |
What wins when guidelines conflict
When guidelines set at different levels contradict each other, Billables AI resolves the conflict in the following order:
Matter-level guidelines. The most granular way time entries are organized.
Client-level guidelines. If a guideline is set on a specific client or matter, it overrides anything set at the org- or user-level for entries tied to that client or matter.
Org-level guidelines. The baseline that applies to everyone, unless overridden by a client- or matter-level guideline.
User-level guidelines. These sit at the lowest priority level, giving org admins more control over the guidelines process.
Admins also have the ability to disable users from setting their own individual billing guidelines. This is accessed in Org preferences > Billing guidelines > Member override permission.
See also:
📄 Account Roles in Billables AI for an explanation on the different roles and permissions.
📄 Intro to Billing Guidelines for the complete reference guide.
📄 Best Practices for Effective Billing Guidelinesfor a first-week guide, with sample guidelines.
📄 Onboarding: Use Billables Intelligence to write your org-level Billing Guidelines for admins setting up the firm.