Org vs. User Billing Guidelines: How does the hierarchy work?
Last updated: August 20, 2026
Billables AI lets you set billing guidelines at three different levels:
your individual profile,
your organization (firm-wide),
and at the client or matter.
This article explains where to set guidelines at each level, and — most importantly — what happens when guidelines at different levels conflict with each other.
The three levels
Level | Where it's set | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
Profile ("My Preferences") | Settings → My Preferences | Just your account, across all clients and matters |
Organization ("Org Preferences") | Settings → Org Preferences (admin-only) | Everyone at the firm, unless overridden |
Client / Matter | Billing Codes page → edit a specific client or matter (admin-only) | Only entries tied to that specific client or matter |
The hierarchy: what wins when guidelines conflict
When guidelines set at different levels contradict each other, Billables AI resolves the conflict from most specific and powerful to least:
Client / Matter guidelines — always win. If a guideline is set on a specific client or matter, it overrides anything set at the user or org level for entries tied to that client or matter.
User (profile) guidelines — win over org guidelines, but only if the org guidelines aren't locked (see below).
Org (firm-wide) guidelines — the baseline that applies to everyone, unless overridden by a user's own guidelines or a client/matter-level guideline.
A simple way to think about it: the more specific the guideline, the more it wins.
Admins: Locking org guidelines
Firm admins can lock org-level guidelines from Org Preferences in settings. Locking changes the hierarchy:
If org guidelines are locked: individual users cannot create or edit their own guidelines. The org guidelines apply to everyone.
If org guidelines are not locked: users can add or edit their own guidelines. If a user's guideline conflicts with an org guideline, the user's guideline wins for that user's entries.
To lock a setting, an admin selects it in Org Preferences and checks the lock column next to it.
Read more: 📄 Intro to Billing Guidelines
Read more: 📄 Best Practices for Effective Billing Guidelines