Billing Coordinator - #2195140

Job Title: Legal Billing Coordinator

Location: Manchester City Centre

Reports to: Billing Supervisor

About us

gunnercooke is a Top 75 law firm recognised for over 90 industry awards. Launched in 2010, the firm has rapidly grown to over 500 lawyers across 15 global offices in the UK, US, Germany and Austria. Our breadth of expertise covers some of the most interesting and important emerging disciplines, from ESG and charity law, to blockchain and competition.

Collaboration is at the forefront of our award-winning culture and is what sets our firm apart from the rest. gunnercooke operates as a fee share model meaning our professionals join as self-employed advisors, free to design and develop the practice they’ve always wanted.

Our purpose is simple; to deliver a positive impact for our clients, provide a better life for our people and to leave a better world than we found. Our charitable arm, the gunnercooke foundation, enables us to directly engage with communities on social issues and to help charitable organisations grow.

gcTrust is the firm’s dedicated support team comprising specialists in finance, IT, marketing, compliance, recruitment, and partner and offices services. Our role is helping partners to set up, run, and scale up their practices, so they can focus on providing quality service to their clients.

The Role - Billing at gunnercooke

gunnercooke is an international law firm where partners run their own practices on a fee-share basis. Clients rely on you for a clear account of the work they are paying for. Partners rely on you to record the agreed fee split accurately.

You’ll draft and finalise a high volume of sales ledger invoices in Elite 3E throughout the month. Volumes peak as the month-end billing cut-off approaches. You’ll use OneGC to check partner billing information and Zendesk to manage requests from partners and their PAs.

The ideal candidate will be resilient, commercially driven, and champion our culture and values being Compassionomics, Laser-like Focus, Humour, and being Boundaryless.

Preparing and checking bills

• Read the partner’s proforma notes and check the underlying work in progress (WIP) against the requested billing period. Leave time outside that period available for a future bill. Query unclear transfer instructions and obtain approval for any write-down or write-off.
• Check the client, matter, billing entity, agreed rates, partner fee splits and currency. Review the fee and disbursement narratives, references and VAT treatment before sending the draft for approval.
• Check for duplicate requests and client or matter holds, including outstanding client due diligence. Follow the firm’s billing procedures and applicable SRA requirements. If a bill is on hold, tell the partner what needs to happen before you can issue it.
• Match the final bill to the approved draft before posting it. Keep the instructions and approvals with the request. For a reversal or rebill, record the reason, who authorised it and the original invoice number.
• Prepare e-bills in the client’s required format, including LEDES files. Submit them through the relevant portal, check acceptance and follow up any rejection.

Working with partners

• Answer incoming billing calls from partners and PAs. Call them directly to clarify instructions or talk through a query, then record the agreed next step in Zendesk.
• Own billing and sales ledger queries through to resolution. Respond within the agreed service times and tell the partner when they’ll hear from you again, even if you’re still waiting for information or approval.
• When handing a query to Accounts Payable, Cashiering, Credit Control or the Assistant Accountants, share the matter details, the checks you’ve made and the action needed. Agree who will update the partner and when.

Daily targets and month end

• Once trained, you’ll be expected to meet your individual daily invoice-processing target consistently and help the team meet its daily target. Your supervisor will look at volumes alongside accuracy, the complexity of the bills and time spent resolving queries.
• Plan your queue around the cut-offs for drafts and approvals. Chase outstanding approvals and flag bills at risk to the Billing Supervisor while there is still time to act. Help prepare billing reconciliations and reports, and raise recurring problems with examples.
• You may occasionally need to travel to London or work outside normal hours around a billing deadline.

Experience and Skills

Essential

• At least two years’ hands-on billing experience in a busy team, including checking proformas and producing final invoices.
• Strong working knowledge of VAT on legal fees and disbursements for UK and international clients, and the judgement to seek advice on unfamiliar transactions.
• An organised approach to deadlines. You can stay calm under pressure, spot a discrepancy and explain it clearly over the phone or in writing.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook.

Desirable

• Experience with Elite 3E, LEDES files or client e-billing portals such as Collaborati. Familiarity with Zendesk or a similar ticketing system is also helpful.

For more information about gunnercooke please visit www.gunnercooke.com