How do you set up the Time database?
| Property | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Title | What was done, written for the invoice |
| Matter | Relation | Links the entry to the matter |
| Timekeeper | Person | Who did the work |
| Date | Date | When |
| Start / End | Date with time | Optional, filled by buttons |
| Minutes | Number or formula | Entered, or calculated from start and end |
| Hours (billed) | Formula | Rounded to tenths |
| Rate | Number | Hourly rate |
| Amount | Formula | Billed hours × rate |
| Billable | Checkbox | Exclude admin and non-chargeable time |
| Invoiced | Checkbox or relation | Set when billed |
Which formulas round time to six minutes?
Six-minute increments (a tenth of an hour) are a common legal billing unit. These formulas assume a Minutes property; check your engagement terms for the rounding your firm uses.
| Formula property | Formula |
|---|---|
| Minutes (from start and end) | dateBetween(prop("End"), prop("Start"), "minutes") |
| Hours (billed) | ceil(prop("Minutes") / 6) / 10 |
| Amount | prop("Hours (billed)") * prop("Rate") |
Which views make time tracking useful?
- My week: my entries this week, grouped by day.
- Billable, uninvoiced: the list to bill, grouped by matter.
- By matter: a rollup on Matters showing unbilled hours and amount.
- Non-billable: to see where unbilled time goes.
How do you get from time entries to an invoice?
- 1
Review
Open Billable, uninvoiced for the matter and edit descriptions for the client.
- 2
Bill
Create the invoice in your billing or accounting software from those entries.
- 3
Mark invoiced
Tick Invoiced (or link the entries to an Invoices record) so they leave the unbilled view.
What can time data tell you about your practice?
Beyond invoices, time data shows utilisation (billable hours against available hours), which matter types are profitable, and where non-billable time goes. Even a simple monthly review of hours by matter type changes how you price work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you track billable hours in Notion?
- Yes. A Time database related to Matters, with formulas for rounding and amounts, tracks billable hours well.
- How do I round time to six minutes in Notion?
- Use the formula ceil(prop("Minutes") / 6) / 10 to get hours rounded up to tenths.
- Does Notion have a timer?
- Not built in, but start and stop buttons can stamp times on an entry and a formula calculates the duration.
- Can Notion create invoices?
- Not natively. Track time in Notion and invoice from your billing or accounting software.
- Is there a Notion time tracking template for lawyers?
- LawyerOS Pro with AI includes a Time database with uninvoiced, billable and weekly views.
Sources
About the author
Raghav Handa trained as a lawyer, then spent years building legal technology, from enterprise legal products to custom systems for law firms.
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