Legal Entities are individuals, companies, or organizations that have legal rights and obligations, typically for billing purposes. Invoices can inherit several attributes of this type to help categorize and track spend.
Unity eBilling includes two out-of-the-box allocatable attributes: Legal Entities and Cost Codes. On matters, a specific percentage of costs can be assigned among one, both, or none of these attributes. If allocated, this means that invoices submitted against that matter will automatically inherit those allocation settings. For example, 50% of each corresponding invoice's amount can be allocated to Legal Entity A and the other 50% can be allocated to Legal Entity B. How and if allocations are used depend on your organization's needs.
For instructions on how to add or edit allocations at the matter level, click here.
This article covers the following:
Note: These User Guides will be updated as more features are added and revised. Check in frequently for more information.
Legal Entity List Page
Go to Settings > Legal Entities to view, manage, or add Legal Entities for invoicing and reporting purposes. By default, all Legal Entities are displayed. Use the tabs above to see only active or inactive Legal Entities.
The following default columns of information are listed for each Legal Entity:
- Legal Entity Name: Name as it appears on lists of values for records on which a Legal Entity can be assigned (e.g., matters).
- Legal Entity Description: Notes or brief description to provide context to other users, if provided.
- Legal Entity Code: Accounting code associated with the Legal Entity.
- ID: System-generated number assigned when the Legal Entity was created.
- Status: Whether a Legal Entity is Active or Inactive.
- Actions: Displays ... (more) menu with the following options: Inactivate/Activate and Delete.
You can re-sort the list in ascending or descending order by clicking on any column name. By default, it is sorted by Legal Entity Name in ascending order. You can further narrow or customize this view by using the filters above the table.
Additionally, you can use the Search field above the list to find Legal Entities that match specific keywords, such as a Legal Entity Name or Code.
Adding a New Legal Entity
1. Click +Add Legal Entities in the top-right corner.
2. Fill in the requested fields and click Save in the bottom-right corner:
- Name (required): Enter the name as it should appear on lists of values where Legal Entities can be assigned.
- Description (required): Enter or edit a brief description to provide context and other important notes for other users.
- Accounting Code (required): Enter the code used for identification purposes.
- Legal Entity Status (required): Set to Active by default.
- Custom Attributes(s) (optional): If there are any custom attributes scoped to Legal Entities, they are displayed at the bottom of the form. You can also fill in or update the values from the details page.
Exporting Data
Click Download Data above the table to export the current view of your Legal Entity list as a Excel file. This includes the following information: Name, Description, Accounting Code, ID, Legal Entity Status, and a link to each entity's page in Unity eBilling.
Legal Entity Details
Follow the instructions below to edit any details.
1. Click on the name from the Legal Entities page.
2. Hover over the value for a field under Attributes and click the edit icon to make a change (see the table below for descriptions of each field).
3. Click outside of the field or press enter/return on your keyboard to save your changes.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name (required) | Name as it will appear in lists of values on records where a Legal Entity can be assigned (e.g., matters, vendors, invoices, etc.). |
| Description (required) | Enter or edit a brief description of up to 250 characters, including spaces, to provide context and other important notes for other users. |
| Accounting Code (required) | Code used for other identification purposes. |
|
Address 1 Address 2 City State/Province Postal Code Country |
Fill in or change the Legal Entity address, if applicable. |
| Legal Entity Status (required) | Set to ACTIVE or INACTIVE. |
| Custom Attributes | If there are any custom attributes scoped to Legal Entity records, they will be displayed at the bottom of the Attributes section. |
Legal Entity Actions
From the Settings > Legal Entities page, you can manage individual entities or apply bulk actions.
Click the ... (more) option under the Actions column and select one of the following: Inactivate/Activate or Delete.
Legal Entities cannot be deleted if they are currently associated with any invoices or matters.
Select boxes for Legal Entities on the left side of the table and then click Bulk Actions. You can apply the following bulk actions: Activate, Edit, Inactivate, and Delete.
Selecting Edit opens a window to modify the following fields: Description, Lead, and any custom attributes scoped to Legal Entities. Click Update to apply the changes across all selected Legal Entities.
