Billing and payments
Invoices and online payments for Nigerian law firms
Log time on the matter as you work, pull it into an invoice, and send it the way your client prefers: a PDF on your letterhead, or an email with a secure payment link. When the client pays online, the payment is matched to the invoice and the balance updates on its own.
The problem it solves
How most chambers do it today
Lawyers often bill from memory at month end, so hours are forgotten. Invoices are typed in Word and sent on WhatsApp, then the chamber waits for a bank alert and tries to work out which client and which invoice it was for. Following up is awkward because nobody has a clear list of who still owes what.
What changes with LawKona
LawKona takes the chamber from the minutes logged on a matter to an invoice the client can open, understand, and pay online — and records the payment against the right invoice without anyone matching bank alerts by hand.
In practice
Billing an advisory client in Lagos. The chamber and people are illustrative; every step is how LawKona works today.
Over two weeks an associate logs six hours on a share-purchase review, each entry with the minutes, the rate, and what was done.
The admin creates an invoice for the client, pulls in the unbilled time, adds a line for a filing cost, and finalises it.
She emails the client a payment link. He opens it on his phone and pays online in Naira.
Once the payment is confirmed, LawKona marks the invoice paid, and the Money hub shows one fewer unpaid invoice.
How it works
Log time on the matter
Record the minutes, your rate, and what you did, as you work on the file.
Create the invoice
Start an invoice for the client, pull in unbilled time, add any other line items, and finalise it.
Send it your way
Download a PDF on your letterhead, or email the client a secure payment link for the amount still owed.
The client pays online
They pay in Naira from the link or from the client portal’s Pay now button. The payment lands in the firm account, never in trust.
The invoice updates itself
Once the payment is confirmed, LawKona records it on the invoice and marks it paid or part paid.
Who uses it
Associate or pupil
A quick way to log time as they work, so billable hours are not forgotten.
Principal, admin, or accountant
Invoices built from logged time, and one list of who still owes what.
Client
A clear PDF invoice and a secure link to pay online — or Pay now in the client portal.
Why it helps your chamber
Bill every hour you work
Time logged on a matter is pulled straight into the invoice, so billable work is not forgotten at month end.
Get paid faster
Clients pay from a link in their email or from the portal, and the invoice is marked paid automatically when the money arrives.
Always know who owes what
Unpaid invoices show on the Money hub, and you can export invoices to Excel (CSV) for your accountant.
What it looks like
Invoices
Adeyemi Holdings
INV-0042
₦ 450,000
Okonkwo retainers
INV-0043
₦ 180,000
Board pack — commercial
INV-0044
₦ 600,000
Included in
Free, Solo, Practice, and Chambers. Free for 1 lawyer and 3 properties, no card needed.
Included on Free, Solo, Practice, and Chambers. Not part of Student / Clinic.
Works with
- Money and trust
A record of money you hold for clients — deposits, retainers, filing costs — kept apart from the firm’s own fees. No more client money and fees mixed in one account and one spreadsheet.
- Client portal
A private page where each client or tenant sees their own matters, dates, documents, and invoices, and pays online. Fewer “any update?” calls, and no documents lost in chat threads.
- Reminders and alerts
LawKona works out every date on the file and reminds the right people ahead of time — the lawyers by email, tenants by email and WhatsApp. The chamber stops missing dates, and tenants stop saying nobody told them.
Billing and payments questions
- Where does the client’s online payment go?
- To your chamber’s own business account. Online payments are fees, so they never go into the client trust ledger.
- Does the client need an account to pay?
- No. The payment link in the email opens a secure checkout. Clients you have invited to the portal can also pay from there.
- What if part of the invoice is already paid?
- The payment link always asks for what is still owed, so money already applied from trust or paid earlier is taken into account.
- Can I bill a fixed fee instead of time?
- Yes. Add your own line items to the invoice alongside, or instead of, logged time.
- Can I export invoices?
- Yes. Export your invoices to Excel (CSV) from the billing screen.