Matter profitability sheet.
Per-matter, the honest version: fees, fully-loaded cost, write-offs, net contribution, effective hourly rate, margin. The 'effective £/hr' column is the one most firms have never calculated — and the one that quietly says which matter types are actually paying the rent.
A working profitability sheet with realistic sample rows. Per-matter columns drive a summary block — total fees billed, total cost, write-offs, net contribution, average margin %.
Practice managers and partners reviewing matter mix. Pairs with the Matter Profitability Calculator for individual-matter modelling and the Member dashboard for the monthly aggregate trend.
Matters that look fine on billed value but are loss-making after write-offs and the partner's actual hours. The 'we're busy but not making money' pattern. Matter types that have been under-priced for years because nobody calculated the effective rate.
| Matter | Type | Fee | Hours actual | Cost £ | Write-offs | Net £ | Eff. £/hr | Margin % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-0241 | Conveyancing | £2,400 | 14.0 | £1,330 | £0 | £890 | £171 | 37.1% |
| M-0242 | Commercial | £8,500 | 45.5 | £5,005 | £400 | £2,845 | £187 | 33.5% |
| M-0243 | Wills & Probate | £800 | 5.0 | £425 | £0 | £280 | £160 | 35.0% |
| M-0245 | Commercial | £11,500 | 55.0 | £6,050 | £500 | £4,550 | £209 | 39.6% |
| M-0247 | Conveyancing | £2,200 | 13.5 | £1,283 | £150 | £587 | £163 | 26.7% |
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The numbers that matter
- Cost £/hr (fully-loaded).Salary + employer NI + pension + share of overhead, divided by realistic chargeable hours. Sense-check with the firm's accounts; typical small-firm bands £80–120/hr for paralegals, £100–130 for associates, £130–180 for seniors.
- Hours actual, not billed. The honest hours spent. Capturing this means time recording has to be live even on fixed-fee matters.
- Effective £/hr.(Fee − Write-offs) / Hours actual. The number that says what you actually got per hour. Compare across matter types — some surprise you.
- Margin %. Net contribution / Fee. Compare with the firm-wide blended margin; pattern surfaces below- average matter types.
Quarterly review
Group closed matters by type. Average margin and effective rate per matter type over a quarter. Three patterns:
- Type running 10+ points below firm average. Either pricing is wrong (reprice or move to fixed fee — see fixed fees vs hourly ), process is bloated (see standardising the five most repeated jobs ), or scope discipline is loose.
- Type running 10+ points above.Either you're under-investing in marketing this matter type (see small-firm marketing without a team ), or the high margin is a quality you'd sacrifice if you scaled volume.
- Specific clients running > 1.5× firm-wide write-off rate.Have a conversation about scope. Sometimes it's a relationship to reprice; sometimes it's the “exit conversation you should have had two years ago” signal.
What this template doesn't do
Doesn't replace the Matter Profitability Calculator for individual-matter modelling pre-engagement. The sheet is for the closed-matter quarterly aggregate; the calculator is for “what would this look like if I quoted X.” Different jobs.
Notes from other operators.
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