Charts can be built using the datasets described below. Click on a name below to see column definitions for each dataset (you must be logged into SimpleLegal to access). To see a full list of column names and their definitions for all datasets, click here.
| Dataset | Description/Notes |
| Accruals Single Period |
Data for accruals in your environment at the matter level and vendor level. Useful for reporting on accruals activity and actual amounts to determine if vendors are consistently submitting estimates and if estimates are reliable for financial planning purposes. This dataset is for customers who allow vendors to submit accruals for only one (single) period at a time. This is the baseline dataset used in our out-of-the-box Accruals (Single Period) and Accruals vs. Actuals (Single Period) reports. |
| Accruals Split Period |
Data for accruals in your environment at the matter level and vendor level. Useful for reporting on accruals activity and actual amounts to determine if vendors are consistently submitting estimates and if estimates are reliable for financial planning purposes. This dataset only applies to customers who have prior period accruals enabled in SimpleLegal, which allows vendors to submit accruals for a split (more than one) period at a time. This is the baseline dataset used in our out-of-the-box Accruals (Split Period) and Accruals vs. Actuals (Split Period) reports. |
| Invoice Level Spend |
Data for invoice-level spend in your environment ranging from billed and final amounts to vendor-level information. Useful for reporting on upcoming spend (i.e., spend being reviewed) and approved or paid spend. |
| Invoice Line Item Level Spend |
Data for invoice line items in your environment ranging from general attributes for associated matters to spend-related totals. Useful for reporting at the line item level to determine if billed rates are consistent with billed amounts for various task, activity, and expense codes. This is the baseline dataset used in our out-of-the-box 8hr+ Timekeepers report. |
| Invoice Allocations Level Spend |
Data for invoice-level allocations in your environment ranging from general attributes for associated matters to spend-related totals. Useful for reporting on amounts allocated against accounting code sets to determine how respective allocation amounts are being tracked and utilized. This is the underlying dataset used for spend-based reports built using the Adhoc Reports Builder and the baseline dataset used in out-of-the-box spend reports provided for Enhanced Reporting, such as Spend Grids and Billed Matters. |
| Matters |
Data for matters in your environment ranging from Legal Entities and Vendors to important activity/billing dates. Useful for reporting back on matter attributes to further break down or compare the distribution of legal entities, matter leads, and vendors across matters. This is the baseline dataset used in some of our matter-level out-of-the-box reports, such as Matter Status and Matter Leads Workload.
|
| Vendors |
Data for vendor records in your environment, such as recent billing activity and associated Vendor Groups (if applicable). Useful for highlighting or comparing matter volume across vendors or determining distribution of matters across vendors based on location, Vendor Groups, or other attributes. This is the baseline dataset used in our out-of-the-box Active Vendors report. |
| Timekeepers |
Data for timekeepers who bill for work on matters in your environment, including rates and spend totals. Useful for showcasing rates over time for comparison and providing better visibility into approvals vs. rejections for submission. This is the baseline dataset used in our out-of-the-box Timekeeper Rate Requests report. |
| Budgets |
Data for approved budgets in your environment, including information related to budget health. Useful for providing better visibility on amounts/performance for both internal and external (if applicable) budgets at the matter or firm level. This is the baseline dataset used in our out-of-the-box Budget Health report. |
| Legal Requests |
Data for legal requests submitted by users in your environment, including current status, reviewer names, form names, and associated matter names (if applicable). Only applies if the Legal Requests feature is enabled. This is the baseline dataset used in our out-of-the-box Legal Requests report. |
| SimpleReview (if applicable) |
Data recorded for AI rules in your environment, including rule performance and vendor insights. Only applies if SimpleReview is enabled for AI-driven invoice review. Useful for seeing potential savings attached to flagged line items and which rules provide the largest and smallest amounts of potential savings. This is the baseline dataset used in our out-of-the-box SimpleReview report. |
Additional Notes
For best results when building or editing charts:
- Be familiar with the datasets available in your environment (including custom attributes)
- Know your goal and/or which insights your chart is intended to provide
- Determine which chart type is best suited to visualize your data
- Confirm whether any existing charts address your need or can be cloned/customized
Data Types
Column names available for datasets are separated into the types described below. This applies to general attributes, standard system fields, and custom attributes.
- Dates: Dates or timestamps recorded in SimpleLegal for various activities or actions, such as Invoice Received Date, Matter Opened Date, or Effective Date. If the date value is null for a column or datapoint in a chart, the value is displayed as N/A.
- Text: Text-based or alphanumeric values added or selected by users in SimpleLegal or automatically generated by the system, such as statuses, descriptions, or other attributes.
- Numeric: Numeric-only values for quantities, financial amounts, or system-generated IDs, such as Invoice Total, Final Spend, Billed Hours, or Matter ID.
- T/F: Refers to fields that show TRUE/FALSE values to indicate whether a feature/functionality is enabled or disabled (e.g., Accruals Enabled) or whether a field is populated or blank.
- Functions: Applies only to metrics used in out-of-the-box reports provided by SimpleLegal. These metrics cannot be used or selected when building new charts from scratch.
Custom Attributes
Custom attributes can be used to build new charts for the following datasets: Invoice Line Item Level Spend, Invoice Allocations Level Spend, Matters, Vendors, and Timekeepers.
NOTE: Which custom attributes can be used for specific charts depends on the selected dataset. For more information, please make sure to review the Datasets for Enhanced Reporting section.
Go to Administration > Custom Attributes in SimpleLegal to see the list of custom attributes in your environment and relevant information, such as field type and associated record types.
To export custom attributes as a spreadsheet for reference and further filtering, click Download XLSX above the list.
Review the following notes and other considerations about custom attributes before moving forward with chart configuration:
- New custom attributes added to SimpleLegal will not be pushed into datasets until:
- The custom attribute is present in at least one record (e.g., at least one matter)
- The 24-hour data refresh cycle for Enhanced Reporting has passed
- A custom attribute will only appear as a column option if the following applies:
- It is active in SimpleLegal
- It is scoped to at least one record type (i.e., Attribute Scope)
- It is present in at least one record (e.g., at least one matter)
- If a custom attribute used in a chart is later edited or deleted in SimpleLegal, the chart will no longer work. Make sure to edit charts accordingly when custom attributes are updated.
- Whether a custom attribute is available as a column option depends on the selected dataset.
The table below shows the naming convention for custom attributes that appear in datasets. The naming convention is driven by the Attribute Scope, which can be found under the last column under Administration > Custom Attributes and refers to the type of record(s) the custom attribute is designated for in SimpleLegal. For more information about custom attributes, click here.
| Attribute Scope | Column Naming Convention |
| Matter | Matter Attribute [Attribute-Name] (e.g., Matter Attribute Department) |
| Legal Entity | Legal Entity Attribute [Attribute-Name] (e.g., Legal Entity POC) |
| Purchase Order | Purchase Order Attribute [Attribute-Name] (e.g., Purchase Order Attribute Expense Code) |
| Invoice | Invoice Attribute [Attribute-Name] (e.g., Invoice Attribute Department) |
| Vendor | Vendor Attribute [Attribute-Name] (e.g., Vendor Attribute Region) |
If a custom attribute has more than one record type under Attribute Scope, there will be separate instances of it under the column names to help users choose the relevant option. Each one will be prefixed with the record type. For example, if a custom attribute "Project Type" is scoped for both matters and vendors, the columns would show "Matter Attribute Project Type" and "Vendor Attribute Project Type." See the image below as an example:
The list below shows which custom attributes are available for each Enhanced Reporting dataset as of February 2023:
- Invoice Line Item Level Spend: Matters, Vendors, Invoices, Purchase Orders & Entities
- Invoice Allocations Level Spend: Matters, Vendors, Invoices, Purchase Orders, Allocatable Attributes & Entities
- Invoice Level Spend: Vendors, Invoice, Purchase Orders & Entities
- Accruals: Matters & Vendors
- Matters: Matters & Vendors
- Vendors: Vendors
- Legal Requests: Matters
- Budgets: Matters & Vendors
- Timekeepers: None
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