What is the difference between a bill and a statement?

In TurboLaw Time and Billing, a bill (also sometimes called an invoice) is just what you'd think it is: an itemized list of work done for (or expenses incurred on behalf of) the client, and how much is owed to you for it. For example, a bill might have the following items on it:

Spent 3 hours in court: $750.00
Travel expenses to meet with client: $75.00
On-site meeting: $250.00
TOTAL DUE: $1,075.00

This is like a bill or invoice that you might get when you purchase something. TurboLaw Time and Billing calls it a "bill" because you "bill" for your services, while you get an "invoice" for goods – but in practice the two terms are generally interchangeable.

A bill doesn’t say anything about money that might have already been paid – it simply lists the work or expenses you've done or incurred and how much they total.

On the other hand, a statement in TurboLaw Time and Billing is a "statement" of the status of the client's account at a particular point in time. Each line item on a statement represents either a bill or a payment. As such, it doesn't offer as much detail as a bill; but it does show payments made toward the account. Statements are often sent out on a regular basis (e.g., monthly – like your credit card statement) to show your clients where they stand (and if they still owe you money). For example, a statement might have the following items on it:

Balance forward: $85.67
Bill #123: $290.00
Payment #82: $50.00
TOTAL BALANCE: $325.67

This shows that the client had a balance due of $85.67 from before the period of this statement (if you send out statements monthly, your statement period is usually "the last 30 days") and that in that time, a bill for $290.00 was produced, but the client sent in a payment of $50.00, resulting in a final balance due of $325.67.

In general, you'd use a bill to show the details of the work and expenses for which you are billing. You'd use a statement to give an overall indication of the client's account, including any payments/retainers/etc. You don't have to limit yourself to sending statements only at the end of the month – if you want to give your clients frequent overviews of their accounts you can print a bill and a statement for a client and send them out together.

Ultimately, how you use bills and statements is up to you – use them in whatever way works best for the way you do business and to enhance cash flow.