CostBetter Masterclass

Sharpen your skills in preparing Bills of Costs, Budgets and Statements of Costs with CostBetter.

CostBetter has two components: a desktop app (CostBetter) and an Excel add-in (CostBetter Assistant). Together they take you from a raw time record (or even no time record at all) to a finished Bill of Costs, Budget or Statement of Costs.

The overall flow is:

  1. Import and clean your time record in the desktop app under “Step 1”. Add counsel fees and disbursements. The app will clean and smarten up the text in the time record and create a costing spreadsheet which includes counsel fees and disbursements as well.
  2. Cost the entries in the costing spreadsheet using CostBetter Assistant. Assign phasing (Task Codes), Activity Codes, Communication Codes, Party Codes and Disbursement Codes in bulk with our time-saving features. Apply Parts, set hourly rates, add and amend entries as needed.
  3. Generate the Bill, Budget or Statement of Costs in the desktop app under “Step 2”. Choose from a traditional 3-column or 6-column Bill, an eBill, Precedent H or Z, or an N260 Statement of Costs. The Bill chronology will be generated automatically from an hearing bundle or index you import. Optionally generate a Narrative, Notice of Commencement and covering letter.
  4. Amend the Bill if needed using the add-in’s Edit modes to add or change entries directly in the generated bill.
  • ▶1. Inputting and Cleaning the Time Record
    • ▶Overview

      Step 1 in the CostBetter app takes a solicitor’s time record in Excel format, cleans the descriptions, adds counsel fees and disbursements, and exports a standardised costing spreadsheet ready for coding using the CostBetter Assistant add-in.

      The workflow is: Import your time record into the top box → Map the columns → Review and (if appropriate) replace repeated terms → Add counsel fees and disbursements in the appropriate boxes (optional) → Click Process Now → Review changes → Export the cleaned time record.

      If you don’t have a time record that you can import, add the counsel fee notes and disbursement vouchers (if you have them) then click Create Blank Costing Sheet on the Step 1 page to generate an empty spreadsheet with all the correct columns, dropdowns and formatting already set up. If you have counsel fee notes or disbursement invoices loaded, they will be included in the blank spreadsheet.

    • ▶1.1 Importing the Time Record

      Drag and drop your Excel file (.xlsx, .xlsm or .xls) onto the drop zone, or click Browse to select it. CostBetter will load the file and immediately open the Initial Information window where you map your columns and enter case details. These case details will be saved in the costing spreadsheet so you don’t have to re-enter them later.

      • ▶Supported Formats

        CostBetter accepts Excel files in .xlsx, .xlsm and legacy .xls formats. If your time record is in .xls format, CostBetter will automatically convert it before loading. CSV files should first be opened in Excel and saved as .xlsx.

      • ▶Drag-and-Drop Import

        Simply drag your Excel file from Windows Explorer onto the grey drop zone labelled “Drag & drop an Excel file here”. The file will load immediately. Alternatively, click the Browse button to open a file picker.

      • ▶Mapping Columns

        After loading, the Initial Information window opens. This is where you tell CostBetter which columns in your time record correspond to which fields.

        Case Information

        Fill in the case details at the top of the window:

        • Client Name and Client Role (dropdown: Claimant, Defendant, Appellant, Applicant, Respondent)
        • Opponent Name and Opponent Role (same options)
        • Counsel 1–4 names — used to match counsel fees later
        • Expert 1–4 names — used to match disbursements later
        • “Deduce hourly rates from £/time” — tick this if your time record has an Amount column and you want CostBetter to calculate rates automatically
        • “Time values are in Hours.Minutes format” — tick this if times are entered as e.g. 1.30 meaning 1 hour 30 minutes

        Column Mapping

        A preview of your spreadsheet is shown below the case information. Click on each column header to assign it a role. The required roles are:

        • Dates, Fee Earner Code (or Name), Description, Time Spent

        Optional roles include Part, Task Code, Activity Code, Communication Code, Party Code, Hourly Rate and Amount (£). The OK button is only enabled once all required roles have been assigned.

        Tip: If your workbook has multiple sheets, use the dropdown at the top to select the correct sheet before mapping.
      • ▶Translating Coding

        If your time record already contains coding (e.g. internal activity codes, matter types or status codes), you can translate them into the standard coding format used by CostBetter.

        1. In the Initial Information window, click Translate Coding.
        2. Click the column headers of the columns that contain codes to translate.
        3. Click Ready to Translate.
        4. A translation window opens showing every unique value from the selected columns. For each value, five dropdown menus are available: Task Code, Activity Code, Communication Code, Party Code and Disbursement Code. Selecting a code in one category automatically disables the others for that row (each source value can only map to one category).
        5. Click OK. Any unmapped values are highlighted in red with a confirmation prompt.

        Once translated, the codes will appear in the correct columns of the cleaned time record.

    • ▶1.2 Detected Terms

      Immediately after column mapping, CostBetter automatically scans the Description column for acronyms, repeated words and multi-word phrases that appear frequently in the time record. These are presented in the Detected Terms window as suggested abbreviation expansions.

      For each detected term, you can enter or edit the replacement text (for example, you could replace “Mr S” with “Mr Smith”), choose between exact or fuzzy matching, and tick “Start Only” if the term should only be matched at the start of a sentence. Select the terms you want to use and click Add Selected, or Add & Save to Profile to also save them for reuse on other matters. Click Skip to dismiss without adding anything.

    • ▶1.3 Adding Counsel Fees and Disbursements

      On the Step 1 page, below the processing options, there are two sections for adding counsel fee notes and disbursement invoices. Drag and drop PDF, Word or Excel files into each section (or use the Add File button). CostBetter will extract the relevant entries (dates, descriptions, amounts, VAT) and include them in the exported costing spreadsheet.

      For counsel fees, each counsel is automatically assigned a code (CSL1, CSL2, etc.). For disbursements, CostBetter auto-suggests a disbursement code (X1–X35) based on the content of the invoice and matches expert names entered in the Initial Information window.

      Before exporting, a Review Window opens showing the disbursements with their suggested codes, dates, descriptions, amounts and VAT. You can edit any field before they are included. Missing dates or amounts are highlighted in yellow.

    • ▶1.4 Cleaning the Time Record

      Once you have reviewed the detected terms and optionally added counsel fees and disbursements, click Process Now to clean the descriptions. CostBetter runs up to five processors in sequence: abbreviation expansion, spelling correction, grammar correction, sentence improvement and text normalisation. Each processor can be toggled on or off in the Processing Options panel. For larger time records, it may take some time for the app to do its work, as each row is processed and edited in turn.

      • ▶Abbreviation Expansion

        Expands common legal abbreviations and shorthand found in time records. For example, “att” becomes “Attending”, “rec’d” becomes “received”, “tel” becomes “telephone”.

        CostBetter uses fuzzy matching (configurable threshold, default 85%) to catch misspelled abbreviations. You can edit the abbreviation dictionary by clicking Edit Abbreviations, and save custom profiles for reuse across matters.

        Editing Abbreviations

        The abbreviation editor opens as a spreadsheet-like window with columns for Abbreviation, Full Text, Match Type (exact or fuzzy) and Start Only (match only at the start of a sentence). Double-click any cell to edit it inline. You can add and delete rows, and save/load profiles for different case types.

      • ▶Spelling and Grammar Correction

        Spelling fixes common misspellings and grammatical errors.

        Both can be toggled independently in the Processing Options panel. Toggle them off if your descriptions are already clean or if you prefer to review spelling and grammar manually.

      • ▶Sentence Improvement

        Restructures descriptions into proper sentences. This includes capitalising the first word, adding full stops, removing redundant words and tidying up phrasing to make the descriptions read more naturally in a bill of costs.

      • ▶Tidy Up

        Standardises formatting across all descriptions. This includes fixing inconsistent spacing, normalising punctuation, standardising date formats and correcting case (e.g. proper nouns).

    • ▶1.5 Reviewing Changes

      After processing, CostBetter shows a preview of every change it has made. Each row shows the original text alongside the cleaned text, with modified cells highlighted in green.

      All changes are accepted by default. Review the list and click Reject Selected to revert any changes you disagree with, or Reject All Changes to start over. When satisfied, proceed to export.

      • ▶Change Log and Tracked Changes

        The preview panel shows a table with three columns: Cell (row number), Original Text and Cleaned Text. You can filter the view to show only modified cells, potential surname detections, or all cells. A search bar lets you find specific text.

        Click any row to see a detailed breakdown of the changes in the panel below (e.g. which processor made each change).

      • ▶Accepting or Reverting Changes

        Three action buttons are available:

        • Allow All Changes — accepts every modification
        • Reject All Changes — reverts every modification to the original text
        • Reject Selected — select one or more rows (click to select, drag to multi-select) then click this to revert only those changes

        Only accepted changes will be included in the exported file.

    • ▶1.6 Exporting the Cleaned Time Record

      After reviewing changes, proceed to the Export tab. Choose a save location using the Browse button and click Export. CostBetter creates a new Excel file with 12 standardised columns (Part, Date, Fee Earner, Description, Hrs, Disbursement Amount, Disbs. VAT, Task Code, Activity Code, Communication Code, Party Code, Disbursement Code).

      • ▶Export Options
        • Save as new file (default) — saves to a new file path of your choice.
        • Overwrite original file — replaces the original time record. A confirmation window warns that this cannot be undone.
        • Generate change log (.txt summary) — tick this to save a text file listing every change that was made, showing the original and cleaned text for each cell.
  • ▶2. Costing the Cleaned Time Record
    • ▶Overview

      Once you have a cleaned time record (from Step 1 or a blank costing sheet), open it in Excel. The CostBetter Assistant tab appears in the ribbon at the top. Click on it and you will see a number of buttons.

      The typical workflow is:

      1. Input any specific Party names using Edit Dropdowns
      2. Use Mass Populate to bulk-fill coding based on keywords
      3. Run the Coding Assistant for automatic code assignment
      4. Amend entries as needed
      5. Add any new entries (via right click, keyboard shortcuts or the Party Costs Wizard)
      6. Apply Parts
      7. Set Hourly Rates for each fee earner
      8. Run the Costing Checker to ensure all required coding is present and correct
    • ▶2.1 Setting Up

      If you click on cells in the Task, Activity, Communication, Party, Disbursement Code, Part and Fee Earner columns, an arrow will appear. Clicking on the arrow will show a dropdown list of options to enable you to choose the appropriate code. Before or during costing, configure the dropdown lists for parties, fee earners and disbursement types using Edit Dropdowns.

      • ▶Configuring Dropdowns

        If you want to add the names of parties beyond the default options, or if you want to amend the names of phases (for example, to describe separate applications or contingencies), click Edit Dropdowns to show the hidden DropdownConfig sheet. This sheet contains all the values that populate the dropdown menus in the coding columns:

        • Task Codes (1.1 – 15.1) — these determine which phase the costs are allocated to
        • Activity Codes (A1, C1–C7, T1a, T1b, D1) — these say whether the entry is an attendance, document time, or a communication
        • Communication Codes (PA, TA, TL, RL, RE, RC, LI) — these say what type of communication it is (routine email, timed letter, long attendance etc.)
        • Party Codes (P1–P8 with sub-codes) — these say who the communication was with/to (e.g. the Claimant, counsel)
        • Disbursement Codes (X1–X35) — these say what type of disbursement it is (e.g. court fee, expert fee)
        • Fee Earner initials
        • Part labels — these say which part of the Bill the entry should go in

        You can add, edit or remove entries directly. For example, add party sub-codes like “P5.1 - Witness 1 - John Smith” to customise the party dropdown for your case. If you want to create a new Party (e.g. Expert 3) right click, click Insert then select Shift Cells Down and type in the new entry (e.g. P6.3 - Dr Jones, Neurologist). Click Edit Dropdowns again when done.

      • ▶Set Roles (Client/Opponent)

        The parties’ roles (i.e. who is the claimant and who is the Defendant) will already be set up from the information you entered when you imported the time record, but if you need to change them, click Set Roles in the ribbon. A window appears with two dropdown menus:

        • Client’s role: Choose from Claimant, Defendant, Appellant, Respondent or Applicant.
        • Opponent’s role: Same options.

        Both roles must be filled in. These roles determine how the Coding Assistant maps Party Codes to Activity Codes (e.g. if the client is the Claimant, P1 maps to Activity C2; if the client is the Defendant, P1 maps to C5).

    • ▶2.2 Coding Entries

      CostBetter provides three tools for filling in coding columns. Mass Populate fills a single code across all rows matching a keyword. The Coding Assistant auto-fills Task Codes, Activity Codes and Communication Codes based on keyword rules. Edit Keywords lets you customise the rules used by the Coding Assistant.

      You can also fill in codes manually by selecting cells and choosing from the dropdown menus, or by selecting multiple cells by holding Ctrl and clicking on them, then typing in the value and then pressing Ctrl+Enter to apply the same value to all selected cells at once.

      Not all cells require a code. If you are drafting a traditional Bill, the Task Codes (which relate to phasing) can be left blank, except for legal aid work which should be given the Task Code 13.2. Disbursements and counsels’ fees do not require Activity, Communication and Party Codes (but they do require a Disbursement Code). Document time entries (Activity Code D1), internal communications (Activity Code C7), attendance at court or conference (Activity Code A1) and travel to court or conference (Activity Code T1a) do not require Communication and Party Codes.

      • ▶Mass Populate

        Click Mass Populate in the ribbon, then:

        1. Choose the column — a window asks “Which column do you want to populate?” with buttons for Task Code, Activity Code, Communication Code, Party Code and Disbursement Code.
        2. Enter a keyword — type a word or phrase to search for in the Description column (case-insensitive). Every row that contains this word will get the code applied in the column you selected (for example, you might apply the Claimant Party Code (P1) to all rows that contain the word “Claimant”).
        3. Select the value — pick from a dropdown pre-populated with all codes from the DropdownConfig sheet, or type a custom value.

        A confirmation window shows exactly what will happen. Click Yes to proceed. Only blank cells in the target column are filled — existing codes are not overwritten.

        Tip: If you select 2 or more cells in the target column before running Mass Populate, only those selected rows are populated. Otherwise, all rows are populated.
        Tip: Fill in Party Codes first. If the Party Code is filled in, there is no need to fill in the Activity Code manually. Just click Coding Assistant once you have finished costing and it will fill in the Activity Codes for you based on the Party Code.
      • ▶Coding Assistant

        Click Coding Assistant in the ribbon. It scans every row and automatically fills in:

        • Task Codes — matched by keywords in the description (e.g. “disclosure” → 4.2, “mediation” → 10.1, “orthopaedic” → 6.1). If multiple keywords match different task codes, they are shown as slash-separated (e.g. “2.1/4.2”). Only blank Task Code cells are filled in.
        • Activity Codes — derived from the Party Code (e.g. P1 → C2, P2 → C5, P3 → C1, P5 → C3, P6 → C4). Only blank Activity Code cells are filled in.
        • Communication Codes — matched by keywords in the description (e.g. “email” → RE, “telephone” → RC, “letter” → RL).

        After running, a summary shows how many codes were filled in. The inputted values are shown as brown so you can check they are correct. Use Undo in the Tools group if you are not happy with the results. You can always run the Coding Assistant again later on.

      • ▶Edit Keywords

        If you want to change which words the Coding Assistant looks for, click Edit Keywords to open the PhasingConfig sheet. Each row has a Task Code in Column A and a keyword in Column B.

        CostBetter comes with a comprehensive set of default keywords covering all standard litigation phases.

        You can add, edit or delete keyword mappings. For example, if your case involves specific application types, add keywords like “extension” mapped to Task Code 12.1. When finished editing, the sheet is automatically hidden again.

        Save your keywords as a Profile if you want to reuse them on other matters.

      • ▶Keyword Profiles (Save, Load, Delete)

        The Keyword Profiles button in the ribbon lets you save and load phasing keyword profiles. This is useful if you handle similar case types and want to reuse the same keyword mappings across matters.

        • Save Profile: Saves the current phasing keywords to the add-in under a named profile. If a profile with the same name exists, you are asked to confirm the overwrite.
        • Load Profile: Shows a picker with all available profiles. Loading replaces the current phasing keywords in the active workbook.
        • Delete Profile: Removes a saved profile from the add-in after confirmation.
    • ▶2.3 Adding Entries

      There are three ways to add new time entries to the time record: the right-click menu, keyboard shortcuts and the Party Costs Wizard. All three insert fully coded rows with the date, fee earner, description, and relevant coding pre-filled.

      • ▶Right-Click Menu

        Right-click any cell in the data area to see the CostBetter context menu. The menu includes:

        • New Entry submenu — create routine or long entries for any party:
          • Routine or long email/letter or telephone call to Client, Counsel, Opponent, Expert, Witness or Other
          • New document time entry
          • New conference/attendance at court, personal attendance or travel and waiting
          • New counsel fee
          • New disbursement of whatever type
        • Change Entry Coding submenu — quickly apply specific codes to the current row depending on what type of entry it is
        • Apportion, Divide, Multiply — row operations (see section 2.4)
      • ▶Keyboard Shortcuts

        Keyboard shortcuts are the fastest way to add entries. All shortcuts are also listed on the DropdownConfig sheet for reference.

        Routine Emails

        ShortcutAction
        Ctrl+Alt+CEmail to client
        Ctrl+Alt+BEmail to counsel (P3)
        Ctrl+Alt+B then AEmail to counsel (opens box to pick P3.n sub-code)
        Ctrl+Alt+LEmail to leading counsel (P3.1)
        Ctrl+Alt+JEmail to junior counsel (P3.2)
        Ctrl+Alt+OEmail to opponent
        Ctrl+Alt+EEmail to expert
        Ctrl+Alt+WEmail to witness
        Ctrl+Alt+PEmail to other parties

        Routine Telephone Calls

        Press Ctrl+Alt+T followed by the letter for the party:

        Second KeyAction
        CCall to client
        BCall to counsel (P3)
        B then ACall to counsel (picker for P3.n sub-code)
        LCall to leading counsel
        JCall to junior counsel
        OCall to opponent
        ECall to expert
        PCall to other parties

        Other Shortcuts

        ShortcutAction
        Ctrl+Alt+DNew document time entry
        Ctrl+Alt+AApportion
        Ctrl+Alt+/Divide
        Ctrl+Alt+XMultiply
        Ctrl+Alt++Duplicate row
        Ctrl+Alt+-Delete row
        Ctrl+Alt+[digits]Enter Task Code (e.g. 1,2,.,1 = “12.1”). Use the numbers above the letter keys, not those on the number pad
        F1–F7Open Party Costs Wizard (P1–P7 preselected)
      • ▶Party Costs Wizard

        The Party Costs Wizard lets you add multiple entries for one or more parties in a single window. Click the Party Costs Wizard button in the ribbon, or press F1–F7 to open it with a party preselected.

        How to use it

        1. Select a Party, Fee Earner and optionally a Task Code from the dropdowns at the top.
        2. Fill in the counts or details for the type of entry you want to add:
          • Routine items: Enter the number of emails, letters and/or calls, then click Add Routines. Each item is recorded as 0.1 hours.
          • Long calls: Enter the date, hours, minutes and description, then click Add Long Call.
          • Personal attendances: Enter date, hours, minutes and description, then click Add PA.
          • Travel & waiting: Enter date, hours and minutes, then click Add Travel. These are coded as Activity T1b.
          • Disbursements: Select a type from the dropdown, enter date, description, amount and VAT (with a 20% option), then click Add Disbursement.
        3. The queue at the bottom shows all entries to be inserted. You can select and remove entries before inserting.
        4. Change the party, fee earner or task code and add more entries for other parties or phases.
        5. Click Insert Entries to insert all queued entries into the spreadsheet below the currently selected row.

        The wizard defaults the date and task code from the currently selected row. If the selected row has no date, it takes it from the next row above that does.

    • ▶2.4 Row Operations

      CostBetter provides five row operations, all available from the right-click menu and via keyboard shortcuts:

      • Apportion (Ctrl+Alt+A) — Split a single entry across multiple Task Codes (phases). A window shows all task codes in a multi-select checklist. Select the phases and CostBetter divides the hours equally, replacing the original row with one row per phase. Each new row gets an annotation in its description explaining the apportionment. Special categories (solicitor-client work, non-recoverable, administrative, non-progressive) can be used to exclude time from the bill.
      • Divide (Ctrl+Alt+/) — Split an entry into sub-entries. The window starts with 2 equal halves. Select a half and click Sub-divide to split it further. Each sub-entry can have different hours, descriptions, and coding (task, activity, communication, party codes are editable via dropdowns). Hours auto-adjust between subdivisions to keep the total correct.
      • Multiply (Ctrl+Alt+X) — Duplicate a row however many times you wish. Enter the total number of rows you want to end up with (minimum 2) and CostBetter inserts the copies below the original. All column values are copied exactly.
      • Duplicate (Ctrl+Alt++) — Create an exact copy of the current row directly below it.
      • Delete (Ctrl+Alt+-) — Delete the current row.
    • ▶2.5 Parts

      Click Apply Parts in the ribbon to divide the time record into chronological parts (e.g. “Part 1: Pre-Action Costs”, “Part 2: Post-Issue Costs”).

      For each part, CostBetter prompts you for:

      • A label (e.g. “Part 1: Pre-Action Costs”)
      • A start date (DD/MM/YYYY, or leave blank for “from the beginning”)
      • An end date (DD/MM/YYYY, or leave blank for “until the end”)

      After adding a part, you are asked “Add another part?”. Repeat for as many parts as needed.

      CostBetter then fills the Part column based on each entry’s date. Entries whose dates fall outside all ranges are highlighted in yellow with a warning that they will not be included in the generated bill. You can add or amend the part number for a given entry by typing it into the Part column directly. This can be useful where Parts are non-chronological (e.g. where there are separate parts for generic and individual costs).

    • ▶2.6 Hourly Rates

      Click Hourly Rates in the ribbon. Applying rates has two steps:

      1. Rate Change Dates (optional) — if hourly rates changed during the matter, add the date(s) when rates changed. For example, if a firm’s rates went up on 1 April 2025, enter 01/04/2025. Leave this empty if rates were constant throughout.
      2. Rate Entry — a grid appears showing all unique fee earner codes found in the data (sorted alphabetically). Enter the hourly rate for each fee earner. If you added rate change dates, there will be one column per time period (e.g. “Before 01/04/25”, “From 01/04/25”). Ctrl+Click multiple text boxes to select them, then type a value to fill them all at once. This is useful when several fee earners share the same rate.

      Existing rates are pre-filled if they were previously set.

      On clicking Apply, rates are saved. If rate change dates were specified, CostBetter creates suffixed fee earner codes — for example, fee earner “AB” with two rate periods becomes “AB (i)” and “AB (ii)” before and after the rate change.

      • ▶Rate Cards

        Above the rate entry grid, each period column has a “Rate card” dropdown. A rate card is a saved set of fee earner rates for a particular firm. If you regularly prepare bills for the same firm, you can save the firm’s rates as a rate card and recall them instantly on future matters — no need to re-enter rates from scratch.

        To use a rate card

        1. Select a firm name from the dropdown for the relevant period column.
        2. CostBetter fills in any blank rate text boxes in that column with the saved rates for that firm. Rates you have already entered are not overwritten.
        3. If you have multiple period columns (because of rate change dates), each column has its own dropdown. You can apply different rate cards to different periods — for example, “Smith & Co 2024” for the earlier period and “Smith & Co 2025” for the later period.

        To save a rate card

        1. Enter or adjust the rates in the grid.
        2. Click the Save button (to the right of the rate card dropdowns).
        3. If a firm is already selected in the rightmost dropdown, CostBetter saves under that name. Otherwise, you are prompted to enter a firm name.
        4. The rate card is saved to a local file (%AppData%\CostBetter\rate_cards.xlsx). The rates from the rightmost (most recent) period column are saved.

        Rate cards are entirely optional. If you do not select a rate card, the default behaviour applies: rates are taken from the ledger data when you first input the ledger, or entered manually.

      • ▶Rate Cards Manager

        Click Rate Cards in the Profiles group of the ribbon to manage your saved rate cards:

        • Import: Load rate cards from an external .xlsx file. Each sheet in the file becomes a rate card (sheet name = firm name, column A = FE code, column B = rate). If a firm name already exists, you are asked whether to overwrite it.
        • Export: Save all your rate cards to a single .xlsx file. This is useful for sharing rate cards with colleagues or backing them up.
        • Rename: Change the name of a saved rate card (e.g. correct a typo or update “Smith & Co” to “Smith & Co 2025”).
        • Delete: Remove a rate card you no longer need.

        Rate cards are stored locally on your computer. To share rate cards with other users, use Export to create a file and send it to them. They can then use Import to load the rate cards into their own copy of CostBetter.

    • ▶2.7 Checking

      Before generating a bill, use Show Summary Totals to check the overall costs and Costing Checker to validate the coding.

      • ▶Show Summary Totals

        Click Show Summary Totals in the ribbon. CostBetter Assistant creates a new “Summary Totals” sheet with a detailed table showing costs broken down by Part:

        • Profit Costs (hours × hourly rate, per fee earner)
        • Expert Fees (disbursement codes X7–X17) and VAT
        • Court Fees (X1) and VAT
        • Counsel Fees (CSL codes, separated by counsel name) and VAT
        • Other Disbursements and VAT
        • Total and Total VAT

        A summary section below the table shows grand totals. VAT rates are editable. Warnings are shown for fee earners without hourly rates and for entries without Part assignments.

        If you make changes to the Costings and want to see how this changes the Summary Totals, click the Summary Totals button again.

      • ▶Running the Costing Checker

        Click Costing Checker to scan every row for coding errors. The checker walks you through each issue, highlighting problem cells and prompting you to fix them. The rules checked are:

        RuleWhat it checks
        1Activity code is D1, C7, A1 or T1a but communication/party codes are filled (these activities should not have comm/party). T1b: only communication is flagged if present (party is allowed as it should be filled in).
        2Party code doesn’t match the expected activity code (e.g. P3 should have C1, P5 should have C3, P6 should have C4).
        3Routine communication code (RE, RL, RC) but hours are not 0.1. Offers to convert to the long equivalent (TL or TA).
        4Description doesn’t appear to match the communication code (e.g. RE but no “email” in description).
        5Blank cells in data rows: checks for missing Date, Fee Earner, Description, and coding columns. Highlights in light yellow.
        6Codes not found in the DropdownConfig sheet (unrecognised values). Highlights in light blue.
        7Counsel (CSL) row has disbursement amount but VAT is blank or not 20%. Highlights in orange in case VAT should be added.
        8Disbursement amount filled but no disbursement code. Highlights in red.

        For each violation in Rules 1–4 and 6, you can fix it (a code picker opens with dropdown values), skip the row, or cancel the checker. For Task Code issues, an Apportion button is also available to split the entry across phases. You can also use column filtering in the top row and filter by colour to see the highlighted entries.

    • ▶2.8 Undo and Reset

      The Tools group in the ribbon provides two options:

      • Undo Last Action — reverses the last bulk operation performed by the add-in (e.g. Mass Populate, Coding Assistant, Costing Checker). Restores all affected cells to their previous values, including font colours and background colours. A message confirms the number of cells restored.
      • Reset to Defaults — replaces all dropdown lists and phasing keywords with the factory defaults. This cannot be undone so any Party, Task or other information you have added to the DropdownConfig and keyword phasing (if not saved to a profile) will be lost.
  • ▶3. Generating the Bill, Budget or Statement of Costs
    • ▶Overview

      Once your time record is fully costed with all required codes, open the CostBetter app and click Step 2: Generate Bill at the top. Drag and drop (or browse for) your costed spreadsheet, select the output format, drag and drop a bundle(s) or bundle index (or indices) to add those documents to the chronology and click Generate.

      CostBetter supports six output formats:

      • 3-Column — Traditional inter partes Bill of Costs
      • 6-Column — Traditional legal aid + inter partes bill
      • eBill — electronic Bill of Costs (.xlsm)
      • Precedent H — Costs Budget
      • Precedent Z — Simplified Costs Budget
      • N260 — Statement of Costs

      You can also optionally generate supporting documents (Narrative, Notice of Commencement, Letter to Solicitor) and create a chronological folder of court documents from bundle PDFs.

    • ▶3.1 Bills of Costs

      After selecting a format, adding any documents for the chronology and clicking Generate, CostBetter prompts for any required details (e.g. case number, court name, fee earner rates) and then generates the bill. Warnings are shown for missing data such as entries without Part assignments, missing activity codes, missing hourly rates or unrecognised codes.

    • ▶3.2 Supporting Documents for Bill of Costs

      When generating a Bill, you can optionally create supporting Word documents. Toggle these on or off on the Step 2 page before generating.

      • ▶Narrative

        A template narrative document in Word will be produced with the title page filled in and every procedural document from the chronology (see below) referenced in it, in chronological order. The narrative is generated alongside the bill when “Create Notice of Commencement and Template Narrative” is enabled.

      • ▶Notice of Commencement

        An N252 Notice of Commencement form in Word will be produced pre-filled with the case details. After bill generation, a window prompts for:

        • Claim Number and Court Name
        • Claimant and Defendant names
        • Date of Costs Order
        • Solicitor’s firm name, name and address
        • Date Notice Served
        • Total costs payable (auto-filled from the bill)

        The full amount payable including the assessment fee needs to be filled in, as the assessment fees change from time to time. These are available here: Civil Court Fees (EX50).

      • ▶Letter to Solicitor

        A covering letter to accompany the bill will be created, pre-filled with case details and a summary of the costs claimed. Toggle “Create letter to solicitor” on the Step 2 page to enable or disable this.

      • ▶Creating the Chronology and Folder of Chronology Documents

        Below the Bill formats there is a section called “Indices, Bundles and Other Documents for Chronology”. Drag and drop PDF, Word, Excel or TXT files containing bundle indices, court orders, statements of case or other documents into this to add them to the chronology. Scanned PDFs are not supported and will cause the app to run slowly.

        CostBetter reads these files to extract chronology entries (date and description). After you have clicked Generate and filled in the Bill of Costs Configuration window, a window will appear to let you review, select or deselect the entries before they are included in the bill’s chronology section and the narrative template. When they appear in the Bill they will be in chronological order. You will be able to amend these later once the Bill is generated.

        If you enable “Create chronological folder of inputted documents”, CostBetter creates a subfolder containing copies of the documents from the bundle renamed in chronological order (e.g. “001 - 01/03/2024 - Claim Form.pdf”).

        Tip: You can also generate a standalone chronology without a bill. If no time record is loaded but bundle files are added, clicking Generate will ask if you want to create a chronology and document folder only.
    • ▶3.3 Combine Narrative and Bill

      After generating the bill and narrative as Excel and Word documents respectively and making any required amendments, convert them to PDF (e.g. using “Save as PDF” or “Print to PDF” with Word/Excel). Then use the Combine Narrative & Bill PDFs section on the Step 2 page to merge them into a single PDF.

      Drag and drop both PDFs onto the box below “Combine Narrative & Bill PDFs”. CostBetter auto-detects which is the Narrative and which is the Bill based on filenames and content (e.g. currency symbols, keywords). Use the Swap button if the detection is wrong. Click Combine PDFs to create the merged document with the Narrative first and the Bill second. The combined document will have page numbering.

    • ▶3.4 Costs Budget (Precedent H)

      Select Precedent H as the format and click Generate. Enter the Claim Number and Court Name when prompted. CostBetter groups the coded entries by phase (Pre-Action, Issue/Statements of Case, CMC, Disclosure, Witness Statements, Expert Reports, PTR, Trial Preparation, Trial, ADR/Settlement, Contingencies) and calculates costs for each. All costs are added to the “Incurred” sections.

      Warnings are shown for entries with missing or unrecognised phasing (Task Codes). Disbursements without codes are auto-assigned X29 (Other).

    • ▶3.5 Simplified Costs Budget (Precedent Z)

      Select Precedent Z as the format. It uses the same prompts (Claim Number, Court Name) but produces a condensed phase structure with less granular detail. If you want to see the detail of each phase, right click on the row numbering at the bottom of the document and select “Unhide”. Then hide the detail again, click and drag the relevant row numbers, right click and select “Hide”.

    • ▶3.6 Statement of Costs (N260)

      Select Statement of Costs (N260) as the format. Enter the Claim Number and Court Name when prompted. You will also be asked whether to “Group document time by phase?”:

      • Yes: The supporting document schedule shows one summary row per phase (more concise).
      • No: The schedule lists every individual document entry (more detailed).

      CostBetter generates two sheets: the N260 form itself and a supporting Schedule. Up to 9 fee earners are supported; a warning is shown if more are present and any extra fee earners are consolidated together. Legal aid entries (Task Code 13.2) are excluded.

  • ▶4. Amending the Bill, Budget or Statement of Costs
    • ▶Overview

      After generating a bill, you can amend it directly in Excel using CostBetter Assistant. Open the generated file, go to the CostBetter Assistant tab and click the appropriate edit mode button in the Amend Bill group. Each edit mode activates a specialised right-click menu for adding, changing and removing entries.

      The documents are self-calculating, so any change made will be reflected in the part totals and in the Bill total. Just take care not to delete or amend any formulae.

      The three edit modes are mutually exclusive — only one can be active at a time. Click the same button again to exit edit mode.

    • ▶4.1 Edit IP Costs (Traditional Bill)

      Click Edit IP Costs (Traditional) in the ribbon to enter edit mode for a traditional 3-column inter partes Bill or to edit the inter partes costs in a 6-column Bill. This activates the right-click menu with options to add new communication entries, chronology entries, disbursements, change hourly rates and update the summary totals at the bottom (these will not update unless this is clicked). Click the button in the ribbon again to exit edit mode.

    • ▶4.2 Edit LA Costs (Traditional Bill)

      Click Edit LA Costs (Traditional) to edit the legal aid costs in 6-column Bills.

    • ▶4.3 Edit eBill

      Click Edit eBill for electronic Bills. When activated, Excel’s calculation mode is set to Manual to stop Excel from running slow while trying to continually recalculate this large spreadsheet; totals in the summary tabs will be updated when you click Save. When you click the Edit eBill button again to exit edit mode, calculation is restored to Automatic.

      The right-click menu in eBill mode provides a comprehensive set of entry types including detailed communication types by party, disbursement categories, counsel fee entries (Counsel 1–6), and an option to Apply/Edit Item Numbers to refresh the item numbering if you have added or deleted Items. You can delete items by right clicking on the row number (not the Item Number) on the left and clicking Delete.

    • ▶4.4 Right-Click Menu Options

      When an edit mode is active, right-clicking in the bill opens a menu with options for adding and amending entries. The exact options depend on which edit mode is active.

      • ▶Adding and Amending Entries

        In traditional bill edit modes (IP and LA), the right-click menu includes:

        • New Communication Entry — opens a window to add a time entry. Prompts for party, communication type, date, fee earner, hours and description.
        • New Chronology Entry submenu:
          • Procedural Development
          • Court Fee
          • Counsel Fee
          • Conference or Court Attendance
          • Input Long Order (this enables you to copy and paste the text of long orders into the chronology)
        • Add Disbursement(s) — insert 1–6 disbursement rows at once.
        • Change Hourly Rates — update fee earner rates across the bill.
        • Update Summaries — recalculate all totals in the bill.

        When these are selected, you will need to input the relevant information (e.g. description, number of items, disbursement amount, VAT amount) in the relevant cell.

        In eBill edit mode, the “New Entry” submenu is more detailed, with communication types broken down by party (client, counsel, opponent, witness, expert, other external) and additional options for Documents, Attendance at Court/Conference, Travel and Waiting, and Internal Communications. Disbursements include 20+ categories (court fee, expert fees 1–10, translation, courier, mediator, bundling, eDisclosure, and more).

      • ▶Counsel Fee Entries

        In eBill edit mode, the right-click menu includes a Counsel’s Fee submenu with options for Counsel 1 through Counsel 6. Selecting one inserts a counsel fee row with the appropriate coding.

        In traditional bill edit mode, counsel fees are added via New Chronology Entry → Counsel Fee.

    • ▶4.5 Editing Budgets and Statements of Costs

      Precedent H budgets, Precedent Z budgets and N260 Statements of Costs are generated as standard Excel files. You can edit them directly in Excel without needing a special edit mode — simply open the file and make changes to the cells.

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