What is a .1 billing increment in legal billing?

A 0.1 billing increment equals one-tenth of an hour, or 6 minutes. It is the smallest billable unit most law firms use. Any task that takes between 1 and 6 minutes typically bills as 0.1. This system lets timekeepers record time more precisely than quarter-hour billing does.

How do lawyers convert minutes to billing increments?

Divide the number of minutes by 6 and round to the nearest tenth. For example, 15 minutes divided by 6 equals 2.5, which rounds to 0.3. Most legal billing software handles this conversion automatically. Every timekeeper should still know the underlying math for manual entries.

Why do lawyers bill in 6-minute increments?

Six minutes is one-tenth of an hour, which makes time-to-decimal conversion straightforward. Billing in tenths is more granular and accurate than quarter-hour billing, and the entries are easier to document and defend on a client invoice. The system has been the legal industry standard for decades and is the default in all major billing platforms.

What is the minimum billing increment at a law firm?

The minimum billing increment varies by firm policy. Most firms set a floor of 0.1 (6 minutes) or 0.2 (12 minutes). Any billable activity bills at the minimum increment regardless of actual time spent. Firms should document this policy in their billing guidelines and communicate it to all timekeepers before they start recording time.

Is it ethical to round up legal billing increments?

Rounding up to the nearest tenth is a widely accepted practice. Consistently billing significantly more time than was actually worked can raise ethics concerns. Attorneys should review their state bar's billing guidelines and apply their rounding policy consistently across all timekeepers. When in doubt, round to the nearest increment rather than always rounding up.

Do paralegals bill in the same increments as attorneys?

Yes. Paralegals and legal assistants at most firms record time in the same tenths-of-an-hour increments as attorneys. Their billing rate is lower, but the time recording format is identical. Consistent training across all timekeepers reduces invoice discrepancies and the client disputes that follow.

Billing Increment Chart for Law Firms: How to Set Standards and Who Should Manage It

Quick Answer

What is a billing increment in legal billing?

A billing increment is one-tenth of an hour, equal to 6 minutes. Law firms record time in units of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and so on, rather than in exact minutes. The standard chart runs from 0.1 for tasks between 1 and 6 minutes, up to 1.0 for tasks between 55 and 60 minutes. Every major legal billing platform, including Clio, MyCase, and Smokeball, uses this format by default.

Legal billing runs on tenths of an hour. Every task gets converted to a 6-minute increment. Most attorneys know this. Not everyone on the team does.

A paralegal who logs a 9-minute call as 0.1 instead of 0.2 costs the firm real money. An associate reconstructing entries on Friday afternoon loses accuracy that cannot be recovered. The billing increment chart below gives every timekeeper at your firm a single reference they can use from day one.

This post covers the full 0.1 to 1.0 chart, the math behind the conversion, rounding policy options, and the time entry practices that keep billing accurate across every role at your firm.

The Standard 6-Minute Billing Increment Chart

The legal industry uses tenths of an hour because one hour divides evenly into ten 6-minute segments. Most legal billing software defaults to this format. The chart below is the reference every timekeeper at your firm should have on hand.

Reference Tool

6-Minute Billing Increment Chart

Every timekeeper at your firm should know this chart. Use the calculator below to convert any task duration into the correct billing entry.

Quick Converter

Minutes spent on task

Billing increment

Enter minutes

Time Spent	Billing Increment	Decimal Hours

Formula: Minutes ÷ 6, rounded to the nearest tenth. A 15-minute task: 15 ÷ 6 = 2.5, rounds to 0.3.

The math is straightforward. Divide the number of minutes by 6 and round to the nearest tenth. A 22-minute task: 22 divided by 6 equals 3.67, which rounds to 0.4. A 9-minute task: 9 divided by 6 equals 1.5, which rounds to 0.2.

The chart assumes your firm rounds to the nearest increment. Some firms round up on every task. That difference matters for revenue, and it requires a written policy. The rounding section below covers all three approaches.

How Does Legal Billing Rounding Work?

Every firm needs a written rounding policy. Without one, different timekeepers apply different logic. The inconsistency shows up on invoices, and clients notice. There are three main approaches used across private practice today.

Policy Comparison

Which Rounding Policy Is Right for Your Firm?

Option 1

Always Round Up

Every task rounds to the next full increment, regardless of actual time. A 7-minute call bills as 0.2, not 0.1.

Pros

Protects against underbilling short tasks

Simple rule: no judgment calls

Maximizes revenue on task-dense work

Watch For

Can raise client questions on detailed invoices

Best paired with a 0.2 minimum increment policy.

Most Common

Option 2

Round to Nearest

Time rounds to the closest increment. A 4-minute task rounds to 0.1. An 8-minute task rounds to 0.2. This is the most defensible approach on client invoices.

Pros

Transparent and easy to defend

Reduces billing disputes with clients

Aligns with bar ethics guidance

Watch For

Requires real-time tracking: reconstruction erodes accuracy

Works best with contemporaneous entry habits across all timekeepers.

Option 3

Set a Minimum Floor

Every billable activity has a floor, typically 0.1 or 0.2. A two-line email still triggers the minimum. Pairs with either rounding approach above.

Pros

Captures value on high-volume short tasks

Gives every timekeeper a clear rule

Reduces underbilling on communication-heavy work

Watch For

Must align with your state bar's ethics guidelines on billing

Document this policy in writing and share it with every timekeeper before they bill.

Whichever policy your firm uses, apply it consistently. Inconsistent rounding across timekeepers is a leading cause of client billing disputes.

Review your state bar’s published guidance to confirm your minimum increment policy stays within ethical bounds. The paralegal licensing requirements in your state often address billing ethics directly.

Tenths of an Hour vs. Quarter-Hour Billing: Which System Is Better?

Not every firm uses the same increment system. Some older firms and some government billing contexts still use quarter-hour increments. The two systems produce very different outcomes on a client invoice.

System Comparison

Tenths of an Hour vs. Quarter-Hour Billing

Quarter-hour billing rounds a 7-minute task to 15 minutes. See how the two systems stack up side by side.

Tenths of an Hour

0.1 increments (6 min)

Standard in all major billing platforms (Clio, MyCase, Smokeball)

More granular: a 7-minute call bills as 0.2 (12 min), not 0.25 (15 min)

Easier to defend in client billing disputes

Lower billing ethics exposure from systematic overstatement

Quarter-Hour

0.25 increments (15 min)

Less common in modern private practice; still used in some government billing

Rounds a 7-minute call to 15 minutes: more than double the actual time

Creates more client friction on detailed invoices

Higher ethics exposure if systematic overstatement is significant

How the Same Task Bills Under Each System

Task Duration	Tenths (0.1)	Quarter-Hour (0.25)

Quarter-hour billing overstates every task above. On a firm logging hundreds of tasks per month, that gap creates meaningful client friction.

Tenths of an hour have become the standard in private practice for good reason. They are more granular, more defensible, and the default in every major legal billing platform. Quarter-hour rounding more than doubles the stated time on a 7-minute task. That kind of systematic overstatement increases billing ethics exposure and gives clients a reason to dispute.

Time Entry Best Practices for Law Firms

The billing increment chart is the easy part. Applying it consistently across every attorney, paralegal, and legal assistant at your firm is the harder problem. These practices reduce errors before they reach the invoice.

Firm Owner Checklist

Time Entry Standards Every Timekeeper Should Follow

Check off each standard your firm has in place. Any unchecked item is a billing risk.

Standards confirmed 0 / 6

Record time the same day

Reconstructed entries lose accuracy fast. Same-day entry is the baseline standard.

Use a timer, not recall

Every major billing platform has a built-in timer. Estimating from memory produces entries that can't be defended.

Write defensible task descriptions

"Reviewed file" fails scrutiny. "Reviewed client file and drafted notes on discovery timeline" does not.

Train every timekeeper before day one

Paralegals, legal assistants, and new associates all need the rounding policy and minimum increment before their first entry.

Audit entries monthly

Monthly review catches rounding errors and weak descriptions before they reach client invoices.

Document the rounding policy in writing

Oral policies create inconsistency. A written policy gives every timekeeper a single source of truth.

How Much Is Billing Leakage Costing Your Firm?

Billing leakage is one of the most common ways law firms leave revenue on the table. It happens when time worked goes unrecorded, or when entries are logged at a lower increment than the actual task justifies. It is rarely intentional. It usually starts with support staff who were never trained on the firm’s billing policy.

The calculator below estimates how much leakage costs your firm annually based on your team size, your billing rate, and a daily leakage estimate. At a blended rate of $250 per hour with five timekeepers each losing 12 minutes per day, the annual leakage exceeds $24,000.

Revenue Tool

How Much Is Billing Leakage Costing Your Firm?

Billing leakage happens when time goes unrecorded or entries are logged below the actual time spent. Enter your firm's numbers to estimate the annual cost.

Number of timekeepers

Attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants

Average hourly billing rate ($)

Blended rate across all timekeepers

Estimated leakage per timekeeper

Minutes of unrecorded or under-logged time per day

Estimated Leakage

Per timekeeper per year

Total firm leakage per year

Per billing increment missed per day (per timekeeper)

Based on 240 billing days per year

A trained remote billing paralegal understands your rounding policy from day one and applies it consistently. That closes leakage before it hits the invoice.

I Want to Reduce Billing Leakage

This calculator uses a 240-day billing year and the entered daily leakage rate as an estimate. Actual leakage varies by firm size, practice area, and billing software configuration.

Consistent billing practices also make workflow inefficiencies visible. When time entries are accurate and consistent, tracking data becomes a management tool, not just a billing record. Firms can see which task types are consuming the most time and where task attorneys should delegate to have the greatest impact on capacity.

According to the Clio Legal Trends Report, attorneys spend a significant portion of their workday on non-billable tasks. Clean billing data is the only way to quantify that gap and make an informed decision about where remote legal support can close it.

Stop Leaving Money on the Table

Your Billing Policy Is Only as Strong as the Person Applying It

A trained remote billing paralegal from RemoteLegalStaff knows your rounding policy, your minimum increment, and what a defensible task description looks like. They apply it correctly from day one.

I Want to Close My Billing Gaps

What Billing Software Supports 6-Minute Increments?

All major legal billing platforms support 6-minute increments by default. Clio, MyCase, Smokeball, TimeSolv, and PracticePanther all use tenths of an hour as the standard format. Most allow firms to configure minimum increment rules and flag entries that fall below the threshold.

The platform handles the math. The firm’s job is to set the rounding policy, communicate it in writing, and confirm that every timekeeper understands it before they log their first entry.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About Legal Billing Increments

The 6-minute increment chart is the foundation. Every person recording billable time at your firm should have it posted or memorized. The harder work is making sure every timekeeper also understands your rounding policy, your minimum increment, and what a defensible task description looks like.

That combination, applied consistently across attorneys, paralegals, and legal assistants, is what keeps billing clean and revenue intact. If your firm has gaps in billing training or needs a paralegal who understands these standards from day one, RemoteLegalStaff can help. Book a free consultation to talk through what your team needs.

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Ben Marvazi

As the founder of RemoteLegalStaff, Ben Marvazi has redefined remote staffing for the legal industry with strategic, tailored solutions. His expertise in building efficient, growth-oriented teams empowers law firms to scale confidently and achieve lasting success worldwide.

Billing Increment Chart for Law Firms: How to Set Standards and Who Should Manage It

The Standard 6-Minute Billing Increment Chart

How Does Legal Billing Rounding Work?

Tenths of an Hour vs. Quarter-Hour Billing: Which System Is Better?

Time Entry Best Practices for Law Firms

How Much Is Billing Leakage Costing Your Firm?

What Billing Software Supports 6-Minute Increments?

Transform Your Firm with Remote Legal Staff

Ben Marvazi

Ready to transform your law firm?