RTG E-Bills creates bills in an electronic-billing format. Clients that require e-bills are using software to analyze the bills you send.

Note: To create e-bills, you must purchase both RTG Bills and RTG E-Bills.

When you purchase RTG E-Bills, RTG creates an e-bill format file and sends it to you. It contains a license key and other information.

LEDES 1998B is an industry-standard e-bill format. The format required by TyMetrix is a slight modification of the LEDES format. Both of these formats require timekeeper information that is not available in RTG Bills, specifically, the timekeeper name in "last name, first name" format and the timekeeper's level (e.g., partner or associate). RTG E-Bills reads this additional timekeeper information from the e-bill format file.

Although you can edit the e-bill format with any text editor, RTG now provides a simple editing program to make it easy to add the timekeeper information to the format file. You will have this program if you have installed a current version of RTG E-Bills.

You will need to edit the e-bill format file if:

• you are just installing RTG E-Bills and the format file has no timekeeper data,
• you have added or deleted a timekeeper in RTG Bills,
• a timekeeper's name changes (e.g., due to marriage or divorce), or
• a timekeeper's level changes (e.g., an associate becomes a partner).

Each e-bill format has a number. Usually, we use 50 for the LEDES 1998B format. For the TyMetrix format, there are two format files, 50 for interim bills and 51 for final bills.

If you have different clients that require different formats, you may have additional format files: 52, 53, and so on.

Note that for each e-bill format, it is your responsibility to create a bill format, with that same number, in RTG Bills. For e-bill format 50, for example, you must create bill format 50 in RTG Bills.

The RTG Bills format is used to print the bills on paper - a required step before you can generate e-bills. The e-bills format is used by RTG E-Bills when you choose Bills > Reprint As E-Bills to generate the e-bills.

Follow these instructions to edit an e-bill format.

1. Start RTG Bills and choose File > Tools.
   
   
2. In the list of tools, find Edit E-Bill Format and select it. Click OK to start the program.
   
   If you don't see this program in the list, you have an old version of RTG E-Bills. Contact RTG to upgrade to the current version.
   
   
3. You should see the Select E-Bill Format window. The list shows all the formats for which there is both a regular RTG Bills format and an RTG E-Bills format. Select the format you wish to change and click Edit.
   
   
4. You should see the Select A Timekeeper window. The list shows all of the active timekeepers in RTG Bills. For each timekeeper, the Number and Initials are read from the RTG Bills database. The Name and Level are read from the e-bills format, and these are the items you can change. Select a timekeeper and click Edit.
   
   
5. You should see the Edit A Timekeeper window. Enter the timekeeper name and select the appropriate level. Click Save.
   
   
6. Repeat this process to edit the other timekeepers.
   
   
7. When all the necessary changes have been made, click Save at the Select A Timekeeper window. Click Yes to confirm that you want to save the changes. A message tells you which format was written. Click OK.
   
   
8. At the Select E-Bill Format window, you may edit another e-bill format. When you are done, click Close.