Bills with withholding, hours per case and per-matter profitability
Log the time spent on each case, bill the hours with the 15% withholding applied, and collect retainers automatically every month. Compliant with RD 1007/2023.
Compliant with RD 1007/2023 (VeriFactu) · Data hosted in the EU · No lock-in
A law firm bills differently from most businesses: bills with IRPF withholding (15% general rate, 7% during the first three years of activity) when the client is a company or professional, billable hours that need to be captured before they're forgotten, and monthly retainers that should collect themselves. Cofactu covers that entire workflow and, along the way, handles VeriFactu: every bill is issued with a signed record, chained hash and verifiable QR code, mandatory from January 2027 for companies and July 2027 for self-employed professionals.
The core piece for a law firm is time: each matter is a case with its own hourly rate, hours are logged against the case (including the 20-minute call), and when billing, they flow into the invoice as line items — with full traceability of which hours were billed and which are still pending. The awkward question, "how many unbilled hours does this case have?", now has a one-click answer.
With expenses also allocated to the case (court agents, filing fees, travel), each matter has its own P&L: what was billed minus what was spent minus the cost of hours invested. You know which clients and which types of matters leave margin — and which ones only leave work.
What makes invoicing complicated in lawyers and law firms
Hours worked that never make it onto a bill
The 20-minute call, the document reviewed on Saturday, the "quick" email query — if it isn't logged in the moment, it never reaches the bill. In a firm billing by the hour, unrecorded hours are the main revenue leak, and it's invisible.
IRPF withholding, calculated by hand with errors
Billing a company requires calculating and breaking down the withholding (15%, or 7% if you're in your first three years), and the mismatch between what you withheld on your bills and what your clients report on their Modelo 111 ends up surfacing on your own tax return. Doing it in a Word template is asking for a mistake.
Retainers billed late or never
The retainer client pays 600 € a month — whenever someone remembers to issue the invoice. Every month it's issued late is cash flow pushed back, and in small firms it's not unusual to find entire months that never got billed.
Was this case profitable? Nobody knows
The case was won, the client was happy — and the firm lost money: 80 hours invested for a closed bill of 3,000 €. Without hours and expenses allocated per case, money-losing matters repeat year after year.
What Cofactu solves for lawyers and law firms
Real functionality, live in the product today — not on a roadmap. All included in the plan, no paid add-on modules.
Bills with automatic IRPF withholding
An invoice to a company or professional calculates and breaks down the withholding (15% general rate, 7% at start of activity) on the base amount. The total to collect, the 21% VAT and the amount withheld are clear for you and for the client who will report it on their Modelo 111.
Billable hours per case
Each matter has its own hourly rate and time entries. When billing, you select the pending hours and they flow in as invoice line items — what was billed and what wasn't stays tracked on the case.
Retainers with recurring billing
The monthly retainer is set up once and issues itself every month, with correct numbering and VeriFactu chain. On day 1, the month's invoices are already issued, not waiting on someone to remember.
Profitability by matter and by client
Each case accumulates what was billed, the expenses allocated to it (court agent, filing fees, travel) and the hours invested. The project view answers which matters and which clients leave margin — with numbers, not gut feeling.
Controlled retainer deposits
The client's advance payment is recorded as a payment on account of the case and gets applied against the bills you issue. How much of the deposit remains unapplied on each matter is visible — no parallel spreadsheets needed.
Quarterly tax forms from the same place
The VAT on your bills feeds the Modelo 303 and your withholdings paid are recorded for the filing. If you have employees or a trainee on payroll, the Modelo 111 also comes out of here.
More detailsA commercial case in Cofactu
From engagement to final bill, with time captured and profitability in view.
- 1
The matter opens as a case
Debt collection claim for a corporate client: case opened with a rate of 150 €/h and a 1,500 € retainer deposit recorded as an advance payment.
- 2
Time is logged where the work happens
Document review (2.5 h), drafting the claim (4 h), call with the client (0.4 h) — each entry logged to the case in the moment, from the computer or the phone right after a hearing.
- 3
The bill is built from the hours
When billing, you select the 11.2 pending hours: they come in as line items with their rate. The invoice calculates 21% VAT and 15% withholding, and applies the pending deposit. It's issued VeriFactu-compliant with its QR code.
- 4
The case closes with its own P&L
Total billed, court agent and filing fee expenses allocated, hours invested: the matter closes with a known margin. The next debt collection claim is quoted with data, not gut feeling.
Bill to a corporate client with 15% withholding
This is how the tax details of a typical operation in the sector look in Cofactu. Every record carries a chained SHA-256 hash, digital signature, and AEAT verification QR code.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fees — debt collection claim (11.2 h × 150 €/h) | 1.680,00 € |
| Drafting and filing the claim | 350,00 € |
| Taxable base | 2.030,00 € |
| VAT 21% | 426,30 € |
| IRPF withholding 15% | −304,50 € |
| Total payable by the client | 2.151,80 € |
- The 15% withholding applies when the recipient is a company or professional: the client reports those 304.50 € on their Modelo 111 on account of your IRPF. Individuals are billed without withholding. Professionals in their first three years of activity can apply 7%.
- Legal services are subject to the general 21% VAT rate — including legal assistance to individuals, except in very limited cases (free legal aid).
- The 11.2 hours on line 1 come from the case's time entries: each billed hour gets marked as invoiced, and any not included remain pending on the matter.
Frequently asked questions
When do I apply the 15% and when the 7% withholding on my bills?
How are retainer deposits managed?
Does it work for a firm with several partners and associates?
Does VeriFactu affect a firm that already issues few but high-value invoices?
Is attorney-client privilege compatible with cloud software?
Can I bill costs or interest afterward on a closed matter?
Cofactu is also built for
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TPV táctil, comandas a cocina, mesas, propinas y escandallo — y cada ticket sale con hash encadenado, firma digital y QR verificable en la AEAT. Sin caja registradora aparte ni doble sistema.
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Comercio y retail
Vende en mostrador y online con el stock sincronizado, gestiona lotes y caducidades, y aplica el recargo de equivalencia sin pensar. Cada venta cumple el RD 1007/2023 desde el primer día.
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Invoice compliant with VeriFactu in your lawyers and law firms
Free plan with full VeriFactu invoicing. Deadline: January 2027 for companies, July 2027 for self-employed. Fines of up to €50,000 per year for non-compliant software.