Java Reference
In-Depth Information
Management tracking projects
In addition, there is a database-management requirement involving the addition of
new clients and overall database maintenance. In other words, this is a fairly typical
time and materials billing system.
The next step is to identify the underlying purpose of the application, since you can
generally work out the rest of the application once you understand its underlying
purpose. In this case, the underlying purpose is the generation of invoices for billable
hours.
The Project Specification
Ideally, any application is designed in response to a detailed specification. Although it
does not describe the entire accounting process in a typical law firm, the LEDES 2000
specification is a great help here, as it defines exactly what is required in an electronic
invoice and how the invoice should be formatted. Originally, Price Waterhouse
Coopers developed LEDES as an ASCII-based electronic billing standard. In its
current form, LEDES 2000 defines an XML file format intended to serve as a standard
file format that the legal industry can use for the electronic exchange of information.
Initially, the focus is on billing information.
LEDES 2000 defines the following major data-content elements:
Generating firm
Destination client
Alternative fee arrangements (time & expense, flat fee, contingency, and staged billing)
Fee sharing
Discount schedules
Taxes
Electronic funds transfer reference support
Multiple clients
Multiple matters within an invoice
The core of the LEDES specification is captured in the XML invoice document it
specifies.
Listing 2-1
is a slightly simplified example of a LEDES 2000 invoice. The full
LEDES specification can be accessed at
http://www.ledes.org/
.
Listing 2-1: LEDES 2000 sample invoice
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE ledesxml SYSTEM "ledes2000.dtd">
<ledesxml>
