What a bill actually is
Four columns, a narrow document, and a record behind it that does not travel.
- Lines
- 07
- Of
- 50
What Four Columns Can Carry
A date, a name, a sentence and an amount. Everything a client knows about a piece of work has to fit in those four things.
The Record Behind the Line
For every line on a bill there is a file twenty times its size. What that file holds, and why almost none of it can travel.
What a Bill Actually Claims
A bill makes four claims, only one of which is arithmetic. Separating them explains what a client is really disputing.
Who Actually Reads It
The person who instructed the work is often not the person who reads the bill. Four readers, each with a different question.
Why Nothing Comes Back the Other Way
A bill travels out and only money travels back. The absence of a return channel explains most of what firms find surprising about billing.
A Bill Is Not a Summary of the File
More detail does not make a bill clearer past a point. What a bill is for, and what it stops doing when it gets long.
What a Good Bill Would Look Like
Six properties, all cheap, none of which require the firm to charge less. What they cost and what they prevent.