Cost Monitoring Sheet
Track estimated costs versus actual bills for your legal case. This helps you spot unexplained increases and keep control of spending.
A clear cost log is one of the key documents the Legal Ombudsman looks at when deciding if service and billing have been fair. Entries are stored only on this device in your browser (local storage).
How this helps your case
This sheet helps you compare what you were told to expect with what you were actually billed. It is especially useful when:
- costs rise quickly without clear explanation;
- different lawyers are involved but bills are unclear;
- you are considering a costs complaint or Legal Ombudsman case.
You can use this together with:
- Timeline Tracker → – to line up work done with dates and deadlines;
- Risk & Issue Log → – to link costs to poor service or delay;
- Communication Log → – to record what you were told about costs;
- Evidence Checklist → – when building a complaint;
- Complaints guide → and Complaint Letter Generator →.
For help reading and challenging bills, see the relevant articles in the Knowledge Base (for example, how to analyse a legal bill and what counts as poor service on costs).
Add a cost entry
Use this for stages of work, invoices, or specific items (e.g. searches, barrister fees).
Tip: note down any explanations, discounts, or promises to revise a bill. This helps later if you need to challenge costs.
Your cost log
These entries are saved in your browser. If you clear your browser data or switch device, they won’t appear here.
You haven't added any entries yet. Start by adding one above.
| Date | Item / stage | Estimated (£) | Actual (£) | Difference (£) | Explained? (Y/N) | Actions |
|---|
You can copy or download this log into your main case spreadsheet (Cost_Monitor sheet).