Better Billing for Lawyers
•
1 like•838 views
Improve your billing practices and stop chasing payments Lawyer's billing practices are coming under intense scrutiny from clients. A clearly communicated invoice with easy payment options can be a differentiator between you and your competitors (and the difference between whether you get paid or not.) Successful law firms are starting to utilize the data available to them through modern billing tools to optimize their invoicing practices and get paid more easily. See how modern law firms are managing invoicing and receivables to improve client experience and increase likelihood of payment. Join Janelle Benefield of LawPay and Joshua Lenon of Clio, as they take a data driven look at how to bill better as a lawyer. Topics covered in this free, one-hour webinar will include: - How law firms of any size can tap into their billing data and improve process; - What methods of billing and payment are being demanded by clients; and - Billing best practices, and how to put them to work for you.
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Better Billing for Lawyers
Similar to Better Billing for Lawyers (20)
More from Clio - Cloud-Based Legal Technology
More from Clio - Cloud-Based Legal Technology (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Better Billing for Lawyers
- 1. #ClioWeb Better Billing for Law Firms Joshua Lenon – Clio Janelle Benefield - Lawpay
- 2. #ClioWeb Instructors Joshua Lenon • Attorney, admitted in New York • Lawyer in Residence at Clio Janelle Benefield • Product Development at LawPay
- 3. #ClioWeb 1. Billing Woes (5 minutes) 2. Tap into Billing Data (10 minutes) 3. Bill Processes (10 minutes) 4. PaymentMethods (15 minutes) 5. Best Billing Practices (10 minutes) 6. Conclusions (5 minutes) 7. Questions (5 minutes) Agenda
- 5. #ClioWeb Billing Woes • Firms with past due bills affect 10- 39% of client accounts. • 45.6% say collecting on invoices 90 days past due “unlikely” or “very unlikely.” • 71.2% offer discounts prior to invoicing Source:.“Law.Firm.Billing.Survey,”.Business.of.Law.Blog,.08/28/2014.
- 6. #ClioWeb 43% 43% 14% Yes,.undocumented Yes,.undocumented No Source:.“Law.Firm.Billing.Survey,”.Business.of.Law.Blog,.08/28/2014. Does Your Firm Havea Billing Process
- 7. #ClioWeb Source:.“Law.Firm.Billing.Survey,”.Business.of.Law.Blog,.08/28/2014. Does Your Firm Analyze Client Billing Trends? 72% 18% 10% No Yes Unsure
- 8. #ClioWeb TAPPING INTO BILLING DATA
- 9. #ClioWeb Lock-Up Unbilled work in progress plus debtor days
- 10. #ClioWeb Lock-UpData - 1/3 UK law firms had lock-up in excess of 150 days - Average number of lock-up days of 109 on average days Source:.“Unlocking.lockNup.days,”.The.Law.Society.Gazette,.02/09/2012,.and NatWest.2015.Financial.Benchmarking.Report.–Law.Firms
- 11. #ClioWeb What Data Do Lawyers Track? • Hours • Rates • Types of Cases • Lengths of Cases • Case ResolutionOutcomes • Clients’ Legal Histories • Amounts Billed • Payments Received
- 12. #ClioWeb Ways to Generate Data • Bills Sent • Bills Paid • Payment Methods • Tracking Time • CustomFields • Expenses • Consistency
- 13. #ClioWeb What Can Lawyers Determine? • Financial Health of Firm • Profitabilityof Clients Over Time • Average Earnings Per Case by Practice Area • Profitabilityof Practice Areas Per Effort • Productivity of Associates • Projected Workload by Case Type
- 15. #ClioWeb 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 01/01/2015 01/08/2015 02/01/2015 06/30/2015 Time
- 16. #ClioWeb 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 01/01/2015 01/08/2015 02/01/2015 06/30/2015 Time Criminal Civil Admin
- 17. #ClioWeb
- 18. #ClioWeb
- 20. #ClioWeb Monthly Billing Data • ~115,000billsgeneratedin the first 3 monthsof 2015 • 36.5%of those billswere marked as paid on the SAME DAY – Trust Accounts Advanced Fee Deposits – Flat Fees Upfront – Credit Card Payments Unpaid 63% Same. Day.Paid 37% Q1'2015'Bills
- 21. #ClioWeb Bills not paid on the same day took 22 days to close on average.
- 22. #ClioWeb Billing Data Conclusions • Billing problems start months BEFORE issuing a bill. • Law firms generate lots a data around billing. – Work in Progress Reports – AccountsReceivable • Lawyers CAN get paid quickly, but need a process. • Lack of process leads to further delays
- 24. #ClioWeb Traditional Billing Process 1. Hourly Billing 2. Generate Invoice at Matter’s End 3. Mail the Bill 4. Sticker Shock 5. Wait
- 26. #ClioWeb Alternative Fee Arrangements • Flat Fees for entirematters – 20%of GCsrequire flat fees in ACCCLO2015Survey • Unbundled Legal Service – 47%of solo practitionersand43%of those in firms of 2 to 9 lawyersreport providingunbundledservices.2014ABA Legal TechnologySurvey Report,at IV-xii.
- 27. #ClioWeb Client PreferredPricing Strategies • Transparent pricing - 37% • Guaranteed pricing - 27% • Value-based pricing - 26% • Lowest price - 10% Source:.Altman.Weil.2014.Chief.Legal.Officer.Survey
- 28. #ClioWeb Big Law Approach to Billing • Regular time input • Digital bills and payment options • Frequent billing • Staff for accounting and collections • Discouraging write-offs Source:.“Firms.Turn.to.Specialists.to.Boost.Collections,”.New.York.Law.Journal,.12/08/2014
- 29. #ClioWeb Discounting Discounts & write- offs rewards good and bad clients alike. <10% 10N19% 20N20% 30N39% Late'Bills&'Discounts Often NeverSource:.“Law.Firm.Billing.Survey,”.Business.of.Law.Blog,.08/28/2014.
- 33. • 170 million cardholders • 413 million credit card accounts • More than $2.28 trillion was spent on credit cards in 2014 CURRENT TRENDS ProQuest; US Census Bureau; Nilson Report; ID 245385, ProQuest; US Census Bureau; Nilson Report; ID 245385,New York Fed; ID 245434
- 34. Predicted Growth of Credit Card Payments CURRENT TRENDS
- 35. What is the catalyst to the growth in electronic payments? CURRENT TRENDS
- 37. DEBIT CARDS
- 38. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOUR FIRM?
- 39. PAPER OR ELECTRONIC How are Bills Paid in Your Firm? vs.
- 40. ONLINE PAYMENTS
- 41. 1. Ensure client funds are handled correctly 2. Update client agreements 3. Verify compliance and security THREE THINGS TO CONSIDER
- 42. Separate Earned & Unearned Fees ENSURE CLIENT FUNDS
- 43. UPDATE CLIENT AGREEMENTS Sample Language
- 44. • PCI stands for Payment Card Industry compliance • Created in 2006 by card brands to reduce fraud • Good business exercise to assess security VERIFY COMPLIANCE AND SECURITY
- 45. PAYMENTS ASSESSMENT • Card brands do the work for you • Quick payment turnaround with card payments Are your clients credit-worthy?
- 46. PAYMENTS ASSESSMENT Does your firm ever encounter past due clients?
- 48. #ClioWeb Billing Best Practice#1 Walk clients through their first bill
- 49. #ClioWeb Billing Best Practice#2 Don’t wait to send a bill.
- 51. #ClioWeb Billing Best Practice#3 Send Detailed Bills
- 52. #ClioWeb Billing Best Practice#3 Re: F/U John.Doe the client J..Doe john doe Source:.Aluvion Law.Firm
- 54. #ClioWeb Billing Best Practice#4 Make it easy to get paid
- 55. #ClioWeb Billing Best Practice#5 Get paid first
- 56. #ClioWeb Billing Best Practice#6 Don’t skip trust accounting & regulatory duties
- 58. #ClioWeb Conclusions 1. Billing currently troubles many firms. 2. Better billing starts before you send the bill. 3. Client are seeking transparent bills;not lower bills. 4. Timing matters with billing. Bill consistently& frequently. 5. Use alternativefee arrangements to avoid collections.
- 60. #ClioWeb Social Media: What Lawyers Need to Know July 21, 2015 11:00 AM PT http://gocl.io/socialmedia