Create Billing Team Balance with Data Insights
How one firm optimized processes, eliminated bottlenecks, and improved workload distribution with BillBlast data.
Prior to implementing BillBlast, there was no formal billing oversight at the firm. Each member of the billing team operated on a “First-In First-Out” (FIFO) workload allocation model. While this was “working” for the team, the firm’s Billing & Collections Manager had no way to identify processing bottlenecks and was operating in a reactive manner– relying on team members to escalate any issues or roadblocks preventing them from efficiently delivering bills. In order to measure the success of billing on revenue at the firm, team members were using manual spreadsheets to track bill execution and delivery. The firm’s ability to report out on revenue expectations depended heavily on the accuracy of the spreadsheets and was only as accurate as the date it was last manually reviewed and updated – requiring someone to proactively review and audit the thousands of outstanding invoices and apply updated notes across various spreadsheets.
Enter BillBlast. The firm immediately benefitted from streamlining internal processes and leveraged key features to not only improve communication, but also expose valuable insights used to guide the team. By harnessing the power of BillBlast, the firm was able to better align the team’s efforts and reduce the time between invoice creation and client acceptance. The billing team members now have clearly defined responsibilities and invoicing goals, rather than working under general assumptions that another team member might be handling a bill.
“We set goals for our team to have invoices out the door within two business days or otherwise assign a status to indicate their blocker. With BillBlast, our team has exceeded those goals. It has enabled top-down support from firm management to set expectations with attorneys and staff on removing the blockers. As a result, we have reduced our A/R backlog, reduced write-offs, and improved realization.”
– Billing & Collections Manager
By gaining visibility into their billing data, the firm was able to evaluate and balance work volume across the billing team– equally distributing the workload so no one team member was responsible for more than another. The firm implemented a combination of attorney/client/vendor assignments across the billing team and retired the FIFO model previously used. This created transparency the team desperately needed. BillBlast provides clear and easy-to-access information on team member workloads, capacity, and availability, enabling team leadership to make proactive adjustments.
The Billing & Collections Manager now has access to valuable insights used to prioritize the efforts of the team, while the team is focused on proactively delivering bills rather than spending time trying to identify and communicate issues. BillBlast identifies errors related to attorney or client responsiveness, vendor requirements, and client guidelines that could cause bills to be rejected for payment by the client. With visibility into delayed attorney response time on budget inquiries, the Billing & Collections Manager is empowered to jump in and take action to expedite a response.
“I no longer have to wait for my team to escalate concerns and am able to monetize the impact those delayed responses have on firm revenue,” explained the Billing & Collections Manager.
Centralized communications with real-time data has increased the firm’s billing capacity. The Specialist Analytics Dashboard Suite highlights the eBilling team’s workload, submission speed, and days to resolve errors. Dashboard views aggregate billing volumes handled by each team member and related variables impacting success in expediting bill submissions to the clients. They highlight valuable insights into the “Days to Submit” and the “Days to Accept” by team member, client, or vendor. These dashboard views shine a light on the relationship between team members and the challenges they face with the bills they are processing and the related client requirements including budgets, matter reconciliation, timekeeper, and rate approvals.
With BillBlast reporting and analytics, the firm has visibility into their billing data empowering teams to take action– increasing productivity and revenue.
