Beyond the Billing Team: Innovative Solutions for the Modern Law Firm
By Hayley Schmitt, Marketing Content Coordinator, Aderant
Positive client relationships are a hallmark of law firm values. Every touchpoint and client interaction is an opportunity to make a lasting impression and build the relationship ─ including invoices. Therefore, it is imperative that bills sent to clients are comprehensive and meet expectations, especially if it is the latest correspondence. Although it may seem laborious, an efficient billing system is an opportunity to enrich your client’s experience further.
According to the 2018 Aderant Business of Law and Technology Survey, 88% of respondents reported that time and billing management had a moderate or high impact on their law firm. Additionally, 61% said it takes their firm a week or longer to publish client invoices. Billing has an impact on a firm and its clients, but why is the process not more efficient? There is a need for improvement with legal billing, even for firms that have a billing team dedicated to it.
Improving the billing process starts with recognizing the problems behind it. In our latest Legal Business Report, “What You Don’t Know, Will Hurt You,” the struggle of lacking visibility with eBilling and its implications are highlighted. Billing is too important to not be a firm-wide effort. Successful billing, in the long run, is possible with modifications. Here are three innovative solutions to improve your firm’s billing process:
- Make billing a labor of love
The first step to solving your firm’s billing inefficiency is recognizing its dilemmas. Of course, these obstacles will vary from firm-to-firm. It is important for billing departments and firm leadership to locate the opportunities for workflow improvements and decide the best course of action for improvement. This could include improving new lawyer onboarding with proper time entry training or adopting an eBilling system.
Encourage the entire firm, not just the billing department, to reconnect to the importance of impeccable bills. Improved bills will lead to fewer disputes, full and on-time payments, and content clients. Initiating the process of change may require continuous improvement, but the successful result is worth the undertaking.
- Adjust firm routine
Long-term planning and routine adjustments are needed for firms that want to improve their billing process. It can be easy to fall into bad time entry habits. But, if those habits are getting in the way of effectively keeping time, change is necessary.
For firms that have the established norm of delayed or procrastinated timekeeping, habits can be hard to adjust. But when the firm is sufficiently educated on how habit adjustments increase the bottom line and improve client happiness, they become open to change. Additionally, bills presented to clients that are more comprehensive and meet expectations help maintain client satisfaction.
- Modernize billing culture
Part of the problem with billing stems from an outdated system. It is easier to adjust law firm habits when there is an alternative to save time and minimize effort. This is where eBilling technology can save the day. Modernizing the billing process allows for streamlined workflow and transparency with billing gaps. It fosters minimal mistakes, faster turnaround, and many clients prefer the transparency of eBilling.
The mobility feature of eBilling is especially useful for lawyers who spend a lot of time on-the-go, whether it be visiting clients or running an errand. Timekeepers most likely have their phones nearby and won’t mind adding this quick solution to their routine. eBilling mobility isn’t just limited to on-the-go. Many lawyers may want to manage their time on their mobile device from their desk simply because it is easy to do.
Conclusion
Every client interaction is important, and billing is no exception. For firms that have room for improvement, attention to billing is necessary. Successful bills are a labor of love that extends beyond the billing department. With recognizing your firm’s individual gaps, adjusting habits, and modernizing the process, billing success is not far out of reach. Over time, as the billing culture is changed with the help of continuous patience, adjusted habits, and innovative solutions, billing dilemmas will become a predicament of the past.
Recommended Reading:
- Think Tank: How Long Does It Take Big Law Firms to Publish Client Invoices?
- Think Tank: Six Advantages of Modernizing Law Firm Billing
- The American Lawyer: How The Am Law 100 Left $4.5B On the Table in 2018
