As a lawyer, you may not think about all the legal accounting you need for a successful company. From handling trust accounts to earning revenue, legal claims are essential but can seem like homework that companies are putting off. All law firms need to be paid for their services, and billing software is one of the easiest ways to ensure that.
If you’re ready to spend less time staring at books and more time on your case, you’re in the right place. How to streamline your billing with this guide to adopting legal billing software Please find.
What is statutory billing software?
Legal billing software helps automate the process of tracking time, sending bills, and managing all other billing tasks. There is one comprehensive suite of tools.
With legal billing software, you can:
-
Set up custom invoice templates
-
Track billable hours
-
Automated invoice distribution
-
Management of trust accounts, including checking balances and processing deposits
-
Evaluate performance using financial reporting tools
-
Allow your clients to pay online
Of course, all legal billing software comes with unique features. So, review your options before making any investment and make sure you choose software with the features you need.
Does my law firm need legal billing software?
If your company wants to automate and streamline billing, the answer is yes. Many large and small businesses can benefit greatly from moving to legal invoicing software.
With statutory billing software, you get the following benefits:
-
Reduce billing timeThis is one of the biggest perks. Spend less time tracking work hours and expenses, and more time handling cases.
-
Improved revenue captureIf there were a better and faster way to report working hours and billing clients, we could reduce the number of unpaid accounts.
-
Increase client happinessYour clients will have a better experience if you have easy, convenient and straightforward payment methods.
-
Improving staff experienceStaff morale is as important as client well-being. If lawyers, paralegals, accountants, and other staff have better systems for working, they are more likely to appreciate the work environment.
-
Better access to financial analysis toolsSome legal billing software has built-in custom reporting capabilities. This allows you to quickly understand a company’s financial performance over time and predict its future position.
-
Enhanced compliance. No one wants their practice to be undermined by mistakes and oversights.
You can think of it like this: If you don’t invest in tools that increase efficiency, generate revenue, and maintain compliance, your company takes on a certain amount of risk. After all, the average law firm can face a number of common billing issues that can create financial and ethical issues. For example, you may be double billing or not knowing your actual billable hours.
How to Adopt Statutory Billing Software
As you begin to consider billing software implementations, consider the implications of implementing new software.
Evaluate company needs
Some statutory billing systems are better suited to your needs than others. Check your software to make sure it offers the following features:
As mentioned above, legal billing software includes many features. Decide what is most important to your needs. For example, you should ensure that the software you choose includes integration with financial reporting tools or other legal software. Some legal billing software allows you to integrate other legal software such as case management tools to create a seamless ecosystem for productivity.
That said, you should invest in billing software that syncs with your existing software. So if you’re currently running QuickBooks for accounting, purchase software that works with these tools.
Have a standard process in place
When you’re ready to move to new legal billing software, it’s worth making sure all your billing systems are in top shape. Make sure your company:
-
Have a clear fee structure outlined
-
Establish clear legal claim guidelines
-
Preparing to set up an invoice template
-
Have a plan for invoice review and client follow-up for late payments
If you don’t already have clear billing guidelines, we encourage you to set them up. Billing guidelines should include how often you bill your clients, what to include on your invoices, and how to communicate with your clients through your invoices.
Once you’ve determined your billing guidelines, you can also automate many of these standard processes and procedures. Statutory billing software allows you to set when your clients receive invoices and use custom invoice templates.
prepare team training
Of course, making sure your staff is ready to use your new software is critical to your adoption process. Be prepared to train her members of the team to operate the billing software. It’s important to make sure everyone is on the same page and understands the best practices you have established for using these tools.
Identifying the best legal billing software
Besides making sure the legal invoicing software you choose works well with your existing software, you should consider your goals, the features you need, and what works best for your company.
Some of the most important decisions you need to make when choosing the best software are:
-
priceStatutory billing software comes with different prices. Most of the leading cloud-based billing software have a monthly fee per user. There are usually multiple pricing tiers to choose from and you can also choose the product features you want.
-
FeaturesThe limit of features available in billing software is endless, with everything from time tracking to invoicing, invoicing and custom invoice templates. Check out the software features and choose the one that best suits your needs.
-
Payment functionSome legal billing software programs allow clients to access online payment systems. If you need this functionality, look for ePayments or find out how your clients pay by card, check, or payment plan.
-
legal software integrationAs mentioned above, legal billing software can be integrated with other legal software tools. However, not all legal billing software offers this functionality. Find out how your company’s legal claims tools work with case management and other software.
-
ease of useOf course, if it’s not easy to use, you may not feel the benefits of your investment. If possible, try the demo to see how simple and powerful this software is.
Legal billing software by practice area
Legal billing software is an essential resource for managing a law firm’s business, regardless of size.
If you are starting your own business, you may have a limited budget for accounting support. That’s where legal billing software comes in. With automated billing tools, you never have to worry about when to send invoices to your clients or who hasn’t paid. And the compliance feature ensures you won’t miss details that are hard to find with one or several pairs of eyes.
Small and medium businesses may work with more resources and budgets for their accounting needs. Still, legal billing software has many uses. Your staff can make better use of their time instead of wasting time jumping from QuickBooks to invoice tools, printers, and vice versa. Instead, your team can save time on accounting and focus on increasing productivity, driving revenue, and optimizing the client experience.
Statutory billing software implementation
Investing in legitimate billing software can pay off in many ways. This allows you to improve your company’s efficiency, offer your clients a better payment system, and gain insight into your company’s financial health. With legal billing software, you can spend more time doing what matters most to your business.
Nina Lee also contributed to this article.
©2006-2022, BILL4TIME. All rights reserved.National Law Review, Vol. XII, No. 362