Bill’s Excellent Adventure: Invoice More Regularly

Lots of attorneys are short on cash.  But, lots of attorneys are sitting on unsent or incomplete invoices.  So, if you’re feeling a cash crunch in your law firm, look to a likely culprit: invoices that need to go out.

Lots of attorneys are sitting on lots of cash; those attorneys just need to send out their billing.  And, sending out that billing quickly is essential, because the more it piles up, the harder it is to collect on later: the more aged your accounts receivable, the less likely you are to see the money they represent.

So, here are some tips for getting your billing out quicker:

• Simply set a recurring task for doing so.  Add a task in your calendar at the end of every month for sending out your invoices.  And, put a tickler on it, so you know it’s coming up.
• Adopt a single-entry system.  If you’re still writing down your time on a piece of paper, and handing it to your secretary: stop.  Instead, use a time and billing or case management system to record your time entries directly.  Some of these systems feature, or can be integrated with, automated time trackers, which keep track of your time on your devices.  Not only will you get your billing out faster, there is also a decreased likelihood of errors because no second person is adding your data to a new system.
• Don’t send invoices out one-by-one, via your productivity software.  Instead, adopt a time and billing or case management system that allows you to use ‘batch invoicing’, or the running and sending (via various mechanisms) of invoices to all of your clients, all at once.

Speed is the name of the game.  And, if you’re not fast, you get paid less.

. . .

If you’re looking to revise your billing practices, we can help.

The Wyoming State Bar offers free law practice management consulting services through Red Cave Law Firm Consulting.

To request a consult, visit the Wyoming State Bar’s law practice management page, and start running your law firm like a business.

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