Legal billing guidelines shape your billing process and play a part in determining whether clients pay on time and in full. Though you probably aren’t enthused about the prospect of analyzing and perfecting your billing guidelines, doing so is in your firm’s collective interest. In particular, law firms that have not created formal rules for billing will find doing so makes the billing process much more efficient. Seize the opportunity to enhance your legal billing guidelines, and you’ll reap the rewards as detailed below.
The analysis of invoices will likely lead to the discovery of inaccurate information, including fees that aren’t accurate. Even if you were to highlight these inaccuracies, there is no guarantee that they would be remedied promptly and across posterity unless the appropriate changes are made. Enter legal billing guidelines. The proper procedures for billing provide transparent policies that prevent confusion.
There is no sense in responding to a string of subsequent emails, phone calls, and voicemails delving into the nuances of client billing when you can clarify the overarching guidelines in one fell swoop. Clearly state your billing guidelines, and you’ll find it’s that much easier to keep everyone on the same page in the context of billing. Such clarity prevents workplace arguments, enhances communication, and heightens efficiency.
Legal billing should be cut and dry as opposed to erratic and confusing. Reviewing invoices will inevitably take time away from other workplace activities, causing considerable frustration. Add in the element of surprise that will undoubtedly arise during the invoice review analytical process and there is even more reason to push for clear overarching legal billing guidelines. Dedicate the time necessary to perfect your billing guidelines and you’ll save that much more time across posterity as this clarity eliminates the prospect of energy and time-draining conversations with fellow law firm personnel pertaining to unclear billing idiosyncrasies.
Take a moment to consider the amount of time and effort wasted when responding to messages from the finance and billing department. Automate the invoice review process, maximize its efficiency and it won’t be bogged down by manual data entry, surprises and confusion. Opt for clarity through billing automation. The invoices will be processed with unparalleled efficiency, providing you with the time necessary to address the most glaring discrepancies. The result is submitting payment reports promptly, setting the stage for prompt client payments, and less attorney concern over unpaid bills.
Transparent, concise, and compelling legal billing guidelines make it that much easier to review the nuances of bills and send them to clients promptly. There is no sense investing a second more than necessary checking your accounts when the process can be automated with unparalleled efficiency. Enhanced billing guidelines are highlighted by a systematic approach that decreases the number of judgment calls necessary, ensuring you don’t spend your valuable time poring over the details of bills that could have been automated and expedited.
Invest the little bit of time necessary to establish clear guidelines in the weeks ahead, and your team will have a reliable and easy-to-understand rubric that guides your billing process moving forward. Transparent billing guidelines ultimately make it that much easier to communicate exactly what clients owe and catalyze those payments in their entirety as soon as possible.
Creating legal billing guidelines is only the first step toward highly efficient billing that serves mutually beneficial to your in-house team and your clients. Continue to amend your billing guidelines as time progresses for ongoing improvement, and the billing process will become that much more efficient.
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