If you want to boost your law firm\u2019s bottom line, you can start by improving your billing hygiene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do this by keeping good time records, communicating regularly with clients, and following up on late accounts. Most important, it means billing promptly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[A] part of the profitability picture is \u2018billing hygiene,\u2019 or the golden rule of promptness in pursuing payment,\u201d according to this article<\/a> from the legal tech company Smokeball for the National Law Review<\/em>. \u201cIf invoices aren\u2019t sent out promptly, they won\u2019t be paid promptly. Setting and maintaining regular billing cycles sets a precedent with your clients and helps avoid the sticker shock of a huge bill at month\u2019s end. And when billing is timely, the value you\u2019ve provided is still fresh in your client\u2019s mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another tip: set profitability goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor every dollar you bill, what percentage will be profit?\u201d writes Jane Oxley of Smokeball in the National Law Review<\/em> piece<\/a>. \u201cMany small firms have no idea what their profit margins are or should be. Your best bet is to track time relative to revenue, minus firm costs. Legal practice management software that tracks all your work in real-time is crucial to accurately producing these metrics. Productivity analysis that spans matter, practice areas, and other categories whose measurement is important. Time-tracking can even be done on flat-fee cases, showing actual revenue was generated from that work. Over time, you\u2019ll gain a view of your most profitable clients and practice areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you taking advantage of the valuable resources available through the Alta Pro Risk Purchasing Group (RPG)? If not, <\/em><\/strong>register here and start enjoying the benefits<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. When your law practice has professional liability coverage through Alta Pro Insurance, you\u2019re automatically enrolled in the RPG. Among the benefits: free, cutting-edge CLE webinars featuring top experts tackling timely topics; the\u00a0Pro Practice Playbook; the Pro Practice Blog; Reminger\u2019s ProLink risk management assistance; Reminger\u2019s Claim Repair Hotline; discounts on CLIO practice management software; and access to the Risk Pro, who can help keep your firm safe and successful. <\/em><\/strong>Stay ahead of the curve with Alta Pro Risk Purchasing Group<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBilling is an essential aspect of running a successful law practice,\u201d says Erika Winston of TimeSolv<\/a>. \u201cIt is how you receive remuneration for your work, take care of your office bills, pay your employees, and compensate yourself. If done incorrectly, your billing practices can threaten the very existence of your firm.\u201d \u00a0Sources: National Law Review<\/a> and TimeSolv<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0Want a discount on Clio practice management software products? You\u2019re eligible<\/em><\/strong> if you practice in Wisconsin, Texas, Minnesota, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana or Michigan and are a member of the Alta Pro Lawyers RPG. In addition to Clio discounts, you\u2019ll get access to free webinars, the Pro Practice Playbook, Reminger ProLink, Ask the Risk Pro and more. <\/em><\/strong>Here\u2019s how to join.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Timely invoices = timely payments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[251,249],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/altaprorpg.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6020"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/altaprorpg.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/altaprorpg.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altaprorpg.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altaprorpg.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/altaprorpg.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altaprorpg.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/altaprorpg.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altaprorpg.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altaprorpg.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Tips for Better Billing Hygiene<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Here are four ways to improve your billing hygiene, courtesy of Winston and TimeSolv<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"