Advanced Billing Solutions, LLC

I recently read an article in the New York Times that is relevant to your practice.

According to the article, your billable hour is now under siege.  In fact, here are the main points of the article:

• law firms are beginning to feel the pinch
• the recent economic downturn has created the climate for a different billing structure
• a new billing structure would better suited for clients to pay for legal services

Setting aside whether such observations are valid or not, it is certainly the case that money has “tightened up” of late.  So what can you do for yourself and your practice?

Here are three suggestions…

1. Focus on revenue producing activities
2. Automate your billing
3. Allocate time to market your practice

The first two involve freeing up time.  The last one involve allocating the new “found” time to grow your practice.

Let’s discuss each of these briefly.

1. Outsource Non-Revenue Producing Tasks

Let’s stick with the billable hour for purposes of quantifying your time.  If working directly on client cases generates $250 per hour, then your obvious goal would be to maximize your time working on client case work.

Which means, you need to minimize time spent on $25 or $50 per hour tasks, and focus your efforts on those RPAs (revenue producing activities) that bring the most “bang for the buck.”

Sounds simple enough in theory, but to survive (and thrive) today we all need to work smarter, not harder.

2.  Automate Your Billing

This point underscores two basic ideas.  First, make it easy for folks to pay you.  Second, get paid when you want to.

The fact is, we live in a cashless society.  I bet you that if you looked into your wallet right now, you probably have 4 credit cards in there.  And probably less than $50 in cash in there.

We prefer to pay with credit cards. Businesses as well as individuals.  So accept the darn things.

Now, every now and then someone mentions processing fees, etc.  Fine, with checks there is no processing fee to speak of.  But you have to chase after the checks, then send someone to cash them at the bank for you.

So your trading time for dollars.  You’re saving the processing fee, but spending countless valuable hours to save a few cents.

Does that make sense to you?

Secondly,wouldn’t you rather get paid when you want to?  Wasn’t that the idea behind retainers?

In automating your billing, you leave the invoicing, billing, and payment collection to an outside firm.  This accomplishes 3 tasks:

1. the service is tax deductible…
2. you don’t waste your valuable time (or your staff’s) on administrative issues…
3. you don’t have to be the “bad guy or gal” chasing clients and their payments.

Think of the last option as an example of “good cop/bad cop.” An outsourced billing firm can rebill clients that have failed to pay (assuming you don’t accept credit cards) saving your from feeling like a collection agency.

3. Grow Your Practice

The first two tips involved freeing up your time for more profitable tasks. And one of those should be growing your practice.

In marketing your practice, who’s in a better position than you to discuss the strengths of your practice?  No one.

So get out there and attract new clients.  Write articles. Attend networking events. Give seminars.

Just get out there and use “education based” marketing to inform, educate, and set yourself up as an expert in your field.

One final note regarding billable hours and flat fees for service.  These two billing methods are not so diametrically opposed as folks make them out to be.

If you choose a flat fee structure (or you already have one), the flat fee was calculated, in part, by an estimate of the total time to complete the project, and what you want to get paid for the service.

And that, my friends, is reducing your time and effort into a revenue/hour structure, even if folks don’t always think so.

To learn how our legal billing service can benefit you, you can leave a comment below (we will respond!) or send us a quick email to michael@yourbillingservice.com.  We look forward to hearing from you.

If you’d like to check out the NY Times article as well, just follow the LINK.

When is a bill (or invoice) just a bill? How about never.  Whether you like it or not, your invoice is a marketing document.  How can I make that bold claim?

Well, for starters, check out this definition of marketing…

“Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, services, organizations, and events to create and maintain relationships that will satisfy individual and organizational objectives.”  [emphasis mine]

-Contemporary Marketing Wired (1998) by Boone and Kurtz. Dryden Press.

It’s a question of practice management.  The invoice is supposed to represent the effort expended on behalf of a client’s needs.  And doing this effectively will certainly “create and maintain” the relationship.

We’re not just talking about keeping your clients happy.  Or creating an invoice that they “rush to pay” (though that’s certainly important).

Let’s face facts.

Every document heading out your door addressed to a client (or would be client) must be considered a chance to either start a mutually beneficial relationship, maintain that relationship, or enhance it.

Listen, you work hard to build your practice.  And getting new clients is certainly tough enough.  So why blow it with a sloppy, incomplete, or hastily put together bill?

The number one rule of marketing is… that it’s easier to sell other products and/or services to existing clients than to find new clients to use our services.  Which is why ALL communication between you and your clients must represent the simple fact that you APPRECIATE their business.

Let me share a short story with you.

A few months back I used a friend to do some graphic design work for me.  And I had prepaid 50% of the projected cost to get the project moving forward.  Sort of a “good faith” initiative to help push my work to the top of his “to do” list.

So what happens?

Two months into the “work” and still nothing from him.  Then one day I finally get the work I requested, along with his invoice.

Now here’s where the problem begins.  Forget the fact that he was at least 5 weeks late (but the bill shows up almost before my project).  And forget the fact that there was no apology for the delay.  To top all that off, when I read the invoice and look at the “Balance Due” section, I can’t find any mention of the deposit I made earlier.

Big mistake.

Was the “balance due” including my deposit?  Or was the “balance due” the total amount, less what I already paid?

Perhaps many people would have assumed that he was listing the total cost of the project and that the balance due was overlooking my deposit.  But why should I have to figure this out for him?

For my part, a few emails later straightened out the whole mess.  He just “forgot” to include the deposit (and only after I was able to pull out cancelled checks with check numbers, along with clearing dates from my bank.

So… I’ll ask you this.  What’s the chance I’m likely to use his services again? And what are the chances that I refer my friends, colleagues, and clients to him?

To summarize the points made above, I’ll break it down for you this way…

1. A properly constructed invoice projects the effort you expended on your client’s behalf
2. Fosters/builds a solid relationship between you and your client
3. Helps you get paid, and may help to generate referrals because your invoice reflects your competence and professionalism.

So I’ll ask you one more time.  After reading these points and my short story above, do you still doubt that your invoice IS a marketing document?

Next Steps…

So what key questions should you ask a billing company before signing up with them?  Here’s a short list for your review:

1. What is involved in the fee (i.e. postage, envelopes, etc)?
2. Is there a monthly fee, even during winter months/downtime?
3. What reporting is provided?
4. Will follow up invoices (i.e. Second Notices) be included in the program fee

If you’d like to discover how we can help to automate your lawn service billing process, visit the link to give us a call at 877-262-3712.  We look forward to helping you streamline your billing process.