Ideal Billing Workflow

The purpose of a billing workflow is two-fold: save your firm time and drive the collections process. There is a lot going on in the world and for your firm, if you can save time on non-billable tasks, stay organized, and increase client satisfaction, wouldn’t you want to? Sure it isn’t always easy to adopt new change and break old habits, but if it means increasing your profitability wouldn’t you want to try? 

It’s this simple, technology can help you bill while you work, get your invoices out much faster, and reduce your bottom-line. We’ll show you how.   

Invoice template

The first thing you should do is set up your invoice template. Your template needs to be consistent, clean, on-brand for your firm, and easily digestible for your client. It is important that everyone at the firm is trained on how everything is documented so that there is a level of uniformity that is maintained. Additionally, you should ensure your invoice templates account for all of the critical information that your clients want to see, like who worked on a particular item, what they’ve paid you recently, any money in Trust, ledger details, etc. This is an essential piece of communication for your clients, so it is imperative that you give an adequate amount of detail. Your invoice also contributes to your professional appearance, so make sure that it accurately represents who you are.   

Electronic invoice sharing

First, you need to ask your client for approval to email your invoice rather than sending it via snail mail. It is strongly recommended that clients opt into this agreement in a written way. This will help combat those individuals who claim they never got your bill in the mail. 

The beauty of an electronic invoice is that it will eliminate the time spent on printing, folding, stuffing, and then mailing every invoice you have each month. This is will also help you keep an electronic repository with documentation on who has paid what and who hasn’t, and depending on what platform you use, some systems will give you the ability to track whether the email with the bill was opened by the recipient or if it went unread. 

Legal technology is really opening the door to so many possibilities when it comes to your billing practices. For example, there are some software that will allow you to take advantage of a billing portal where you can provide your clients access to view and pay bills or to access a complete history of bills. Your clients want visibility, and with a portal like this, they're given the autonomy to review what they owe, on their time.

Set-up and apply taxes, interest, and discount rules 

Taxes need to be accounted for in jurisdictions where taxes apply to legal services rendered. Whether this is applied based on where your client lives, or where you’re performing the services, these rates can automatically be applied when you’re creating your invoices. The goal here is to prevent any kind of bottleneck at the end of the month when you’re trying to send your bills out. You could also consider assessing interest on past due invoices to help drive the speed of collections. This will need to be discussed with your client beforehand, it should be drafted up in writing, and something that they can expect if they’re late on a payment. Additionally, some states have found this to not be usury, so please take note of that and do your research as you’re making decisions. Lastly, you can incentivize early payments with discounts. If a client pays within the first 5-7 days of receiving the bill, you could consider offering a loyalty discount. Especially for clients with multiple matters, this will not only get you paid quicker, but it will build trust and establish a stronger partnership.   

Even if your firm chooses to pursue only one of these options, you will still be contributing to the reduction of bottlenecks and ultimately speed up your collections process!

Capture Time as Your Work

Do you want to hear something shocking? According to studies compiled in an ABA blog, if you don’t get your time in by the end of the day, you’re likely to lose 10% of your billable hours. If you don’t get your time recorded the next day, you’ll lose 25%! If you don’t get it in by the end of the week, you’ll lose a full 50%. 

So at this point, you’re either thinking, wow, I have lost my firm a lot of money or wow, I need to figure out more efficient ways to track my time.

If you’re thinking the latter, we’ve got you covered. There are services that address the pain points of being a timekeeper. With today’s technology, you have the ability to bill directly from tasks, phone and text conversations, email, and word documents. You can use multiple timers, you can set time to bill in advance and then adjust the figure accordingly in the pre-bill process. All of these solutions aim to remove the inaccuracies that come from waiting until the end of the month to record all your time. 

Schedule A Billing Cutoff Date 

As you are creating your ideal billing workflow, consider setting a hard billing due date. The most well-run law firms bill on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. When you’re ready to bill, you need to identify a cut-off date. Utilize a firm-wide calendar or practice management system to schedule these dates, so any work that was done between that designated time frame needs to be recorded before that billing cut-off date. This does not mean that the billing stops for any work moving forward, but any work that has happened previously needs to be submitted to allow the person in charge of billing time to run those pre-bills.

Set-Up Automated Payment Emails

The next thing your firm should do is set-up automated payment emails. This communication is a reflection of your firm and should motivate your clients to take action and to pay those bills. The email should not be abrasive, but rather warm and include their invoice and clear descriptions for how payment is accepted. If you have it set-up in your system to pay securely online, then this would be an opportunity to include that link. It should also include contact information if questions arise on the bill. The objective here is to make it as seamless as possible for your clients to pay you.

Run Pre-Bills, Then Batch Billing 

Running pre-bills and batch billing is the ideal, most efficient process. You get all of your information into the system regarding the work and services you’ve performed by that billing cut-off date, then pre-bills are run. Pre-bills allow you to see a preview of your invoices so that you can check for formatting, errors, or omissions without changing matter ledgers. The best part about pre-bills is that they can now be done electronically. Gone are the days where firm administrators have to give their timekeepers different colored pencils to mark up a pre-bill by hand. And did you know that by electronically reviewing and sending your bills, you will speed up your billing by 30%! That is a lot of time!

If you use batch billing, this will allow you to generate all of your invoices at once, in whatever format you designate, in just a few minutes. A lot of powerful billing systems have this feature for you to capitalize on to increase your billing and collections processes. 

Managing Alternative Fees 

In, 8 Tips to Improve Your Firm’s Collection Process Right Now, we talked about alternative fees and why you should set those up on your retainer or fee agreement with your client. If you have a situation for example, where you have a monthly retainer agreement, you can set this up to bill automatically. This is one less thing you would have to take care of. If you have matters that you’re billing hourly and then collecting on or deducting from Trusts and you have a monthly retainer agreement, you can set all these permissions up to draw directly from the bank account, or to automatically charge the credit card on a specified day. For payment plans, this is useful to accommodate your past-due clients or flat fees that cannot be paid all upfront. Sometimes clients do need a little flexibility and this fee arrangement is a great way to show them that your firm can be. If your firm chooses to use a reduced rate as an alternative fee, you want to ensure that you document the rate that deviates from your standard hourly to save you time when you bill and ensure you’re not inaccurately billing your clients. Taking care of these things up front will make running your bills at the end of the month much easier.  

Conclusion

All these steps can help you deliver an exceptional customer experience while also driving your firm’s profitability. If done correctly, billing doesn’t have to be dreadful! Centerbase offers countless tools to serve your law firm, take a free product tour today, and see how!

One of the biggest takeaways from 2020 as a whole has been adjusting to the entirely remote atmosphere of day-to-day operations. Although 77 percent of attorneys regularly work from home according to an American Bar Association survey, there’s no doubt this rapid change of in-office vs. a remote environment has affected the ways things are done at law firms. Specifically, how communication happens. Now, moving forward, it’s time to take charge and find ways to use law firm communication tools that prioritize security and efficiency for everyone involved – including clients.

This operational efficiency will serve everyone better in fostering a client-centered firm that maintains clear, iterative communication, positioning your firm’s reputation better than the competition.

How Remote Work is Changing Internal and Client Communication

Both internal communication and client communication are forever changed. While the outskirts of remote work and the digital age have been creeping in the periphery for a while, it’s the coronavirus that’s ushered in the necessity for fully digital communication and remote work. This has changed mainly for in-office workers such as paralegals and legal assistants. Instead of a quick walk over to your coworker’s desk for a question, you're now forced to send a message or phone call. This extra effort leads to more barriers that can prevent alignment across the team.

For clients, without a central office phone number to call, it’s going to create extra worry about how to get updates on their case. Without clear communication and guidance, your firm’s reputation could suffer. After all, poor communication is among the top reason clients end relationships with law firms. When comparing one bad experience to more than one in terms of communication, the percentage of a client switching to a competitor jumps from 50 to 80 percent.

You really can’t afford to let clients leave on the basis of bad communication – especially since there are so many solutions that can help remedy this prevalent communication problem.

Important Law Firm Communication Tools for Optimizing Efficiency

Stay on task and on schedule with frequent communication tools that ease the burden of sifting through multiple windows and programs. One prominent example, which fans of kanban project management will rejoice at, is Centerbase’s TaskFrame™ inclusion. It’s a convenient visual board that lets you drag and drop important tasks and notify people in real-time.

There are plenty of other law firm communication tools that simplify and prioritize what needs to be done in a secure way. Let’s review them based on category:

Video Conferencing Tools

 

• Zoom: The boon of Zoom is everywhere this year – and for good reason. With a free option for 40-minute calls at a time, you can manage meetings effectively while also creating a private space for you and your clients to talk. Some security concerns have emerged to take into account, but their 5.0 update supports end-to-end encryption as of May 2020. It’s a great platform widely understood and accessible, so it’s a good place to start.
• Skype: If you’ve ever video chatted before, chances are, you’ve heard of Skype. Another free option for video, the backing from Microsoft provides features such as unlimited video calls and unlimited users able to join meetings. However, Skype does not offer end to end encryption, so if ensuring client privacy is a concern, Microsoft Teams may be a better option (albeit, more expensive).
• Legaler: A newer video chat software specifically geared toward law firms, Legaler is definitely worth mentioning if you haven’t heard of it. Its in-browser video feature prioritizes security without any annoying download requirements for your participants. Plus, all your videos can be archived and connected to your matters for easy retrieval later. The best part? They have a starter version that’s free to use, with a more premium version for storage at $19 a month.

Instant Messaging Tools

Creating one spot to facilitate quick communication helps drive efficiency in the digital, remote world we’re now in. It’s easy to keep a tab open as your staff are checking their inboxes or reading a matter to reply back to a quick inquiry.

In terms of messaging, here are some convenient options that can boost your team’s communication:

• Microsoft Teams: Good for firms with a Microsoft 365 subscription, Teams is the beefier, more secure version of Skype. More costly per user versus the other free options, you get a bevy of features such as instant messaging, recording meetings, and screen sharing. This functions more effectively when you already use all Microsoft products, and works to flesh out your existing 365 system, so if you’re not using it, this cost may not be worthwhile.
• Slack: Great for those wanting a browser-based solution for IMing, Slack has convenient customization options, including notifications and the ability to sync with Google Drive and other common file-sharing software. Divided between threads and conversations with teammates, you can easily add channels and compartmentalize so only the people needed on certain channels are included and notified. Plus, it now offers video calls if you’re looking for a way to connect with teammates face to face. For small and medium-sized businesses, it’s priced at $6.67 per user a year, and $8 per user a month.
• Centerbase Mobile App: While Teams and Slack both offer apps, our Centerbase mobile app is all-inclusive with our client portal, letting you communicate directly with clients in accordance with their matters. Not only that, but all interactions are tracked through the native software and attributed to the matter history, so anyone looking at the file in the future will be caught up on what’s been said. The convenience that keeps you caught up – without extra, duplicative work. And not to mention, Centerbase's Automatic Time Capture feature that allows attorneys to send and receive texts and calls to a separate, private number. Whether you’re texting a client about an upcoming meeting, sending documents over email, or answering a call after hours, every second is automatically captured and converted into a time entry.

Secure Client Portal

Whether you need to send matter deadlines or an update via text message, having a simple client portal where it’s all laid out gives considerable peace of mind to clients. This as a law firm communication tool has value when it comes to tracking and divvying direct communication that helps reassure them you’re on top of status updates and important dates to be mindful of.

24/7 Client Portals Improve Communication

A 24/7 portal fosters an open door policy and can help clients maintain trust with you during the entirety of their case. Plus, instead of calling, clients can send a message instead about any questions they have – alerting you, and empowering staff to get them answers quicker than playing phone tag.

Client Intake Management

Onboarding is always a pain point for firms – to get all the paperwork loaded into the system quickly and accurately is timely and takes away from other revenue-generating tasks. Rather than manually entering all a client’s information once they fill out a form, with Centerbase, their information is automatically populated the instant the form is completed. These intake features boost productivity and efficiency on matters.

Why Client Communication is Important for Your Practice

The better your communication, the more alignment your team will have to stay efficient and keep clients happy. As mentioned earlier, one bad interaction can be the difference between a client going to another firm – so it’s a matter of maintaining a good reputation in order to retain clients. You can have a stellar team of attorneys, but without proper client communication, it will create uncertainty and a lack of trust in the client-attorney relationship. With the advent of digitized and remote teams, your firm must adapt, or you may suffer from a lack of client retention.

How to Improve Adoption of New Communication Technology

So you know the importance of law firm communication tools; now is the implementation step that can feel daunting and overwhelming. Take time to research and plan which of the above services will best suit your firm’s needs, and work on a plan to put it into action if you haven’t already. This will require a virtual or in-person meeting with your team to emphasize the requirements, and why it’s needed. Such a transition can be the difference between your firm flourishing and simply skating by.

• Offer incentives for your team to communicate such as once a month early release to let them know you’re noticing the initiative and commitment
• Actively listen. Provide a space for your team to reflect on what their difficulties are with using messaging and video chat software. Where can you help alleviate some of their anxieties and concerns?
• Reward anyone who takes initiative to help others learn and let them know they’re appreciated for helping drive efficiency

What Law Firm Communication Tools Will You Use?

Remote work efficiency is going to take a different form when it comes to office communication. Be sure to be mindful of roadblocks – as this transitionary period from a fully staffed office to a hybrid or even fully remote environment can take time to get used to long-term. These video and instant messaging tools can help bridge the gap and get answers and efficiency better than constant calls or text messages on personal devices. Division between work and home is going to be pivotal to helping your team not feel overwhelmed.

What tools jumped out at you? Be sure to let us know what’s best for your team in the comments. If you have any questions about how a mobile app can help your firm and sync with software securely, send us a message, and let’s chat about how Centerbase can simplify everyday tasks and put more time back in your billing and day-to-day operations.

 

Thanks for tuning in! If you have some time, check out our blog on Everything You Need to Know About Communicating With Your Clients Via Text: The Good and the Bad

Like many industries, the legal profession isn’t immune to the rapid changes in technology. Constant developments in legal automation have made scanning documents, finding case matters, and handling client communication a whole lot more efficient – but at what cost, really? How is the legal industry rising to these new challenges in automation, and what ways can you stay ahead of the curve?

We’re glad you asked. In this blog, we’re going to discuss the ways legal automation tools help bolster operational efficiency in a way that benefits your firm, and doesn’t add unnecessary steps or complications.

What is Legal Automation?

For context, legal automation is the process of using software to help organize and manage all tasks in a firm.

What does that mean, exactly? Things that attorneys and other firm employees used to do via a physical paper trail are now all (or mostly) accomplished digitally. Many common tasks attorneys performed twenty years ago are now automated – a whopping 23%, according to McKinsey – which has undoubtedly raised new disruption challenges throughout firms. Ensuring these legal tech systems are secure, adopted by everyone, and made for efficiency are essential. For many firms, adopting new technology while maintaining a profitable level of operations feels incredibly daunting, which is why resistance may occur.

From employees touting the age-old “I’ve always done it this way,” to partners feeling reluctant to invest in a technology they may not feel comfortable in, there’s plenty of worries about stepping into the nascent world of automation. But when you dive in, there are double the amount of benefits to doubts if implemented correctly. Not only does it help mitigate human error, but it also saves considerable time, which is the biggest benefit where automation is concerned. The very definition of efficiency denotes organization and orderliness – two things legal automation is primed to accomplish for you.

The above are just a few reasons as to why it’s essential to choose software that ticks all the boxes on efficiency, and gets everyone onboarded in a way that rewards adoption, not rejection.

4 Ways Legal Automation Increases Efficiency

The nice – not to mention extra efficient – thing about practice management software is you can customize these actions to your firm’s needs. That admin work of endless data entry is greatly reduced with the proper set of rules established while onboarding your software.

Whether it’s generating a monthly report on case matter stats and what stage they’re all in, these workflows are a huge time saver that we’ll expand on more later. Or if you're very intrigued, you can check out the blog, Everything You Need to Know About Legal Workflow Automation and Why You Should Have It.

The biggest takeaway here: workflows are both customizable and easy to use, which yield themselves to increasing efficiency in any firm.

2. Auto Triggers and Task Automation Boosts Accuracy

We’ve all been there – moving too quickly between tasks, trying to check off as many things on our to-dos as possible. It’s unfortunately the prime opportunity for mistakes to occur, and we all know mistakes are costly in time and money, not to mention inefficient.

Auto triggers are a form of workflow, and fire off whenever you create or modify a record or when a given set of criteria is true (usually taking the form of a query). This lets you automatically transfer information from Centerbase into your matters, which is extra convenient if you’re trying to send correspondence or follow an exact timeline for litigation. Legal automation makes everyday data entry and updates simpler than ever before.

Want to see how Centerbase does it?

Here’s a use case where we assign a client email address to their matter that generates if the query is blank.

3. Reduce Time Spent Generating Documents for Clients

Templated documents for clients is a tale as old as time, but legal automation takes it one step further with merging queries and data en masse. The ability to create document templates by merging information stored in your legal software cuts down on data entry and the chance to make mistakes.

Even better – you can easily open and save client documents from Microsoft Word in Centerbase, making it easy to work within the programs you and your employees are comfortable in. The idea of bolstering efficiency is not reinventing the wheel and having software that doesn’t overcomplicate, but empowers people to work efficiently. Integration with Microsoft and NetDocuments is one of the many ways Centerbase strives to take the curve off learning something entirely new.

4. Automate Client Emails

Client reminder emails become effortless with legal automation. You can kiss goodbye the days of sticky notes and harsh dings on your calendar reminding you to send update emails. With the proper legal tech, an automatic email notification can be sent every time a case matter moves to a different stage, meaning everyone stays informed and up-to-date on the case in real-time.

Less manual project management means more time back in everyone’s day to focus on staying profitable and delivering above and beyond customer service that creates rapport, referrals, and client retention.

How Automation will Change Legal Jobs

Technology is changing the legal landscape for everyone involved, and now’s the time to put plans in motion for boosting efficiency. In order to adapt, great software and great people are going to be your best resources for saving time. The automation features discussed are among the few benefits that encompass legal software – there are many more. These powerful additions will help improve day-to-day processes and ensure your staff get things done faster and more effectively.

Due to this technology, everyone’s jobs are going to change in ways that require more people interaction. Technology will become a bridge toward helping us interact without a computer screen being a barrier. If nothing else, it will be an invitation to ensure communication and relationships get built, and that everyone at your firm can be ready to adapt – attorneys, accountants, legal assistants, and all working together toward a common goal. It’s this ideal we strive for with legal technology and software.

Still wondering how to save time and increase efficiency in the form of billable hours and extra time back in your days, weeks, and months? (That’s another benefit of legal automation – you’ll continue to see the time saved compared to when you didn’t have it.)

Our mission is to help you serve your clients better – whatever that looks like. Every area of law and its requirements are different, after all, but the right software system adapts seamlessly to what you need. At Centerbase, our technology adapts to fit your needs, not the other way around. Feel free to schedule a free, no-obligation demo with Centerbase to see how we can boost efficiency in your everyday processes with legal automation.

Throughout the course of history, technology has been a disruptive force that has completely changed the landscape of many industries. Technology continues to reshape the way the world works and that is no exception for the legal space. The emergence of the technologies we’re seeing today, such as A.I., virtual law, and integration tools are a few of the disruptors that will most likely change the trajectory of the next generation.

The bad news is, if your firm can’t keep up with technology, you will quickly lose your competitive edge. But don’t worry, there is good news. Adopting this technology is not as dreadful as it sounds, in fact, once you get over the mental hurdle, the actual implementation and utilization will have you regretting that you didn’t make the jump sooner.

We are in an era where the shift to mobile and cloud computing for small to medium firms is as far-reaching as the shift to adopting computers was over 30 years ago. At the end of the day, the technology that is available now will allow you to provide better client services and attain higher revenue-driven results. Additionally, you will begin to notice that technology becomes an integral part of attracting new clients. Technology has the power to improve an organization’s efficiency if used appropriately. Most traditional law firms are gradually losing ground due to increased competition put on by the digitally advanced firms.

If that made you start to sweat, don't worry! The simple answer to this is to be open to new technology and avoid resistance to change. The return on your investment will be far more impressive from an operational and financial standpoint than the risks associated with pursuing the technology needed to remain competitive. As the adage goes, work smarter, not harder. Implementing legal technology at your firm will allow you to focus on your clients and generate more revenue without increasing your workload. If you think that sounds too good to be true, you better believe that in 2020 it’s an attainable reality.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways firms can successfully operate in this new world and meet the pace of demand that the younger, tech-savvy consumer base is expecting.

Prevalence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation

With the introduction of AI and automation systems, law processes are being simplified. Today, legal documents are being recorded, physical paperwork is being organized and converted into digital files, search and discover features are increasing efficiency, automated workflow engines are assigning tasks for team members, and much more.

AI has not made a huge splash in the marketplace just yet, as rigorous testing and experimentation is still being conducted. However, let’s take a look at some of the features this type of advanced technology could offer your firm in the future. Currently, what many researchers are talking about is AI’s ability to assist in the discovery phase of a lawsuit. AI’s ability to rapidly confirm facts expedites the process of finding background information, which can accelerate arbitration and litigation proceedings. According to an article from Forbes, AI “can review documents and flag them as particular to a case. Once a certain type of document is denoted as relevant, machine learning algorithms can get to work to find other documents that are similarly relevant.” This type of AI and automation can often help sort out problems faster with fewer mistakes that are often overlooked by the human eye. In general, automation enhances consistency in contract and document creation and streamlines your client intake process.

As research and development continue, AI and automation will become increasingly more prevalent with many more functions than the ones just listed. Artificial Intelligence can’t take the place of a lawyer, but law firms today can choose more tech-savvy professionals over others. Doing so will significantly decrease the learning curve and informed pessimism of technology adoption in the future. For now, this type of technology may not be widely used, but one day it will be.

Virtual law practice

In The Disadvantages of Working Remotely: How Legal Professionals Can Overcome Them, we discuss the challenges of working outside of the office and the solutions to mitigate some of those pain points. Our new normal includes this transition between working at the office and at home, and there are a variety of drivers, such as work-life integration, travel requirements, and cost-of-living management that all come into play. Working remotely, however, means that technology needs to be used to facilitate business activity in an effective and professional manner.

Some firms are starting to support their teams bringing their own electronics and devices, like personal tablets and laptops. This requires implementing controls to configure and protect noncorporate devices and reimbursement protocols. This also implicates document sharing technology to discourage local storage and encourage central document management.

The younger generations are contributing to this trend as they strongly identify with specific tools and technology, and prefer to continue using tools familiar to them when joining a new company.

Corporate cultural norms are also changing. For example, remote employees are encouraged to turn on their cameras in video meetings so that others on the call may personally interact with them. Because of this, anyone who works in an office must still adapt to virtual practices when working with outside counsel or business partners. Right now, and for the foreseeable future, there will be a mix of remote versus in-office staff, and technology is the only link between them.

Norms also include the prevalence of instant messaging or chat capability, which fosters less stringent communication protocols — which as a result may lead to increase council involvement in potential risk situations stemming from hostile work environments, generally inappropriate discussions, or communication surrounding IP.

With all this being said, the virtual work environment is a tremendous advantage to business continuity and emergency activities. With technology, firms can easily manage workload while remote, stay abreast of litigation matters, and sign documents — without these capabilities, moving forward through the future would be much tougher.

Life integration tools

Given the prevalence of virtual workstyles, globalization, and scope of work, lawyers seem to never be away from work. Newer generations of lawyers — digital natives — grew up managing communication channels. Their integration of tech into their workflow is more natural than for those who are just learning to maximize technology.

Many mobile devices and apps now include virtual assistants that can add tasks and calendar slots based on email or oral statements. At times, this may seem intrusive, but the convenience is real. Smart homes that integrate with your car, phone, and emails can truly simplify everyday items, such as displaying the security wait line time for your flight or order groceries to be delivered right as you arrive home. These same luxuries can be put into context for your firm. With a click of a button, you can deliver anything you want to your front door. With that same click, you can seamlessly send your clients their bills, and everything related to their matters are now in one easy to access place. View deadlines, parties, documents, emails, and outstanding bills from one screen with your deadlines automatically generating and populating your calendar.

It is also common for people to have two or more email accounts on their phones that allow easy navigation between work and personal messages. Unfortunately, apps also make it easy to save documents to an online service for anywhere-access. This makes it too easy to commingle work and personal documents, so firms should remember that convenience comes with a cost.

Managing your work-life balance is crucial. Cloud-based practice management technology is the best way to keep you organized and connected. And best of all, it will always be available when you need it, where you need it. As we look to the future and how the world is developing, having a cloud-based practice management software is a simple advantage you can’t afford to look past.

Law industry falling behind the curve – why it matters

Technology is so advanced these days, almost everyone has a smartphone, most corporate offices are tech-savvy, and even children are given more technical educations.

In a world that breeds competition, clients only continue to lean towards the tech-savvy law firms who meet their needs in the most modern and advanced ways possible. Because of this, there is an undeniable threat to the existence of the law firms who choose not to take advantage of what technology offers them.

At the end of the day, all the legal processes become very time consuming when technology is not used. Introducing automation can help in various small to large scale problems and cloud-based technology provides users secure access to their data whenever and wherever they are.

The bottom line

Change is the only constant in the world, and technology, in large part, is what drives that. Emerging digital technologies like AI are uniquely positioned to disrupt how law firms conduct their businesses today. This, coupled with the fact that client’s needs are changing and the younger generation is inherently more immersed in tech means that Law firms need to be constantly innovating and should invest in technologically driven infrastructure to keep up with the pace of the economy and these customers.

The nonstop progress in technology is changing how many lawyers work and how firms operate as a whole. Between changes in their working style and enhancements that improve efficiency, the field is evolving. The legal industry and all its parts must advance along with the rest of the world because the innovation and change we are seeing right now is only the beginning, and it won’t stop for anyone.

If you’ve ever braved the cold winter in Chicago to attend the ABA TECHSHOW or if you plan to attend in the future, you’ll quickly notice that over half the vendors tout themselves as ‘Practice Management Software.’ But, as hot as the practice management space is in legal tech, less than 60% of small-to-midsize law firms actually have practice management software. The vast majority of firms primarily still rely on their billing software to store client information, Outlook to archive emails/calendar/store contact information, and a folder on their firm’s 'x drive' to manage all case documents.

Change can be hard, that’s not a new fact. But what could be even harder is getting partner buy-in to pursue and adopt that change. Over the years, we have compiled some tips and tricks on how our clients have successfully pitched purchasing practice management software to their law firms. We found that the firms who have adopted new technology look for the best ways, venues, and times to voice their ideas and concerns—using rhetorical skill, driven data, and interpersonal connections to move the right leaders to action. These internal change-drivers are seen to employ specific tactics significantly more often than individuals who don’t succeed in gaining firm buy-in.

Evaluate Your Current State

Before you even begin thinking about shopping for software, you need to clearly understand the pain points your firm is experiencing. Are you having a hard time managing your matters? Do you have a slower intake process? Poor internal and external communication channels? Identifying your weaknesses and eliminating waste should be your first step. Take time to do your research. Speak with multiple people from different departments, different positions, and different tenures at the firm. Try to be open-minded and listen to all the issues your staff is having, even if they don't directly affect the decision to purchase new software. The more pain points you can find, the more open ears you’ll have in the room eager to hear a new solution.

Involve Others

Building a task force generates organizational buy-in more quickly and on a larger scale as more people contribute energy and resources. Negotiation experts would tell you to mobilize your allies, persuade your blockers to support the software or at least back-off, and show the fence-sitters why they should care about what you’re presenting.

If you are a small firm, it might only be one or two people, but having a few people on your side is always helpful. Creating a task force also offers you multiple perspectives when you are meeting with software vendors.

Frame the Issue

A problem’s place on your firm’s list of priorities depends heavily on how you package the idea. A new software might seem like techie trivia until you explain how it supports a strategic goal. For example, if your team is losing notable time manually sending out bills, legal software can completely eliminate that wasted time by allowing you to email bills out to your clients in one click. Now, that problem is a priority to solve. Once people in your firm see how your initiative fits into the big picture, they’ll be more willing to devote resources to it.

Similarly, if you’re a firm administrator presenting a use case to your partners on the benefits of financial reporting software, you can describe how transitioning to the new software will enable you to quickly generate the reports they need. It will allow you to understand what receivables are due to be collected, pinpoint who the high revenue clients are, quickly build general ledger budgets to identify trends, timekeeper budgets to hit more targets, and matter budgets to keep clients satisfied. By highlighting specifically what would be gained from the software, you create a sense of urgency for partners.

Although focusing on business benefits is often safer, also consider presenting the software as an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. Present what your firm stands to gain from your ideas and emphasize the positives. This will work to inspire optimism and buy-in. Additionally, highlighting a threat—a consequence of not adopting your idea—can also create pressure to act. But take note that it can also backfire: The person who created or currently implements the method of operation may be sensitive to your critiques and proposal for change. It may be hard to predict whether it will spur action—the classic “fight” response—or result in “flight.”

Manage Emotions on Both Sides

Because selling your firm on a new software is an interpersonal activity, often involving financial and cultural change, it will inevitably stir up some emotions. Passion, if appropriately expressed, will improve your chances of gaining attention and triggering action. There’s a fine line, however, between passion and anger. You may be proposing a new cloud software because your hard drives are simply not cutting it, or you’re just fed up with existing inefficiencies. And as you encounter roadblocks to your selling efforts, your frustrations may intensify.

Though strong emotions can be channeled into a rousing appeal for action, when unregulated, they’re more likely to diminish your influence. Unfortunately, managing partners who detect negative emotions from associates offering input may tend to perceive those employees as complainers, not as change agents.

Time the Pitch Appropriately

It’s critical to find the right moment to pitch the new software. That moment might be when organizational priorities shift, when certain players leave or join the firm, or when a partner’s preoccupations change. Take notice of when more and more people are beginning to care about a larger topic or trend that’s related to the issue they face. For example, if you notice that your attorneys are becoming increasingly annoyed with having to repeatedly print pre-bills to make corrections, that could be a good time to bring up features like electronic pre-bill approval that will help streamline your billing process and improve cash flow.

In addition to keeping a close eye on larger trends and events, it’s important to be mindful of deadlines and initiatives too. If your firm is looking to improve its client intake process and focus on client conversion rates by a certain time, then that would be an optimal moment to highlight the benefits of a software that includes custom contact forms, automated intake processes, and comprehensive conflict checks. Conversely, when a deadline is far away and partners are still in exploration mode, open-ended inquiry can be more effective than proposing a specific solution.

Gear Your Pitch to the People in the Room

Tailor your findings to the people who you’re pitching to. At the end of the day, everyone’s end goal at the firm should be the same, but every team has their own day-to-day objectives and priorities. For example, a partner is most likely concerned with growing top-line revenue, while a paralegal may be more wrapped up in client and matter onboarding. If you’re pitching a new software to your firms managing partners, frame the obstacles in a context that would most pique their interest. If you know they are worried about ensuring costs get billed back to clients, bring up features where integrated credit card feeds and account payable modules are available to make it easier to bill expenses back to clients as they’re being entered. Or if you know management's top priority is automating non-billable activities, show them workflow engines that make it easy to automate non-billable, administrative work such as sending follow-up emails, updating client information, or calendaring tasks. You will have greater success if you familiarize yourself with your audience’s unique blend of goals, values, and knowledge and to allow that insight to shape your pitch.

The Take-Aways

There are many types of legal software to choose from. Evaluating where your firm is will be critical in not only selecting one, but then proving to your management team why the firm needs it. Your pitch will fall flat if you can't articulate what is needed and what is not. Locate your pain points, assemble a task force, and identify the right time and emotional setting to present your findings and solutions to your partners.

There are no set prescriptions that can capture the nuances of every environment or remove the risks and potential difficulties of pitching a software. If you can give actual ROI numbers, you have a better chance of selling partners that aren't totally sold. Bring literature from the practice management software providers you've chosen, include pricing quotes, and have some success stories in your back pocket. Arming yourself with as much information as possible will greatly assist you in selling the adoption of the software you want.

Traditionally, law firms only replace their practice management and billing software every 10-20 years, so evaluating new products after all that time can be overwhelming.

Not only have all the software products changed since the time the firm purchased their current system, but the underlying technology has also changed; so the questions they should ask a software vendor have changed as well.

Over the past few years, I’ve put together a list of ‘gotcha’ questions I provide law firms transitioning to new legal software. Firms usually only ask a few, if any, of these questions when they’re speaking with software companies, but it’s important you ask each software vendor ALL of the questions below:

1. Is the software fully cloud-based?

Some cloud-based practice management and billing software packages require you to install applications on a computer for administrative purposes or in order to use specific tools. Make sure you understand the technical specifications for using their software. For instance, at Centerbase we have Microsoft Outlook and Word add-ins to track time that only work in a Windows environment. If a firm uses Mac computers, they won’t be able to use this feature properly. If you want more information on cloud-based software, check out our white paper 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing Cloud-Based Software.

2. Do a vendor’s security and data redundancy policies match the law firm’s clients’ requirements?

Make sure you fully understand how the software vendor works to protect your client data. Request a security and data redundancy whitepaper. If you work with large corporations, insurance carriers, banks, or health care providers, check if the software vendor’s security and data redundancy practices match the standard practices you’ve agreed to with your clients. Also, look into your liability insurance and the level of data security they require.

3. How can we import our current data? And better yet, how can we export our data from your system?

If your firm is like most firms, you’ve used your current software for 10-20 years and over the years, you’ve built up a lot of historical information on your clients. Talk to the sales representative (or better yet, have someone from their implementation team on the call) about what information they can import into their software.

Here are a few examples of ‘gotcha’ situations:

• Emails – Most software companies can’t import emails from a previous practice management system, so you’re left with referencing the old system or losing that history. If this is something your firm uses heavily, make sure you understand the options.
• Calendar – Do you need your current calendar entries synced with the new system? A lot of software vendors can only link your software with new entries created after you move over. This means you’re stuck looking at two calendars for a few months or even years.
• Billing History – Do you need all of the billing history from your previous system? Many vendors won’t bring over history, instead they’ll bring over starting balances. If you’re tracking compensation or origination from reports in the software, you’ll have a hard time calculating those numbers without the billing history.
• Accounting Data – I can count on one hand the number of legal billing software vendors who can bring over accounting data from a previous system – this includes journal entries or accounts payable history. Most small firms don’t bring this type of information over, but midsize firms sometimes want to.

Take a deeper dive into what features you'll want to consider importing in: What Should Be Imported Into Your New Legal Billing Software

Now on the flip side, what does an export from the new software look like?

This is a question many firms forget to ask or overlook when speaking with a practice management or billing software vendor. When you’re evaluating new software, you’re typically excited and not thinking about the potential breakup. With a cloud-based system, you don’t have access to the database (for security purposes), so the export is only as good as the tools the vendor provides you to export data.

We’ve dealt with a lot of firms migrating to Centerbase from our competitors and we routinely run into issues with billing data. Does the system link billing entries to bill records in a way that you can reconstruct bills with history? Typically they don’t, but it’s worth asking and understanding ahead of time.

4. What integrations do I need to purchase in order to do everything you’ve shown me in the demo?

I once had a client tell me they started a game while evaluating practice management and billing software. Every time they heard “we offer an integration for that” or “we have an open API” they’d take a shot (I don’t think they actually took shots since the demos were in the morning, but it makes a good story).

Sales representatives are trained to show you a cohesive demo and if the demo is going well, they sometimes forget to mention that what they’re showing you is an additional integration that requires you to pay more. At the end of the demo, make sure to ask them about all the different software they’ve shown you and how much each piece costs. Integrations can be game-changers if they’re done right (shamelessly throwing in a sales pitch: check out the Centerbase and NetDocuments integration) but typically, you have to buy both software packages in order for it to work. But don't stop there! Check out What Features Do I Need In a Billing Software.

5. How do you do [fill in the blank] in your software?

Make sure you think through all the firm’s processes and needs before your demo (or request additional demos). Then go over them with the legal practice management software vendor.

DO NOT let them tell you they can do something, instead make them show you how they do it. I’ve personally seen this happen many times, especially around billing requirements and features. If they don’t show you, there might be a difference in how their software operates and how your client needs to see something. A good example is how the software handles flat fee billing.

Overall, you’re making a big decision and you want to make sure you’re covering all the bases. No question is a bad question and a good sales representative should be willing to find the answer for you. Your legal practice management software is central to the entire firm’s operations, so make sure you do your homework.

A few years back, I was at a conference discussing legal practice management software with a payment processing vendor. She was on their partnership team, which focused on developing relationships with legal software vendors. I was shocked when she told me she had 90 new practice management products to evaluate…90!