The middle of summer is a great time for tackling projects that you can't get to during the rest of the year. Here are a few suggestions: Ensure that data security is covered in your employee handbook, employee training, and BYOD policy. Include computer files as part of your summer office clean-up. Start planning for the last quarter of the year in terms of collections … [Read more...] about To-Dos: Your August office checklist
Increasing profits
Don’t give discounts to clients without first calculating cost
Discounts are dangerous things. Some firms give them out willingly in exchange for a guaranteed volume of business. Others wind up having to take them for lack of client planning. You need to understand the dollar cost of every discount. Calculate how the firm will fare with the business and without it and know how much discount the firm can accept. Even better, keep control on … [Read more...] about Don’t give discounts to clients without first calculating cost
Summertime tips for small firms: How to plan for a stress-free year end
By Brenda Barnes bio For many small business owners, summertime is often a slower time of year and a good time to take a look at your business. Even with half of the year gone, many business owners wait until year-end, or after the holidays, to assess their business needs. Taking the time now to review and adjust can help you make the most of the remainder of the year and … [Read more...] about Summertime tips for small firms: How to plan for a stress-free year end
Make payment and collection policies work together to boost cash
Revenue problems? The best way to solve them is to prevent the collection problems. And the best way to prevent the collection problems is to put in a payment policy and enforce it from the first day. Along with that policy, weed out the poor-pay risks. More still, follow the little tactics that can spell the difference between payment and non-payment. Ignore the collection … [Read more...] about Make payment and collection policies work together to boost cash
7 ways to improve your billings and collections processes
The financial face of the legal business has changed over the years and most firms have learned to become aggressive about collecting outstanding accounts. However, if your firm is still allowing clients to delay payment, recognize that it's costing you money, sometimes a lot of money. "An unpaid bill is an interest-free loan," says business and financial management … [Read more...] about 7 ways to improve your billings and collections processes
Louisiana firm bases attorney bonuses on amount collected
A Louisiana firm set up an attorney bonus program that rewards not the amount billed but the amount collected. It is attorney-specific, which means the good performers get rewarded accordingly. And the payouts are given every quarter. The program rewards the quality producers, the attorneys who not only put numbers on the books but whose efforts and billable hours … [Read more...] about Louisiana firm bases attorney bonuses on amount collected
How to increase—and demonstrate—your value to the firm
Don't become an economic casualty. When revenues drop, firms put their administrators under close scrutiny. They want a good payoff for the salary investment. Sometimes the partners question whether the administrator is doing enough. And sometimes they question whether they need an administrator at all, says executive coach Lissa Weimelt, a principal with the executive search … [Read more...] about How to increase—and demonstrate—your value to the firm
Donʼt get into a merger without smoothing out these rough spots
A merger can bring in more clients, give the firm a presence in a new geographic area, and add depth to an existing practice area. It can also be the downfall for the merging parties, says Allan Hodgart, a strategic development advisor and managing director in the London office of Huron, an international management consulting organization. To be successful, both parties need … [Read more...] about Donʼt get into a merger without smoothing out these rough spots
Improve your client relationships with these 4 unbendable telephone rules
Whoʼs calling? Oh, itʼs you. Sorry, heʼs not in. The ubiquitous complaint about lawyers is that they never seem be available when a client calls, often don't return calls on time, and sometimes don't return them at all. That habit is so common and so irritating to clients that the rare attorney who does have good phone skills "makes the million-dollar roundtable very … [Read more...] about Improve your client relationships with these 4 unbendable telephone rules
4 steps to planning for a successful 2019
Don't go into 2019 without setting goals for the year. "Goals force the firm to stretch out and do more than just plod along in a disorganized fashion," says Wayne, PA, law firm consultant Robert Denney. "They improve efficiency and performance, and they help the attorneys achieve the highest bottom-line results possible." To set goals, Denney recommends a simple but direct … [Read more...] about 4 steps to planning for a successful 2019