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 on client debts, before they become write-offs at the end of the year.
- Consider negotiating client balances that could turn into bad debt and go to collections. For example, negotiate a percentage with the client rather than giving a third or more to a collection agency.
- Review the ROI on your marketing plan and consider updating your marketing strategy for the last quarter of the year and for the coming year (which will be here before you know it). If you tracked conversion all year, it should be easy enough to tell what’s working and what isn’t. Consider re-directing marketing dollars from a strategy that isn’t working.
- Review billable hours and discuss with timekeepers what they have to do to meet their annual billable quota (monthly quota times 12).
- Review the expenses for this year and compare it to the budget to see where you are. Make necessary adjustments to keep the firm on budget for the year.
Share your best practices with your colleagues: What tasks do you tackle in August? Send your suggestions to barb@plainlanguagemedia.com.
| Editor’s picks: | ||
 7 ways to improve your billings and collections processes |
 Five simple ways to kill every tried and true legal marketing effort |
 Use this one easy chart to track attorney profitability |