Many legal firms are under-budget every year for recoverable expenses. This can be for a number of reasons, to mention two as a start; because there has been a change in workflow processes and new ways to track, and bill, are required and because the recoveries budget is a ‘loose estimation’ based on the volume of work going through the firm.
The benchmark for recovering billable communications is 65% – but you need the right tools to get there. If your firm is sitting below 65%, here are some factors you should consider:
Your ‘Office’ communications recovery is above 35%
If this is the case then it’s advisable to look into a system that can track and record all communications with a fair level of detail so that your internal processes can be revised and become more efficient.
If you are only tracking prints
You’re not even half way there. Emails, scans, and telephone communication are all billable, and these days they’re easier than ever to track. The South African market is saturated with ‘print management solutions’ that fall short on providing a holistic cost recovery solution, so make sure you do your homework on choosing a solid, all-encompassing and well established vendor.
Manually tracking
We’ve all come across the practice manager who doesn’t speak to anyone for the last week of the month? They’re probably manually capturing all disbursements. Time is your most valuable commodity and thus when the choice to automate is available it should be taken. Your firm is losing money in two areas here, one is the fact that they missing some of the billing as it slips through the manual process cracks and two, instead of billing the fee earners are wasting time going through their diaries to work out what should be billed.
Practise Management integration
If you’re tracking but not billing there’s a problem. Automate the capturing of all your disbursements into your practise management system through flexible pricing options (per client, per matter, per attorney) with a system like Softlog Systems. Your client will also benefit from pricing that is not only easily traceable, but also not affected by human error.
Sundries
Missing out on charging for couriers, travel, and ‘other expenses’ adds up very quickly. Ensure solutions that automate the capturing of expenses are holistic enough to cater to your specific firm’s needs.
Human error
To many of us it feels as though the list on our desk never stops growing, it’s no surprise then that many disbursement costs become lost income. A water-tight system that is designed to mitigate the natural tendency to ‘sort it out later’ is available.
Softlog Systems automates the capturing of all your disbursements. It seamlessly integrates with all the major Practise Management systems in South Africa, and is compatible with almost all hardware systems available in the legal market today. We provide local support, industry expertise, and a solid product that has not only proven itself locally, but also internationally.
At Softlog Systems we believe that through a trusted recovery billing system like Softlog, law firms can reduce the ever rising bottom line.
You don’t have to believe us, contact us and we will give you a few clients who will share their success stories with you.
For more information please visit www.softlog.co.za or contact sales@softlog.co.za
Contributed by:
Roxanne Duncan
SoftLog South Africa
+27 10 110 9850
