Bill4Time Staff

Law Firm Accounting Issues Can Add-up

September 9, 2015 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

There are two primary types of accounting methods: accrual and cash accounting. Accrual reflects income when it is earned, whereas, cash accounting reflects income when received. Most solo and small law firms prefer the cash accounting method as it is easier to manage. Regardless of which method you choose, there are issues with both methods. Before you open the doors to your new practice, you should carefully consider these issues.

Time Demands

The first common accounting problem is the issue of time. Keeping accurate records requires time and dedication. As a solo practitioner or as a member of a small practice, time is one thing you do not have in abundance so one option is to hire a small business accountant. A business accountant will help you develop an accounting schedule and adopt best practices for your law practice or firm. Your business accountant will also initiate and perform your periodic audits, saving you time and effort in having to do this yourself.

If the cost of an accountant is prohibitive, and usually this is the case with any new practice, then devise your own accounting plan and adhere to it. There are self-help books available offering best practices. A good accounting plan will demand a portion of your time each week to making sure that your expense and revenue records are current and accurately reflect your business for the week. This will, of course, demand time.

Cash Flow & Collections

Another common problem revolves around cash flow and collection issues. Good accounting practices can reveal efficiencies in cash flow and collection models, which in turn, enhance your profitability. Regular and frequent cash flow analysis will alert you to any variable expenses, such as overhead costs that can be trimmed or that need greater allocation. Regular cash flow analysis will also give you a current status of your account receivables. For example, if you see an upswing in account receivables, this may be a good indication that you should consider changing your fee structure to better minimize exposure to bad debt.

Regular cash flow analysis can also reveal collection issues. Collection issues can be prevalent for small and solo practitioners as clients are typically small and may not be established or liquid enough to pay their legal bills in a timely manner. Some may default and when they do, you collection problems will become an issue of writing off bad debt. Depending on the debt, writing off bad debt may have tax advantages. Discuss this matter with an accountant or tax lawyer to find the best procedure for writing off bad debt.

Error & Fraud

Data suggests that fraud is low among small businesses—at about 30%. This number dwindles to basically zero with a solo practice. But, no matter how infrequent, there is always the potential for fraud and unintentional accounting errors can be costly. As a result, your internal accounting controls and practices should address the issue of error and fraud. Common sense preventative measures can include limiting the on premise availability of cash, funneling the processing of accounts receivable through one staff member and carefully reviewing all audit reports. Technology can help you with software programs that can analyze data, flagging anomalies or errors.

Management & Ethical

The final common accounting problem with cash or accrual accounting is a host of firm management and ethical issues. This problem has to do with accounting for your client’s property. All jurisdictions impose an ethical duty on lawyers to safeguard client assets. A client’s money is a client asset. As a practitioner, you will inevitably hand your client’s money in a variety of forms. For example, you may act as a temporary custodian of a settlement payment to your client or your client may remit an initial retainer deposit to you before you actually start earning a fee.

No matter how you come by client money, you are under a strict obligation to safeguard funds with proper accounting. Because of this duty, you cannot co-mingle client funds with your business or personal funds. Your law practice accounting and management model should account for this and provide rules and policies as to how to handle client funds. Your state and local bar associations have specific rules regarding client trust accounts.

Bill4Time offers legal time tracking, invoicing and online payments software specifically designed for solo and small practitioners. Bill4Time Legal provides an easy way to ensure proper and accurate time tracking and billing to prevent errors and fraud. Plus the Bill4Time trust accounting feature makes it easy for you to properly handle client funds.Try Bill4Time Legal for 30 days for free and see for yourself.

Ultimate Solutions Corp Solves Time Billing with Bill4Time

August 19, 2015 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

Profile
Founded in 2005, Ultimate Solutions offers engineering and compliance services as well as automation and serialization integrations to pharmaceutical, biomedical and medical device manufacturers. Clients include Amgen, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Baxter and others.

Challenge
In 2011, Ultimate Solutions employed 10 engineers and 4 staff. Located in Puerto Rico in the heart of the high tech Fortune 500s, Ultimate Solutions engineers found tracking time while at the client’s site difficult and cumbersome. Yoel Rivera, president and CEO of Ultimate Solutions realized he needed a better solution to satisfy his employees and provide accurate time billing for his clients.

Solution
Rivera began looking at web-based time, billing and project management solutions, and found Bill4Time. He immediately registered for a free trial of Bill4Time Business Manager for Consultants.

Results
Since registering for the free trial in March 2011, Ultimate Solutions has used Bill4Time. Rivera believes Bill4Time has been pivotal in helping grow the business to nearly 100 employees. He says that the ease of use, flexibility and most of all, the convenience for his engineers to enter time on any mobile device makes Bill4Time indispensable. Engineers enter time in real-time and the project and costs are automatically updated. Ultimate Solutions then sends the timesheet to the client for sign-off and awaits payment. That’s it.

“Bill4Time has helped us grow ten-fold. It’s so easy to use and the value for the price is great,” said Rivera. “We love it, our clients love it and most of all, my engineers love it as it’s accurate and simple to use. And, Bill4Time support is amazing. I would highly recommend Bill4Time for any business in need of time, billing and project management.”

Special thanks to Yoel Rivera for sharing his successes and his story. To learn how Bill4Time can solve your time tracking and invoicing issues, register for a free trial.

Yoel Rivera is the president and co-founder of Ultimate Solutions Corp. Rivera is a recognized entrepreneur with experience in regulatory documentation, validation, packaging, automation and serialization. In 2014, he co-founded the Institute of Packaging Professionals, Puerto Rico Chapter (IoPP-PR). To learn more about Yoel Rivera and Ultimate Solutions Corp, visit www.usolutionspr.com.

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Five Website Mistakes Lawyers Make

August 12, 2015 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

Your website is a reflection of you and your legal expertise. It’s among thousands of other sites in competition, vying for the same potential client to represent. And, you could be turning visitors away and not even realize it.

It’s good to occasionally step back and revisit your site. See what works and what can work better. By correcting a few simple mistakes, you could be driving more visitors to engage, and convert those visitor to long-term clients.

Below are common mistakes made by legal websites. See if your website is guilty.

1. Being Too Generalized

Potential clients are going to hire you for a reason and it’s not because you appear to be good at everything. Being a “Jack of all trades and good at none,” is not the image you want to present. You have to showcase what you and your firm does well front and center. Discuss your achievements, your successes. Emphasize your strengths. Highlight your speciality and why you are the best. Demonstrating that you are a leader in your speciality provides confidence, credibility and is extremely powerful to anyone contemplating hiring legal counsel as they will know you are the best.

2. UnProfessional Look & Feel, Poor Navigation

Many attorneys make this common mistake by creating a site that is too loud, busy and over bearing. Many add Facebook, Twitter and other social media plug-ins that muddle the message and distract the visitor. Seriously, does it matter to the potential client how many “Likes” you have?

The best law firm sites are simple and to the point. The sales funnel for selling widgets also works for selling your firm’s services. Navigate your audience through a single path and make sure they know exactly where they are going. Answer any questions they might have with great content.

And pepper that content with focused calls-to-action, that is, easy ways for the visitor to contact you and engage.

Calls-to-action can be a button to “click to call” or “schedule an appointment online” or send a message. Calls-to-action are an avenue for the interested online visitor to convert to being a prospect and eventually convert as a client. Adding calls-to-action can increase engagement 200% to 300%.

3. Speaking in Tongues

Speaking of content, you probably don’t showcase your knowledge of Black’s Law Dictionary since your clients would most likely require an interpreter. Using multi syllables and legaleze doesn’t make you look smarter. It makes you more difficult to understand.

Instead, use the vernacular of your audience. Educate them so they understand so they choose you over someone else. And keep the content concise and to the point. Use bullets. Keep sentences to 17 words or less. Remember, this is a website, not a legal brief.

4. Poor Imagery

You’ve heard the saying that a “picture is worth a 1000 words,” right? Well, it’s true. Don’t take shortcuts and use your own photos. Stay away from the oodles of stock photos of gavels and scales. Every other legal website is using the same images and your online visitor will have trouble distinguishing you from the other firm using the same image. Instead, hire a professional photographer. Hiring a professional says a lot about you and who you are. It isn’t that expensive, and it shows you care about details and are a polished professional. Sharp, professional imagery is a reflection of the quality your provide and differentiates you from the pack.

5. Failing to be Mobile-Ready

The growth of mobile is rising rapidly and if your site isn’t mobile-ready, you’re in BIG trouble. As of April 21, Google changed its algorithm and expanded the use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. The change affected mobile searches so now users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.

On May 6, Google announced that mobile searches have surpassed desktop searches. This means more and more of your clients are trying to find you through mobile devices. So what happens if you can’t be found? I’m sure your competition knows!

Remember, a website can be many things, but most importantly, it is a representation of you and the services you offer. A clean, clear and easy to navigate site that engages and informs your audience will captivate and capture more online visitors. Content should be well-written, easy to consume with imagery that reinforces the messaging. Often, less really is more.

Step back, take a hard look at your site and be objective. Are you presenting yourself in the best light? Would you read every word on every page? If not, it may be time to revisit your site and make some changes.

Once your site is inviting visitors to engage, let Bill4Time help you better manage the client relationship. Our time billing software offers you the features you need anytime, anywhere on any mobile device. You can track every minute and easily invoice, detailing every entry to your client’s satisfaction.

Want to learn more? Register for a free trial and see why!

Tips for Time Tracking & Billing for Lawyers

August 5, 2015 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

An inevitable part of any law practice is tracking and billing time to clients. Approved bills ensure a steady and timely flow of income to the firm and if there are inaccuracies or other procedural hiccups in the time billing process, revenue is affected and eventually, the firm is placed at risk.

Today’s client is cost-conscious and tech savvy. Bills are examined closely and every line item should be detailed to ensure transparency and credibility. Time tracking then becomes paramount to the invoicing process and the goal is to create prompt, accurate and defensible precise time entries.

Regulation

Rules of Professional Conduct regulate fees and fee arrangements. ABA RPC 1.5 state that fees charged must be reasonable for the services performed, based upon the factors set forth in the rules. ABA Rule 1.5 provides guidelines to determine the reasonableness of a fee. Therefore, refer to RPC 1.5 and to your state RPCs to ensure compliance.

Fee Agreements

Billing should always comply with terms of the fee agreements. Every fee agreement must include: the client’s identify (e.g.; entity, individual, officers, board or joint representation; scope of representation (e.g; broad or specific); and the fees and costs.

Time Tracking & Billing

The exact nature of your activities should be reflected in the descriptions of your time tracking entries so make sure to sufficiently detail your billable activities. Poor or unintelligible time records cost firms more than revenue—it costs time, trouble and impacts the client relationship. Insufficient or inaccurate descriptions may confuse clients, create doubt and may lead to misunderstandings.

Always strive to ensure your time entries are accurate, understandable and complete. Failure to keep good time records can be grounds for reducing or refusing an award of attorneys’ fees to a client. While detail may need to be redacted in a fee award application to preserve the firm’s confidential communications with clients, that doesn’t mean the initial entry should be minimal.

Bill4Time helps ensure ethical and prompt time tracking and billing. Bill4Time offers legal time billing software that was created for lawyers. You can track and record time through the online app, desktop or even through your mobile device. Running from one client to the next? No worry. Bil4Time offers iOs, Android and Blackberry mobile time billing apps that ensures every minute is accounted for and recorded.

We help you track and record every minute because time really is money. Get started today.

Secrets to Successful Invoicing

July 22, 2015 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

Many small business owners never really master the art of invoicing. Many find themselves spending hours of time creating and sending invoices, then following up to collect payment.

An invoice is a statement you send to a customer that details what work you performed, how much it cost and when your payment is due. Even though the information communicated sounds simple enough, there is much to consider. If you struggle with invoicing, here are a few secrets to help improve your cash flow.

It’s in the Details

Your invoice should include as much detail as possible without making it difficult to read. The information should match what work was agreed upon at what price. There should be no room for question or confusion as any grey area will lead to the invoice being held up and payment being delayed. Include everything the client should know in a user-friendly manner.

Remember to include the client’s address, payment terms and due date, any discounts, and applicable taxes. Include the point of contact’s name as part of the address so it is not misdirected when received.

Customer Preference

Now that you’ve created the perfect invoice, how do you deliver it? Email is the optimal choice, but not everyone is willing to share their email address and some customers want a hard copy because of an internal process. Cater to your client’s preference: if it’s email, email and if it’s snail mail, mail it.

It’s also suggested not to generate an invoice until the end of the transaction in order to reduce confusion of multiple or partial invoices. Reconciling invoices can become very confusing when there are multiple invoices for one service or product.

Overdue Payments

One study of 12 million invoices generated by small businesses during a three-year period found that even if an invoice was due upon receipt or 30 days after receipt, it was still paid an average of two weeks late. Another study indicated that using the word “days” rather than “net” as in “net 30” accelerated the payment process. The term “due upon receipt” seemed to give people the option to pay even later. Using specific terms like “due within 21 days” seemed to motivate payers to remit payment faster–and more often, on time.

So what do you do if your invoice didn’t result in a payment? Instead of sending a second invoice, try sending a monthly statement that let’s the client see all open invoices or directing the client to an online client portal with the same information and the option to pay via credit card of PayPal. Sending threatening letters with overdue invoices is typically ill-received, then ignored and prolongs the payment cycle.

Invoicing Options

There are many different online invoicing options for small businesses at different price points. One of the best invoicing methods is one that accurately tracks time, details the project or service and provides clear language as to expectations of payment. A cloud-based software, complemented with a mobile time tracking app, offers 24/7 anywhere access which is optimal if you are often on the go.

Look at different providers and check out their invoice templates and if you can customize the templates to fit your brand.

To accelerate cash flow, provide conveniences like an online pa yment portal with the flexibility to pay by credit card or PayPal. Providing clients the option to make partial payments using a different credit card can pay off (no pun intended) so don’t over look these options.

The most successful invoices are clear, detailed and communicate what was done and when payment is due with clarity. Combine that with the personalized touch of a direct company contact, and you should be able to improve your cash flow and not even break a sweat.

Get Invoicing with Bill4Time. Your first 30 days are completely free!

Five Tips to Improve Your Website & Your Business

July 15, 2015 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

For more than 25 million small businesses, a website is crucial. Research shows that 45% of small businesses consider their website to be the most important digital marketing asset. For service businesses, a website can be the lifeblood of the organization. It introduces you and your service to a vast audience, extending your brand and providing instant credibility. It informs the visitor of what you can do, what problem you can solve and why you are the best.

Below are a few tips to improve your website and in turn, improve your business. Some of the tips are easier than others, but the goal is to continually enhance your site to generate traffic, engage clients and capture leads so you can grow revenue.

1. Why You?

Don’t waste the visitor’s time with a laundry list of what you can do. If you’re an attorney, accountant or some other service provider, the visitor already knows this. After all, that’s how they found you! What they don’t know is why they should choose you over the ump-teen thousand others in their search results. Offer why you are different, what benefit do you offer that makes you the best choice.

2. Content is King (or Queen).

This is why the content on a service business site is so important. Purchasing a service is not an impulse buy. It’s a deliberate and thoughtful act where the buyer spends time searching for providers, comparing offerings and judging which is best for his/her needs. This content has considerably more weight and should be completely relevant to the reader as each word will be consumed. Focus on benefits. Make each word count.

3. Keep it Simple.

Eliminate distractions, reduce clicks and choices. A visitor should be able to get what they want in just three clicks or less. Keep the visuals striking, but clean. Use a simple color palette and a standard, readable font — and try to use one or two fonts at the most. Too much color and too many typefaces can make a site look confusing, noisy and difficult to read. Gently navigate the visitor to what is most important on your page.

4. Create a Call-to-Action.

You have the visitor’s attention now what? Don’t expect them to jot down contact info to call or send an email for an appointment. The odds of the visitor making contact with you diminish with every minute that passes. You have the visitor’s attention. They’ve read your page and are obviously interested in your service. Now tell the visitor what to do.

Add a call-to-action on every page of your site. What’s a call-to-action? It’s a word, group of words or an image that urges the viewer to take an immediate action. Calls-to-action are extremely effective in getting online visitors to engage. As an example, add a contrasting colored button entitled “Learn More” or “Email Us” or “Schedule a Meeting” that automatically opens an email addressed to you. Or a button with an offer of a free eBook or whitepaper that is connected to a simple form asking for name, email and a phone number. Or for current clients, create invoices with a “Pay Now” button that automatically links clients to a client portal with the ability to make online payments. Bill4Time makes it easy with customizable invoice templates that you can fully brand and an online payments option for clients on-the-go. As you can see, calls-to-action provide a vehicle for the client to engage and grow the relationship. Make sure you include a simple CTA on very page.

5. Don’t Forget Mobile!

With an estimated 2 billion smartphone users, make sure your website is responsive or adaptive so it sizes to the mobile device. Talk to your webmaster or web developer if it doesn’t. There is nothing more frustrating for a mobile user than to try to read a site that is not designed for mobile. Plus, remember, mobile users are on the go and haven’t a spare pen and notepad to scribble down your number. Ensure your phone number is readable and most of all, clickable from a mobile device.

Want to learn more? We’ll keep sharing best practices, tips and tricks, and advice as to how to grow and successfully manage your business. And as you grow, Bill4Time can help you streamline processes, better track time and effortlessly invoice your growing clientele. Plus, our online payments option can help accelerate revenue. To learn more, register for a free trial. Stay tuned for more!