Professional Service Firms Articles
It’s About Time - Fair and Accurate Billing
Target Audience: Accounting Consulting Firm News and Updates Interest, Law Firm Professionals, Lawyers, Law Firm Associates, Billings Interest, Fair and Accurate Enteries Interest, Client Satisfaction Interest
Clients may not read every line of the contracts and other legal documents you prepare for them, but they do comb through your time entries to ensure they’ve gotten what they’re paying for. So it’s wise to invest the effort to show clients that your entries are fair and accurate. Here are three strategies that will help your bills do just that:
- Show and tell. Take the time to detail the work performed, the reason for it and the resulting accomplishment. Instead of simply entering “Reviewed correspondence,” for instance, write “Reviewed Smith correspondence, and prepared and faxed a response indicating that the offer will be effective until the end of the week.” Including demonstrable actions or results with these tasks will leave clients feeling that they’ve received something in return for their money.
- Capture leg work. Time entries should illustrate the prep work you perform for each activity. If you’re filing a lawsuit, for example, indicate in your entries that you’ve established jurisdiction, venue and the proper court. Also, show that you’ve reviewed statutes of limitation and other jurisdictional thresholds, identified potential defendants, and gathered pertinent information, such as alternatives to litigation. To you it may seem like, because this work is standard practice and routine, it’s unnecessary to spell it out on the bill. But your clients generally won’t be aware of all the preparation that’s required in filing a lawsuit or handling other types of legal matters.
- Document client input. Deter missteps, misunderstandings and misplaced blame for actions by reflecting clients’ input and approvals on critical matters. Entries should show when clients solicit advice, details on the advice given, if any, and qualifications or warnings.
Time entries can reduce client inquiries about bills and show them that their time and money were well spent. The end result: happy clients who will pay their bills on time.
Find out how our expertise in accounting for professional service firms can add value to your business. Email us or call us at 1 (888) 875-9770.
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