publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/231030
TOP 10 YEAR-END COLLECTION TIPS FOR FIRMS BIG AND SMALL 8. TAKE ALL NECESSARY MEASURES TO RECEIVE PAYMENT ON TIME Most law firms' fiscal years coincide with the calendar year. Unfortunately, many business clients have payment cut-off dates well in advance of December 31st due to the holiday season. It is important for you to be aware of these deadlines and to make every effort to obtain approval of your invoices and have them submitted for payment well in advance of these deadlines. Some of your client contacts will likely be taking time off during the holidays as well. Determine when they will be leaving for vacation and when they expect to be back. If you haven't updated their mobile telephone number in a while, now is the time to do so. After a certain point in December, trusting the United States Postal Service to get a check delivered prior to December 31st is leaving things to chance, to say the least. In early December, make sure you communicate to billing attorneys, their secretaries and clients all expedited payment options at their disposal at this time of year. Among other things, these should include wire, ACH, FedEx, UPS, online payment options and messenger pickup. Provide clients with pre-addressed FedEx or UPS labels, firm account numbers and hyperlinks for online payment options. When appropriate, we promote a "driveby" payment option. In order to avoid our clients having to look and pay for parking, we'll meet them outside our building as they drive by to drop off a check. You might think that's unusual, but it works and is appreciated by clients. Make sure billing attorneys and clients know that a payment received after December 31st does not help the firm this fiscal year. The goal should be for no payments to be received on January 2nd. 9. PUT THE "P" IN PUSH. "Push" means firm management and its collection staff are asking billing attorneys to press their clients for payment. It means asking clients to pay more than they ordinarily would or to speed up their payment cycle. Most clients, when asked to help, will do their best to accommodate those requests. It is the rare occasion when a client does not want to help. But some attorneys are reluctant to push their clients for payment. They hope payment will come in by year-end but are hesitant to follow up with their clients regarding payment. If this was the approach for most of the attorneys in a firm, that firm's budget and collection goals might never be reached. One approach for reluctant attorneys is to convey to them that we only do this one time a year. Another approach is to indicate that the invoice falls outside the client's typical payment parameters. As an example, the client typically pays within 30 days, but the open invoice is 60 days past due. And yet another approach to prompt the attorney to follow up on a payment is to tell them that by any reasonable standard (including the firm's own policy), the client's invoices are seriously past due and should be paid. If all else fails, ask if the collection staff can follow up regarding payment.