Peer to Peer Magazine

76 PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF ILTA | SPRING 2017 Reducing the Cost of Ebilling MEMBER RESOURCES If your firm or department is in the process of implementing electronic billing, you will soon encounter this simple truth: ebilling is more expensive than traditional paper bills. Below we consider various hard and soft costs incurred by legal vendors asked to ebill, including the many ebilling workflow steps that add to cost, and provide best practices for law firms, law departments, clients and ebilling vendors that could reduce financial impact. Reducing the Cost of Ebilling by Jane A. Benni and Keely M. Kurtas-Chapman of the LEDES Commiee Ebilling System Costs DISCUSSION » Fees charged to legal vendors for the third-party system selected by the client vary from vendor to vendor and client to client. » Some clients absorb the full cost of electronic billing while others charge fees to law firms. » Sometimes the cost of the system is based on throughput (fees or number of invoices submied). RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES » Revenue for client services must be sufficient to cover the system cost; if not, the relationship partner should speak with the client. Perhaps your firm can be excused from ebilling or the client can refer additional work to the firm to make the investment worthwhile. » If invoice submission thresholds change over the year, contact the vendor and ask about pricing levels to see if the system cost can be adjusted. Staffing DISCUSSION » Each additional client ebill request affects staffing. RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES » If ebilling is decentralized, determine if it is time to centralize responsibility. » Determine appropriate staffing levels. Does the firm need more staff, or might automation create a more efficient process and reduce staffing requirements? » Check that there is trained backup to fill in or assume responsibility in an emergency. Training DISCUSSION » Training is free when a client first implements ebilling, so take advantage of it. » Aend the vendor's annual conference to fine-tune skills, learn more about the system and interact with clients' ebilling project managers. RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES » Ensure that multiple billing staff aend the free training offered by the client or vendor. » Check for online help documents or video training in the law firm portal. » Organize recurring lunch-and-learns to train internal staff and aorneys on client requirements, timekeeping and budgeting.

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