The Benefits of Switching to Paperless Billing

Switching to a paperless billing system is not something that happens overnight for law firms. It requires thorough planning and finding the right technological solution that can effectively replace the entire billing process from start to finish. If a legal practice switches to the wrong solution, it can become a painful process that may not offer necessary functions like task management, calendar, document sharing, IOLTA accounting, etc. But, the benefits of switching to the right the billing solution are impossible to ignore. This is because it vastly improves the billing cycle and noticeably increases the cash flow by allowing bills to be processed faster, cheaper, and with reduced errors. A cloud based billing system enables law firms to capture both time and expenses, and easily create customized bills according to specialized client needs. Not to mention the many other advantages found in transitioning from a traditional paper based billing process.

Accelerated Billing Cycles and Payments

Despite the obvious benefits of saving office stationery, moving to an automated billing solution dramatically cuts down the manual workload, making everyday legal tasks more efficient, faster, and easier to manage. Whether an attorney needs to create new bills, or make changes to past invoices, working with a cloud based solution facilitates a more dependable processing system. Attorneys can configure the system to automatically disperse payments, or send a payment request through email as soon as they finish a task. The traditional paper based approach can take an excessive amount of time between the request of payment and the actual receipt of funds. On the other hand, an electronic statement is likely to be viewed sooner than a paper statement sent through regular mail, ensuring faster payments.

Reduces Cost

Law firms, especially large ones, can quickly incur heavy utility expenses on paper, printing, and postage. This has created an obvious demand for a more efficient system. Replacing an archaic paper system with an automated solution will exponentially speed up billing activity, reduce expenditure on office supplies, and free up valuable office space. In the matter of dealing with past due accounts, sending reminders through the traditional method will acquire additional expenses. Conversely, distributing bills and reminders via email significantly lessens the time and expenses involved in collecting client payments.

Enhanced Security

Having critical data that is accessible on paper can make a client feel uncomfortable, simply because it provides little security for sensitive information. In addition to the extra time it takes to distribute bills through postage, there is also the added risk that it can get lost in the mail, or even delivered to the wrong address. Using a cloud based system easily rectifies this by keeping all client information stored in a secure digital vault that would take a million years to hack.

Improves Ability to Collaborate

Improved communication is another common advantage that’s found when transitioning from a paper based system to a cloud based solution. A cloud system makes collaboration a much faster process, as it provides the ability to exchange information and documents remotely, or on the go. Using cloud based billing software allows law firms to easily and quickly share their billable hours, times sheets, and invoices on a private and secure network. Client correspondence becomes easy with cloud based software because it allows instantaneous sharing through email or messaging, all while demonstrating an efficient workflow to the customer.

Going Paperless is Going Green

The switch from traditional to digital billing is an ecological move that decreases the unnecessary use of paper and minimizes a company’s carbon footprint. Paper waste has a significant impact on the environment that shouldn’t be ignored. Deforestation is currently having huge effects on wildlife, air pollution, and climate control. The effects of which, are currently draining the earth of its natural resources and destroying its ecology. Law firms can make an easy transition to paperless operations and do their part to save the environment by taking advantage of an automated legal billing system that is specifically scaled to meet their billing needs.

TimesManager is a cloud based Legal billing software designed specifically for law firms to efficiently manage time tracking, invoicing & billing activities. TimesManager Attorney billing software offers accessibility to time and expense tracking, split billing, CRM and document management. To make the bill processing more efficient, the software also integrates with LEDES, ABA and UTBMS task code applications.

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