Actions Speak Louder Than Words With Accounts Receivable

Law firm management can talk all it wants about policies, procedures and infrastructure, but results are what matter. When all the talk is done, what has your firm done to address difficulties it has with accounts receivable?

It is vital to have systems and techniques in place to help ensure law firms are set up to manage their accounts receivable. This is necessary to achieve one thing and one thing only: results.

Five key actions to focus on:

1. Reach a consensus about what priority collections should take.

Place the right people in the right positions; people who will roll up their sleeves and work as part of a team to achieve success. Give them the power to tell attorneys to address their collections and to use the firm’s resources to help them achieve results. Demanding real accountability is tough, but it’s easier than pursuing payment of aging receivables.

2. Take a hard look at accounts receivable that are more than 90 days old.

When looking at ageing receivables, many firms will see collections problems. They had such problems sooner, but did not do anything about them. If the work has been satisfactorily performed, the client should pay within 30 days. If you are not seeing payment by that point, you have the first sign of a collection problem. Contact clients that start to go over 60 days to let them know that payment is expected.

3. Work backward forward.

Work on the oldest accounts receivable first and move forward. Resolve the old issues – which are the hardest to address – before tackling the easier, newer receivables. Many times, law firms will acknowledge problems that are slowing down or preventing payment on certain accounts without taking the time and action to revisit these accounts to ensure collection efforts are succeeding. The strongest members of your collection team should be focused on the older, tougher accounts. And don’t neglect the lower-level delinquent balances. You would be surprised how significant a portion of the firm’s accounts receivable portfolio is comprised of accounts with smaller balances.

4. Understand why your clients are not paying.

Frequently, it comes down to problems with cash flow. Such problems are often masked by other issues, such as poor service, bills that are higher than expected, bills that were never received, etc. From the start of the relationship, firms and their lawyers must understand clients so when problems do arise, they can get to the source of the problems and resolve them. Although aged receivables are part of the financial report, it is the stories underneath those numbers that firms need to get a handle on, so they understand why clients are not paying.

5. Measure the results of the efforts your firm is making.

You may be gathering a lot of information about your collections, but determine whether you are getting the right information. At a minimum, you need to know if an account is actively being pursued and what is the payment status, who is pursuing the collection efforts and whether they are getting results, why clients are not paying and what needs to be done to get them to pay. Categorize receivables: (1) Are they collectible? If so, when can we expect payment? (2) Are they problematic? What are the chances we will get paid?; or (3) Are they simply uncollectible? Create reports that will show when payments can be made and frequently update information on where collection efforts and payment status stand.

Jake Krocheski is the president of Plano, Texas-based Client Connection. He has more than 25 years of experience as a management consultant to the legal profession, helping law firms develop accounts receivable management programs and client intake procedures. http://www.clientci.com/

If You Don’t Ask the Right Questions, How Can You Expect to Get the Right Answers?

The fourth quarter is here, and, if you’re like most firms, you are starting to give more serious thought to collecting your accounts receivable. And perhaps, this year, you are beginning to worry a little more than usual.

Now is the right time to do a candid self-assessment to judge your firm’s attitudes about – and approach to – accounts receivable management and your ability to improve your collections. Managing accounts receivable is a continual process, one that requires persistence and vigilance. Those in management who have ultimate responsibility for collections should ask themselves the following five questions:

Are we still giving our attorneys too much individual autonomy in ensuring that their clients pay their bills?
Whether or not you have policies and procedures in place to manage your receivables, are you holding your attorneys accountable for holding their clients accountable? Although many institutional and non-institutional clients are experiencing cash flow issues that are delaying or preventing payment due to the staggering economy, attorneys should consistently keep in touch with clients regarding payment status.

Professional, consistent follow-up is now even more essential to ensure clients understand that their unpaid invoices are being closely monitored and the management of the law firm is kept informed. If attorneys cannot or do not want to make the time to monitor payment status, the firm must be prepared to have the right support in place to help the attorneys manage their accounts receivable. The attorneys play a vital role in assessing the clients’ ability and inclination to pay. They do not necessarily have to play a direct role in getting them to do so. Firms continue to be faced with an enormous dilemma: attorneys who do not choose to take the time to get their bills paid or do not enlist others to assist them.

If an attorney chooses to take personal responsibility for collections, understand what specific actions that attorney will take to ensure the bill is paid. It is just as much the firm’s responsibility to make sure the attorney takes the proper steps as it is that attorney’s responsibility to do so. Tell him or her up front that you are looking for realistic expectations about getting paid, not wishful thinking. Make it plain to your attorneys that the firm needs to get a better handle on aging accounts receivable, and if there is no chance of collecting in a given instance, they need to alert the firm.

Identify attorneys who have particular difficulty collecting their receivables throughout the year. It’s a safe bet that they will have similar problems collecting at year end. Give them the assistance they need to be successful.

Many firms can quickly identify attorneys who have difficulty collecting their accounts receivable, but this year many more attorneys than usual are likely to face such problems. This will add to the number of attorneys the management of the firm must monitor.

Is there still a stigma at our firm concerning collections?
Many attorneys still fear that their clients consider it unprofessional to ask to be paid for their services. As a result, no matter how their firms press them to follow up with their clients for payment, they do whatever they can to wiggle out of that responsibility. The stigma arises partly due to the collective memory of nasty letters and pushy phone calls. The reality, however, is that clients tend to be very receptive to appropriate contact, like respectful phone calls or e-mails.

The longer the attorney does not say anything, the less likely the bill is to be paid – and even less likely is the attorney to say anything. If the client has not paid after a reminder statement or letter, call the client because there may be a reason for the unpaid bill. Perhaps it’s a lost bill or there are questions about the services rendered. Whether they are institutional clients or not, they may be experiencing cash flow problems. It is better to find out now and deal with it than to ignore the issue until year-end. Don’t wait until the bill has aged too long before you realize that there is a problem. There probably was a problem when it was 30 days past due, but it was never addressed.

Does our accounts receivables management program fail to address the real collections issues?
Many firms have created accounts receivable management programs, but we have seen far too many that do a poor job of setting attainable goals and measuring and evaluating the success of their efforts.You may need to take a step or two back and evaluate your objectives and the policies, procedures and personnel you have in place to achieve those objectives. It is critical that the leadership of the firm understand it must first have a proper, working business infrastructure that deals specifically with accounts receivable management before it can measure the effectiveness of the firm’s collection efforts.

Sometimes the collections infrastructure has grown into an inefficient bureaucracy, with committees and attorneys focused on issues that do not lead to actual collections. This can be especially true when administrative staff has been hired or promoted to perform collections, but are not having their performance judged by their actual collection results. Just because someone is a good employee doesn’t necessarily mean they have the experience and know-how to work with clients to get bills paid. Firms need to do a better job making sure they have the right people in place to manage receivables. They need to hire true accounts receivable professionals, make expectations clear to them and give them the support and the tools they need to succeed.

Are we giving too much professional courtesy to clients?
Once again, because attorneys are uncomfortable asking to be paid, they frequently grant far too much leeway to the client in making decisions about paying their legal bills. Some attorneys go so far as to be squeamish about something as mild as a reminder notice. Clients get upset about shoddy work and poor service; they do not get upset when they are asked for payment. Actually, most clients are perfectly willing to pay their bills, although some will take advantage of lawyers who neglect or forget to remind them to pay their bills. The truth is that though attorneys may be uncomfortable with the concept of receivables management – handled either by themselves or by others – clients do understand and accept the notion and are not offended by tactful inquiries about unpaid bills.

Are we relying too much on past history to judge how collections will go this year?
Historically, it has always been helpful to gauge future collections based on past experience. While the past should not be ignored, in these times, it may be less useful as a guide to future behavior. The economic climate is very different; mindsets have changed and so have business practices. Recognize that you are doing business in a different world, and make adjustments accordingly.

Measure monthly revenue projections, but, more importantly, be realistic about whether the firm is underachieving in its collection goals. There has to be a month-by-month game plan, and it is essential that the plan be realistic. Don’t wait until the last quarter or, worse, December. Figure out whether your clients are having difficulty paying your bills now. If they are already struggling, it's unlikely to get better as year-end approaches.

The truth is that while the economy is certainly having an impact on the ability of firms to collect, if you answer “yes” to at least one of the above questions, your firm is already operating with a handicap.

As they say, the first step in addressing a problem is admitting there is a problem. First, recognize what your firm may be doing wrong in managing its receivables. Only then can you determine the steps to take to begin addressing the problems and getting on the path to more effective collections.

Client Connection assists law firms of all sizes throughout the United States by furnishing accounts receivable management services, developing practical receivable programs, training law firm staff in effective collection methods and executive placement of professional collections managers. Visit us online at: http://www.clientci.com/

Autumn Is Upon Us. Do You Feel That Chill In The Air?

You may be excused for mistaking that shock of cold for the approach of fall. But don’t get too caught up in images of changing leaves, football and jack o’lanterns. That chill going up your spine right about now may be the traditional autumnal trepidation that comes with the need to ratchet up collection efforts in preparation for that last frantic dash in December.

If your firm is like most, you probably have a lot of question marks concerning end-of-year collections. The economy – and, with it, the fortunes of many firms – continues to be uncertain. So there is no time like the present to make sure that 2011 turns out to be as financially rewarding as possible for your law firm, even though the economy continues to make it a lot tougher for most firms than it was just a few years ago. One way to do that is to keep the flow of new work coming in. Equally important, however, is to make sure that the firm gets paid for the work it does.

Following are 10 steps to take to help ward off that chill and make this a profitable year:

1. Identify attorneys who have difficulty collecting their receivables throughout the year. You know who they are. They are probably the same attorneys who have problems turning in their timesheets and getting their bills done. It’s a safe bet that they will have similar problems collecting at year end. Either take that responsibility away from them – or provide them with the assistance they need to be successful.

2. Generate a list of clients that have historically paid their bills during the last 30 days of the year, and try to get a sense whether these clients are again anticipating paying in full at year end. Don’t wait until the last minute to contact clients – and find out whether they will be paying your bills in full or just some invoices. At the same time, generate a list of new clients with whom you will be experiencing year end for the first time. Since there is no history, make your best determination whether payments from these clients are on track.

3. Get your arms around your receivables by determining what clients make up the largest dollar amounts of A/R. The best way to determine what size dollar accounts make up the majority of receivables over 60 days is to run various balance level reports, from $10,000 to $100,000. Then check the payment history of these clients to find out how quickly they have paid previous bills throughout the year, including year end.

4. Don’t depend too much on historical patterns of bill collections. In the past, you could safely assume that collections would increase as the year progressed. That is no longer necessarily true, especially when an unstable economy is causing many clients to adjust their payment patterns. Now, on a monthly basis, measure monthly revenue projections, and be realistic about whether the firm is underachieving in its collection goals. There has to be a month-by-month game plan, and it is essential that the plan be realistic. Remember, cash flow problems are still the number one reason both non-institutional and institutional clients do not pay their legal bills.

5. Project realistic timeframes for collecting older, more difficult receivables. You should be aware that receivables over 180 days past due have a 50% chance of ever being collected, and the percentage continues to drop as the receivables age. These types of accounts must be pursued much more diligently then just writing a letter. Firms can figure that only so much of these accounts will be collected at year end – determine the status and move on to brighter collection pastures. Some of these older clients have realized that no one has been trying to collect bills throughout the year. Work with the attorney to figure out if these clients need to be pursued and, if so, how.

6. Identify bills to determine their collection status. Categorize receivables as either: (1) collectable, (2) problematic, but potentially collectable, or (3) have no realistic chance of getting collected.

7. Keep bills coming regularly and consistently. Remember that clients, too, are enduring the tougher economic climate. They may be delaying payments as a result of their own cash flow problems. Don’t exacerbate the problem by neglecting to send bills out timely. If the lawyers are too busy – or disorganized – to get their bills out on time, give them whatever assistance they need. Clients will delay payments if bills are not received when they expect them and do not logically provide the information they need to put the bills in line for payment by year end. Also, if they have a particular problem with a bill – they will wait for you to call rather than calling you to discuss it.

8. Look at the right reports – and review them regularly. Use your collection software to its full potential, not merely as a sophisticated follow-up calendar. Your software should help you compare work in process to accounts receivable to recent payments in order to determine a true payment history and what needs to be done.

9. Make sure that the collection committee – or whomever your firm has given responsibility for this work – has clear objectives and direction. For example, they should know that it is their responsibility to speak to delinquent clients directly to find out the status of payment rather than simply reviewing reports and gathering information for the attorneys. Both those with direct responsibility for collections and those overseeing these efforts (perhaps a collections committee) should be in agreement on which clients they are pursuing and the dollar amounts they are working to collect.

10. The person responsible for performing collections should meet one-on-one with the partners to determine the status of their A/R and exactly what they are doing about it. These meetings should provide vital information for the management of the firm to determine the true collection status of the receivables. Remember, partners in charge of managing collections also have a busy practice and require administrative staff that have a solid rapport with the attorneys to gather this information.

Client Connection assists law firms of all sizes throughout the United States by furnishing accounts receivable management services, developing practical receivable programs, training law firm staff in effective collection methods and executive placement of professional collections managers. Call 1-800-236-8232 or visit us online at: http://www.clientci.com/

Talk is Cheap: What Is Your Firm Actually Doing to Improve Its Accounts Receivable Management?

Actions speak louder than words. Law firm management can talk all it wants about policies, procedures and infrastructure. But results are what matters.When all the talk is done, what has your firm done to address difficulties it has with accounts receivable?

In our past newsletters, we have stressed the importance of having systems and techniques in place to help ensure law firms are set up to manage their accounts receivable. This is necessary to achieve one thing and one thing only – results.

The economic picture for law firms heading toward year-end remains tight, so now is a good time to figure out what actions really work.We suggest focusing on five key actions:

1. Reach a consensus about just how much a priority collections should take. Place the right people in the right positions, people who will roll up their sleeves and work as part of a team to achieve success. Give them the power to tell attorneys to address their collections, and to use the firm’s resources to help them achieve results. Demanding real accountability is tough, but it’s easier than pursuing payment of ageing receivables.

2. Take a good hard look at A/R over 90 days old. Don’t make the mistake of waiting until 90 days to be concerned about your receivables. When looking at ageing receivables, many firms will see collections problems.The reality is that they had such problems sooner, but did not do anything about them. If the work has been satisfactorily performed, the client should pay within 30 days. If you are not seeing payment by that point, you are facing the first sign of a collection problem. Clients conclude that if the firm waits several months to collect unpaid bills, they need not rush to pay. Make sure that accounts that start to go over 60 days are routinely contacted to let clients know that payment is expected. You would be surprised to learn how many of a firm’s clients are being contacted by their other business partners to ensure that their bills are in line for payment.Why should you be any different?

3. Work backwards forward. Work on the oldest A/R first and move forward. Resolve the old issues – which are the hardest to address – before tackling the easier, newer receivables. Many times, law firms will acknowledge problems that are slowing down or preventing payment on certain accounts without taking the time and action to re-visit these accounts to ensure collection efforts are succeeding.These accounts do take time and energy, but working on them can result in found money for the firm.The strongest members of your collection team should be focused on the older, tougher accounts. In addition, don’t let the number of 90-day accounts grow by neglecting to work the lower-level delinquent balances. You would be surprised how significant a portion of the firm’s accounts receivable portfolio is comprised of accounts with smaller balances.

4. Understand the reasons your clients are not paying. Why aren’t they paying? It all comes down to problems with cash flow. However, such problems are often masked, intentionally or not, by other issues, such as poor service, bills that are higher than expected, bills that were never received, etc. From the start of the relationship, firms and their lawyers must understand their clients so that, when problems do arise, they can get to the source of the problems and resolve them.Although aged receivables are part of the financial report, it is all the stories underneath those numbers that firms need to get a handle on, so they understand why clients are not paying. To help alleviate cash flow issues, law firms should re-evaluate and implement realistic credit assessments of prospective clients. If clients are accepted after suitable credit analysis, the amount of risk can be reduced by including provisions for retainers, evergreen retainers or personal guarantees when engagement letters are prepared.

5. Measure the results of the efforts your firm is making. You may be gathering a lot of information about your collections, but determine whether you are getting the right information.At a minimum, you need to know if an account is actively being pursued and what is the payment status, who is pursuing the collection efforts and whether they are getting results, why clients are not paying and what needs to be done to get them to pay. Categorize receivables: (1) Are they collectible? (If so, when can we expect payment?) (2) Are they problematic? (What are the chances we will get paid?); or (3) Are they simply uncollectible? Also, help your efforts by creating reports that will show when payments can be made, and frequently update information on where collection efforts and payment status stand. If you have collection software, use it correctly to develop these types of reports.

As year-end approaches, now is an excellent time to take control and “get your arms around” your collection issues. Analyze your current receivables, identify problem accounts and gain an understanding of why the problems are occurring (insufficient credit review, extension of credit beyond what the client could afford, poor follow-up efforts, etc.). Once you have identified procedural, organizational and personnel weaknesses, you can take corrective measures to significantly reduce future delinquency.

Learn more on our web-site: www.clientci.com

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Learning Lessons About Managing Your Receivables in a Down Economy

For most law firms, recent times have proven to be tough — on so many levels. But what’s done is done. Now is a good time to determine what law firms learned last year so adjustments can be made, lawyers can be educated and changes can be implemented.

The bigger question we can ask ourselves is, have we learned from our mistakes in managing our accounts receivable, and are we ready to make the changes that must be made?

Many of the problems firms experienced revolved around cash flow. Clients were slower than usual to pay their bills. A greater number of them struggled to pay at all. As many firms continue to strategically plan how to ensure strong revenue, they must learn to clearly see that a productive, workable accounts receivable program can make all the difference in their efforts.

While most of us were glad to see the last year recede into the sunset, there are many signs that this year will be, in many ways, tougher yet. Therefore, now would be as good a time as any to take the steps necessary to address fundamental issues concerning your accounts receivable. Here we offer recommendations for action steps you can start taking immediately.

Start actually managing your receivables rather than simply expecting payments to be made. Strategic planning is most effective when times are good, instead of waiting until times are hard. In such times, law firms start turning over every stone to find sources of revenue. What better stone to look under than unpaid receivables. Law firms are accustomed to looking at receivables financial data only on a superficial level, instead of spending time looking beneath and beyond the numbers to determine if payment can be made. Step up to the plate. You will be surprised by what you discover.

Perform a self-evaluation to figure out what you are doing right and what you could be doing better. Perform a thorough self-assessment of your receivable policies and procedures. Take stock of what you are doing and why, and evaluate what is working. Many firms that have assumed they have the right infrastructure in place discover that what they have is flawed; some discover they really don’t have much of an infrastructure at all. Look at everything, from intake procedures to collective software capability, to whether attorneys are actually doing a good job collecting their bills. An important aspect of this is assessing whether you have the right administrative staff, with the right skills, in place to do the job. In addition, determine whether they have been given the right responsibilities and understand that everyone managing receivables must be held to some standards of accountability to ensure progress is being made.

Understand why clients are not paying their bills in a timely fashion. It all comes down to problems with cash flow. However, such problems are often masked, intentionally or not, by other issues, such as poor service, bills that are higher than expected or bills that were never received. From the start of the relationship, firms and their lawyers must understand their clients so that, when problems do arise, they can get to the source of the problems and resolve them. Although aged receivables are part of the financial report, it is all the stories underneath those numbers that firms need to get a handle on, so they understand why clients are not paying.

Keep the lines of communication open. It is vital that your attorneys communicate with clients throughout the course of the relationship. From the start, find out if clients have reasons they will have trouble paying their bills. And that communication must be a two-way street, where the attorneys are listening to what clients are saying as much as they are talking. As soon as they sense that there is a problem, they should reach out to the client to understand the cause of the problem and what steps will be needed to remedy it.

Figure out which collection methods work most effectively for your firm and clients. If yours is like many firms, you have sent out the occasional reminder statements or letters politely requesting payment. And, if you are like many firms, you have seen similar results in response to these efforts: little to nothing. Such letters are frequently lost or conveniently misplaced. More direct, immediate and frequent communication will have a far greater impact. Reach out by phone or e-mail. Make the communication more personal.

Send out accurate bills on a timely basis. Sounds pretty basic, no? However, the reality is that invoices that are incorrect in one way or another, or that go to the wrong person, slow down the process. If you expect your clients to respond timely, make sure you are sending them out in a timely manner. And see that they are getting in the right hands. Too many times, people move on or change position, and bills get lost in the shuffle.

Ensure you are looking at the right information. Most firms have gotten used to looking at an abundance of financial information and aging reports to evaluate their progress in managing receivables. Although some of this information is good, many reports do not show when payment can be expected. At minimum, you need to know if an account is actively being pursued, what the payment status is, who is pursuing the collection efforts and whether they are getting results, why clients are not paying, and what needs to be done to get them to pay. At a minimum, categorize receivables to determine whether they are collectible. If so, determine when you can expect payment; is it problematic; how good are the chances you will get paid. If particular receivables are simply not collectible, recognize that and move on.

Don’t let receivables age too long. Aging receivables are a moving target, one that must be monitored and managed closely to prevent aging from going too far. Firms see a build-up of receivables over 120 days and decide that they have a collection problem, when the truth is they had a problem much sooner but never addressed it. Ensure that clients are contacted early in the aging process, and that they are receiving consistent, professional follow-up. This keeps open channels of communication and will help your firm determine early if there is likely to be a problem getting a bill paid.

Don’t underestimate the payment power of small balances.All balance levels are fair game to be pursued. In the past, many firms have had a tendency to focus collection efforts on larger balance accounts. However, the beauty of pursing small balances is that there are many to pursue and often clients will have the cash flow to pay off those lower amounts without feeling they are straining their cash.

Institute a program to manage accounts receivable now. Long before year-end starts ratcheting up the pressure, put procedures in place. Firm leadership is important here, and individual autonomy should be left to sole practitioners. Make it a point to stop managing your accounts receivable as you have in the past. Start with the premise that all clients are feeling the impact of the economy.

Do not put it off any longer. Take the actions necessary to start turning around the situation. It promises to be a challenging year, but there are concrete steps you can take now to improve your fortunes. We can help. Please visit my web-site at: http://www.clientci.com/

Keeping Law Firm Collections Accounts Current

Many firms tend to regard managing their receivables as an aspect of financial management. It is, after all, about money; you can touch and feel the dollars. However, receivables management is just as much a function of practice management as financial management. It is not just about numbers. Behind most receivables more than 90 days past due is a story about why the account has not been paid - cash flow problems, complicated transactions, and many more reasons. Understand those stories and get to the bottom of them, and you will have a better understanding of how to get paid.

Firms find themselves facing a dilemma. On one hand, they want to embrace institutional thinking and function as a business, putting structures and procedures in place and holding people accountable. On the other, they are reluctant to hold the individual attorneys accountable and deprive them of their autonomy because of the different circumstances that exist that impact payment from clients. The two attitudes create an uneasy balance. It is hard to have clearcut procedures while poking holes in them and making exceptions.

The truth, though, is that you must. Everything is not black and white. Your firm needs to make it clear to its attorneys and staff, as well as your clients, what your policies and your expectations are. Yet, there needs to be a fair amount of latitude for decisions based on individual client relationships. It will be important to layer your firm wide efforts, to take into account both formal collection procedures and practices and the informal, individual efforts that exist in practice to service clients.

Accounts receivable management requires a very hands on approach. The reality is there are a number of unsettling circumstances in today's economy and firms must be willing to change their approaches to receivables management if they are going to be successful in pursuing ageing accounts. Now is an appropriate time to focus on these issues, before getting into the mad rush of year-end. To ensure that your receivables do not get the opportunity to enjoy a ripe old age, take these five steps:

1. Start Managing Your Receivables Rather Than Simply Expecting Payments to be Made. We have all learned that strategic planning is most effective when times are good, instead of waiting until times are hard. In such times, law firms start turning over every stone to find sources of revenue. What better stone to look under than unpaid receivables. Law firms are accustomed to looking at receivables financial data only on a superficial level, instead of spending time looking beneath and beyond the numbers to determine if payment can be made. Step up to the plate; you will be surprised by what you discover.

2. Determine if You Have the Appropriate Governance Structure in Place. Effective receivables management starts from the top. The firm needs to put the right people in leadership positions. These individuals need to have the ability to tell attorneys to address their collections. Demanding real accountability can be tough, but pursuing payment of ageing receivables is much tougher - and it greatly reduces the chances of getting paid.

The harsh reality is that many firms are losing revenue by giving attorneys too much individual autonomy in making sure bills get paid. When will firms stop tolerating "good clients" who just don't pay their bills? When are they going to stop permitting clients to pay slowly without asking why? When will they be the ones to dictate the terms of payment, rather than the clients?

Attorneys are also given too much leeway in dealing with their clients during the first 11 months of the year, only to have their feet held to the fire during the year-end stretch. With many firms having millions of dollars well over 90 days past due, the traditional culture of forgiveness need to be replaced with a culture of high expectations to increase revenue through better collection efforts during the year.

There are no quick fixes in receivables management. Even the best governance structure cannot quickly collect itself out of collection problems. This is a roll-up-your sleeves job that requires spending time going over collection efforts for certain balance levels. The right people must be in place from top to bottom, people who will devote the necessary time and perform the requisite follow-through when working with attorneys who bill.

3. Focus on Best Practices. Direct relationships, frequent contact and an open dialogue are the most effective way for law firms to get paid. The best strategy to ensure payment is to quickly determine if a client has the means and the commitment to pay their bill. Yes, while there are clients that pay like clockwork, there are many that, if offered an inch, will take a mile. The number one reason clients do not pay their bills is cash flow problems, especially in today's economy.

Remember, managing collections in a law firm is a process that must be monitored very diligently. Clients will not be offended when a friendly, professional contact is made to inquire about the status of payment. They will notice that the firm is closely monitoring their payments with direct one-on-one inquiries.

In addition, firms need to make a candid assessment of who inside or outside their organization can most effectively contact clients. There are reasons to give this responsibility to the attorneys themselves: They have a professional relationship with their clients, and they understand their issues and transactions. However, they are very busy and don't make getting paid for their work a priority. They often do not like asking their clients for payment and they are not inclined to have timely management of their receivables.

When firms enlist their support staff to help contact clients, they should have the desire and training to do this work. Their priority is to determine payment status, and clients frequently prefer speaking to someone other than their attorney about payment issues, someone who has the experience, know-how and personality that represents the attorney well with their clients. The best collection staff, which combines tenacity and professionalism, earns the trust of the attorneys with whom they work. They must be given the directive to ask clients to pay their bills, and they need to have direct contact with the clients to do so effectively.

If the firm and attorneys make decisions to have staff contacting clients directly, the staff must not have too many other responsibilities keep them from dedicating themselves to contacting clients about payment. Too frequently staff find that their job has become a diluted clerical function in which they assist attorneys in sending meaningless letters and reminder statements.

4. Gather the Right Information. You may be gathering a lot of information about your collections, but determine whether you are getting the right information. At a minimum, you need to know if an account is actively being pursued and what is the payment status, who is pursuing the collection efforts and whether they are getting results, why clients are not paying and what needs to be done to get them to pay.

At a minimum, categorize receivables:
1. Are they collectible? If so, when can we expect payment?
2. Are they problematic? How good are the chances we will get paid?
3. Are they simply uncollectible? Also, help your efforts by creating reports that will show when payments can be made and frequently update information on where collection efforts and payment status stand. If
you have collection software, understand how to use it to gather this type of information.

5. Project Realistic Timeframes for Collecting Older, More Difficult Receivables. Be aware that receivables over 120 days have a 50 percent chance of being collected, and the rate continues to drop precipitously as receivables age. If you have any hope of getting paid, these accounts must be pursued diligently. Don't wait for a client meeting or a letter. Some of these accounts may be difficult to collect if only because no one has made the effort in the past to contact the clients. Work with the attorneys and your staff to figure out if the clients need to be pursued and, if so, how.

The focus of a firm's accounts receivable program must be a sooner-rather-than-later attitude. Accounts receivable for law firms is not what we are going to do tomorrow, but what we should be doing today. It's the fourth quarter; do you really know where your receivables are?

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