We do know why we have A/R management system and collection efforts -- to get results. Why would we think otherwise? We manage A/R to get paid.
Winston Churchill once said, "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." Yet while many law firms, in theory, want and try to have a results-oriented A/R management structure, they are often working with a system that is moving in all different directions. It is like trying to herd a bunch of cats. Between attorneys doing what they want to do, clients paying at their leisure (if at all) and collection staff not being proactive with their efforts, many law firms are left with a growing backlog of receivables and no idea how to deal with them. More troubling, though, is that they have a false sense of security; they believe that their collection efforts are working just fine.
To help get your A/R management efforts back on track, here are a few tips to remember:
1. Start by understanding why your receivables have aged -- Yes, you do have a collections problem with your older A/R, but you had it very early -- perhaps as soon as you sent out the first bill. The firm was just not proactive with its collection efforts early in the ageing process.
2. Stop making the exception the norm -- Many A/R systems for law firms break down because policies and procedures are created for attorneys to follow. But policies exist only on paper. Too many exceptions are given, so rules are broken and there is little enforcement.
3. Make your collection efforts proactive instead of reactive -- Many firms will wait for clients to contact them about questions regarding a bill before they inquire about the payment status. If clients don't contact the firm, the firm believes -- mistakenly -- that there is no problem and the client will pay. Firms give way too much professional courtesy.
Learn more by visiting our web-site at http://www.clientci.com.
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