We recently published our summer newsletter -- Dog Days of Summer? Not for Long. It was filled with tips and ideas on how you and your firm can start improving your A/R management now to get a head start going into the last quarter of the year.
Here are a few excerpts from our newsletter:
First, take the lead to determine how well your firm is doing with its A/R management - At most law firms, everyone shares the responsibility for accounts receivable management which, of course, means that no one really takes full responsibility. Ask these important questions:
• How are we doing with managing our ageing A/R?
• What do we need to be doing differently?
• Do we have the resources to make improvements?
Educate the leadership of the firm where improvements can be made - Leadership can be at a disadvantage when trying to determine how to Improve A/R management and collections since they are flying at 40,000 feet overseeing the direction and vision of the firm and don’t have their ear to the ground assessing why the firm is under-achieving with its A/R management. Provide them with insight on how well the attorneys and staff are performing in getting accounts paid, and discuss best practice solutions to improve collection results, especially with ageing, difficult-to-collect A/R.
Identify bills that will get paid and those that may not - Past due ageing buckets (61 to 90 days, 91 to 120 days, etc.) often don’t give you a clear understanding of the status of unpaid bills. The numbers may be encouraging, but you need to get the story behind each receivable to determine the probability of getting paid, either within a viable time frame or, at least, by year-end. At the very minimum, classify receivables for accounts being handled by attorneys and staff to determine:
• Is it collectible?
• If so, when can we expect payment?
• Is it problematic?
• If so, how good are the chances we will get paid?
• Is it simply uncollectible?
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