10 Tips for Using a Legal Assistant Software You Must Try NOW
So, you’ve recently decided to invest in a legal assistant software. Congratulations! Beginning to use a legal assistant software can be a daunting experience, especially if you’ve never used any similar software before. Lucky for you, we’re here to help. Here are 10 tips for successfully using your new legal assistant software like a pro:
- Organize all of your existing clients and potential leads in an excel document. This will help you import all of your clients into the CRM section of the legal assistant software. Include e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and any additional information you’d like to keep track of.
- Create labels for your clients. You can organize all of your clients by case status, payment status, and more.
- Create folders for all your open cases. This will help you manage any open cases. Most legal assistant software will let you attach a case to a particular client, and will allow a client to have multiple cases attached to their file.
- Create task reminders for all of your existing and potential clients. If you need to follow up with a current or potential client through phone or e-mail, set a reminder to do so.
- Add any work-related appointments to the calendar. These can include meetings with colleagues and clients, scheduled phone calls, arraignments, court appearances, and more. Never miss an appointment again.
- Use the included time tracking software to accurately track your time. This will enable you to accurately track billable time spent on a client, leading to more accurate billing and less questions later on. You likely will want to include notes about what you did during this time in case a client has any questions.
- Write detailed notes about every interaction regarding a particular client or case. Trying to keep all of these details in your head or even on a note pad can turn into a huge hassle. Take notes about every call, meeting, or other interaction to avoid forgetting any important details.
- Use the included invoicing software to bill clients. This should interface with time tracking to ensure accurate billing. Try to bill on a regular schedule to keep unpaid invoices from piling up. The software should keep you informed on any outstanding balances. If a client has a retainer, your legal assistant software should be able to track their remaining balance.
- Collect payment from clients. Okay, this one seems obvious, but don’t forget to follow up on any outstanding bills. Your legal assistant software will make this much easier, but you may still need to make the occasional call to remind a client that payment is due.
- Add the other members of your office as additional users. One person using this software is great, but having your entire office using one system will save a significant amount of time and money. Most legal assistant software’s charge by the user, but the cost is more than made up by the increased productivity in the office.
Hopefully, these tips will help you use your new legal assistant software like a pro, and will help you save time and money.
If you have any additional tips for using a legal assistant software like a pro, let us know in the comments.
