It’s not too late to claim unpaid fees and have the best collection year ever
Law firms have worked tirelessly for the past 11 months, and as they begin to close out the books on their hard earned money, they often reach a painful realization that unpaid fees may leave them with major end-of-year write-offs to concede if they don’t act fast.
It’s an annual problem that adds up. In fact, lawyers’ write-off on average as much as 14% of their total bills every year! 2020 is primed to see an even higher percentage as staff and clients are often communicating remotely — the last thing attorneys want to be doing is hunting down unpaid bills over the phone.
Write-offs occur for a myriad of reasons, some more concerning than others. Bottom line up front: when you’re not getting paid for the time you’ve put in, your profitability and margins take a big hit and in 2020, every single dollar is paramount.
In 2020, online payments went from “nice to have” to “must have”
COVID-19 has forced every industry to make rapid changes, the way of doing business just a year ago simply won’t work in times of social distancing and heightened safety precautions. Many clients haven’t seen their attorneys in-person and can’t pay face-to-face at the office. Firms are running skeleton crews on their phone lines, making the old way of collecting payments nearly impossible. 2020 is looking at a record year for write-offs simply due to outdated technology and old billing habits.
The fact is, 78% of clients prefer a digital payment option. If you sent invoices earlier this year without a built-in online payment option, adding a “Pay Now” button to those invoices can increase your chances of year end collection. With additional payment options and the added convenience, you will be surprised how quick and easy it is for you to collect on the outstanding accounts receivable by the end of the year.
If you find yourself with mounting unpaid invoices, PantherPayments can help.
Time is of the essence and the clock is ticking, but PantherPayments can help you regain your lost money
By adopting PantherPayments into your firm’s accounts receivable process, your collection call days will be a thing of the past. Here are a few ways PantherPayments can help you to avoid the write-off with less than a month until the end of the year.
Don’t be afraid to tackle old invoices first
Re-sending unpaid invoices, even stale invoices over 6 months old, with an online payment option can help firms collect up to 40% of uncollected fees that would otherwise be written off.
Offer a touchless payment option for increased peace of mind
When you provide a safe way for your clients to pay you, they’ll feel better about taking quick action. Clients may be apprehensive about entering an office building to drop off a check, or heading to a bank to transfer funds, with online payments they can pay from wherever they’re most comfortable.
Provide your clients with multiple payment options
Clients pay up to 70% faster than average when given the option to pay via PantherPayments, including all major credit cards and even same day eCheck payments. The payment experience you give your clients is an important touchpoint in your relationship with them, so don’t waste it or underrate it. Even more importantly, clients that are given an online payment option pay faster, and clients that pay faster pay more on the dollar.
Closing your books can be one of the most stressful times of the year, but by working smarter with PracticePanther, you’ll not only be able to track payments in real time and automate collection efforts, you’ll gain back time to focus on practicing law, not chasing checks.
Think you can collect the most outstanding AR?
Competition drives action, so we’re launching a little friendly challenge of our own. Starting today and running through the end of December, we’re challenging firms to tackle their invoices and #AvoidTheWriteoff.
The firm that processes the most invoices through PantherPayments from today through the end of the year will #AvoidTheWriteoff and will be offered an opportunity to be featured in an interview to kick of 2021! It’s a great chance to gain exposure for your business, and it’s completely free!
If you have old invoices piling up and no easy way to collect before having to write them off, PantherPayments is here to help! With no setup cost and no monthly or hidden fees, you’ll be collecting more than you thought possible before you know it. It might be time to write off 2020, but that shouldn’t include your hard earned billable time.
