Since implementing PracticePanther, Kyler, Kohler, Ostermiller & Sorensen, LLP (KKOS Lawyers), a leading law firm specializing in tax law, estate planning, and real estate, has been able to expand their business, implement time-saving workflows across departments, and significantly reduce outstanding accounts receivable, while limiting the need for excess staff. KKOS estimates that PracticePanther saved them from needing to hire three additional employees to manage their billing backlog, while achieving less than 1% outstanding account receivables on their 2021 invoices.
KKOS Lawyers searched the market for a capable practice management solution that could help them streamline processes and cut down on administrative burdens. As a firm with over 5,000 clients, and multiple offices across the country — KKOS struggled with accounts receivables (AR), efficient invoicing, and effective client communication.
“When we discovered how user-friendly PracticePanther was, how well it worked for our clients, and how easily it integrated with our existing tools, we knew we found the right solution for our needs.”
Shantelle Urquidez
Executive and Accounts Receivable Manager at KKOS Lawyers
KKOS Lawyers' Challenges
KKOS had been trying practice management solutions for years. Due to their large scale, and complexity of their billing needs as a tax law firm that bills on a varying cadence — many available solutions lacked the capability or flexibility they needed to operate a growing firm while reducing the stress on internal staff.
Invoicing was a particular challenge — with their legacy systems and processes, 60% of KKOS AR were 60-days past due, a number they wished to reduce significantly.
Lastly, their previous on-premise solution still required copious amounts of printing, scanning, and mailing of documents and invoices with hard costs that quickly began to add up. Postage alone for their more than 5000 clients each month could equate to almost $3,000. Apart from the costly paper and printing charges, the on-premise solution was a growing security and price concern.
“When we were expanding, the thought of placing a server in each of our offices was a huge expense we wanted to avoid. Being able to take data from our headquarter’s server, and put it in the cloud was huge for us. Our two partners travel often, and when they needed to access something they would have to call the office and ask to have a document emailed, which is a waste of time and a security risk if you can’t access a VPN.”
Shantelle Urquidez
Executive and Accounts Receivable Manager at KKOS Lawyers
How PracticePanther Helped KKOS
Since implementing PracticePanther, KKOS has leveraged its features to operate in the cloud, automate invoicing, cut down on AR, and provide clients with a transparent, intuitive, and secure client portal for document sharing and communications.
Secure Client Portals Increased Accessibility
The ability to work in PracticePanther helped KKOS in its expansion efforts by giving everyone from administration staff to partners the access to necessary documents from anywhere in the world. PracticePanther also helped KKOS increase communication with clients by uploading relevant case information directly to secure client portals.
“The client portal has been super convenient for our clients who really have some high standards in regards to security, they won’t email documents at all, and will go through the portal. PracticePanther also doesn’t have a cap on the amount of client portals, which other services did.”
Built-In Payments Alleviated Data Discrepancy
When it came time to bill clients, PracticePanther revolutionized internal processes. The use of PantherPayments, PracticePanther’s online payments tool, meant month-end billing could happen digitally. A process that once took nearly a full day per attorney, now took just a few hours.
The major time-saver for Shantelle comes when any changes need to be made since tweaks made at the matter or case-level are instantly reflected on invoices. This reduction in data-discrepancy is a major perk of using an all-in-one platform. Using PracticePanther for online billing has significantly improved efficiency and eliminates the need for additional staff to handle the end-of-month workload.
Outstanding Accounts Receivables Were Nearly Eliminated
PracticePanther has also significantly reduced AR. One such reason is that with PantherPayments, KKOS has conditioned clients to start paying online. KKOS sent out more than 20 thousand invoices in 2021, only 49 were outstanding in February 2022.
KKOS can now run reports to assess AR and evaluate the need for more robust collections processes or additional staff in the future. Built-in features such as automatic invoice reminders mean current staff wastes less time tracking down missing payments.
“When I came on before we implemented PracticePanther our AR was humongous at 60% 60-days past due, and this was before the dollar amount we push out now. Last month our AR was at only 16% 60-days past due, that’s amazing.”
Since implementation, PracticePanther has had a tremendous impact across the board at KKOS.
“With PracticePanther, we’re more efficient in every department. I’ve only had to hire two billing staff, whereas with my old system I would probably be at four or five,” said Shantelle. “Technology may cost a bit when you look at the overall price, but a lot of people are more scared of the dollar line, rather than thinking of efficiency and what you’re going to be able to save in other areas such as hiring employees.”
“With PracticePanther, we’re more efficient in every department. I’ve only had to hire two billing staff, whereas with my old system I would probably be at four or five. Technology may cost a bit when you look at the overall price, but a lot of people are more scared of the dollar line, rather than thinking of efficiency and what you’re going to be able to save in other areas such as hiring employees.”
