Case Study: Law firm business manager saves two days each month through automated coding of billable hours
CASE STUDY FOR LEGAL BILLING SOFTWARE:
Law firm business manager saves two days each month through automated coding of billable hours
The Challenge
Jennifer Wells is the business manager at Beard St. Clair Gaffney Law Firm. The law practice, with about 40 timekeepers — all Mac users — used PCLaw. Jennifer lamented that several attorneys wouldn’t enter time in what she considered an antiquated software. The lawyers used spreadsheets and entered time at the end of the month. Jennifer had to code those numbers manually. PCLaw was not connected to their bank and because of that, all invoices were sent through the mail. It was, in a word, SLOW. “PCLaw never did any updates.” Errors in the software had her on the phone weekly with PCLaw customer support. She was on the lookout for modern, automated accounting software for the law firm. Jenn wanted software without all the bells and whistles that they weren’t going to use. She needed legal billing, document management, timekeeping, calendaring, and communication. She knew she didn’t want practice management software.
The Solution
A lawyer at the firm recommended LeanLaw. Right off the bat, all the lawyers began entering time contemporaneously, thanks to easy-to-use software. Law assistants have freed up time for more valued tasks and Jennifer has saved two days each month from not having to manually code billable hours. Payment speed has more than doubled since they send online invoices. There are no more complaints about the software not working -this has freed up about another day per month for Jennifer. LeanLaw’s cloud-based web-portal makes connectivity much easier for this Mac-based firm — no more VPN!
“If the attorneys can track time daily, we’re going to capture way more billable hours. And we do. I never get complaints about entering time. LeanLaw has simplified the time tracking process.”
JENNIFER WELLS, BUSINESS MANAGER, BEARD ST. CLAIR GAFFNEY LAW FIRM
Benefits of LeanLaw
- Payment Speed Doubled with electronic connection to banks
- Saved 2 Days / Month thanks to automation
- Cloud-based software gives attorneys ultimate accessibility when on the go
Read More
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Categories to think about:
Timekeeping Accounts Payable Client / Matter General Ledger Reporting Bank Reconciliation Billing Conflict Checks Receivables
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Law Firm Accounting Professionals Weigh In
Changing software is not something your law firm does lightly, nor do you want to do it often. It’s important to do your homework and understand your firm’s needs, analyze your choices, and put together a plan, including project management. That’s the best way to get to a new solution that helps your firm move forward.
In our experience after numerous law firm software migrations, the key to success in purchasing new financial software is to understand what critical features are MOST important to your business. Understand how it fits with your current (and future) staff and how your current best practices will work within these new tools. Picking a tool and a partner to help you migrate is essential to the success of this journey.