This is a post from Allison Shields. You can see the post at her blog at legalease.com You can also see the full post on Law Practice Magazine and see more of Allison Shields’ work at Lawyer Meltdown.

Billing Practices that Help You Get Paid

Guest Post from Allison Shields

My first column in Law Practice Magazine is out, and it’s all about improving and managing cash flow.

If you establish good billing practices, you’re already on your way to better cash flow. Here are some of my tips from the article:

*Require that clients pay something up front

*Don’t wait until your retainer is completely exhausted before asking clients for an additional payment

*Accept credit cards or electronic payments

*Send bills consistently and on time

*Include relevant details about the work that was done on each bill

*Don’t use legal jargon in your bills; clients need to understand the work that was done or they won’t want to pay for it.

*Review your billing practices in detail during your initial consultation with the client

*Quote your fee up front, or give clients a budget or estimate

*Explain the factors that might increase the fee

*Review key financial indicators regularly

*Conduct cash flow reviews of individual matters

As always, make sure that all of your billing and collections practices comply with your jurisdiction’s ethical rules.

If you want more details, read the complete article, “Simple Steps: Improving and Managing Cash Flow” here.

Note from Kahuna: Cash Flow is something to take seriously and this is a great post for lawyers, but also for any entrepreneur. Moral of the story is, know who owes you and make sure you get paid. Read more about how Kahuna helps small law firms simplify their billing and get paid faster in our special report.