You trust your clients to be honest with you and most of them are. However no matter how straightforward someone might be, there are certain things we don’t tell each other out of social convention. What you might not know is that your current time and billing software is making you look bad.
Speling Kounts
We read a number of legal and technology (and legal technology) blogs in our effort to stay abreast of trends in the industry. The internet can be a great way to reach new clients by providing important and insightful information, but if you aren’t careful it is also a way to tell potentials that you don’t really pay attention to your work. We have been surprised by how many attorney blogs we’ve seen that are riddled with typos, giving the firm a sloppy image.
Any communication — a letter, a blog, an invoice — is a representation of your professionalism and should be approached with the same attention to detail you give a case. A spelling or grammatical error might not seem like a big problem but it can become a blaring message broadcasting that you don’t pay attention to details.
What Do Your Invoices Look Like?
If you’re like many attorneys, you put all your energy into legal research, meeting with other attorneys and court performance. You give some attention to basic practice management but you may find that aspect of running your own practice an annoyance. You pop out invoices in Word based on some template you downloaded ten years ago, or maybe use an outdated law office billing program, and it’s good enough, right?
Maybe not. Sloppy, confusing or, worst of all, inaccurate invoices are unprofessional and hurt your image. That’s not the message you want to send to a client. This can be even worse if you lost the case, since the client might decide your casual attitude towards invoicing reflects your attitude towards the case, and this could even lead to an ethics complaint.
Why spend less time preparing your billing than you spend deciding which tie makes you look best in court? CosmoLex billing software for attorneys produces crisp, clean, professional-looking invoices. Put your own stamp on the statement by adding a logo or making other customizations. Maintain a high quality image from the first meeting with a client to the last invoice sent when a matter is settled.
