This post is part two of a two-part series that focuses on getting Back to Basics in your law practice. Please read part 1 here, Fine-tuning Your Legal Practice Management. Like most businesses, the factors that contribute to a law firm’s financials run the gamut from the relatively straightforward—are you getting reimbursed for hard costs?—to the complex—what’s your five-year plan? … Read More
How (and Why) to Avoid Write-Offs in Your Law Office
How much of your work are you writing off? The average law office writes off about 14% of their bills annually, with discounts increasing each year. If your office gives an average amount of write-offs, and you calculate your bills for a 30% profit margin, then those write-offs eliminate almost half your profits. Ouch! Why write-offs happen To reign in … Read More
Taking the Mid-Year Financial Pulse of Your Law Office
Knowing where your law firm stands financially is always a wise practice, but checking your firm’s financial pulse halfway through the year can be particularly helpful. If you need to make adjustments, they’re easier to implement now than at the year’s end. Barring any significant tangles, we recommend going through these tasks yourself—even if you’d prefer to hand some of … Read More
4 Law Firm Strategies to Continue Increasing Profit in 2021
As we move into the second quarter of 2021, take a moment to consider where your firm is at. What goals have been set, and how are you working to meet them? Which additional strategies might help bring you closer to those objectives? If you’re not employing them already, these four strategies can help your firm increase profit—and set you … Read More
5 Key Benefits of Streamlining Your Legal Billing & Accounting
Every lawyer wants to put as much work time as possible toward billable hours, yet determining how best to do that presents a challenge. Which non-billable tasks can be streamlined or eliminated? Popular accounting tools like QuickBooks®️ can seem like they’re saving time, but because such software is generic—and not legal-specific—it can create challenges and tangles in a firm’s workflow. … Read More
Your Law Firm’s 2020 Year-End Accounting Checklist
Ready to say goodbye to 2020? If so, you’re in good company. This year has been a challenging one, and many of us are more than ready to throw out the old and ring in the new. But that doesn’t mean that law firms should neglect key end-of-year tasks. While pandemic fatigue might make it tempting to skip out on … Read More
Budgeting in an Uncertain Year
Markets don’t like uncertainty. Most cliches are rooted in truth, and this one is no different. And although there isn’t always a correspondence between individual experience, profit margins, and market performance, uncertainty is one driver that cuts across every industry, including legal: nobody likes it. It isn’t hard to see why uncertainty is so unpopular. Having clear projections provides a … Read More
The Top 5 Reasons Lawyers Are Switching from QuickBooks
While they might be a good solution for many small businesses, generic accounting platforms like Quickbooks aren’t designed to meet the specific needs of lawyers. QuickBooks is the leading accounting software used by small businesses—and there’s a reason for that. Tools like QuickBooks, Quicken or Xero are purposely meant to be used for general businesses, which means that instead of … Read More
Simplify Your Law Firm Accounting with CosmoLex
When it comes to legal-specific accounting complexities, CosmoLex has you covered. Law firm accounting is complex, and many of the requirements of legal accounting are specific to the practice of law. Managing fee allocations, trust reports, reconciliations, and retainers, for example, requires accounting methods designed specifically for legal purposes—and they are best managed by software designed specifically for law firms. … Read More
Utilizing a Mid-Year Accounting Checklist
Taking stock of your accounting isn’t just an end of year task – although it would be nice to only have to do it once a year! These days, it’s more important than ever for lawyers to be aware of their financial standing and make sure they’re keeping accurate records. Doing a mid-year accounting check will leave you with a … Read More