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
How to Improve Your Law Firm’s Financial Security Today
Financial security isn’t just for your personal life – law firms should seek to have the same peace of mind that comes with the right long-term financial planning. Not only is it less stressful, but it also leads to sustained success when you’ve made sure the right processes are in place. In the busy world of running a practice though, … Read More
Using Modern Tools to Increase Your Accounting Productivity
In this post, we’re rounding out our 3-part series “Using Modern Tools to Increase Your Productivity.” For a complete overview of how modern, legal software can help you maintain a more productive law office, read our posts on legal billing and practice management. Accounting isn’t just one of the most commonly disliked parts of running a law practice – it … Read More
5 Quick Ways to Cut Cost in Your Law Firm
That the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the economy and impacting the legal industry is well-established by now. Leaders are making hard financial decisions to stay in operation. These decisions are all the more challenging because no one expected to be making them three months ago. But while some considerations are painful, others represent some bigger shifts in the … Read More
Using Technology to Improve Your Legal Accounting
Keeping up with client demands and changes in the industry, along with compliance requirements, can seem never-ending. Let’s face it – law firms have so many unique pieces that need to deal with that other businesses don’t have to. Legal accounting is one of those particular pieces, but with the right technology, it can make one area of your practice … Read More
Top 4 Accounting Challenges Facing Law Firms Today
Legal accounting has always been a challenge – but there are a few that top the list for lawyers today. Accounting can be tough on a good day in any industry, but lawyers have some particularly unique factors to take into consideration. Not only is there the traditional business accounting aspect, like dealing with payroll, office purchases, profit and loss … Read More
Creating a Budget for Your Law Firm
Budgeting. It’s the cornerstone of any effective business plan. A budget allows you to allocate resources to the right projects and people. It helps you monitor performance and meet your objectives. It helps you make decisions for next week and for next year. We can all agree on their importance – but do you have one? Building law firm budgets … Read More
5 Ways Using Separate Billing and Accounting Software is Wasting Your Time
The time you spend on billing and accounting can seem like a money-making investment – after all, it means you’re going to invoice your client for billable hours and hopefully recover some expense costs. But effective time usage is what allows lawyers to invest their time in activities that are profitable, rather than just those that simply need to be … Read More