Proudly featured in
The Future of Legal Payments: Embracing Digital Solutions
For lawyers and firms, time isn’t just money—it’s one of their most important resources. One aspect of business that can gobble away at this valuable time is ineffective payment management.
The traditional legal payment process is full of time-consuming steps. First, you calculate billable hours for each client. Then, you draft and send individual invoices. Add in mailing delays, and you’re looking at three to four weeks to finalize payments.
(And you can’t forget the clients that always forget to pay, the ones that flat-out ignore you, and—worst of all—the ones that dispute every little thing for no apparent reason.)
If just reading that made you wince, you’re not alone.
But, there’s hope.
Digital payment solutions can reduce start-to-finish payment processing time to just a few days.
This blog explores why law firms are adopting digital payment solutions and how these tools can streamline your payment processing efforts.
The evolving landscape of legal payments
Legal clients juggle busy lives, whether they’re buying groceries, dining out, or paying for gas. One-tap and contactless digital payments have made these tasks easier than ever.
Instead of relying on cash and checks, more people now prefer digital payment methods like credit cards, eChecks, and digital wallets.
Two-thirds of adults worldwide use digital payments. In the United States, the frequency goes up with nearly 9 in 10 adults making or receiving digital payments.
Your legal clients are looking for that same ease and convenience when paying legal bills. The legal industry is starting to embrace that. In 2024, 78% of law firms accepted online payments in the form of credit/debit cards.
Consumers care about security too
While convenience and ease are major selling points for legal clients, these aren’t the only things that matter. Your legal clients are now also placing a greater emphasis on security and compliance.
Digital payment options offer added protections like two-factor authentication and bank account alerts. This ensures safer transactions, more transparency, and greater peace of mind for your legal clients.
How digital solutions benefit firms
Benefits like convenience, ease, and peace of mind might appear surface-level. But, really, a client’s experience has a significant impact on a firm’s bottom-line profitability. Here’s how digital solutions can benefit firms.
Streamline Cash Flows and Get Paid Faster with Rocket Matter Pay
Law firms have plenty of good reasons to offer online credit card processing:
- Faster, more reliable payments
- Less administrative time spent processing checks and reconciling books
- Offering clients the payment options they actually prefer
- But why have so many firms chosen not to take advantage of all the benefits of credit card processing?
Improved cash flow and faster payments
It’s frustrating when cash gets locked behind long wait times. Digital solutions speed up the payment process by eliminating repetitive and time-consuming tasks. For instance, mailing time, manual processing, and human error can add days or weeks to getting paid.
A digital solution like Rocket Matter Pay allows firms to automate invoicing and payment reminders which speed up your cash flow (without creating a bunch of extra work for your firm).
Enhanced client satisfaction and convenience
Paying can be one of the last interactions your clients have with your firm. That last impression is almost as important as the first.
Meet clients’ expectations and offer them the kind of flexible payment options that they are already used to. Great service, paired with a seamless payment process, strengthens client relationships and boosts client retention.
Reduced administrative burden and time savings
On average, a single invoice takes 10 to 15 minutes to write; that time quickly adds up. Digital solutions come with automated invoicing, reminders, and easy tracking of payment statuses to reduce the time staff spend on manual billing tasks.
3 practical tips for transitioning to digital payments
If your firm has been relying on cash and check payments, transitioning to digital payments can be daunting. This section helps you ease into digital payments and digital solutions.
Tip 1: Assess your current processes
Chances are that your team hasn’t assessed your payment process in years. Go over these lists of questions to assess your current payment process and where improvements can be made.
Client-related questions
- Do clients have the ability to pay online, via credit card, eCheck or other digital methods?
- Are clients satisfied with the available payment options?
- How frequently are clients missing payment deadlines?
- Are there reminders set up to remind clients about important deadlines?
- Are there any common/repeat complaints from clients in regard to paying?
Operation-related questions
- Are we experiencing problems with paper checks and/or wire transfers?
- How many administrative hours are spent on invoicing and payment follow-ups?
- Is our staff dealing with errors or delays in payment processing? If so, how often?
- Are we receiving payments quickly enough to maintain a healthy cash flow?
- Are we paying unnecessary fees for processing checks or wire transfers?
- Are we able to seamlessly connect payment processes with billing, case management, or accounting software?
Once you've gathered answers, come up with a list of digital solution priorities. For example, if clients frequently miss payment deadlines, start by implementing automated payment reminders. Taking a focused approach will keep your team from getting bogged down in tools that might be exciting but don’t deliver the return on investment (ROI) you’re looking for.
Tip 2: Educate staff and clients on new payment methods
It's crucial to help your staff and clients transition smoothly into using digital payment methods.
We recommend organizing an initial training session for your staff and designating a point of contact to assist both staff and clients during this transition period. Encourage staff to use practice sessions before going live. For clients, offer step-by-step guides or video tutorials to reduce confusion and ensure a seamless transition.
Pro tip: Sometimes, change can be met with frustration. Be sure to explain why your firm is pivoting to a digital solution and how it can benefit the firm long-term.
Tip 3: Track your metrics
Let’s be real—if you’re going to invest in a new digital payment system, you want to make sure it’s moving the needle. That’s why setting and tracking the right metrics is crucial.
And here’s the key: you’ve got to align those metrics with goals. Remember when we said to figure out where to focus in tip one? Make sure you’re tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) related to that.
For example, if you’re focusing on automating invoicing, you might look at metrics like:
- Invoice creation time
- Error rate in invoices
- Percentage of invoices sent on time
- Percentage of overdue invoices
- Payment collection rate
- Client response time to invoices
- Administrative hours saved
Make sure to check these KPIs monthly or quarterly, and adjust as needed. If you see overdue invoices dropping and cash flow smoothing out, you’ll know your payment solution is hitting the mark!
Rocket Matter Pay can help
Managing payments can often be time-consuming and stressful for law firms. Rocket Matter Pay is a robust and reliable solution designed to simplify and automate the payment process.
Here’s everything that we pride ourselves on being the best at:
- Online payment processing: Accept online payments and allow clients to pay instantly through credit cards or eChecks. With our lighting-fasting process, funds are made available in as little as 12 hours.
- Automated recurring billing and payment plans: Set up automated billing to ensure payments are made on time without extra effort. You can set up custom payment plans depending on the needs of individual clients.
- Integration with trust accounting features: Keep your firm compliant with IOLTA trust accounting rules. We work with you to ensure no fees are deducted from client trust accounts during the payment process.
- Detailed reporting and analytics on payment trends: Access in-depth reports and analytics to track payment patterns and make informed financial decisions.
- Mobile-friendly payment options for on-the-go attorneys: Enable attorneys to accept payments quickly, whether in the office or on the go.
Seamless integration with Rocket Matter's practice management platform
Like what you see so far? We’re excited to announce that your days as a (software) juggler are officially over.
Rocket Matter Pay integrates with the rest of our Rocket Matter suite. Manage billing, invoicing, and compliance on one single platform. We’re a best-of-breed solution for a reason.
Modernize your legal payments with Rocket Matter Pay
It’s 2024, and we’re here to make that happen. Remember, you’re not just a number with Rocket Matter. Legal payments can be frustrating and we want to help.
Streamline Cash Flows and Get Paid Faster with Rocket Matter Pay
Law firms have plenty of good reasons to offer online credit card processing:
- Faster, more reliable payments
- Less administrative time spent processing checks and reconciling books
- Offering clients the payment options they actually prefer
- But why have so many firms chosen not to take advantage of all the benefits of credit card processing?
Related Resources
How to Increase Your Profits with Rocket Matter
Lawyers in firms of all sizes struggle to finish the work for the day in a reasonable amount of time. With document creation, non-billable tasks, and time spent following up with current and potential clients, the workday quickly turns from a planned eight-hour day into a twelve-hour one.
How to Master Your Law Firm’s Time and Billing
Lawyers have a heavy workload. With so many clients and their various needs, it’s easy to put tedious administrative tasks like time tracking and billing on the back burner.
6 Billing Strategies to Grow Your Law Firm
Scaling your law firm doesn’t just mean adding more lawyers or increasing your number of clients. The best way to boost your law firm’s finances is to minimize your non-billable hours and make sure that every hour of your day is accounted for.
Share post:
