Practice management software may sound like a luxury when you first hang out your shingle, but it’s one of those things that will pay for itself over and over again.
When you’re starting your practice, time is money and a good, inexpensive practice management software package will save you hours of lost time in looking for documents, keeping yourself organized and controlling your client accounts and billing.
Think ahead to when you have 50 or so files. It’s a lot easier to start out with a good system than to go back and add all that information into a software package when you finally realize that the bear is about to eat you instead of you eating the bear (if you know what I mean). Imagine managing your practice when it’s where you want it to be and don’t start out managing where you are. There is an old adage that says you should dress for the job you want, not for the job you have. The same can be said for organizing your practice. Start out thinking big, not small and plan for growth. If you think small, you’ll stay small. You can get software packages now that are very reasonable so cost should not be a reason to pass on setting up your practice the smart way.
Here are some reasons for starting out with a good practice management system:
1. A Good Practice Management Software Package Takes the Guess Work Out of Where to Put Documents (and How to Find Them)
You may start out with a folder in your Word program for each client. And you may even (if you’re smart) add subfolders for correspondence, various types of documents you file with the court (i.e., pleadings, discovery notices, trusts, etc.). When you only have a few files it is easy to find things because you remember, hopefully, exactly where you saved each document.
But what happens when your hard work pays off and you’ve got 5o or 60 different clients. And you’ve added staff who are saving documents on the system as well. Are you sure that everyone you have working on those files is saving documents exactly the way you want?
How do you know their thought process is the same as yours? Many documents can be filed in more than one place.
Here’s an example…
Let’s say you have a piece of correspondence that discusses discovery issues? Does it get filed in correspondence or in discovery? Should it be filed in both places? Are you sure that your staff is going to save it in both places? While some of these issues can be resolved with a very specific filing procedure and naming convention within your office, even that can get out of hand. Practice management software will eliminate these issues because it allows you to assign several categories to each document and still make search and retrieval of the document easy, with just a few key strokes.
That may not sound like a big deal but believe me when you have 75 or 100 or even more open client files and you’ve got correspondence and documents coming out of your ears, there is no way humanly possible to remember where everything goes. You need a practice management system to categorize the documents and put them where they are easily found. And you’re much better off starting out with a good system than to have to go back and input everything when you finally break down and buy a package (especially when they are so affordable now).
2. A Good Practice Management System Includes or Interfaces with Your Accounting Software
Another advantage to a practice management and accounting software system is that you will have client and matter numbers assigned to each client. That makes life much easier when you have one client that you handle several different matters for. Each matter gets its own number for billing purposes and it makes differentiating the files much easier. There is much less chance for a document to be filed in the wrong matter when you have a number to assign to it. Takes all the guess work out of the actual inner office filing process.
An added benefit is that each client and matter number will be easily referenced for inputting your time and much easier to run reports to see where your time is being spent and which clients have produced the most revenue.
3. The Practice Management System Will Automatically Sort the Documents in Date Order
This also makes it easier to find a document. And it eliminates the need to include the date in the name of the document when you scan it onto the system. The date the document is scanned onto your system will automatically be saved onto the system, next to the name of document, so it removes the possibility of a typo or an incorrect date being added by the person scanning the document onto the system. Let’s face it, the more automated your process and procedures, the less chance for human error. And if it’s a document that you’ve created in house, the system will automatically give it a date when it’s saved.
When you’re running a law business, time is money, just like any other business. The more you can streamline your process and lessen the opportunity for human error, the better off you will be in the long run.
I hope you found this post helpful. If you have any questions about good practice management software, how to use it, the different packages available, etc., drop me a note in the Comments section. I’d love to hear from you.
Remember, I’m here to help you manage, market and grow your practice. Let me know how I can help you!