Law firms are like a cash registers, there is no revenue until you put the
actual cash in the drawer. The challenge is finding best practices that promote
maximize cash flow. This is short survey from responses to a law firm group
list serve determining how quickly law firms can close a month. The month-end
closing process is a key step for most firms in the cash flow process.

Here are the key steps to cash flow:

  1. Get all time and cost posted
  2. Balance the system
  3. Close the month
  4. Print and distribute the pre-bills
  5. Enter the pre-bill edits
  6. Print and send final bills
  7. Collect the cash

So how fast can law firms close the month by getting in attorney time
for the month, as measured in business days from the end of the prior month?

2nd Business Day ——– 44%

1st Business Day ——– 30%

3rd or longer Business Day ————- 26%

I think this as pretty good. Most firms responded that within 1
business day of “closing time entry” they have balanced their system, closed
the month and are starting the pre-bill process. The above survey does not measure
the time and costs that are not entered before the close-off.

In a future post we’ll take a look at how long it takes to get edited pre-bills
back from the attorneys and bills out the door. Leave a comment here for how
your firms closes off Time Entry at month-end.