Legal billing software is the ultimate tool for keeping track of those valuable billing hours! The best software streamlines your billing workflow, improves billing efficiency, and reduces inaccuracies. To fully realize these benefits, your firm needs to choose software that has a few essential features. So here, we will explore each of these features before considering why Amberlo legal billing software is the best choice for your firm.
Legal Billing Software Features You Need
1. Time Tracking
The best legal billing software will allow you to track your billable hours from anywhere. It shouldn’t matter if you’re away from an internet connection. Hours should automatically upload once you regain access to the internet. Thereafter, they should integrate into the larger system.
You also want to be able to access the software on many devices. With most billing software, you can track hours from your PC, Mac, iPad, Tablet, iPhone, or Android phone.
Together, these features allow you to track your billable hours efficiently.
2. Flexible Invoicing
Law firms often use multiple billing models. For example, billable hours, flat fees, and contingency fees.
Because of this, billing by matter can become complicated. A single matter might incorporate many billing models. This can depend on the type of work done or the attorneys working on the case.
The best software allows you to use many billing models at once on the same matter. It will also show which matters belong to which client. In fact, this feature is important even if your firm only utilizes one billing model. Investing in software that supports many models gives you the opportunity to expand.
Following the creation of invoices, your software should still allow for flexibility. For example, you should look for software that allows you to edit invoices in an MS Word document post creation.
Invoices should also be customizable. For instance, you should easily be able to add your company logo.
Pay careful attention to the invoicing features of any legal billing software. Always ensure that they support flexibility and customization.
3. Comprehensive Reporting
Your billing software should produce detailed and easy-to-understand reports. After entering your billable hours and generating your invoices, the final big picture should make sense.
With comprehensive reports, you can thoroughly analyze how attorneys at your firm spend their time. Check out the number of billable hours churned out, the productivity to revenue relationship and commissions per attorney.
These reports will help eradicate messy, complicated spreadsheet calculations that only generate confusion and inaccuracies.
Additionally, ensure that the software you choose produces state-compliant reports with all relevant figures required by state bars and other regulating agencies.
4. Project Planning and Budgeting
When project management is built into your legal billing software, you can quickly estimate the fees for each matter and plan budgets accordingly.
5. Retainer Management
Great billing software will allow for invoices to be paid from a retainer while also keeping track of how much retainer is left for each matter.
This way, attorneys will know when to contact their clients for more funds when they are running low.
6. Trust Management
Many attorneys work with trust accounts in their daily operations. Thus, legal billing software should ideally have built-in escrow functions that help with trust account management, fund tracking, and bank reconciliation.
Why Amberlo Software is the Right Choice for your Firm
The law industry has special billing requirements that other businesses don’t. This means that your best bet is to always go for software that has been dedicated and curated to the law industry.
At Amberlo, we understand the billing requirements unique to law firms, and we adapt our software accordingly. Our legal billing software doesn’t even require that you integrate it with other software to create expense estimates or invoices. This is because it can all be done within the Amberlo system. This can be done from any device, anywhere.
The invoicing process is flexible, allowing for multiple billing models to be incorporated and invoices to be customized as required. Furthermore, our software generates state-compliant, comprehensive reports and continually tracks expenses. This will aid your firm in matter analysis and budgeting.
Final Thoughts
Investing in good-quality legal billing software is essential for efficient, accurate billing practices at law firms. Amberlo legal billing software boasts all the essential features listed above.
We understand your needs, and we have designed our software to meet them every step of the way! Request a free demo here.
