Cash Flow during COVID-19: How Law Firms are Adjusting

Since the onset of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. and around the globe, it certainly hasn’t been “business as usual” in most sectors of the economy—including the legal industry.

Law firms have had to adjust much of the way they practice law, interact with clients, and execute necessary business processes in order to maintain social distancing guidelines, comply with shelter-in-place orders (in some instances), and protect the health and well-being of their clients and colleagues.

These changes have resulted in some fear and anxiety about maintaining a steady cash flow. While these concerns are certainly understandable, many law firms are fortunately discovering a technology that can help them maintain a steady cash flow and better serve their clients during this experience: online legal payment solutions.

Here are just a few ways that solutions like LawPay are helping lawyers and their clients through this unprecedented time.

Improved payment speed

Consider for a moment just how much time is usually spent on traditional payment methods.

First, you mail your client your itemized bill, which can take as much as a week or more to arrive. Your client then writes a check and sends it through the mail, so add another week on top of that. When you finally receive the check, you then have to take it down to the bank to deposit it (or process it through your phone).

All in all, from writing your bill to receiving funds, you are looking at as much as two to three weeks. Now, with social distancing measures in place, these timelines have been extended considerably.

Comparatively, with online payments this entire process is handled within a few days. In fact, one survey of legal industry professionals found that those who accept payments online get paid 39 percent faster on average.

With an online payment solution, you send your client a payment link, which your client can pay instantly from the safety and comfort of their home. You get a near-immediate confirmation email when payment is submitted, and the transaction shows as pending on your bank account within seconds.

Firms’ AR departments have found that this strategy isn’t just effective for bringing in payment for new invoices in a timely manner. They’ve also found success with bringing in money on unpaid invoices simply by making it easy and safe for their clients to pay.

Create predictable cash flow with recurring payments

Another way that payment solutions like LawPay are helping law firms and their clients during this time is by allowing them to easily set up scheduled payment plans. By enabling recurring payments, law firms are able to extend their legal services to clients who might be struggling financially at this time and offer the ability to pay for legal services over a period of time.

Not only are these recurring payments a benefit to law firm clients, we have heard from many firms that they also appreciate payment plans right now, as it lets them create a predictable, consistent cash flow.

Rather than having to wonder if a client is going to be able to pay their final invoice at the conclusion of a case, law firms are able to schedule regular payments for clients at agreed upon intervals, giving firms confidence that they will have the cash flow they need to maintain their business’ operating costs.

Adjusting to new ways of working and overcoming obstacles is difficult for all law firms. Thankfully, by embracing solutions like LawPay, you can quickly adapt to the challenges at hand and future-proof the payments process for your firm, benefitting your cash flow for years to come.

About LawPay LawPay was developed specifically for the legal industry, providing attorneys and their accounts receivable/collections departments with a simple way to accept online credit card and eCheck payments from clients. Over the past 15 years we have built a reputation as the go-to payment solution for firms of all sizes and the only payment technology vetted and approved by all 50 state bars, more than 60 local and specialty bars, and the American Bar Association. LawPay is also proud to be the ALA’s Exclusive VIP Partner for payment processing.