Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers an integrated accounting, billing, and practice management system with automated billing technology (see article below), a multifunction inkjet printer with specifications similar to that of laser printers, software for running Windows on your Mac, and a popular stock photo store that significantly reduced and simplified its pricing today. Don't miss the next issue.
THE SOONER YOU BILL, THE FASTER YOU GET PAID
Some studies have shown that up to 20% of a law firm's invoices are in arrears at any given time. This negatively impacts cash flow, not to mention morale if you have difficulty meeting payroll. This problem often stems more from inefficient billing workflows than from deliberately delinquent clients. Better technology can therefore improve your cash flow.
LexisNexis PCLaw 14 … in One Sentence
Launched this week, LexisNexis PCLaw 14 is a financial and practice management application with new automated billing technologies.
The Killer Feature
Batch Email Billing enables you to review, edit, and email multiple invoices to clients — 5, 10, 100, or more simultaneously. If you accept credit cards, PCLaw can process and apply payments to further increase payment speed and reduce delinquencies.
From the same screen, you can monitor trust account transfers and retainers applied during the billing cycle for every invoice. You can generate a report listing all the invoices you emailed. This information also resides within each client's file.
"No matter how large or successful, cash flow is king for law firms," PCLaw Product Manager Steve Fetters told us. "Law firm customers today look for every way possible to speed the billing process so they can get paid faster. Batch email billing in PCLaw 14 helps reduce monthly invoicing time from days to just hours. The sooner the bills go out, the faster payments start arriving."
Other Notable Features
LexisNexis has also enhanced the dashboards in PCLaw. For example, the My Clients dashboard now enables you to access client time sheets, document a client telephone call, and record a collection memo. As with the previous version of PCLaw, My Clients continues to display for each client appointments, email, documents, ticklers, tasks, recent time entries, and financial information such as trust balance and overdue invoices.
The My Practice dashboard displays your appointments, email, tasks, recent matters, and news pertaining to your practice areas. The My Business dashboard displays firm-wide financial data such as Key Performance Indicators with the ability to drill down to financial statements, invoices, and more.
Finally, the new version of PCLaw makes it easier to onboard new clients. In addition to checking for conflicts, PCLaw can now email an intake form to prospective clients, and later import completed forms into PCLaw. You can alternatively perform client intake during a meeting or print your firm's client intake form from PCLaw for clients who prefer paper.
What Else Should You Know?
PCLaw costs $935 for the first user and $695 for each additional user. Prices include both the software and the first year of an Annual Maintenance Plan (AMP) subscription. The AMP subscription includes telephone technical support, software updates, PCLaw Mobility for secure access to PCLaw from your smartphone, and online training courses. Learn more about LexisNexis PCLaw 14.
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