2021 Small Law Firm Australia Business Survey: Legal Billing Hygiene

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* 1. Please enter your contact details

Name

Company

City/Town

State/Province

Email Address

Phone Number

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* 2. What areas of law do you practice in?

Family Law

Conveyancing

Wills & Estates

Personal Injury

Criminal Law

Litigation

Immigration

Employment

Leasing

Mortgages

Intellectual Property

Commerical Agreements

Business/Trust Formation

Sale and Purchase of Business/Franchise

Media Law

Other (please specify)

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* 3. How many staff are in your business?

3-5

5-10

10-15

More than 15

Other (please specify)

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* 4. Which parts of your work do you enjoy most? (rank from 1-4)

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* 5. How often does your firm bill?

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* 6. Do you have a regular billing cycle?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 7. How much time do you spend typing time entries, including detailed descriptions each day?

15 minutes

30 minutes

1 hour

More than one hour

None – I use automatic time tracking

Other (please specify)

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* 8. Do you have a bookkeeper?

Yes – inhouse

Yes – outsourced

No – I do it myself or someone else from my firm does it

Other (please specify)

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* 9. Do you have a set process for following up unpaid invoices?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 10. Have you ever outsourced your debt collection?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 11. If not, would you consider doing so in the future?

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* 12. What are your payment terms?

14 days

30 days

60 days

No set terms

Other (please specify)

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* 13. Do you find it uncomfortable discussing money with your clients?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 14. Please explain your answer

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* 15. What percentage of your clients on average are usually past their due date?

Less than 10%

10-20%

20-30%

30-40%

More 50%

Other (please specify)

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* 16. What are the principal reasons that a client has not paid their bill? (choose answers that apply)

Client financial struggles

Covid affecting client cash flow

Client communication (was not aware bill was due)

Disputing bill

Legal bill format

Bill includes services too far in the past

Lack of law firm business process to retrieve payment

Client challenging amount

Disagreement between client and solicitor

Other (please specify)

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* 17. What is the main reason for billing disputes?

Difference from quote

Miscellaneous disbursement

Unclear scope

Disputed value

Outcomes not achieved

Other (please specify)

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* 18. What happens when you exceed the quoted time/effort on a fixed fee matter?

Nothing – I absorb the cost

I start discussions with the client to renegotiate fees

I entirely rescope the matter

Other (please specify)

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* 19. If a bill is more than 100 days overdue, how likely are you to receive payment?

Very likely

Likely

Unlikely

Very unlikely

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* 20. Would you agree with the statement that you have provided discounts, or have written off legal work even before invoicing clients at some point in 2021?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

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* 21. What percentage of matters would you discount?

100%

75%

50%

25%

Less than 10%

Never (please explain)

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* 22. What is the most likely reason you have discounted your bill?

Client relationship building

Felt that the time on bill was more than the task deserved

Felt client would object to the amount

The particular client being billed always questions fees on bill

Time entry was not captured

Other (please specify)

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* 23. How much time on average would invoicing and billing take per month?

Less than 4 hours per month

Between 4 and 8 hours per month

Between 8 and 12 hours per month

Between 12 and 16 hours per month

More than 16 hours per month

Other (please specify)

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* 24. Does your business have a standardised billing process and uses technology to manage invoices?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 25. Does your business use software to automatically track time and generate fee entries?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 26. If you implemented this software during or before 2020, has the investment in this technology already proved to assist your business with cash flow management challenges?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 27. If yes, how: (tick all that apply)

Saves time

Increases the amount billed

Decreases disputes

Improves fixed fee profit margin

Decreases errors

Other (please specify)

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* 28. Do you think COVID has affected your clients ability to pay?

Yes

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* 29. Please explain your answer

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* 30. How often do you review your aged debtors?

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

Quarterly

Never

Other (please specify)

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* 31. Do you send invoices and banking details out through email, or do you use a secure portal?

Secure portal - such as Communicate

Mixture of both

Other (please specify)

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* 32. How secure is your billing software?

Secure

Unsecure – I have been hacked

Unsure

Third party provider

Other (please specify)

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* 33. If you use a third party provider, have you done due diligence on their security?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 34. Would you agree with the statement that technology helps with billing administrative efficiency?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

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* 35. What payment system are you currently using?

Billing through Smokeball software

Manual

ETC

Other (please specify)

2021 Small Law Firm Australia Business Survey: Legal Billing Hygiene

Thanks for taking part in the largest legal business sentiment study.

Question Title

* 1. Please enter your contact details

Question Title

* 2. What areas of law do you practice in?

Question Title

* 3. How many staff are in your business?

Question Title

* 4. Which parts of your work do you enjoy most? (rank from 1-4)

Question Title

* 5. How often does your firm bill?

Question Title

* 6. Do you have a regular billing cycle?

Question Title

* 7. How much time do you spend typing time entries, including detailed descriptions each day?

Question Title

* 8. Do you have a bookkeeper?

Question Title

* 9. Do you have a set process for following up unpaid invoices?

Question Title

* 10. Have you ever outsourced your debt collection?

Question Title

* 11. If not, would you consider doing so in the future?

Question Title

* 12. What are your payment terms?

Question Title

* 13. Do you find it uncomfortable discussing money with your clients?

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* 14. Please explain your answer

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* 15. What percentage of your clients on average are usually past their due date?

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* 16. What are the principal reasons that a client has not paid their bill? (choose answers that apply)

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* 17. What is the main reason for billing disputes?

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* 18. What happens when you exceed the quoted time/effort on a fixed fee matter?

Question Title

* 19. If a bill is more than 100 days overdue, how likely are you to receive payment?

Question Title

* 20. Would you agree with the statement that you have provided discounts, or have written off legal work even before invoicing clients at some point in 2021?

Question Title

* 21. What percentage of matters would you discount?

Question Title

* 22. What is the most likely reason you have discounted your bill?

Question Title

* 23. How much time on average would invoicing and billing take per month?

Question Title

* 24. Does your business have a standardised billing process and uses technology to manage invoices?

Question Title

* 25. Does your business use software to automatically track time and generate fee entries?

Question Title

* 26. If you implemented this software during or before 2020, has the investment in this technology already proved to assist your business with cash flow management challenges?

Question Title

* 27. If yes, how: (tick all that apply)

Question Title

* 28. Do you think COVID has affected your clients ability to pay?

Question Title

* 29. Please explain your answer

Question Title

* 30. How often do you review your aged debtors?

Question Title

* 31. Do you send invoices and banking details out through email, or do you use a secure portal?

Question Title

* 32. How secure is your billing software?

Question Title

* 33. If you use a third party provider, have you done due diligence on their security?

Question Title

* 34. Would you agree with the statement that technology helps with billing administrative efficiency?

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* 35. What payment system are you currently using?

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* 36. What’s your biggest challenge with the billing process?