Why solicitors need your invoice, fast.

A common complaint among solicitors is the delay between a matter ending and the barrister dealing with billing.  If you are of the opinion that asking for monies owed is a bit grubby, read on.

Your solicitor wants to pay you

The cause of the solicitor’s complaint about billing delays is the professional embarrassment caused when the solicitor has to approach her client for payment of your bill many months after the matter has ended.

Dealing with your billing efficiently by liaising with your clerk in a proactive manner is a very easy way to demonstrate  commercial nouse and professional discipline..

And there are obvious benefits for your practice too.

The consequence of late billing

If you work on 30-day payment terms, your solicitor needs to receive your invoice at least 30 days before the payment can be made. Firms of solicitors tend to make payments on the last working day of the month. Consider these scenarios:

• Submit a fee note (invoice) on 30 September and you can expect to be paid on 30 October i.e. 30 days later
• Submit a fee note (invoice) on 1 October and expect to be paid on 30 November i.e. 60 days later

This is the difference a day can make in the life of an invoice.

Invoicing and self-esteem

One of the many unexplained peculiarities of life at The Bar is the extraordinarily high number of barristers who don’t submit invoices on time, if at all.

When you fail to ask for money in return for the service you provide, what you are really saying is “I don’t value my work highly enough to ask to be paid for it”.

If you don’t value your service, don’t be surprised if no-one else does either.

Good invoicing habits

Setting aside a couple of hours every month, around the 25th date to deal conclusively with fee notes, timesheets, billing, accounts and receipts is a good practice discipline.  It saves your clerk professional embarrassment and an earful from the solicitor, helps your Fees Clerk when it comes to chasing late payments and contributes to the overall reputation of your Chambers as a professional outfit.

If you are not getting paid because you have let your admin slip, eventually you will cease trading. It’s a simple as that.

Question

Are you a solicitor with a service delivery plea to your junior barrister? Let them know in the comments below.

*Participants in The Chambers Workshop Series know that Getting Paid is the fourth function in a service business. The others are Lead Generation; Lead Conversion and Service Delivery.  Find out more. 

By Heidi Smith
Creator of Jurilogical.com