Recent studies show that one third of corporate law firms and a bit less than 50% of small law practices use electronic billing. As more companies require their outside counsel to provide electronic invoices, law firms are shifting to e-invoicing. Industry experts anticipate that the majority of law firms will make the shift within the next decade. Yet the process is slow. Compared with other fields, attorneys seem resistant to the idea of e-invoicing.

Why are law firms hesitating to take up e-billing? Electronic invoicing saves money, time, and resources. It offers greater security and shortens the payment cycle, improving cash flow. What's not to like?

Bloggers in the legal field offer us some clues.

• There is a perception that legal invoices are too complex and variable to work with electronic invoicing software.
  
• There is concern that invoices may be rejected, requiring follow-up. E-invoicing, the writers feel, wouldn't catch these rejections, so human time would still be required for follow up.
• There is a perception that billing clerks are so inexpensive, relative to the overall costs of a legal firm, that there is no point to going electronic instead.

SmartPay is highly customizable, so we feel that the first concern is  unnecessary. Unlike expensive specialized software, SmartPay is designed to work with business of all kinds and sizes. Clients reach a secure portal which is completely customizable, and the details of invoicing are fully under the SmartPay user's control. Our specialists are glad to help firms with set up.

If legal firms believe that their invoices are likely to be rejected, we won't argue with them. However, SmartPay is set up to make it easy for businesses of all kinds to track payments. You can see at a glance which invoices have not been paid, and it takes just a click to check the details for dilatory clients. You can re-send the invoice easily, too.

Billing clerks' salaries may not be as high as those of attorneys. Again, we're not arguing on that.  But cost savings, while they are important in today's economy, aren't the only reason to switch to e-invoicing. 51% of consumers, according to a recent study, prefer electronic invoicing for ecological reasons. Another study found that 72% of its respondents cited reduced waste and reduced clutter as their reasons for favoring e-invoicing. Law offices value our environment highly, we know.

Among businesses using electronic invoicing, quicker turnaround for payments and the opportunity for workers to spend time on higher-level tasks were listed as primary benefits of e-invoicing. Law offices can surely appreciate these benefits. In today's economic climate, we think it's time for legal firms to look seriously at e-billing. We think that SmartPay is a practical partner in the effort to update. Contact SmartPay to learn how e-invoicing can work for you.