Top Ten
Many firms wait until year-end to put aggressive effort into collecting outstanding receivables. Here are the top ten reasons why a continuing effort to capture those outstanding balances is the best route for any organization.
| 10 | Effective collections are a matter of low-key fact finding, persistence, and communication. An intense one-time push can cause client alienation and even malpractice suits. |
| 9 | Lost time value of money can be very significant. |
| 8 | Waiting until December sends a clear message to your clients that you do not expect prompt payment. You need to reeducate your clients regarding your firm's expectations of them. |
| 7 | Some clients' financial status will have deteriorated, making it difficult for them to pay. |
| 6 | Clients will have forgotten how well you represented them, or how important the matter was. |
| 5 | You have less leverage over your clients if you are no longer working on their behalf. |
| 4 | You should be thanking your clients for their business at year end, not hounding them for money and making unnecessary compromises. |
| 3 | It reduces the status of an attorney in the eyes of your clients, when the attorney "begs" for money at the year-end "Dash for Cash." Consistent portfolio management throughout the year negates the need for the huge year-end push. |
| 2 | In many cases, your partners will make deals to get the money in before your fiscal year-end, making it harder to ask for the regular rate (or higher) the following year. In addition, you will have proven the fee is negotiable. |
| 1 | On average, only 58% of the dollars you should be collecting now will still be collectible then! * |
