Report Card: What Do the Numbers Say About Your Law Firm?

Lawyers make ad hoc decisions about business management, all the time.  But, those decisions are often wrong – because they’re built on false assumptions about how the business works.  Attorneys often overestimate how much money they make, and underestimate how much money they pay out, in terms of case expenses and overhead.  That leads to a lot of disappointment, as you might imagine. 



But, there is a pathway to make better decisions about how to run a law firm – and, as it turns out, the data’s right there in front of you.  Most law firms are using case management software or accounting software, which is where law firm financial data is arrayed.  The majority of attorneys capture that information for tax and billing purposes only; but, they don’t use it for anything else.  But, each of those systems include custom reports and useful dashboards, that can provide you insight into the financial health of your law firm.  Want to know how much you have racked up in accounts receivable – you can get that number down to the second decimal point?  How fast are you working – check your utilization rate?  What’s your collection rate? – if it's too low, you can then look at ways to collect more money, faster. 

 

If you want to get a head start on accessing data, and making better decisions about managing your practice, based on that data – it’s at your fingertips.  Start by checking in on the template reports that your software tools offer, and then stop making choices like your hair’s on fire, and get more circumspect about your business management. 

 

. . . 

 

Want to discover more about your own practice, using data?  We can help. 

Through a unique partnership between the bar association and Jared Correia's Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, National Creditors' Bar Association members have access to experienced law practice management consultants at a special discount rate. 

To get started, visit Red Cave's NCBA landing page, and start running your law practice like a business.

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