MAXIMIZED BILLABLE TIME IS MONEY...FROM A TECHNO UBER GEEK PRO-SPECTIVE
A small office especially one that relies on hourly billing should be very concerned about true business efficiency to maximize profits. Redundant work and lack of organization for lawyers, doctors, secretaries, paralegals and attorneys can add up to huge gaps in billable hours at the end of the year. There are many tried and true reliable steps that a small legal firm (or any small business for that matter) can take to beef up that bottom line immediately.
Here are some time killers that MUST be eliminated.
1.) Junky Computers (hardware).
If you or your staff members are ever waiting on a computer to provide you with something, that is not a good thing. Let's just say that a paralegal who must wait on a unruly computer for 1 hour a week ( which is not uncommon) it is very easy to put a pencil to that number for a full year. 52 hours @ $100/hr billed is a missed $5,200 worth of billing considering a 52wk year. That total will escalate if it is also happening to one or more of the doctors or attorneys in the office. New package computers (PC & Monitor) are decked out for about $600 these days. To replace old machines (3yrs or older) is a no brainer.
2.) Junky Software
There are many new software programs (both in-house and web based) that streamline medical & legal practices. Imagine having an affordable software program that can be accessed from any web browser at any time to handle all of your scheduling ,billing, invoicing and internal time entries (bill4time.com is a great legal product I implement). This means less time at the office and more time doing things you enjoy. With the advent of iPhone apps and web apps you should embrace and implement true business automation and efficiency. Also, regular anti-virus and efficiency scanning software is CRUCIAL to keeping machines well oiled and running without crashing. Once a virus gets in your internal network, this can spell lights out. NOT GOOD. I like to use Advanced System Care to keep computers running smoothly.
3.) Digital Documents
Juggling tons of physical paper docs in huge stacks folder in file rooms is a HUGE waste of time and resources. With a simple $300 high speed scanner, documents can be converted and indexed for easy access from anywhere you need to work (in-house and in online backup repositories). I realize that the physical files must be kept for a while but when you place the hard copies in the file room, you should not have to go in there again to access client files. Imagine being able to pull every client document and file that you have from any computer that you may be on home or abroad. Again, that is raw efficiency and power and makes it where you can work on your time without having to be tied to the office. At your vacation house in Florida? No problemo, an air card and laptop and you can work 100% from the beach without missing anything. Also, you will be able to bill for your time from the web browser. Can't beat that. There are also programs (I use JaduuVNC which is only $20 1 TIME FEE) where you can access your desktop computer remotely from your iPhone if you absolutely need to see and use your office PC when you are without a laptop. It is just like you are sitting in your chair..just a little bit smaller. I did this in Florida 2 weeks ago from the beach and it was AWESOME :)
4.) Interoffice Communication
A simple instant messenger such as Microsoft Office Live Messenger is a wonderful ( and free) tool to save footsteps for quick messages and even file sharing. It is much quicker to swap files with a messenger than it is to e-mail them. There are many other robust tasks that you can accomplish with the powerful next generation versions of instant messengers. I also provide much of my training from using the remote control request feature in Windows Live Messenger. Let's say you need to show someone a quick change or even make it yourself, you can (this is very secure because it must be at their request) take control of their computer, pc and mouse and make the change yourself. You don't even need to leave your desk. THAT is true business efficiency.
5.) Paper Dockets or Calendars
This again ties you to a redundant process of having someone coordinate everyone's schedule. There are many cool ( and free such as Google and Yahoo) on-line calendar apps that help everyone stay on the same page in real time. Imagine being able to have your secretary or paralegal enter a date and time for you in a browser and you automatically being able to see those dates in your browser, outlook client or iPhone. 20 people seeing me make a change to a calendar without anyone else needing to do a thing. THAT is true business efficiency. The iPhone calendar can also be configured to replicate online calendars. I have implemented this and it is awesome for those who need this type of collaboration.
Business streamlining is not rocket science and does not require expense suite packages of blah,blah,blah to accomplish. I have seen very expensive programs crash and burn compared to what I have discussed above. Even the most promising in-house billing programs fail to deliver anywhere/anytime efficiency like a true web application can. These web applications are backed up nightly and are a huge business advantage in today's tight margin economy.
Please e-mail me if you have any questions about the technologies above and maybe I can help YOU save real money with a few simple steps.
Jason Parks
Owner/Consultant
jparks@teamideas.com
If I have helped 1 person with this information I have done my job!
Here are some time killers that MUST be eliminated.
1.) Junky Computers (hardware).
If you or your staff members are ever waiting on a computer to provide you with something, that is not a good thing. Let's just say that a paralegal who must wait on a unruly computer for 1 hour a week ( which is not uncommon) it is very easy to put a pencil to that number for a full year. 52 hours @ $100/hr billed is a missed $5,200 worth of billing considering a 52wk year. That total will escalate if it is also happening to one or more of the doctors or attorneys in the office. New package computers (PC & Monitor) are decked out for about $600 these days. To replace old machines (3yrs or older) is a no brainer.
2.) Junky Software
There are many new software programs (both in-house and web based) that streamline medical & legal practices. Imagine having an affordable software program that can be accessed from any web browser at any time to handle all of your scheduling ,billing, invoicing and internal time entries (bill4time.com is a great legal product I implement). This means less time at the office and more time doing things you enjoy. With the advent of iPhone apps and web apps you should embrace and implement true business automation and efficiency. Also, regular anti-virus and efficiency scanning software is CRUCIAL to keeping machines well oiled and running without crashing. Once a virus gets in your internal network, this can spell lights out. NOT GOOD. I like to use Advanced System Care to keep computers running smoothly.
3.) Digital Documents
Juggling tons of physical paper docs in huge stacks folder in file rooms is a HUGE waste of time and resources. With a simple $300 high speed scanner, documents can be converted and indexed for easy access from anywhere you need to work (in-house and in online backup repositories). I realize that the physical files must be kept for a while but when you place the hard copies in the file room, you should not have to go in there again to access client files. Imagine being able to pull every client document and file that you have from any computer that you may be on home or abroad. Again, that is raw efficiency and power and makes it where you can work on your time without having to be tied to the office. At your vacation house in Florida? No problemo, an air card and laptop and you can work 100% from the beach without missing anything. Also, you will be able to bill for your time from the web browser. Can't beat that. There are also programs (I use JaduuVNC which is only $20 1 TIME FEE) where you can access your desktop computer remotely from your iPhone if you absolutely need to see and use your office PC when you are without a laptop. It is just like you are sitting in your chair..just a little bit smaller. I did this in Florida 2 weeks ago from the beach and it was AWESOME :)
4.) Interoffice Communication
A simple instant messenger such as Microsoft Office Live Messenger is a wonderful ( and free) tool to save footsteps for quick messages and even file sharing. It is much quicker to swap files with a messenger than it is to e-mail them. There are many other robust tasks that you can accomplish with the powerful next generation versions of instant messengers. I also provide much of my training from using the remote control request feature in Windows Live Messenger. Let's say you need to show someone a quick change or even make it yourself, you can (this is very secure because it must be at their request) take control of their computer, pc and mouse and make the change yourself. You don't even need to leave your desk. THAT is true business efficiency.
5.) Paper Dockets or Calendars
This again ties you to a redundant process of having someone coordinate everyone's schedule. There are many cool ( and free such as Google and Yahoo) on-line calendar apps that help everyone stay on the same page in real time. Imagine being able to have your secretary or paralegal enter a date and time for you in a browser and you automatically being able to see those dates in your browser, outlook client or iPhone. 20 people seeing me make a change to a calendar without anyone else needing to do a thing. THAT is true business efficiency. The iPhone calendar can also be configured to replicate online calendars. I have implemented this and it is awesome for those who need this type of collaboration.
Business streamlining is not rocket science and does not require expense suite packages of blah,blah,blah to accomplish. I have seen very expensive programs crash and burn compared to what I have discussed above. Even the most promising in-house billing programs fail to deliver anywhere/anytime efficiency like a true web application can. These web applications are backed up nightly and are a huge business advantage in today's tight margin economy.
Please e-mail me if you have any questions about the technologies above and maybe I can help YOU save real money with a few simple steps.
Jason Parks
Owner/Consultant
jparks@teamideas.com
If I have helped 1 person with this information I have done my job!
Tags: Automation, Bill4Time, Billable, Business, Consulting., Efficiency, Firm, Hours, Law, TeamIdeas
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