Billing & Collections 101: Best Practices for Managing Firm Finances

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1 Billing & Collections 101: Best Practices for Managing Firm Finances Stuart Allen Product Manager 2012 Redwood Analytics User Conference Analysis. Insight. Action.

2 Billing & Collections 101 Inventory Management Revenue Management Tracking Time Entry 2012 Redwood Analytics User Conference Analysis. Insight. Action.

3 Inventory Management 2012 Redwood Analytics User Conference Analysis. Insight. Action.

4 Key Inventory Questions How old are my WIP and A/R? How quickly can I bill/collect that work? What happens if I don t do so in a timely fashion? How can I quantitatively tell which A/R to go after first? 3

5 Age Metrics Age of Inventory (Billed + Unbilled) Age refers to how old is it in days Dollar weighted average ex. Age of A/R = (Amount x Days)/Total Bill Date Today s Date Elapsed Days Amount Feb 1 Mar 1 28 $ Jan 1 Mar 1 59 $ Total: $ Age of A/R = [(Days x Amount) + (Days x Amount)]/ Total Age of A/R 4

6 Days Metrics Days of Inventory (Unbilled + A/R) Days is a measure of activity Lower number indicates activity increasing vs. production Current Balance / Daily Avg. R12 Periodic Billing Amount Client Avg. Daily Billings Unbilled Balance Days of Unbilled A $1/day $ B $2/day $ C $20/day $ Total $23/day $

7 Forward Realization Curve Forward Collect Realization % 100.0% 95.3% 93.0% Forward Forward Billing Collect / Collection Realization % Realization % 80.0% 85.5% 76.7% At Risk Risk Adjustment 68.0% 60.0% 60.6% 52.0% 44.8% 40.0% 20.0% Likely to Bill / Collect 39.4% 33.4% 28.5% 23.9% 19.6% 0.0% 0 Days 30 Days 60 Days 90 Days 120 Days 150 Days 180 Days 210 Days 240 Days 270 Days 300 Days 330 Days 365 Days 6

8 Expected Pay Time Based on a clients history, when we expect payment on an invoice Not dependent on age of invoice but rather past client activity Relevancy An Expected Pay Time is only as relevant as the quality of the client s history Index of 0 9 reflecting relevancy of Expected Pay Time measure 9 = very relevant, 1 = not relevant, 0 = clients with no history Based on the Client level NOT the Related Client/Parent Client level 7

9 Examples of Expected Pay Time/Relevancy Client ABC Pays invoices every 30 days for 2 years High Relevancy Expected Pay Time = 30, Relevancy = 8 Client XYZ Paid 2 invoices; 1 st invoice in 1 day, 2 nd invoice in 200 days Low Relevancy Expected Pay Time = 100 [( )/2], Relevancy = 2 Client LMNOP Has never paid an invoice (no history) Relevancy = 0, Expected Pay Time = 60 8

10 Expected Pay Time/Relevancy 9

11 Balance Statuses Expected Pay Time allows the use of Balance Statuses to define opportunities for collections Timely Invoices <= Delinquency Date, Not Past Expected Pay Time Opportunities Invoices Past Expected Pay Time Delinquent Invoices > Delinquency Date, Not Past Expected Pay Time Potential Charge-off Invoices > 365 Days regardless of Expected Pay Time Unbilled All WIP 10

12 Expected Pay Time / Balance Statuses 11

13 Track Progress Over Time What can be done to normalize the bill and collection speeds? 12

14 Revenue Management 2012 Redwood Analytics User Conference Analysis. Insight. Action.

15 Key Revenue Questions Where am I losing money from work to collection? How much can I expect to bill/collect in the future? At what speed am I currently billing/collecting? How do I improve? 14

16 Static versus Periodic Concepts 15

17 Work Period 2012 Hours Worked 686,729 Std Amt $136,923,140 Unbilled Amt $15,935,928 Billed Amt $110,278,974 Collected Amt $94,975,205 Uncollected Amt $13,938, Periodic Bill Amount $123,877,365 Periodic Collect Amount $121,492,854 16

18 Disposition of an Hour 17

$15,950,691 Write-off Amt $2,057,322 2012 Periodic

19 Bill Period 2012 Actual Bill Amt $137,358,623 Collect Amt $119,350,610 Uncollected Amt $15,950,691 Write-off Amt $2,057, Periodic Collect Amount $121,492,854 Periodic Write-off Amount $11,412,167 18

20 Reversals Billed Amt. (Actual) Periodic Bill Amt. Jan 2012 Feb 2012 Mar 2012 $500 $400 $500 $500 $500 $500 $500 $400 *The effect of a $100 reversal in March based on invoice originally billed in January 19

21 Disposition of a Bill 20

22 Work Period Analysis Discounting Ability to catch losses in revenue as they occur each month rather than retroactively 21

23 Maturity Factors in Work Period 22

24 Maturity Factors in Work Period Unbilled Amount Bill Speed 23

25 Bill Period Analysis What happens to the bill? Ability to view bill (less reversals) and the story of what s happened to that bill over time by Billing Attorney, Office, etc. 24

26 Bill Period Analysis Bill Maturity Not a Factor This view, anchored to the bills generated in a given period, allows for true, mature speed metrics 25

27 Time Tracking 2012 Redwood Analytics User Conference Analysis. Insight. Action.

28 Quickly target time entry bandits 27

29 Is Time Entry Consistent Across Practices? 28

30 Review of B&C Concepts Inventory Indicates inventory levels/indicators at incremental points in time Use when interested in analyzing past performance and looking for specific trends in inventory, A/R, and WIP Daily Inventory Nightly Build, Invoice Level, Fees & Costs Most up-to-date look at current inventory, A/R, & WIP Use when interested in influencing change now or when you need a recent picture of your firm s inventory status 29

31 Review of B&C Concepts Work Period Starting at the hour worked, what occurred to those hours going forward? Use when interested in working attorneys, departments, etc., or when you are interested in understanding factors relating to production Bill Period Starting at the invoice, what occurred to the bill going forward Use when interested in bill attorneys and the performance related to your billing practices 30

32 Review of B&C Concepts Hours Hygiene Allows for daily analysis of timekeeper hours and trends related to those hours over time. Use when interested in hours entry and analyzing the time gaps that may exist between when work is performed versus entered into the system 31

33 Billing & Collections 101: Best Practices for Managing Firm Finances Stuart Allen Product Manager 2012 Redwood Analytics User Conference Analysis. Insight. Action.

Streamlining Practice Group Reports BI5

Streamlining Practice Group Reports BI5 Rudolph Vincent Consultant 2012 Redwood Analytics User Conference Analysis. Insight. Action. Objectives: Demonstrate graphing and advanced graphing functionality