Manual processes are slowly giving way to automated online payments that result in faster and more secure payments.
Let’s be honest: Billing and invoicing are no one’s favorite tasks. Manual processes have long made these tasks time-consuming and tedious. Nonetheless, they’re still critical to the success of any firm.
Thankfully, there’s a better way, and many firms are starting to realize it. Manual processes are slowly giving way to automated online payments that result in faster and more secure payments. Abacus Payment Exchange (APX) is the automated, integrated, secure way to handle business payments that offers your clients the convenience they need while seamlessly working with the realities of a post-pandemic, virtual world.
The following are just six reasons why you should start using APX payments Suite today.
1. Integration Means Faster Payment
When it comes to law firms being paid quickly, APX is the answer. Integrated directly into CARET Legal or your AbacusNext practice management software, APX makes it possible to effortlessly and securely bill clients and collect payments.
This integration removes a number of the obstacles that have long postponed clients from making payments in a timely manner. It should come as no surprise that making it easier for clients to pay means that you get paid faster, increasing your firm’s cash flow in the process.
2. Online Payments Reduce Manual Labor
Law firms epitomize the adage “time is money.” You want all of your employees to be working as efficiently and effectively as possible and driving activities that can best bring value to both your firm and your clients.
Spending time on manual bill payment processes and chasing down delinquent payments are the opposite of that. APX electronic payment processing eliminates much of the time that’s historically been wasted on unnecessary billing activities and allows you to put that time to much better use.
3. APX Payments Work with Post-Pandemic Realities
The sudden switch to remote and virtual work caused by the pandemic brought a lot of broken processes into the spotlight, and AR was certainly no exception. Simply put, manual processes no longer cut it in the modern era.
Manual billing and payments processes require countless staff hours every month devoted to creating, customizing, reviewing and printing invoices, stuffing envelopes and mailing invoices, opening paper checks and entering them in the financial system, reconciling payments in company ledgers, following up on overdue payments and more. Those tasks are not only time-consuming; they’re incompatible with a remote workforce. APX payments automate or eliminate most of these tasks, making online payments ideal for a virtual work world.
4. Automated Payments Cost Less Than Manual AR Processes
It’s estimated that every invoice you process manually can cost up to $22 in processing and headcount resources. Those costs can quickly add up at a firm of any significant size – if you handle 1,000 invoices a month, for example, you’re looking at $22K in monthly costs. Online payments eliminate a substantial amount (up to 80%) of those costs.
On top of that, manual processes are more prone to payment fraud, which can come with significant costs of its own. Automated payments with APX, in contrast, use secure encryption to significantly reduce the risk of fraud.
5. Clients Prefer Convenience
Technology has integrated itself into nearly every aspect of our lives, including business. Your clients have gotten very comfortable with how easy technology makes their lives, and so they’re looking to their law firms to offer that same level of convenience wherever possible.
Automated payments with APX offer your clients the easiest way to pay your bills. There is even a one-click option for clients to pay bills. If you don’t offer them the convenience, another firm will. Eventually, failing to offer digital payment options could put you at a considerable competitive disadvantage and cost you business.
6. APX Payments Are Highly Secure
In a world of ever-increasing cyberthreats, the focus on security is at an all-time high. While paying with paper checks was long seen as the most secure way to do business, today we understand that automated payments are far more secure than the old way of doing things.
With APX payments, there’s no need to share bank account or other sensitive information over unsecured systems or in the mail. All client information is kept in a single, secure location where you can manage it and restrict who has access to it. Your secure portal allows you to accept credit card, e-check and ACH payments online.
APX is the best way to start capitalizing on the advantages that automated online payments have to offer. Contact us today to find out more about how APX from AbacusNext can help you get paid faster
