The caseworker becomes the debt collector
Your fees are fixed and split into stages: a deposit on instruction, a payment when the application is ready to submit, perhaps a final one after. The caseworker gets the file ready for submission and realises the second payment has not come in. They have to ask the client, who is anxious about the application and now also embarrassed about money.
Sometimes the caseworker pauses the work. Sometimes they carry on and hope. Either way, it is uncomfortable, it is not what they are trained for, and it happens every week.
Payment and progress are recorded in different places
The matter stage is in the case management system. The invoice is in the accounts system. The payment arrives in the bank, sometimes by transfer with a reference nobody recognises, sometimes in cash, sometimes paid by a relative. Linking the three is someone's job in accounts, usually done in a batch at the end of the week.
So at the moment the caseworker needs to know whether the client has paid for the next stage, they cannot tell without asking accounts. And invoices for each stage are raised when someone remembers, which may be well after the stage was reached.
Clients paying from abroad or through relatives add another wrinkle. The payment may arrive in a different name, in several parts, or with a reference in another language, and matching it to the right matter becomes guesswork.
What the gap costs
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Invoice raised late | Work done before payment is requested |
| Payment status unclear | Caseworkers ask accounts, or ask the client |
| Unrecognised bank transfers | Payments not matched to the right matter |
| Work paused awkwardly | Clients feel pressured at a stressful moment |
| Balances written off | Fees for completed work never collected |
How we tie fees to the stages of the matter
- Your fee stages are set up per service in the system, with the amount and the matter stage each one belongs to.
- When a matter reaches a stage, the invoice for that stage is raised automatically in your accounts system, such as Xero or QuickBooks, through its API.
- The client receives a friendly message with a payment link by card or bank transfer, through Stripe or a similar provider, with a unique reference that makes matching reliable.
- Payments are matched to the matter automatically, and anything unmatched, such as a transfer from a relative, goes to accounts to link by hand.
- The matter screen shows a simple paid or outstanding badge per stage, so the caseworker never has to ask.
- Outstanding stage payments get polite reminders on a schedule your firm sets, and anything past a set point goes to whoever handles credit control, not the caseworker.
Your firm decides the fees, the stages and what happens if a payment is late. The system carries out those decisions consistently.
Caseworkers do casework again
Invoices go out when the stage is reached. Clients pay by link rather than by guesswork transfer. Caseworkers see payment status on the file and stop having money conversations. Accounts matches fewer transfers by hand. The firm gets a clear view of what is owed on open matters at any moment.
Clients also find it easier. A payment link with the amount and reference already filled in is simpler than copying bank details from an invoice, especially for someone paying from a phone.
Does this happen at your firm?
- Caseworkers have to ask clients for stage payments
- Invoices for stages go out late
- Bank transfers arrive with references nobody can match
- Caseworkers cannot see payment status on the file
- Balances on completed matters get written off