PayPal, Venmo, Google Wallet—with so many convenient digital payment options available, it’s no surprise that online payments have become the norm and most people’s preferred payment method for everything from groceries to professional services. Let’s consider what that means for the legal industry and your firm.

What makes a modern client experience?

Here are some of the ways online payment tools reduce friction in your client experience:

Eliminate paper bills

If you’re still asking clients to wait for a paper invoice in the mail and then send in a paper check, you have a big opportunity to clean up and streamline those processes for the modern age. A digital solution is faster, simpler, and even creates a cleaner, more manageable “paper trail” for clients—because it’s all online.

Stop requiring payment by check

People have grown so accustomed to being able to pay with plastic or with the click of a button that they expect to do so everywhere, which is why so many no longer carry cash or checks. Assistant Director at the Zinda Law Group, Christie Feyen, loves the convenience an online payment solution provides to her clients. “We run our bills biweekly so it’s the most convenient way for our clients to pay their bills on time. It’s quick, it’s easy, and there’s no hassle.”

Offer a 24-hour virtual service

We’re all used to being able to shop online or pay bills on the weekend or in the evening. An online solution also lets you effortlessly expand your hours of service. When clients can go to your website and pay online on their own schedule; they see that as another small but cumulative way in which you’re making an effort to meet their needs.

How lawyers are optimizing cash flow and workflows

Stop waiting for checks to arrive in the mail

With online payments, you get paid faster, receive a near-immediate confirmation email when payment is submitted, and the transaction shows as pending on your bank account within seconds.

Automate your cash flow

For work that you take on retainer or any repeat transactions you need to process, the best online payment tools let you set up recurring payments to manage these charges. This is like putting your cash flow on autopilot and just watching revenue flow in, and you can use the time saved on administrative busywork to focus on adding new services.

Alleviate your security burden

Many lawyers still risk security by noting down credit card details manually, a practice fraught with risks. Online payment solutions mitigate this by allowing clients to enter their information into a secure portal, shifting the security burden to the payment processor.

Give clients what they want and boost your firm’s finances

With an online payment processing software like LawPay, you can get paid anytime, anywhere, while staying compliant with IOLTA and ABA guidelines. The leader in legal payments, LawPay prevents commingling of earned and unearned funds, and also protects the lawyer’s trust account against any third-party debiting—ensuring compliance.

Sign up for LawPay to see how easy it is to get paid, increase cash flow, and improve your collection rate.

Morgan Martinez is the Senior Content Manager at LawPay, the leading legal payments provider. She is based in Orange County, California.