Are You Collecting All Your Revenue? 3 Mistakes Firms Make

Chances are, you’re leaving money on the table. Unbilled hours, missed client expenses, and delayed invoicing can drain law firm revenue. While the impact may seem small day to day, over a year, it can add up to tens of thousands of dollars, money that should be driving your practice’s growth.

The right system brings everything together, streamlines billing, and helps your firm keep more of what it earns. Here are three common ways revenue slips through the cracks and how the right law firm management software can help you stop them before they impact your bottom line.

1. Missed Time Entries

Attorneys handle dozens of routine daily tasks, from short phone calls to brief emails and document reviews, but many of these minutes never make it onto a timesheet. If they’re not logged immediately, they’re often forgotten.

Waiting a day to enter time can cut captured hours by 10 to 15%; delay for a week, and the loss often doubles. A few forgotten minutes per weekday can add up to hundreds across a law firm over a 12-month period.

The Solution:

The simplest way to stop missed time is to make tracking part of the daily routine. Firms should:

• Implement real-time tracking tools that record time automatically as attorneys draft, email, or review documents.
• Establish daily time-entry requirements so short tasks are recorded promptly while details are still fresh.
• Schedule end-of-day reminders that prompt attorneys to confirm their entries before logging off.
• Review time reports regularly to identify missing entries and address recurring gaps early.

Automated tracking keeps time records accurate and makes sure attorneys are compensated for every task they complete.

2. Unbilled Client Expenses

Expenses related to client work are another common source of lost revenue. Travel, court filing fees, expert consultations, and database research are all legitimate billable costs, but the firm often absorbs them instead of passing them on to the client.

Receipts are often misplaced or entered too late to appear on the next invoice. Over time, those omissions reduce the firm’s recoverable revenue.

The Solution:

Recovering client expenses begins with clear visibility and strong accountability. Instead of depending on memory or paper trails, firms should:

• Define billing guidelines so everyone understands which costs should be charged to the client.
• Log expenses within 48 hours, while details and receipts are still in hand.
• Centralize receipt collection through a shared digital system that attaches each expense to the correct case.
• Link expense categories to invoices so approved charges appear automatically during the billing cycle.

Digital capture and built-in approvals eliminate guesswork and help firms recover every reimbursable cost with accurate, transparent client billing processes.

3. Irregular Billing Cycles

Some firms hold off on sending invoices until a case wraps up or staff can carve out time to prepare them, but those delays disrupt cash flow and extend payment timelines.

Once payments linger beyond 90 days, however, recovery becomes more unlikely. In general, businesses lose a large percentage of receivables that remain unpaid past that point.

The Solution:

A consistent billing cycle is essential to keep revenue flowing and make it easier for clients to pay on time.

This can include:

• Creating a standard billing calendar so invoices are issued on the same schedule each month—for example, on the last Friday of every month.
• Invoicing immediately after short-term or hourly work is completed rather than holding it for the next cycle.
• Using billing software to automate invoice generation and delivery so the process stays on schedule even during busy periods.
• Scheduling automatic payment reminders at regular intervals to keep collections consistent and on track.

A clear billing routine enables firms to forecast revenue more accurately, encourage faster payments, and stabilize cash flow.

How Backdocket Helps Firms Close the Gaps

Missed time, lost expenses, and delayed billing aren’t random mistakes; they’re symptoms of disconnected systems. Backdocket brings time tracking, expenses, and billing into one seamless workflow, so every dollar you earn makes it to your bottom line.

With tools to help your firm capture the full value of its work, backdocket offers:

With backdocket, your firm can handle time, expenses, and billing all in one place, ensuring every dollar you earn is tracked, billed, and collected.

See How Much Revenue Your Firm Could Be Missing

Small inefficiencies might seem harmless, but they can cost your firm thousands in lost revenue. Missed time entries, forgotten expenses, and delayed invoices don’t just cause short-term cash flow issues; they erode your profitability.

Backdocket gives your firm the structure and automation needed to capture every billable hour, recover every expense, and keep invoices on schedule while giving you total visibility into your financial performance. The result is stronger cash flow, steadier revenue, and the confidence that you’re collecting everything you’ve earned.

Schedule a free demo today to see how backdocket can help your firm stop revenue leaks and turn everyday work into long-term growth.