Key Takeaways |
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• Lexpro Litigation & Debt Collection gives attorneys access to accounting ledgers and reports from within the case file. |
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• Fee debiting is one of the main links between the litigation module and Lexpro Accounting. |
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• Client, debtor and creditor statements, fee billing reports, pro forma invoices and draft bills of costs can be prepared from the matter. |
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• Fee tariffs, prescribed interest rates and court documents stay current, because the system is online. |
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• With a month-to-month agreement, your firm remains free from long-term contractual commitments. |
A client asks what they owe on a matter. The answer should take a moment, not an afternoon of cross-checking.
When fees, disbursements and balances sit in different places, billing slows down and costs of conversations get harder than they need to be. Attorneys who want to see how litigation software improves financial management will find the answer sits closer to the case file than they might expect.
By the end of this article, you’ll know:
- what a clear financial view of a matter includes
- how statements and invoices are prepared from the file
- how to explain costs to clients with confidence
What Financial Transparency Looks Like Inside a Case File
Financial transparency in a litigation practice means being able to see the fees, disbursements, payments and balances on any matter, and explain them to the client, without leaving the case file. Litigation software supports it by putting client and debtor accounts, accounting ledgers and statements within reach of the matter they belong to.
In Lexpro Litigation & Debt Collection, the attorney opens a matter and finds client and debtor accounts, access to accounting ledgers and reports, a diary, and text and voice file notes in one place. The ledgers themselves are kept in Lexpro Accounting, which handles the trust and business side.
Fees are debited against the file. Fee debiting is one of the main links between the two modules: debited fees are passed to Accounting by export and import, ready for the bookkeeper to process.
Generating Statements and Invoices Straight From the Matter
Billing moves faster when the information is already in front of you.
From the matter, the attorney can prepare:
- client, debtor and creditor statements
- debtor statements based on the in duplum rule and National Credit Act (NCA) interest calculations
- fee billing reports and pro forma invoices
- a draft bill of costs
- production and fee reports, exportable in PDF or Excel
Because Lexpro is an online system, fee tariffs, prescribed interest rates and court document templates update automatically. The right document, tariff and interest rate are always at hand, whether the matter sits in the Magistrates Court, Regional Court or High Court.
Explaining Costs and Outstanding Amounts With Confidence
Clear numbers make for easier conversations. When an attorney can see exactly what has been debited and what remains outstanding, there’s less to explain and less to second-guess.
For debt collection work, the reporting is practical. Collection reports let the user choose the columns and the order in which they appear, so a report can be shaped around what a particular client wants to see.
When a debtor needs a reminder, the system sends an SMS to a single debtor or to many at once. Importing clients and debtors from spreadsheets also saves capturing them one by one.
Keeping Financial Oversight Flexible
Good oversight shouldn’t depend on where someone happens to be sitting. Lexpro is fully online, so the team works from the office, from court or from home, all on the same live data, with no servers to maintain.
Contracts run month to month, and the firm retains full ownership of all its data. When questions come up, they go to a consultant who understands South African legal accounting, not a call centre queue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What financial information can I see inside a litigation file?
Attorneys can open client and debtor accounts and access accounting ledgers and reports from within the matter. Fee billing and reporting sit alongside them.
How do debited fees reach the accounting records?
Fees are debited against the file in the litigation module. They are then passed to Lexpro Accounting by export and import, where the bookkeeper processes them.
Which statements and invoices can be prepared from a matter?
Client, debtor and creditor statements, pro forma invoices, fee billing reports and a draft bill of costs can all be prepared from the matter.
Conclusion
A clear financial position on every matter makes billing quicker and client conversations simpler. With accounts, ledgers, statements and invoices close to the case file, attorneys spend less time hunting for numbers and more time on the work itself.
Firms of any size can start with the litigation module and add others as they grow. Book a free demo to see Lexpro Litigation & Debt Collection in action, or contact the Lexpro team to talk through your practice’s needs.
