Small and midsize law firms often spend an inordinate amount of time sending invoices and collecting payments. The delays do more than drain resources and take over otherwise-billable time. They restrict cash flow, hampering firm operations and financial stability. Client portal payment processing can get your revenue cycle rolling again by enabling fast, convenient, and secure payments.
What Is a Client Portal & Why It Matters for Law Firms
A client portal is a secure, private interface that your clients can use to pay their legal bills online. Typically, clients access the portal through a link on your website. Portals enable electronic payments through ACH (e-checks), debit cards, credit cards, and sometimes other payment platforms like Venmo or PayPal.
Portals are usually hosted by third-party companies that manage passwords, saved payment information, and the payments themselves. If your legal billing software integrates with the portal, payments can be automatically logged in your systems and sent to the appropriate bank account.
Client portals matter for law firms because they improve the firm’s client service and its cash flow. Most consumers pay the vast majority of their bills electronically, and they expect to have electronic payment options. The rate of electronic business-to-business transactions is trending steadily upward. By meeting client expectations and simplifying the payment process, firms can get paid faster while spending fewer resources on collections work.
Benefits of Client Portals for Payment Processing
Client portals for payment processing have three key advantages: speed, convenience, and security.
- Speed. Managing payments through a client portal speeds up the payment process for clients and your law firm. Clients can pay their bills in just a few clicks, using their preferred payment method. Contrast that to the process of finding a checkbook, writing a check, finding a stamp, finding an envelope, addressing the envelope, stamping the envelope, and taking it to a mailbox. By removing friction from the payment process, you can get paid faster. Electronic payments can also clear the bank faster than traditional checks.
- Convenience. Law firm client portals benefit your firm’s internal workflows, too. Instead of picking up checks, opening envelopes, stamping checks, and taking them to the bank, you can receive payments automatically. With integrated portal software, the entire payment collection process, including logging payments in your legal software, can be automated.
- Security. Most client portals are securely hosted by a third party. Your law firm never has to store credit card numbers, banking information, or passwords. This reduces your exposure to risks like hackers and ransomware, and frees you from the need for expensive on-premises data storage systems.
Best Practices to Implement a Client Portal Successfully
Thoughtful change management can ease client portal rollouts, making the transition seamless. The following tips will help you navigate client portal implementation successfully.
1. Bring Staff In Early and Offer Comprehensive Training
Client portals offer major benefits for attorneys, accounting staff, and billing staff. Even positive changes, however, can spark anxiety and push-back. Taking the time for an intentional internal process will help you avoid downstream headaches.
First, include the staff who will interface with the portal in the process as early as possible. Ideally they will be involved in planning and platform assessment, before final buying decisions are made. By allowing staff to contribute to the process, to have their ideas heard, and to understand the reasoning behind decisions, leaders can build buy-in and benefit from staff’s specialized experience.
Next, identify champions early and engage them in creating an internal communications plan. Frequent, transparent communication through trusted messengers allows staff to follow along with the implementation process, so they know what to expect and how it will impact their work. Make sure to communicate how the law firm client portal benefits will improve their experience at work. Include an explicit feedback process so that any concerns can be addressed openly and expeditiously.
When planning for the actual launch of the payment portal, work with champions and staff engaged in the process to:
- Create a launch plan with clear accountability and leaders.
- Plan for initial and ongoing training on the client portal.
- Lay out and share a clear process for getting support when questions arise.
- Prepare for client questions. Share talking points, messaging tips, and support resources so staff can engage confidently with clients.
2. Help Existing Clients Get Ready For the Change
The earlier you communicate about upcoming changes with clients, the better. Some clients may not be willing or able to switch to a new payment system, so be sure to communicate about all of the options available. Even those who welcome the change may need time to make workflow changes, or simply to shift gears mentally.
Plan to provide multiple reminders as implementation gets closer. Consider communicating through trusted messengers in the firm who can collaborate with clients as they work through the change.
When crafting communications, explain how the new portal will work and center the benefits it will provide to the clients, including:
- Simplified payment workflow.
- More choices for how to pay.
- Quick access to billing history.
- Immediate payment confirmation.
Once the new portal launches, check in with clients frequently to support them with any concerns that arise. FAQs or cheat sheets can be especially valuable at this stage. Using the feedback you receive, you can adjust your rollout communications on the fly to better serve clients’ needs.
3. Onboard New Clients Thoughtfully
Client portal orientation should be part of your standard onboarding process. Most are fairly simple to use, so if you are working with clients who are comfortable with payment portals, little support may be needed. Clients who are less familiar with electronic payments may need more support.
In general, plan to:
- Explain all payment options, including the client portal.
- State the benefits, to the client, of using the payment portal.
- Include FAQs and/or a cheat sheet for common questions like changing passwords and viewing billing history.
- Share how to get support if questions come up.
How Tabs3’s Client Portal + Tabs3Pay Streamline Your Billing
Tabs3’s client portal is available in Tabs3 Billing (Platinum Edition) in Tabs3 Cloud. It includes Tabs3Pay, a secure platform for online payments for law firms.
Powerful Features and Seamless Integration
- Fully integrated. Tabs3’s client portal is fully integrated with Tabs3 Billing in Tabs3 Cloud. Payments are automatically entered into Tabs3 Billing for the correct matter and funds are transferred to your operational accounts. You can also request a trust deposit through the software.
- Highly secure. The portal includes bank-grade security and is fully PCI compliant. Your firm never stores client passwords or client financial information. Your staff can easily control which matters are accessed and revoke access as needed.
- Easy to use. The intuitive interface allows clients to pay bills in just a few clicks. They can also access their billing history and see multiple matters, if appropriate.
- Many payment options. The portal supports sevensix electronic payment options: ACH (e-check), credit cards, debit cards, Venmo, PayPal, and PayPal Pay Later, and Autopay. Autopay enables scheduled recurring payments, so invoices are paid automatically without any extra work for your team or the client.
Simple Workflows For Staff and Clients
Setting up portal access is easy:
- Choose the appropriate individual(s) to see billing information for the matter. You can allow individuals to view multiple matters.
- The system will send an automated email to that individual with self-service instructions for setting up an account and password to access the portal.
- When a client makes a payment, it is immediately entered in Tabs3 Billing and the funds are transferred to the appropriate account.
Making payments even simpler. Once the client receives your invoice, they can:
- Log into the portal with their secure password.
- View balance due (plus billing history if needed).
- Choose the desired payment method and pay.
If clients need support, they can click a button in the portal to open a pre-addressed email to your firm, so support questions go to the correct inbox.
Benefits For All Firm Roles
- Business professionals. Electronic payment systems make it easy to accept payments, reducing repetitive, error-prone manual processes. Further, Tabs3Pay is the only payment platform that is fully integrated with your existing Tabs3 software, so you can complete all billing and accounting work in a single system.
- Attorneys. By reducing friction at the point of payment, firms can get paid sooner, spend less time making collections calls, and reduce write-offs. That can add up to larger bonuses and more compensation.
- Managing partners. Law firm owners have special ethical obligations, and Tab3Pay was created to meet them. All transactions are completed within the appropriate account, avoiding trust accounting problems. The secure, PCI compliant payment system also reduces the risks of lost checks and check fraud while keeping your clients’ data safe.
Security, Compliance & Legal Considerations
In addition to standard security and compliance issues, firms have special ethical duties regarding technology adoption (see Comment 8 under ABA Model Rule 1.1), confidentiality, and trust accounting. When considering adopting client portals payment processing, the following are important questions to ask.
1. Is the Portal PCI Compliant?
Law firms should only consider implementing client portals that are PCI compliant.
The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard, promulgated by the PCI Security Standards Council, is a set of technical and operational requirements intended to protect payment account data. It is a global security standard that helps prevent fraud and avoid data breaches by keeping sensitive financial information secure. It includes provisions for strong data protections and secure logins.
2. Does the Platform Support Trust Account Compliance?
Client portals often automatically deposit money into the law firm’s accounts. In some cases, like chargebacks, they may remove money from law firm accounts. Therefore, it is crucial that portals follow the rules of trust accounting.
You should ensure that the portal:
- Always puts earned fees in the operating account.
- Always puts trust deposits into the trust account.
- Never automatically withdraws from the trust account, even if correcting an error or implementing a chargeback. Your staff should be involved in managing any trust account problems.
If the portal integrates with your billing and accounting software, you should also make sure that the appropriate trust accounting records are created.
3. Is the Portal Compliant With Local Rules?
Nearly every state allows online payments for law firms. A few have local restrictions about advertising related to credit cards or some types of electronic payments. Some states also limit surcharging (passing along credit card fees to clients).
Most client portals will allow you to customize your payment acceptance process so that you can accept at least some electronic payments. You may need to make adjustments, like turning off surcharging, to meet local requirements.
Of course state and local rules can change, so it is important to stay current on the requirements.
Schedule a personalized demo to see how Tabs3 Website Builder transforms your firm’s online presence with simplified intake, stronger security, and seamless payments.