Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers a legal payments platform that enables your firm to accept payment by e-check or credit card without having to change your billing process (see article below). In addition, you'll find links to the previous 11 TL NewsWire features, including our coverage of document assembly software that you can use within other applications such as your document or practice management system, case management software that runs on Windows, Android, and iOS with features, customization options, and integrations that acknowledge today's world, and much more. Don't miss the next issue.
The average law firm gets paid 60-90 days after sending an invoice. Second-generation lawyer Sarah Schaaf witnessed both of her parents start their own firms and struggle with collection issues. Sarah left an in-house role in Google's legal department to start a legal payments company to shorten the payment gap to days or even minutes in many cases.
Headnote … in One Sentence
Headnote is a trust-compliant e-check and credit card payments platform for law firms seeking to get paid faster with less follow-up.
The Killer Feature
Headnote eliminates complexity when it comes to getting paid. Headnote provides you with a hyperlink to a secure payment page that you then send to clients using your existing invoicing process by embedding the link anywhere — email message, Word or PDF document, practice management, billing, or accounting software, etc.
When your client receives the link, they click on it using any device, see your firm's letterhead and logo, and pay in seconds without needing to create a Headnote account.
Headnote enables your clients to pay by e-check, a feature that CEO Schaaf tells us is exclusive to Headnote and 100% compliant with IOLTA and the ABA's Model Rules for accepting online payment to both trust and operating accounts. Clients securely log into their bank account and authorize payment using the same instantaneous authentication process that banks use for transfers. Headnote teamed up with Silicon Valley Bank to create this e-check platform, which connects to more than 2,500 banks. This eliminates the older, days-long micro-deposit and account verification process.
"Headnote allows attorneys to easily begin accepting compliant online payments and improving realization rates without changing any internal billing or invoicing processes," says Schaaf. "It's a game changer for law firms and the legal industry as a whole."
Other Notable Features
You can sign up with Headnote in a few minutes, and there's no cost associated with having an account. Enter your email address and firm information, create a password, upload your logo, and connect your bank account.
You can accept only e-check payments or also allow credit cards. Headnote charges 1.9% of e-check and 3.5% of credit card transactions. To comply with ethics rules, Headnote doesn't take this fee from client payments but instead charges your firm separately. This enables you to connect a trust account for client payments.
Headnote also handles collections with its Automated Reminder feature, which emails the payment link to delinquent clients. Choose when and how often to send reminders, and personalize the accompanying message. Some Headnote users like solo practitioner Kimberley Spire-Oh don't need this feature. "Since starting to use Headnote, my clients pay more often and much faster without me needing to remind them," says Spire-Oh. "It's a very user-friendly system and provides huge benefits to my practice."
Several specialized tools exist for specific use cases. For example, if you charge clients a flat fee for the same work over and over, you can create automatic recurring payments at set intervals. Less tech savvy clients can keep their credit card on file and authorize you to make payments on their behalf. Also, Headnote enables law firms to add a payment page to their website to make it even easier for clients to pay (setup is free).
What Else Should You Know?
Headnote offers several reports showing all transactions, all payment links, etc. If your firm uses QuickBooks, syncing your bank accounts will automatically pull in all payments made through Headnote for fast reconciliations. Learn more about Headnote.
How to Receive TL NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TL NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The newsletter's innovative articles enable lawyers and law office administrators to quickly understand the function of a product, and zero in on its most important features. The TL NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.
