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Introduction

What’s holding your firm back from reaching peak profitability? Law firms are increasingly becoming bogged down by delayed billing, missing financial insights and inefficient processes. In a market where profitability isn’t just an objective, but the foundation for long-term success, competition is fierce, and the pressure to deliver results has never been higher.

BigHand AlertManager is the ideal solution for law firms looking to overcome these profitability setbacks. By automating alerts and delivering actionable insights in real time, this innovative tool equips lawyers and finance teams with the data they need to make smarter, faster decisions. In this guide, we’ll explore the challenges BigHand AlertManager addresses, explore how it works, and uncover the benefits it delivers.

Challenges the Legal Industry Faces

Law firms operate in a unique environment where profitability and operational efficiency are often hindered by industryspecific challenges. BigHand AlertManager was developed to address these critical pain points head-on:

1. Limited Visibility into Financial Metrics

Fragmented reporting systems and data silos prevent law firms from gaining real-time insights into key metrics like accounts receivable, partner profitability, and unbilled hours. Without this visibility, firms risk revenue leakage and inefficiencies.

How AlertManager Helps:

Customized alerts proactively deliver key financial data to attorneys, finance teams, and managing partners. This ensures potential issues are identified and addressed before they affect the firm’s bottom line.

2. Inefficient Matter Management

Managing the profitability of mattersparticularly in firms offering diverse services - is complex. Without proper oversight, firms may experience margin erosion, delayed billing, and suboptimal resource allocation.

How AlertManager Helps:

Alerts on matter performance keep attorneys and partners informed about progress, profitability, and collections, enabling proactive adjustments.

3. Overburdened Finance Teams

Manual reporting processes consume valuable time and resources, leaving finance teams with limited capacity for strategic initiatives.

How AlertManager Helps:

Automating reporting and alerts reduces administrative workloads, enabling finance teams to focus on process optimization and long-term planning.

4. Lack of Accountability

When lawyers lack timely access to financial insights, taking ownership and accountability becomes a challenge. Poor visibility can hinder the ability to make business-minded decisions.

How AlertManager Helps:

By delivering tailored, actionable insights directly to lawyers, BigHand AlertManager encourages accountability and drives a culture of profitability.

How BigHand AlertManager Works

BigHand AlertManager is an automated alerting tool that seamlessly integrates with your firm’s financial and operational systems.

Customizable Alerts

Law firms can configure alerts to suit their unique business needs. For example, reminders can be set for outstanding invoices, client debt thresholds, or underperforming matters.

Flexible Delivery Channels

Alerts can be delivered via email or desktop notifications This ensures critical updates are accessible across teams, wherever they work.

Actionable Insights in Real Time

Real-time updates empower users to address issues before they escalate. For instance, a billing partner can act on overdue accounts, or a managing partner can track profitability metrics at a glance.

Seamless Integration

BigHand AlertManager integrates with popular platforms like Aderant and Elite 3E, ensuring it works within your existing ecosystem.

By delivering the right information to the right people at the right time, BigHand AlertManager eliminates guesswork and streamlines decision-making.

Practical Applications for Law Firms

BigHand AlertManager is highly adaptable and can address various firm-specific needs.

Here are some practical use

cases:

Operations Teams

Streamline internal communications with customizable desktop notifications, reducing email overload. Alerts can be derived from nearly any system and disseminated through various channels to ensure teams stay informed without being overwhelmed.

IT Departments

Centralize alerting across the firm using advanced formatting capabilities for notifications. BigHand AlertManager integrates seamlessly with systems like Aderant, Elite Enterprise, and Elite 3E, ensuring reliable and efficient alert delivery from any data set.

Lawyers and Partners

Keep attorneys informed with tailored updates on client financials, matter performance, and team metrics. Real-time alerts empower them to make timely, informed decisions while fostering accountability and profitability.

Finance Teams

Optimize cash flow by automating overdue payment reminders and sending invoices with direct payment links. Stay proactive with real-time alerts on key financial metrics to address issues before they escalate.

Key Benefits of BigHand AlertManager

BigHand AlertManager offers law firms a wealth of benefits that go beyond solving pain points:

1. Improved Cash Flow Management

Automated notifications about overdue payments or client debt thresholds ensure that collection efforts are both timely and effective.

2. Enhanced Profitability Tracking

With real-time insights into matter profitability, firms can monitor margins and adjust billing strategies, resource allocation, and other variables to maintain profitable outcomes.

3. Reduced Administrative

Burden

Automation significantly reduces reliance on manual processes, freeing up finance teams to focus on high-value tasks like strategy and growth.

4. Stronger Client Relationships

Transparency is essential for building trust with clients. By providing clear, accurate financial updates, BigHand AlertManager helps firms deliver a superior client experience.

5. Empowered Attorneys

Delivering tailored financial insights to attorneys fosters accountability and commercial awareness. This not only drives smarter decision-making but also creates a culture where profitability is prioritized.

6. Rapid Deployment

AlertManager is designed for swift and seamless implementation. With alerts set up in just a couple of days, firms can quickly start receiving actionable insights, allowing them to hit the ground running without delays.

Client Success

Newmeyer Dillion implemented BigHand’s AlertManager and Business Intelligence tools to tackle challenges like margin erosion and inefficient reporting. Automated alerts and improved transparency reduced manual workloads for the finance team, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives. As a result, Newmeyer Dillion enhanced profitability, optimized matter management, and cultivated a data-driven approach to decision-making.

“BigHand AlertManager has become a means for us to track our clients more generally. Are we going to open this new matter when a client has a tremendous amount of outstanding debt on other matters? BigHand AlertManager has really become a very useful tool for us to better manage our matter intake in that respect.”

Lisa Waligorski Executive Director Newmeyer Dillion

Why Choose BigHand AlertManager?

BigHand AlertManager isn’t just another piece of software to add to your stack, it’s a strategic enabler for law firms looking to stay competitive in a demanding market. By delivering timely, actionable insights, BigHand AlertManager helps firms optimize profitability, streamline operations, and enhance client relationships.

Whether you’re a mid-sized firm seeking agility or a large firm striving for maximum efficiency, BigHand AlertManager offers the scalability and customization required to achieve your goals.

Take the Next Step

Profitability starts with better decision-making. If you’re ready to elevate your firm’s financial management and empower your lawyers to drive a culture of profitability, book a demo today.

Schedule a Demo