Q&A with Brian DuCharme, Head of Payments at SurePoint

1. What are the latest trends in digital payments in the legal industry?

Great question. Two trends come to mind. The first is that the legal industry continues to adopt traditional digital payment acceptance in the form of credit and debit payments. As an industry wed to check payments, we still have a long way to go to deliver legal clients the ease and simplicity of digital payments. I estimate that with roughly 300,000 attorneys in the United States enabled for card acceptance, we still have another 1 million to help.

The second trend is subscription services to help clients and firms budget legal expenses. We are heavily focused on helping SurePoint customers activate payment plans that increase collection rates without the sticker shock that can sometimes create a physiological blocker for clients when they get a bill.

2. What is SurePoint Payment Services?

SurePoint Payment Services is, above all, a commitment to helping law firms increase collections, deliver clients 24/7/365 convenience, and optimize productivity.

We have embedded digital payments alongside our leading practice software products, the SurePoint Legal Management Service (LMS) and Coyote Analytics, to empower firms of all sizes with tools to get paid and make it easier for clients in a world that has moved away from check writing.

3. What does a firm need to consider before enrolling in SurePoint Payment Services?

Based on national industry research conducted by several companies, firms are giving away nearly 4,000 hours of billed time for every $1 million in billings through markdowns, write-offs, and collection costs.

Secondly, any managing partner who looks at their firm’s financial report and sees more than 1% of unpaid invoices on the aging report for more than 90 days can benefit from our program.

4. In your expert opinion, why are firms adopting SurePoint Payment Services? What are customers sharing/saying?

Ease of setup. Ease of use. Material benefits for the bottom line while vastly being more client-centric.

We have small firms and large firms that have witnessed our SurePoint Pay Now by Invoice(tm) service become a game changer.

5. How can SurePoint Payment Services help with workflow and cashflow?

We have embedded the functionality from the originator of the invoice back to the drafting and posting into the practice software general ledger (GL), so we save the payor and accounting department time and energy.

6. How easy is it for a firm to implement SurePoint Payment Services?

I said that when I joined SurePoint in October 2021, we would not reinvent the wheel; we would leverage learnings and proven techniques I’ve gained over the years, beginning first as a merchant and then as someone who joined financial services to help modernize methods and experiences. The fastest firm we have enabled to date is 4 days. It’s all configuration of feature-rich capabilities rather than customized software implementation that can take a life of its own. If a firm is ready, they can be set up and go live within 10 business days and use our payment services in time for their next billing run.

Brian DuCharme is Head of Payments at SurePoint Technologies. SurePoint Payment Services helps law firms operate more efficiently, spend less time on aged receivables, and provides ways to pay that both consumers and businesses prefer. To learn more about SurePoint Payment Services, visit https://surepoint.com/solutions-overview/payment-services/.

About SurePoint Technologies

SurePoint® Technologies is the leading provider of award-winning enterprise software that improves workflow and maximizes financial performance and profitability for law firms nationwide. Its distinctive cloud platform integrates client management, practice management, and financial management for powerful relationship-building and knowledge-sharing capability. With a community of more than 100,000 members, SurePoint continues to transform the legal industry by enabling law firms to unlock higher performance, freeing lawyers of administrative burdens so they can spend more time focusing on their clients and their practices.

Learn more at https://surepoint.com.