Each year, the Zola Suite development team releases hundreds of updates and dozens of new features to help law firms be more efficient and profitable. While this year was full of updates and changes, Zola Suite users have spoken, and we’re pleased to share our top 10 releases of 2021.

No business owner wants to deal with a financial emergency due to lack of planning. In order to monitor how a firm is doing financially year to year, every law firm should maintain an internal budget/forecast. A budget/forecast report provides the owner a monthly snapshot of how the firm is doing at least yearly with monthly updates.

Although many people think that customer management relationship systems (CRMs) are relatively new in existence, the practice of keeping customer records has existed for centuries. Merchants, even those selling their wares in ancient times, understand that it’s much easier to sell your goods to a current or past customer than to try to cultivate new business.

All organizations – particularly those that outsource crucial business operations to third-party technology businesses and SaaS companies – must ensure that their data is handled properly, protecting customers from data theft, extortion, and malware attacks. Service Organization Control 2 (SOC 2) provides a framework to help stakeholders ensure that vendors protect the interests of the company they serve and the personal data of vulnerable clients.

Law firm leaders understand the concept and importance of profitability. Nevertheless, in many practices, expenses and revenue are not reviewed on a regular basis. While your firm may be focused on other aspects of maintaining business, it is imperative that steps are taken to ensure your firm continuously reviews its finances and expenses.

The goal of all law firms is to be profitable, but achieving that goal can be difficult for some lawyers. Generating income is, obviously, the first step towards making a profit; of course, income can only be generated if billable hours are accurately recorded and invoiced to clients, and if payments for those invoices are collected.

Picture this: a new client retained the firm, timely work was performed, invoices were prepared and sent to the client and yet those invoices remain unpaid. Sound familiar? Many law firms have very high accounts receivable balances that are aged over 120 days and these high and aged invoices directly affect the firm’s overall financial health.

In most law practices, a qualified professional can predict the costs associated with operating a firm relatively accurately. Most expenses are easily forecasted including salaries, facilities and technology. However, revenue is a bit more difficult to predict.

Legal professionals use a wide variety of tools and methods for tracking time spent on billable matters. Some are sophisticated, while others are more problematic and error-prone; for example, lawyers who use giant spreadsheets that are updated at the end of each day or week or sticky notes to jot down each task by hand.