I love the fact that we don’t have to keep track of every minute of every day (one of the biggest problems with time sheets) because it frees up time to take care of the little (or not so little) things - like reading the latest tax updates (something that is not so little for me or our clients, but a necessity that has always eaten into my “billable hours”) and sharing information with clients and other people I know who may be interested (a “little” thing to me, that I thought about doing before, but never found the time when I was conscious of where all my “billable hours” were spent). » » » more
Feb
7
We do not believe the ‘benefits’ of a system based on time sheets justify the ‘costs’.
So how much does a system based on time sheets and the billable hour cost? » » » more
Jan
31
The keystone of practice management for the accounting profession and most law firms has long been the billable hour. We rely on hours accumulated on time sheets in six minute increments to drive most every aspect of our practices » » » more
Jan
7
In the December 17, 2007 issue of Accounting Today, Gary Boomer asked three questions in his article titled Pricing and Partner Compensation. (1)Does your firm have a documented strategic plan; (2) Does our partner compensation system integrate with the strategic plan, and; (3) Am I still pricing by the hour?
Ignoring the first two issues, Gary nails the significance of pricing in the service professions when he clearly states, “The hours x dollars (or cost-plus ) formula does not work in today’s results-based economy.” In my opinion this is true in establishing firm policies for both client satisfaction and even more importantly in associate / staff satisfaction and retention.
Further in the article he refers to author Ron Baker, one of my mentors and unquestionably the leading voice in burying the billable hour. He goes on to outline what he considers important considerations in partner compensation. Notably all are characterized by effectiveness, not efficiency. Damn! You mean the things easiest to measure are not the most important?!
I’ll bet you can name ten!
