CollBox Review: A/R Specialist for Law Firms

Few law firms have a good accounts receivable (A/R) workflow. The typical strategy, such as it is, amounts to “record time, send bill, hope for the best.” This approach creates a “lockup” problem. Unpaid invoices represent money the firm has earned but not yet collected from clients. And it’s totally understandable that no one likes playing the role of bill collector.

CollBox solves the problem by serving as your firm’s outsourced A/R specialist, following up with clients about unpaid invoices, at defined intervals, by email and phone. Think of CollBox as the A/R version of outsourced assistance like virtual receptionists and intake professionals.

Affordable and Professional

CollBox assigns a dedicated employee to your account. All CollBox employees are trained in and typically have a history of working in the A/R field as managers or clerks. The overwhelming majority are U.S.-based, with some in Mexico for firms needing bilingual services.

Experience and skill like this typically costs a firm $50,000-$60,000 for a fulltime employee. With CollBox, you get access to trained employees who begin working invoices the day they become past-due for a flat, monthly rate between $299 and $1,099.

CollBox Works Within Your Systems and Processes

CollBox integrates natively with top LPMS programs Clio and Smokeball, as well as FreshBooks, QuickBooks, Sage, Stripe, and Xero. These integrations mean that your CollBox staff constantly works from an up-to-date list.

As part of working within your existing system, CollBox “echoes” your established payment methods. If your firm accepts Clio Payments, LawPay, and ACH, then so does CollBox. Clients contacted by CollBox don’t receive new, separate, or different payment links. There’s no risk of two invoices (i.e., the firm’s original one and a second from CollBox). Clients never pay CollBox.

The combination of LPMS or accounting system integration and “echoed” payment methods also means that any invoice payments or changes you make in Clio or Smokeball, for example, such as discounts or write-downs, are instantly visible to your CollBox team. And any application of a payment (e.g., costs first then fees) happens in the firm’s systems, under your control, as you currently do it.

Bringing Order and Systemization to Your Backlog

When your firm signs up, CollBox begins working invoices that are 365 days past due or newer. They typically use the first two months to “dig you out of the hole” of past-due bills. Indeed, a video testimonial on their site highlights retrieving over $70,000 for one small firm during this “clean up” period.

Visit their website for a detailed explanation of their contact workflow “playbook,” which combines emails and phone calls, both automated and live-human, to encourage clients to pay overdue bills. CollBox will work a past-due invoice for 90 days. Emails to the client originate from CollBox and phone calls display a CollBox caller ID. An included disclaimer states that your firm is “partnered with CollBox.” Throughout the process the firm can follow all invoice activity, both email and phone, through its CollBox portal. Also, since all overdue invoices appear in CollBox, they provide a “lock” function to prevent CollBox from contacting certain clients. For example, if you don’t want CollBox to contact your brother-in-law or your best client who hit a temporary cash crunch, then locking the client keeps their invoices out of CollBox’ purview and those past-due invoices remain exclusively your problem.

If a client disputes an invoice (e.g., a missing discount, needs a payment plan, wants a write-down, or simply refuses to pay), your specialist communicates that information to your firm immediately. However, CollBox will not negotiate on your firm’s behalf.

If an invoice remains uncollected at 90 days, the A/R specialist lets your firm’s contact know, and turns the account back over to the firm for further action.

CollBox is a great tool for firms that don’t have the time or temperament to follow up on past-due invoices. They are particularly useful for solos and small firms where the business of running a law firm often takes an understandable backseat to the practice of law.