Turn Your eBilling Data into Strategic Planning Gold

eBilling systems are expensive. And while necessary, they can entangle legal departments in a web of data that is difficult to unpack – and even harder to leverage for analysis and optimization. 

From insurance to financial services and private equity, Bodhala has seen corporate legal departments invest millions of dollars in eBillers with the intention to not only simplify paying their bills, but also to support data-driven decision making. Unfortunately those investments are often hampered by serious issues, including gaps in legal billing data (e.g. classification conflicts on firms, practice areas and matter-types) and the subsequent inability to cluster matters and tasks accurately. 

If you use an eBilling system, here are some familiar laments:

• A top private equity firm could not rely on their eBiller for clean data to support strategic decisions
• A Fortune 20 company’s eBiller actually set them behind on departmental goals due to a sheer lack of efficiency and reliable reports
• A major bank spent four years and over $3 million to implement a data visualization tool on top of their eBiller, but have yet to see any ROI

These pain points are not the result of not having the “right” eBiller. Data issues are at the core of every eBiller. To maximize your eBilling investment, it’s vital to have an analytics layer that leverages actionable insights.

Legal-specific analytics solutions, like Bodhala, can work in conjunction with your eBiller to exponentially increase the value of your investment. Instead of spending countless hours buried in layers of spreadsheets, legal analytics tools can surface your spend narrative in a matter of seconds — enabling your team to quickly deliver value on mission-critical work.

Forward-thinking legal departments have realized that eBillers and legal analytics tools are not one and the same. Here are just some of the benefits of using legal analytics software in unison with your eBiller: 

1. Data Accuracy Do you really trust your eBilling data? When it comes to data, most legal departments trust legal spend analytics far more than eBillers. That said, many legal analytics tools simply ingest the bad data directly from an eBiller, resulting in the same issues. It’s critical that your legal analytics tool cleanse, transform and organize your data on ingest. Without apples-to-apples comparisons, it’s impossible to get the strategic insight necessary for better decisions.
2. Strategic DecisionseBillers show costs by invoice. Analytics solutions free you from the invoice, allowing you to realign your thinking around matter-types, practice areas and law firms. By leveling up your view, you have visibility into the things that truly impact strategic decisions, enable better firm management on everything from rates to quality.
3. ROIeBillers are a significant investment, which makes the frustration about getting accurate data even more vexing. 90% of Bodhala clients use our platform in conjunction with their eBiller in order to increase time-to-value, optimize spend and realize ROI – all things they were unable to do with their eBiller alone.

As companies grapple to get a hold of their legal spend and budget ahead of a new fiscal year, the need for data and actionable insights has never been more urgent. Analytics tools, like Bodhala, can enhance your eBilling investments and turn your data into strategic planning gold.

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Get in touch with our team of legal billing and data experts to find out how Bodhala can transform your legal department.