Cost Recovery and Client Matter Billing for Print

Every page a fee earner prints for a client matter costs the firm something. Whether any of that cost comes back depends on three things: what the retainer allows, whether the page was recorded against the right matter and whether the charge ever reaches the bill. Cost recovery software handles the second and third. The first is a decision the firm has to make deliberately.

This guide explains how client matter billing for print actually works in a law firm. It covers the regulatory and contractual starting point, how to set sensible charging rules, how codes are captured at the device and how charges flow into the practice management system. It is aimed at finance teams, COFAs and practice managers setting up or tidying up a recovery process.

Start with the retainer, not the software

A firm can only charge a client for print and copying where the terms agreed with that client allow it. That normally means the client care letter and terms of business say clearly which document charges apply, at what rate and whether they are included in a fixed fee or billed separately. If the terms are silent, adding per page charges to a bill is likely to cause disputes and may not be recoverable at all.

The SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors adds a wider duty. Paragraph 8.7 requires solicitors to ensure clients receive the best possible information about how their matter will be priced and the likely overall cost, both at the outset and as the matter progresses. For services covered by the SRA Transparency Rules, such as residential conveyancing and uncontested estate administration, the price information firms must publish includes a description and cost of likely disbursements. None of this prevents print charges. It simply means they should be visible to the client from the start.

This is general information about common practice, not legal or regulatory advice. Your COLP or COFA should confirm the approach for your firm.

Disbursement or the firm’s own charge?

The label matters more than many firms realise. A true disbursement is a payment the firm makes to a third party on the client’s behalf, such as an external copying bureau or a court fee. Pages printed on the firm’s own devices are different because no third party is paid. Commentary in the Law Society Gazette makes the point that in house copying charges are not technically disbursements, even where a charge for them is properly made.

That distinction affects how the charge is described on the bill and can affect VAT treatment, so it is worth agreeing the wording with your accountant. It also affects recovery from an opponent. On an assessment of costs between the parties, routine copying is commonly treated as part of a firm’s overheads and is covered by the hourly rate. Separate charges are more likely to be allowed only for unusually heavy copying. Firms should not assume that every page recorded against a matter can be passed on to the other side.

How matter codes are captured

Print management software such as PaperCut records each job against an account. For legal work those accounts represent clients and matters. When a fee earner prints from their computer a small window asks them to choose the matter. At the device the same choice appears on the touch screen before copying or scanning. The job is then logged with the user, the matter, the number of pages, colour or mono and the time.

• Validated lists. The matter list should come from the practice management system so users pick from live matters rather than typing numbers from memory.
• Recent and favourite matters. Fee earners working on a handful of cases can select them in one tap, which keeps the prompt from slowing them down.
• A non chargeable account. Internal, marketing and training printing needs its own account so it is not forced onto a client.
• Closed matter handling. Matters closed in the practice system should drop off the list so charges cannot land on a finished file.

Getting charges onto the bill

Capturing a code is only half the job. The charges then need to reach the practice management system where bills are produced. Most print management platforms can export job data by matter as a scheduled file or through an integration, which the practice system imports as expense or disbursement entries depending on how the firm has chosen to label them.

A simple monthly routine keeps the process honest. Run the export, import it, then check a sample of matters against the print log. Look for large charges on small matters, charges on matters that should be fixed fee and volumes sitting in the non chargeable account that obviously belong to clients. The earlier those issues are caught the easier they are to correct before a bill goes out.

Setting fair rates

Per page rates should bear a reasonable relationship to cost. A managed print contract gives the firm a known cost per page for mono and colour output, which makes it much easier to justify a charge if a client asks. Rates far above that cost invite challenge and sit uneasily with the SRA emphasis on clear pricing information. Review rates when the print contract changes and make sure the figures in your terms of business match what the software actually charges.

• Publish the rate in the client care letter or terms of business.
• Consider a threshold so only larger runs are charged.
• Treat publicly funded work according to its own costs rules rather than your private client terms.
• Record codes on fixed fee matters for profitability reporting even though the charge is not billed.

Uses for the data beyond billing

Even where a firm chooses to recover very little from clients, matter codes are valuable. They show which departments and case types generate the most output, which matters are unusually print heavy and whether a fixed fee is covering its real costs. Partners reviewing pricing for a practice area can see the print element alongside time recorded. Practice managers can spot a team that is still printing everything and target training where it will help.

Setting up recovery in a smaller practice

A small firm does not need a complex scheme. A short list of active matters, a prompt at the device for copying and a monthly export is often enough. The effort is in agreeing the terms of business and training staff to pick a matter every time.

A setup checklist

• Agree which activities are chargeable and at what rate and update terms of business.
• Import live client and matter lists from the practice management system.
• Create a non chargeable account for internal work.
• Enable matter prompts at the desktop and at every device.
• Schedule the billing export and a monthly reconciliation.

If you would like cost recovery configured around your own retainer terms and practice system, our Managed Print Services for Legal Firms page explains how CopyBox Document Systems sets up matter based billing as part of a managed print service.

Further reading on print costs, audits and legal software integration sits in the Legal Firm MPS Guidance collection for finance teams and practice managers.

Fair, visible and accurately recorded print charges protect both the firm’s margins and its client relationships. To set up matter based billing that fits your retainer terms, visit our Managed Print Services for Legal Firms page or call our Bedford team.