Illustrative example. Today: An inbox search for invoice [n] finds three chasers from [Name], none answered. The chasing happens between client work, when someone remembers. After the fix: “Morning, [Name]. Owed: £[x] across [n] clients. Promised: [Client], £[x] by [date]. Gone quiet: [Client], [n] days. Needs you: [Client] has queried the hours on [matter]. Reply drafted with the time record attached. [Approve]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
01 · Getting paid on time
Customers pay late, and you spend hours chasing.
‘Clients are quick to take the work and slow to pay the invoice.’
What It Costs You
67% of professional firms that give credit say late payment is a problem, the second-highest of any sector.
Source: DBT LSBS 2024
Illustrative example. Today: The client’s thread: “Just checking in on [matter].” ([date]). “Any word from the other side?” ([date]). “I haven’t heard anything for [n] weeks.”. After the fix: “Searches came back on [date]. Nothing needs your attention.” “We have the draft contract and will finish reviewing it by [date].” “We’re waiting on [document] from the other side and chased them on [date].” “Exchange is planned for [date].”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
02 · Keeping customers updated
Customers keep chasing you for updates.
‘Clients email to ask where their matter has got to, and the morning goes on answering them.’
What It Costs You
In legal services, poor communication (24%) and delay (23%) are the two most common complaint types brought to the Legal Ombudsman.
Source: Legal Ombudsman 2024/25
Illustrative example. Today: Scope agreed on a call. The estimate says “£[x] to £[x], depending.” Extra work was done and first mentioned on the bill. After the fix: “Engagement letter for [matter]: [scope], estimate £[x]. Signed [date].” “Outside scope: [work], £[x]. Approved by [Client] on [date] before work started.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
04 · Agreeing the work and the price
Customers dispute what was agreed and what it cost.
‘The client thought the fee was fixed. We thought it was an estimate.’
What It Costs You
In legal services, costs were behind 12% of the complaints the Legal Ombudsman upheld in 2025/26.
Source: Legal Ombudsman
Illustrative example. Today: An unhappy email from [Client] about [matter], read and left for the fee earner, who is away until [date]. After the fix: “Open complaints: [n]. [Client], [matter]: acknowledged [date], named contact [Name], response due [date]. Draft ready from the file history. [Approve]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
05 · Settling complaints early
Small complaints turn into big ones.
‘By the time a complaint reaches me, the client has already decided we don’t care.’
What It Costs You
The Legal Ombudsman found poor complaint handling by the firm in 49% of its investigated outcomes in 2024/25.
Source: Legal Ombudsman
Illustrative example. Today: [Name] emails [n] clients one by one for missing [documents], then checks who replied. After the fix: “Missing documents: [n] clients reminded. [Client] uploaded [document] on [date]. [Client]: [n] reminders, needs a call.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
07 · Taking repeat work off the team
Your team is stretched, and you’re covering the gaps.
‘We spend half of January chasing clients for paperwork.’
What It Costs You
What the Task Costs You
An estimate. Before we start, we count your real numbers for a week.
Illustrative example. Today: Client money reconciliation: last done “[date]?” [n] clients still on old engagement letters. After the fix: “Client money reconciliation due [date], [Name]. Last done [date], evidence filed.” “Engagement letters: [n] updated, [n] awaiting signature.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
09 · Never missing a deadline
A missed deadline or registration lands you with a fine.
‘The checks we have to do every month get done when someone remembers.’
What It Costs You
ICAEW monitoring found 29 practices not reconciling client money at least every five weeks and 56 with no annual client money compliance review.
Source: ICAEW Practice Assurance monitoring 2025
Your Problem Isn’t Here?
The problems on this page are the ones we see most often in professional services. Yours may be different, and that’s fine. Most fixes are found when an owner and someone who builds them sit down and go through how the work actually gets done. Tell us what’s costing you, and we’ll tell you straight whether we can fix it.
Read next
- Late payment: what you can claim and how to work it outIf another business pays you late, the law lets you add interest at 11.75% a year and a fixed sum of up to £100. Here is how to work it out.
- What a missed deadline costsThe penalties for late accounts, tax returns, VAT and payroll reports, in one place, with a ladder that shows what a late filing costs day by day.
Pick One Problem
Tell us which one. We’ll tell you whether we can fix it and how long it takes.