Even many otherwise highly sophisticated CFOs and financial departments have a hard time estimating expenses and doing the fundamental accounting and bookkeeping they need to control costs and keep outside counsel appropriately reined in.

You know it’s time for a change – time to bring your legal billing process into the 2010s (instead of lingering in the 2000s or even 1990s). But you face a problem. Over the past several years, many legal e-billing software and billing apps have sprouted up. While you definitely see the value in this kind of software, at least in the abstract, you’re probably a bit overwhelmed by all the choices and concerned about security and safety.

You’re not being paranoid. There are excellent reasons to be concerned. First all, untested software (or at least software that hasn’t been battled tested for the kinds of billing needs you need to get done) is out there, and it can expose you and your team to problems.

You don’t want to lose control of the billing process or get exposed to liability risks. (for instance, what if billing data somehow got leaked?) Likewise, you want software that isn’t filled with superfluous features that you don’t need and that could complicate what you’re trying to do.

Legal E-Billing: How to Tell If Your Billing Software Is Secure Enough

Here are some tips for ensuring that your data will be safe with the legal e-billing application you select.

• Chose a provider that takes information security seriously. BusyLamp is ISO 27001 certified, meaning we have a framework with specific policies and procedures around data risk identification, implications and control.
• Choose software with an excellent track record. BusyLamp works with many financial institutions, banks and law firms. Our software helps them come into compliance with very complicated regulatory requirements, and we successfully work with institutions have significant data and privacy concerns. We use sophisticated encryption techniques as well as password-protected access to safeguard data.
• Before purchasing billing software and installing it, ask a lot of good questions. For instance, how can you protect data and billing information from being vulnerable due to unauthorized access, manipulation or destruction due to a fire or accident?
• Be watchful, and systematize data review and backup. Even if the best hacking minds on the planet couldn’t crack your systems, you still want to assess your billing statements and processes on a regular basis to identify anomalies or red flags that could indicate problems.
• Avoid using untested legal e-billing solutions. BusyLamp’s scalable software as a service model has allowed us to provide diverse e-billing and fee tracking tools. Our product is unique in the world of legal expense management.
• Respond immediately if you identify a security issue. Caught quickly enough, a data breach or loss of important information can be contained. By tracking your billing processes precisely and accurately, you’ll be able to respond faster in the event a problem occurs
• Remember: Encryption is key. To our knowledge, BusyLamp is the only provider that encrypts stored data and not only the end-to-end communication.
• Read and bookmark our checklist for more data security considerations.

We’d love to understand more about your e-billing concerns and help you find a solution that is right for your team and budget.