We’re a top-notch bookkeeping and financial consulting firm for law firms, focusing on Xero, and we’re looking for an account manager to join our team. This is for one of our coveted part-time, remote, flex positions. Join us as an employee or independent contractor. Pay is salary/flat-rate, based on clients under your management. Estimated 10 hours per week, depending on efficiency, with option to increase salary as we grow our client base.

You’ll be the primary point of contact for the clients assigned to you. You’ll be working with our full-time Bookkeeping Assistant, who will support you in the back-end day-to-day and data entry. Your duties will include:

• Manage and oversee all aspects of clients’ daily, monthly, and annual bookkeeping and financial needs
• Check emails and respond to clients within 1-3 business days, as required by the client’s contract
• Be the primary point of contact for your clients
• Support your Bookkeeping Assistant by answering questions, and by helping her expand her bookkeeping skills to better support you and your clients
• Manage your work and the work of your team, and provide updates and communication, in our project management software
• Attend a weekly 30-minute virtual team meeting
• Ensure clients’ books are closed out by the 10th, 20th, 25th, or 30th of the following month, as required by the client’s contract
• Provide financial reports with commentary analysis
• Issue 1099s in January
• Prepare year-end reports for clients’ CPAs in January
• Give clients a great experience!

The ideal candidate will:

• Enjoy working with a great and supportive team
• Have at least 2 years’ experience working with attorneys
• Have at least 2 years’ experience with lawyer trust accounting
• Be Xero certified
• Have at least 2 years’ experience working in Xero
• Be great at communicating with team members online
• Be great at learning new software
• Love problem-solving and figuring things out

TO APPLY: Please upload your cover letter and resume, both in PDF format in separate files, to this link: https://bit.ly/skeptechresumes. In your cover letter, please include your desired start date, and whether you prefer to work as an employee or independent contractor, and why. Thank you!

We’ve all been taught that we need to wait until funds “clear” to distribute them. How do I know when “clear”?

As attorneys, we take CLEs from time to time, and some of those have to be about ethics. So, to get our ethics credits, we often look for practical CLEs we can put to good use in the real world, like trust accounting CLEs. Now in those trust accounting CLEs, the presenter always – almost without fail – reminds us that we need to wait for funds to “clear” into our trust accounts before we’re allowed to take those funds back out.

Unfortunately, what most of those CLEs aren’t teaching us is that “cleared” funds are a myth.

What are “cleared” funds?

Understanding what “cleared” funds are – and aren’t – is critical to understanding why most attorneys’ concept of “cleared” funds is a myth. “Cleared” funds are simply money that is in the bank account and available for withdrawal. When funds aren’t available for withdrawal – for example, you just deposited them five minutes ago – they’re pending. Then, once they become available, they’re “cleared”. Most deposits “clear” within one business day.

Unfortunately, “cleared” does not mean that those funds are there to stay. “Cleared” does not mean that funds won’t get unilaterally and unexpectedly yanked back out of your bank account. It does not mean the funds are somehow settled and irrevocable. All it means is that the bank is willing to let you spend that money.

And that’s what makes both the myth and the legend about “cleared” funds: All that we’ve learned about banking and trust accounting implies that “cleared” funds are somehow safe and protected in our account, and they’re there to stay. They’re not.

Some funds really do “clear,” in the permanent sense.

Now that we know what “cleared” really means, let’s take a step back and see what funds, if any, really do “clear” into our accounts permanently. In other words, let’s first look at the kinds of deposits that can’t get yanked back without any warning, consent, or approval. Because luckily, there are a few.

Wire Transfers. Once a wire appears in your account, it’s there to stay. This is one reason savvy attorneys insist on wires for large trust deposits and for deposits of settlement funds. There’s no risk that your depositor will develop buyer’s remorse, yank the funds back out without warning, and leave your trust account with a negative balance while your bank reports you to the state bar.

Cash. Cash is another kind of deposit that is in your bank account to stay – or at least, it won’t be removed from your bank account without your knowledge or approval. Of course, cash deposits are at risk while they’re in transit, so many attorneys tend to stay away from them, despite cash being a great and otherwise secure medium for trust deposits. They’re also inconvenient for many clients.

Cashier’s Check. These are almost as good as cash. I say “almost,” because there is a small chance that a payor can cancel a cashier’s check in transit, before it’s deposited. But, once deposited into your trust account, the funds are safe and secure, and the payor can’t stop payment or cancel the cashier’s check to yank the funds back out.

What deposits are at risk, even after they “clear”?

As mentioned, some deposits are at risk of disappearing from your account without any warning or approval. When this happens, you may find your IOLTA balance negative, and your bank making a mandatory report to the state bar. Unfortunately, these are some of the most common payment methods that attorneys accept into their trust accounts.

Checks. Whether they’re personal checks or business checks, accepting checks as trust deposits does put your firm at some risk. Whether you wait three business days, two weeks, or a month after the check “clears” before distributing those trust funds back out, you can never guarantee the bank won’t yank those funds back out of your account without telling you. This can happen when the check is fraudulent, or simply when the payor gets buyer’s remorse and puts a stop payment on it. So, accepting trust payments via check always comes with some risk.

Credit Cards. You’ve probably disputed charges on your credit card, and you’ve probably gotten your money back pretty much every time. Well, when clients pay you with a credit card, they can dispute the charge, and they usually get their money back, too. And it doesn’t just happen with buyer’s remorse; scammers can use stolen credit cards to steal tens of thousands from your trust account if you’re not careful.

How Can I Keep My IOLTA and Trust Funds Safe?

We’ll be taking a look at this question in our next few posts. So, be sure to check back here (on our blog) regularly, and also be sure to sign up for our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss a post.

The Profit First approach to law firm budgeting prioritizes putting profits in partners’ pockets.

Hopefully you’ve read our post about budget forecasting versus budget earmarking.  And now you’re interested in learning more about budget earmarking.  Today, we’re going to learn about one kind of budget earmarking: Profit First.

What is Profit First?

Profit First is a budgeting method Mike Michalowicz developed and described in his best-selling book, Profit First (affiliate link).  In short, the idea is that business owners do business backward; they pay all their expenses, and pay themselves whatever is leftover.  In other words, they’re taking their profit last.  Instead, Michalowicz encourages business owners to take their profit first.  Then, the business can run on what’s left over.

This is a great concept.  Because none of us started our law firms just so we could work hard and pay the law firm’s bills and go home empty-handed every night.  We started our firms so that we could make a paycheck for ourselves, on our own terms.  So, we need to prioritize that paycheck, and take our profits first.

How Does Profit First Work?

Profit First is a way of budget earmarking for your law firm.  In other words, Profit First is one method of taking the money you’ve made, and allocating it to different bank accounts within the firm, with each bank account having a specific spending purpose.  And of course, the first allocation you make is to yourself – you take your profit first.

It works well for a lot of business owners because it presents your firm’s finances to you in a way that many business owners naturally run their businesses – by bank account.  It’s common for a busy law firm owner to make financial decisions by simply logging into their bank account and seeing what funds are there.  If the bank balance covers the expenditure I want to make, then I make it.  If not, then I don’t.  

The problem with “bank balance” financial decision-making is that we tend to rob ourselves of the opportunity to save up and really invest in both ourselves and in our firms.  It’s like the “see-food” diet – if I see food, I eat it.  Except in this case it’s “see-money” spending – if I see money in the account, I spend it.

There’s nothing wrong with a “see-money” mentality – it’s probably one of the most common money mentalities among small business owners.  What Profit First does is harness that “see-money” instinct to help us manage our money smarter.  It does this by allocating money to different bank accounts, so that I don’t see all my money in one place.

Does Profit First Work Long-Term?

Profit First gives law firms a budgeting tool that works wonders short-term, as firm owners begin to implement a budget that actually works for them.  But, it’s even better long-term.  Because typically, when we start a Profit First plan, we need to meet our firm where it is, and not where we want it to be. 

Oftentimes we’re overspending on operating expenses and underpaying ourselves, so over time we want to slowly reduce our operating spending and increase our own paychecks.  By making small, incremental changes in how we run our firm, and how we earmark our money, we’re able to make those long-term goals a reality.  And Profit First gives us the framework we need to see where our money is, where it’s going, and what those changes are that we need to make.  It helps us forge a path from where we are now, to where we want to be.

Who Is Profit First Great For?

Profit First is great for any law firm owner that tends to engage in “see-money” spending.  It’s also great for firm owners who don’t like to (or more often don’t have time to) deal with more granular budgets or more detailed numbers. It does this by dividing your money into just 6 or so different budget categories.  Finally, it’s hugely helpful to those of us who need to see real money in real bank accounts, because theories or allocations on paper just don’t cut it.

But Profit First isn’t the only method of budget earmarking. Stay tuned to our blog to learn about the YNAB budget, and see if it might be right for your firm.

How Do I Implement Profit First At My Firm?

If you’re not already on our mailing list, be sure to sign up.  We’ll soon be posting a DIY step-by-step intro to getting started with Profit First. 

For those of you who’d like a little more support and guidance, as well as a plan to make Profit First work for you both short- and long-term, Skepsis would love to help.  Book your free discovery call today.

And here’s a sample checklist to get you started.

When we close a matter, both our attorney malpractice insurance, and our state bar ethics rules, expect a lot of us!  It’s not as simple as saying a friendly goodbye to the client and moving on with life.  Instead, we have obligations that include formal disengagement or matter closing letters, returning funds held in trust, and more.

A basic matter closing checklist can, and has, saved firms thousands of dollars and more in insurance premiums, avoided bar complaints, and avoided malpractice claims.

Having a simple way to track these obligations, including what steps are involved in a matter closing, who’s responsible for each step, and what’s been done versus what remains to be done, can be complicated.  And as attorneys, we don’t have time for complicated.  So at Skepsis, we recommend streamlining this process with a simple checklist.  With a checklist, you and your staff simply work through checking off boxes anytime you close a matter, to ensure that none of the critical matter closing steps fall through the cracks.  A basic matter closing checklist can, and has, saved firms thousands of dollars and more in insurance premiums, avoided bar complaints, and avoided malpractice claims.

Here’s a sample matter closing checklist to get you started.

Skepsis Tech’s Sample Matter Closing Checklist.

1. Change the matter to “Pending” in your practice management software.  
2. Confirm any settlement or other funds due from third parties are fully paid, and have cleared the bank.
3. Confirm the case is closed on the court’s docket.  If not, file dismissals or other paperwork necessary to close it.
4. Confirm the firm has no original documents, and if it does, return them to the client.
5. Email the matter closing letter to the client.
   • Notes: Be sure to include critical matter closing information, including clear statements that “we will perform no further work on your behalf,” and “we do not have any original documents to return to you.”  Also include a polite note that: (1)  they will be receiving their final bill shortly, and per their fee agreement, payment is due within X days; and (2) once their final bill is paid, we’ll perform a final accounting of funds in trust and any remaining trust funds will be returned to them at that time.
   • Pro Tip: We expect we’ll post a sample Matter Closing Letter soon, so be sure to sign up for our mailing list to be notified when that’s posted.
6. Generate and issue final invoice to client.  
7. Client pays final invoice.
8. Generate a “post-final” invoice to catch any WIP/EIP that didn’ make it into the final invoice.  Apply a credit note to the invoice to zero out the client’s account.
   • WIP stands for work in progress, and EIP stands for expenses in progress.  This is just shorthand for time and expenses entered, but not billed out to the client.
9. Change the matter to non-billable so that no more billable entries find their way into the system.
10. Perform a final accounting of client trust funds, and return any funds remaining in trust to the client.
11. Confirm the return of client trust funds clears (ie, that the client cashed the check).
12. Change the case status to “Closed” in your practice management system.

For more time-saving simplicity, turn your checklist into a workflow.

A matter closing checklist is a great start, but when closing a client file involves multiple staff members, passing around a checklist isn’t particularly efficient.  Save yourself time and headaches by turning your checklist into a workflow in your practice management software.  

Not all practice management software supports this feature, but some of the most popular do.  For instructions on how to create a workflow in Clio Manage, click here.  For Practice Panther, click here.

Skepsis Tech’s Consulting Services Save Law Firms Time, Money, and Malpractice Claims. 

Skepsis Tech works with law firms to develop matter closing and other processes that save time and increase profits, and also protect our clients’ licenses to practice law.  If you’d like to learn more about what Skepsis Tech can do for your firm, don’t hesitate to book a discovery consultation today.

Your business credit card should be a profit center, not an expense

A few weeks ago, we wrote about how credit cards are a key tool for any financially healthy law firm. But with so many options for credits cards out there, how does a firm know which card to choose? Today, we’re reviewing some of the most popular that we’ve had up close and personal experience with.

The Capital One Spark Card

Spark: This one is my current favorite because the cash back (2% on everything) is good, it’s super easy to manage users online, and in my experience it’s easy to connect to a real person. I find they handle issues quickly and easily without obscene wait times (even during COVID) or god-awful phone menus. Their app is good, with useful tools to manage charges and spending, and their fraud screens are quite good without being overzealous, blocking legitimate transactions. All of my businesses, and about half my clients, are satisfied with this card. At 17%, the interest rate isn’t great, but it could be worse, making it a good fit for law firms who can pay the balance in full monthly.

The Citibank Costco Visa

Costco: Although not as easy to work with as Spark when it comes to support and getting real humans on the phone, they’re also not the worst. The rate is decent at roughly 15%, BUT, the cash back percentages are only above average (although Costco gas earns up to 4%) when you’re making purchases at Costco. Many law firms use the Costco Citi card for Costco purchases and use another card for purchases elsewhere.

The Amazon Signature Visa

Amazon Signature Visa: This one is great for Amazon purchases, but again, for those other, everyday purchases, it’s lackluster. It’s a Chase card (see warning below), which is not a bonus at all. The interest rate is between 15% and 23%, so there’s interest advantage, but be warned. It’s actually higher. The fine print says if you don’t pay off your entire balance, they charge you interest on ALL your purchases, even the new purchases since your last statement, which is very different from most other cards. Not cool. 

Chase Ink Cards

And another word of warning about Chase: I’m not a fan of the Chase Ink card because the cash back isn’t great (1.5%), and Chase is a beast to deal with when issues arise. I’m actually not even sure they actually employ humans. Their interest rate is a ridiculous 30% for many of our clients. Consider abandoning that card, and going with Spark instead (full disclosure: affiliate link. It’s that good.)

Wells Fargo Credit Cards

Wells Fargo: They offer some cards with decent rewards, so if you do your research on these, you might find a gem that works for you. But, like Chase, they don’t seem to employ actual humans, so if a problem ever comes up, don’t count on being able to get a hold of someone knowledgeable who can help you.

Alaska Airlines Visa

Alaska Visa: This one is popular for firms based in the Seattle area, where Alaska Airlines’ main hub is. So depending on your flight habits, this might be a great choice for you. But, it’s a Bank of America card, and like the other big banks, humans are hard to come by when help is needed. What’s more, when you do get a human on the line, our experience with Bank of America is that they’re far less willing to offer one-time fee waivers and other courtesy concessions than other banks.

How To Sort It All Out?

Got questions about credit for your law firm? We’re here to help. Just schedule a call and we can help you on your way to that perfect world where credit cards save your firm time, money, and headache, rather than generating chaos, cashflow problems, and extra expense.

Did you hear?  Congress passed a second COVID-19 stimulus package this week.  Yay!  They got it done just in time before the end of the year, and the end of many federal aid packages that came along with it. 

In addition to direct stimulus payments to individuals, additional funding for unemployment, and other aid programs, the package also provides over $300 billion in financial aid for small businesses.  Congress also clarified the uncertain tax implications of funding received by small businesses through loans and grants provided under the CARES Act and this new lifeline.   This is great news for small business owners since many of the opportunities to get support from the CARES Act programs were long gone.  Although the recent vaccine developments provide a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, many small businesses are in dire need of support to stay afloat.  This new package will hopefully help more small businesses weather the rest of the storm.

Your business may be eligible for first-time or additional forgivable loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). For more information visit sba.gov.  The new stimulus package expands both the scope of businesses that can apply for PPP loans and the permitted uses of funds from the loans.  Congress also made it clear that payments made with the funds from these support programs are, indeed, deductible on your taxes. 

Let’s take a quick look at the aid provided this go around, and the differences between the programs coming out of this package and the original CARES Act.

PPP forgivable loans

The new package reopens and expands the PPP after the last PPP round ended in August 2020.  Congress expanded both the types of business entities that are eligible to apply and the permitted uses for funds obtained through the PPP. 

In addition to the types of entities that could obtain PPP loans through the original CARES Act (e.g. businesses eligible for other SBA small business loans), the new package allows 501(c)(6) business associations (e.g. chambers of commerce) to be eligible PPP borrowers if they meet certain criteria. 

The CARES Act also limited use of PPP funds to certain specific categories: payroll, rent payments, mortgage interest payments, and utilities.  Funds obtained under this new law’s PPP round may also be used for certain health protective costs (e.g. personal protective equipment), essential supplies, and operating costs itemized in the new act. 

Many small businesses obtained both PPP loans and EIDL grants following passage of the CARES Act.  Under the CARES Act, businesses could receive an advance on their EIDL grant that did not have to be refunded even if the grant ultimately was not given.  However, the amount of any EIDL advance received had to be deducted from the amount of forgiveness sought under the PPP.  Congress removed that requirement in this new package and you no longer have to deduct your EIDL advance from the forgiveness sought under your PPP loan.

Also, don’t just dismiss this new stimulus package if you already received funds through the PPP!  The expanded PPP allows for a second forgivable loan if your business meets three criteria: (1) it has 300 or fewer employees; (2) has used or will use all funds from the first PPP loan; and (3) can show a 25% reduction in revenue between any quarter in 2020 with its corresponding quarter in 2019 (e.g. Q1 2019 v. Q1 2020).  So even if you already received PPP funds, you may be eligible for more!

Tax implications

Last, and certainly not least, Congress overruled the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) with regard to deductibility of payments made using PPP funds.  The original CARES Act provided that funds obtained through PPP loans and EIDL grants were not included in your gross taxable income.  However, the IRS followed that up with a notice and ruling providing their interpretation that since the loans and grants were tax exempt, any payments made with those funds were not tax deductible.  The IRS’s stance was met with complaints that Congress never would have intended for that result with a support bill.  Congress spoke up and confirmed that to be the case by including a provision in the new package providing that tax deductions cannot be refused for payments made using these funds.

We’re here to help! 

If you are one of the many businesses needing help to get through the COVID-19 crisis, get in touch today https://skepsistech.com/contact-us/ and we can help you determine what aid you may be eligible for and help you navigate the PPP, its application, and forgiveness processes!

It’s that time again!  Holidays, eggnog, sparkles, and fun.  Time to celebrate the end of one year (even if 2020 isn’t exactly worth celebrating) and set ourselves up for success in the next.

It also means tax time, 1099s, and other year-end financial must-dos are right around the corner.  If we set aside just a few minutes to organize our year-end now, we’ll find ourselves much less stressed and overwhelmed when that new year, and those tax deadlines, roll around.  So in this post, we’ve put together a practical, step-by-step guide to setting yourself and your firm up for a win this new year.

Let’s dive right in.  If you’d like more detail on these steps, check out Skepsis Tech’s year-end prep guide.

Step 1. Make time to work ON your firm, not just IN it.

Action item:  Open up your calendar.  Set aside one hour each week between now and January 31 to work on your firm’s financials.  Here are some pro tips from our lead Law Firm Financial Strategist:

• If you have a lot to do, for example you haven’t done your reconciliations all year, you may need to set aside more time.  But at the very least, get that one hour on there so you’ll be that much farther along than you would have been.
• Fridays are great for this.  By Friday, we’ve been working hard on legal issues all week, and our brains are giving us diminishing returns.  Turning to something different on a Friday afternoon, when it’s hard to focus on the legal work, gives you something fresh to work on.
• It’s the holidays.  Give yourself and your firm the most precious gift of all – your time.  Because you deserve it.

Frolic and detour.  What do we mean by working ON your business instead of in it?  Working IN your business means delivering legal services to your clients.  Working ON your business means delivering services to yourself and your firm, whether that’s in the form of hiring and training, marketing, lead development, or – our personal favorite – financial planning.

Step 2. Complete IOLTA 3-Ways

Action item:  Make sure you have your IOLTA 3-Ways completed through November, and that your 3-Way reports are safely stored and backed up.  Pro tips:

• If you’re not sure what an IOLTA 3-Way is, keep an eye on the Skepsis blog for an upcoming post that will boil it down to easy-to-follow, financial-mumbo-jumbo-free, concrete steps.
• We do this step before diving into any work required for tax time because, if we don’t satisfy our ethical duties in RPC 1.15A and RPC 1.15B, we could find ourselves without a law firm to file taxes for.

Step 3.  Complete Operating Reconciliations

Action item:  Complete reconciliations of all your operating accounts through November.  This includes any and all checking, savings, credit card, investment, loan, line of credit, and other non-trust bank accounts you may have.   Pro tips:

• Use real bookkeeping software.  Excel is not bookkeeping software, and by trying to make it work, you will lose far more valuable time than the money you save.  For example, Xero is only $32/month, and if your billable rate is $300/hr, that means you only have to bill an extra .1 hour each month to cover the cost; meanwhile, you’ll be saving far more of your own time than those six minutes, which is a win for both you and your firm.
• If you haven’t done reconciliations for a while, it can be daunting.  Take it one account and one month at a time.  Or, consider investing in a bookkeeper for a one-time catch-up.
• If you do think you’d like a bookkeeper’s help, book early.  They fill up QUICK in January!

Step 4.  Prepare Draft 1099s and Request W-9s

Action Item:  Most bookkeeping software has a 1099 area within the software that will help to manage your 1099s for you.  Go there, and set up your 1099 rules.  Now run a 1099 report to see who’s on your list.  Do you have a current W-9 from each of them?  If not, request one now.  Here’s what we’ve learned over the years about 1099s:

• When you request a W-9 from your vendor, they generally have 30 days to get it back to you.  1099s are due to vendors and the IRS by January 31.  So, if you wait until January 2 to start requesting those W-9s, you’re likely to miss your deadline.
• Not sure what rules to set up?  This article from the IRS will help you figure out who will need a 1099 so you can deduce what rules your firm might need in there.
• Use a 3rd-party service, such as Track1099.com, to make sure your 1099s get issued and filed correctly.  These services are inexpensive, not more than a few dollars per 1099, and they save law firms significant time in printing and mailing forms, tracking returned mail, and IRS filings.

Step 5. Spring Cleaning

Action item: Review your account balances to make sure they’re accurate.  It’s not spring, but every year every firm ends up with “straggler transactions” – that is, transactions living somewhere they shouldn’t.  A quick review of your balances can help eliminate back-and-forth from your CPA at tax time.  Skepsis’ pro tips:

• If you’re using QuickBooks, these often hide in the Undeposited Funds account.
• Other accounts include Suspense, Opening Balance Equity, Adjustments, and Ask My CPA.  These are typically temporary accounts that ought to zero out by year-end.
• Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable are also common culprits here.  Make sure their balance reflects the actual amount due to and from the firm.

Step 6.  Remove Stale Transactions

Action Item: In your bookkeeping software, do a search for transactions that meet both of the following criteria: (1) not reconciled; and (2) on any date through the end of November.  Typically, at least a few transactions will show up, and you’ll need to figure out why these didn’t reconcile and fix them.  Some common things to look out for:

• Checks you mailed out but that haven’t been cashed.  Contact the recipient and ask them to cash it; or, if they’ve lost it, stop payment on the lost check and issue a new one.
• Some unreconciled transactions are actually duplicates of a reconciled transaction, so you can just delete that unreconciled duplicate.
• Some transactions just occurred in the last few weeks, and you expect them to clear soon, so we’ll just leave those on the books.

Step 5. Review Draft Financial Statements.

Action item: Prepare a YTD (year-to-date) profit and loss statement and balance sheet.  Sit down and give the numbers a hard look – what’s surprising?  Pro tips:

• A profit and loss statement is also referred to as a P&L, or an income statement.
• When you see a number that surprises you, dig into the individual transactions.  Are they all categorized correctly?  Did you just spend more than you expected, so you’ll need to adjust your expectations for your spending in the coming year?
• Prepare financial statements that show at least 3-6 months of data, with a YTD total at the end.  This will help you identify outliers that should be double-checked.  For example, maybe your typical spend on rent is $1000/month.  You see that in July, you spent $5,000.  Did you incur significant extra rent costs that you can better manage in the upcoming year, or is something categorized incorrectly?

Step 6.  Kick Back and Enjoy the Holidays

Action item: Did you really do each and every action item above?  Or did you just read about them?  I’ve tried reading about doing things before, and sadly (and much to my surprise sometimes), reading about them doesn’t actually get them done.  So, if there’s any step you haven’t completed above, go back and actually do it.  It may take time, but your firm is worth the time and attention.  Your clients are also worth it, because preparing now means you won’t have to blow them off in January because you’re buried in a mad scramble to close out 2020.  Once all the steps are done, here’s what our team at Skepsis recommends:

• Make candied orange peels.  This is one of our favorite seasonal activities.  The candy is amazing, and the simple syrup byproduct is even better.  Here’s one recipe we love.
• Book a day off.  It can be tough to get away from your business.  Once you’ve made the investment, get out your calendar, and mark yourself as OOO (that is, out of office) the entire day.  You’ve earned it.
• Make a 2021 plan.  Now is the time to set yourself up for success in 2021.  What are your financial goals for the upcoming year?  What are your goals for number of hours worked next year?  How’s that different from last year?  Then, plot your course from A to B.

If you’d like more information about any of the steps above or other year-end matters, don’t hesitate to book a free discovery call with Skepsis Tech.  We’re passionate about helping attorneys improve their work/life balance while still reaching their financial goals.  2020 may have been nothing like any of us expected, but all it takes is a little planning and some simple steps to finish 2020 strong, and set yourself up for success in 20201.