Planning for 2001

 Have you completed your planning for 2001?

 ·          Strategic Plan

 ·          Business Plan

 ·          Marketing Plan

 ·          Financial Projections

 ·          Budget

 Each year, we take our own advice and develop our strategic plan, business plan, marketing plan, projections and budget.  We analyze last year’s results and compare it to previous years to determine trends.

 We sort data in the following ways:

 Clients in descending order of revenue

We want to make sure that no one client generates more than 10% of our revenues.

Referral sources in descending order of revenue

We want to know who are biggest referral sources are so we can cultivate them further.

Client industry in descending order of revenue

From this data we can determine which industries are prevalent and focus future marketing efforts.

Referral source industry in descending order of revenue

This data tells us the industry where our top referral sources are located.  We can target referral sources in this industry for future marketing.

Type of work (matter) in descending order of revenue

This data indicates what type of work we did.  We can develop an expertise in a specific area of work based on our past experience.  The data for 2000 is compared to data from 1999, 1998 and previous years to identify trends.  While historical data doesn’t always indicate future paths, it’s one of the best ways to determine what’s worked and what’s not working.  You only have a discrete amount of time to market, so allocating your resources appropriately is important. 

Tracking this data is simple for us because we have customized our accounting program to sort the data.  If you need help analyzing your data or developing any of the above plans, let us know.

 On the financial side, we analyze expenses and monthly revenue to develop the 2001 budget, project cash flow and revenue.  These estimates may be influenced by seasonality and we factor that into our projections to give us the best estimate of how 2001 will look financially for us. 

 Our financial statement model assists law firms in analyzing past revenues and expenses and projecting future revenues and profits.  And we are able to develop budgets and cash flow scenarios based on historical financial data. 

  If you would like us to analyze your financial statements to help you determine the health of your law firm and identify areas for improvement, let us know.

 The old adage, “If you fail to plan, plan to fail,” has proven true too many times with law firms.  Take the time to develop your strategic, financial, operations and marketing plans for this year.