On-Demand, Prepaid or Business Account? Choosing the Right Legal Printing Setup
There's plenty to sort out when a legal print job becomes urgent. How the order will be paid for shouldn't be one of them.
I've seen jobs where the files, copy count and delivery deadline were all settled, but someone still had to track down a credit card, confirm who could approve the expense or find out where the invoice needed to go.
None of those things is difficult on its own. They just become less convenient when the Appeal Record needs to leave for the registry in two hours.
That is why it can be useful to understand the different ways a legal printing relationship can be set up before the urgent job arrives.
For most firms, it comes down to three practical options.
1. On-demand or pay-as-you-go
If your firm only sends legal printing occasionally, you may not need to establish a formal account.
You send the files and production instructions, receive an estimate when appropriate, approve the work and arrange payment for that particular order.
This works well for sole practitioners, occasional litigation work and firms using a new print provider for the first time.
It can also make sense for unusual projects that fall outside the firm's normal purchasing process.
The advantage is simplicity. There is very little to set up.
The only drawback is that you have to handle the payment step each time. That is usually easy enough when you have time, but less convenient when the final PDF arrives late in the day and the books are needed the following morning.
2. Prepaid or COD orders
In printing, you will sometimes hear this called COD, although in practice it usually means payment is arranged before the finished order is released or delivered.
For larger projects, we may also request a deposit before production begins.
This is a normal way to handle a new client relationship or a substantial one-time order without setting up formal credit terms first.
And with legal printing, a substantial order can involve considerably more than the page count.
There may be:
several complete sets;
colour covers;
tabs and dividers;
colour exhibits;
multiple volumes;
Cerlox binding;
replacement pages after a late revision; and
a fixed delivery or filing time.
Settling the payment arrangement before production means one less question to answer when the completed materials are ready to go.
This is worth clarifying because “COD” can sometimes sound more restrictive than it really is.
It is a payment arrangement, not a different level of production service.
If something doesn't look right when you receive the finished order, let the printer know promptly.
The finished materials can be reviewed against the approved files and production instructions; the issue can be identified, and the appropriate next step can be worked through.
That applies whether the order was prepaid, paid on pickup or invoiced through a business account.
For deadline-sensitive work, the first priority is often simply figuring out what needs to be corrected and how quickly it can be done.
Paying before release should not make a firm hesitant to raise a production concern.
If your office sends legal printing regularly, a business account can remove repetitive administration from each order.
Instead of arranging payment each time, authorized work can be invoiced under the account terms.
The biggest benefit is often not the payment terms themselves. It is having an established process.
For example, the printer may already know:
where invoices should be sent;
whether a matter number or PO is required;
who normally approves estimates;
who can place orders for the firm;
the firm's usual delivery locations; and
who to contact when a production question comes up.
That becomes particularly helpful when several assistants or lawyers within the same firm send work.
The print instructions still need to be clear, but the administrative side of the order becomes much more predictable.
The account type does not change the production standard
Whether an order is prepaid or invoiced later, the production requirements do not change.
The correct files still need to be supplied.
Copy counts still need confirmation.
Tabs, covers, volume breaks, colour pages and binding still need clear instructions.
And the actual deadline still matters.
For example:
“Needed Tuesday”
is much less useful than:
“Delivery required Tuesday by 10:30 a.m. to Downtown Vancouver.”
Similarly, “six books” does not tell production whether the set requires tabs, separate volumes, colour exhibits or replacement pages.
The account arrangement handles billing.
The production instructions tell us how to build the job.
They are two separate parts of the same workflow.
A few things worth settling in advance
If your firm expects to send legal printing more than occasionally, confirm a few administrative details before the urgent request arrives.
Quick account checklist
Confirm:
who may place orders for the firm;
where invoices should be sent;
whether matter numbers or PO numbers are required;
who can approve estimates or additional work;
the normal payment method;
whether prepaid ordering or a business account makes more sense;
your regular delivery locations; and
who should be contacted if a production question comes up.
I have seen plenty of situations where the PDF itself was ready, but one of these small details wasn't.
Sorting them out at the same time as pagination changes, replacement pages and a filing deadline rarely makes the day easier.
Which setup makes sense?
No account type fits every firm.
If outside legal printing is occasional, on-demand ordering may be all you need.
If the relationship is new or the project is substantial, prepaid ordering can be a straightforward way to get started.
If your firm sends litigation and court materials regularly, a business account can reduce repetitive administrative steps and make future orders easier for both the legal team and accounting.
The useful question isn't which option is “best.”
It is:
Which arrangement creates the least extra work when the next urgent legal print job arrives?
A little setup beforehand can remove one more task from an already deadline-sensitive workflow. CETTEC can work with firms using on-demand, prepaid or recurring account arrangements, depending on what fits their normal ordering process.
