Legal technologists see 2021 pushing the trends brought on by remote work even further, with AI and analytics continuing to grab attention.
How can technology help your law firm? There is no getting away from it especially this year. We use it in every aspect of our lives, we even exercise using technology by watching a work-out on YouTube or tracking a run on your watch. COVID-19 accelerated the use of collaboration tools, cloud technologies, video conferencing platforms and more to unforeseen heights. Even if you don’t think you are a tech expert, we are all much more comfortable with it.
The legal sector is naturally risk averse, making it difficult for law firms to genuinely innovate on their own. Traditional business models, the legal training system and the partnership structure can all pull against the will to change. However more and more firms are becoming tech pro’s themselves.
New legal start-ups have never been easier to set up using technology than now and at this time many are doing so. Many lawyers have a vision and a desire to use up to date processes and tech which does not align with their present partners’ old fashioned and restrictive views. This is the perfect time for savvy lawyers to set up. There are so many tech products firms can use to help them run their business better.
You might not think that technology is high on the list of your legal cashier or accountant’s agenda but at Cashroom that isn’t the case. In fact Cashroom recently acquired technology business Kanbaro to help clients improve efficiency and reduce risk. Read more about this.
The most obvious piece of technology at Cashroom which revolutionized our business is The Portal. The development of the portal was done with security at its core. Cashroom is Cybers Essentials Plus accredited, and this means that all of our processes, including the portal, regularly go through rigorous assessment and pen testing. In terms of a transaction, the portal provides that complete transparency with a documented audit trail. The benefit of this technology is when it comes to ensuring compliance with the firms Solicitor’s Accounts Rules the portal allows you to track each payment request from creation to authorisation at the bank.
We reached a landmark recently where we had our one millionth request through the portal, and we now deal with around 45,000 requests a month. Around 50% of those payments now go through a process using open banking and bulk export and import which is continuously improving our processes and processing capability. This technology again gives our clients a massive benefit as with using these processes there is no possibility of human error, either accidentally or criminally intentionally.
Technology is ever changing and with a dedicated inhouse team we are constantly working on this. We’re looking at integrations with Practice Management Systems. Cashroom is system agnostic and there are many PMS’s we currently work on. We have always accessed our client’s systems remotely so COVID didn’t change how we worked at all, what it has done is reassure firms that it works and opened up that trust in the technology.
We want to go further and are looking to provide benefits of automation by integrating with PMS’s to continue to provide efficiencies for clients looking for outsourced legal and cashiering services.
As well as security, efficiency, risk avoidance and compliance, our tech also provides accurate, up to date data and MI which enables our clients to properly manage their businesses. The Portal dashboard gives a clear and visible view of your firms accounts.
Don’t be fooled by your legal cashier or legal accountant in your business – keeping your business complaint, efficient and secure, we could be using the best technology of all!
