Case Studies
IDR Law – Boutique Legal Practice specialising in Inheritance Dispute Resolution
IDR Law is a nationally active boutique law practice that specialises solely in the resolution of disputes and problems that arise in connection with wills, probate and trusts.
I founded my own boutique legal practice IDR Law in 2017. It is a modern, paperless practice that outsources a number of functions. We have grown to a 3 office, 20 staff and £2.4m turnover practice over the last 5 years or so and I can say without hesitation that the single most beneficial outsourced function that we have taken advantage of is Cashroom.
From the get go, Cashroom took away my concerns about monthly finance compliance reporting and day to day cashiering. We are now extending their involvement to include office account management. Exceptional value for money and I highly recommend them to anyone looking for an outsourced cashiering function and quite frankly, why wouldn’t you?”
Martin Holdsworth
Founder and CEO of IDR Law
Complete Convey Property Lawyers – Property Lawyers Specialising in Residential Conveyancing
“Complete Convey is a CLC regulated firm established in 2015 by Mark Thompson & Nick Thompson who are brothers and solicitors. The business has developed and grown over the last 7 years and there are now 4 directors and 14 other members of staff operating out of Bamber Bridge near Preston. Initially dealing with residential conveyancing transactions, the company has progressed and now deals with all types of conveyancing as well as wills, probate, trusts, powers of attorney and other related types of legal work.
We were referred to Cashroom by a trainer for LEAP legal software who was handling our accounts initially. We were a very small firm at the time of transition, the whole process was seamless. We use Cashroom services for our day to day posting for both office and client accounts, bank payments, VAT returns, Xero and month end reports.
The Cashroom has been a huge benefit to our business. It enables us to have a cashier on hand all year round without any staffing worries such as holiday cover or absences. The work undertaken for all aspects of legal cashiering is done by the Cashroom from the day-to-day postings and setting up of payments to the preparation of reports and VAT returns in readiness for our approval. There is a great depth of knowledge in all aspects of legal cashiering which means that queries can be quickly resolved.
The Cashroom work with incredible speed and efficiency and a high degree of accuracy. The team are always personable, friendly and helpful.
For anyone who has an outgoing or retiring cashier I would suggest that a move to Cashroom is a no-brainer. For those firms who already have in house cashiers, the support provided by the Cashroom would be of huge benefit. “
Mark Thompson
Director – Complete Convey Property Lawyers
Mubasher Choudry Family Law Solutions – Bespoke solutions for Family Law
Mubasher Choudry has practiced exclusively in family law since qualifying in 2003. After working for two large law firms in Aberdeen and gaining extensive experience in dealing with all aspects of family law, particularly complex financial cases and child law matters, Mubasher Choudry set up as a sole practitioner in 2012 launching Mubasher Choudry Family Law Solutions.
“I have been a client of Cashroom for over 10 years now and couldn’t fault the service I have and continue to receive. I made the decision to set up my own firm as a sole practitioner in 2012, Cashroom were incredibly supportive during this time and ensured I continued to practice compliance and risk avoidance when it came to my bookkeeping.
Setting up on my own came with huge responsibilities when it came to bookkeeping and compliance, which was daunting for me at the time. I had basic knowledge and understanding of processes involved from working in firms myself but not enough to feel confident to run my bookkeeping alone. That’s why I reached out to Cashroom, working with them was a weight off my shoulders and provided additional resource to my firm, something I would not be able to afford in-house. I have access to a team of cashiers who work on my account and a dedicated account manager. The staff were friendly, helpful and supported me in understanding processes and regulations involved. Their expertise was clear, no question was too much for them and getting set up was a quick and easy process.
I outsource all my legal cashiering to Cashroom and they also provide additional support when needed for law society inspections, which is a huge benefit and help to me. Having them to call when needed provides me with peace of mind, I can’t fault their customer service, they are efficient, responsive and great to work with.
Cashroom’s client portal is user friendly and makes life easier, allowing me to focus on client work with the confidence my books are being handled professionally by Cashroom’s experienced and qualified legal cashiers. The portal seamlessly connects with my practice management system and provides one place to hold all my bookkeeping matters. The processes are sophisticated but at the same time easy to use. One feature I could not live without is the app, this allows me to respond to tasks and requests on the move when I am out and about with client meetings, minimising delays and enhancing the smooth running of my firm.
I would recommend anyone looking for a cashier or accountant to use Cashroom, they have significant experience and their services have been invaluable to me and my firm.”
Mubasher Choudry
Founder & Director, Mubasher Choudry Family Law Solutions
BBM Solicitors – Commerical Law Firm
“BBM are a commercial boutique firm. We have used The Cashroom’s Legal Cashiering Services since 2010; however we have only recently started using their Management Accounting Service.
BBM has grown quickly over the last few years and we have plans for further expansion still. As a result, we needed more comprehensive financial information and analysis, combined with the ability to control the firm’s finances more closely. To achieve this, we asked The Cashroom to help us with our budgeting and our management accounting.
The Cashroom worked quickly with us to produce a detailed budget, a management information pack, and reporting structure tailored to our needs. This allows us to more carefully plan our growth, and ensures we know exactly where we are along the way. It gives us the ability to manage and measure the success of our business proactively, rather than reacting to events as they occur.
The Cashroom bring a number of advantages to a project like this. Firstly, their expertise in the legal sector is clear. Because they work almost exclusively with law firms, they know the management information firms need, and can deliver it in a way that is easily understood by non accountants. Because of this experience, they are able to “benchmark” the quality of your management information, drawing together best practice from a number of firms. And finally, they bring an objective viewpoint to your business, in the same way a non-executive director might bring it to a limited company.
Outsourcing the vast majority of our finance function to The Cashroom gives us a quality of management accounting that few firms of our size could replicate. There is no doubt our business is stronger from having The Cashroom as part of the team.”
Eric Baijal
Partner, BBM Solicitors
MBM Commercial – Spin Off Law Firm and Cashroom’s first client in 2008
MBM Commercial LLP was the Cashroom’s first client in 2008.
Sandy Finlayson, Co-Founder of MBM writes:
“When the opportunity first arose for us to acquire our business from its former parent about eight years ago we had the opportunity to design a completely new law firm from scratch, quite literally with a blank sheet of paper.
From the outset we recognised that:-
- We must have a very niche service offering;
- We must have strict financial controls and disciplines;
- We should invest only in lawyers and direct support staff; and
- We should if possible avoid all of the costs associated with a cashroom, IT support team and other support functions.
We enjoyed, and continue to enjoy a very good relationship with our former parent firm who were good enough to supply us with outsourced HR and marketing services. However, our real breakthrough came from discussions between David Calder, who was the Managing Partner of our emerging new business and Catherine O’Day who ran a small computer support company called Dundas IT. This had in turn been spun out of Springfords who are our accountants.
David and Catherine were able to design a fully integrated service offering comprising an outsourced cashroom, which at the time was a ground breaking new initiative in a legal profession, a full finance function and IT support.
Dundas IT was then acquired by a larger company and, to her eternal credit, Catherine recognised the opportunity to set up www.thecashroom.co.uk as a separate business, initially to service the requirements of this firm which was its launch customer. This has enabled us to enjoy a seamless and uninterrupted cashroom service since we launched our business over seven years ago, together with very high quality financial information. Since the outset we have operated with a five year financial plan which is updated annually and this has proved to be absolutely invaluable over the past five years of financial turmoil.
We enjoy an outstanding level of service from The Cashroom, we have no staffing issues to worry about, the service is provided at a very competitive rate and, to paraphrase the Honda advertisement – “it just works”! I cannot ask for much more than that.”
Simon A Holt – Specialist Personal Injury Solicitors
Simon A Holt are a small specialist Personal Injury law firm based in the North West of England. Their cashiering service was being provided by their accountants, however this was not providing a daily responsive service, and was not core business for the accountants, who put the firm in touch with The Cashroom. The Cashroom engaged with the firm to understand their requirements for a fully outsourced cashiering function. TCR’s specialist take on team liaised with the partner in charge to gather key information and organise appropriate licences and accesses. Once established, a specific team and key individuals were designated for the firm and 9 to 5 daily cover was put in place.
Susan Ayre, Partner at Simon A Holt & Co
SKO – Start Up Firm and Law Society Compliance Inspection
We have been clients of the Cashroom since our start up in November 2008. The Cashroom provides us with an excellent service including our payroll, vat, compliance with Account Rules, preparing for Law Society inspections, monthly management accounts as well as daily postings . The Cashroom has been invaluable and highly cost effective.
Having the Cashroom on board as our outsourced Cashroom frees us from much of the daily financial administration and allows us to focus on what we do best – family law.
SKO Family Limited had its second Law Society Inspection on 16 September 2013.
We received the standard letter advising of the inspection and detailing the list of records that would be required for presentation to the Financial Compliance Team Member on arrival. We contacted the team at The Cashroom and they promptly produced all of the required records well in advance of the inspection.
When the Law Society Inspector arrived we were able to present her with all the necessary records in excellent order. We explained to her that we had an outsourced Cashroom namely The Cashroom.
Whilst, at the outset, it had been anticipated that our inspection would take a full day, in the end, given that our record keeping was in such good order, the inspection lasted half a day and there were no issues in respect of our financial compliance. We were of course delighted.
The service that we receive from The Cashroom throughout the year is second to none. The value of having their expertise is especially evident at times such as Law Society Inspections. We were able to present the necessary documentation with complete confidence, the inspector was delighted to know that our cashroom was outsourced to The Cashroom and we had, as a result, a highly satisfactory inspection.
Susan Oswald | Director
Accredited Family Law Specialist and Family Law Mediator
Wilson McKendrick – Start Up Firm Legal Cashier Services
Wilson & McKendrick set up a new practice in June 2011 and from the start have outsourced our cash room function to The Cashroom. The Cashroom were extremely helpful in providing guidance on procedures and process during our set up stage. Since starting trading the Cashroom deal with all of the functions of a traditional cash room but instead of being along the corridor they are along the motorway! We have a dedicated cashier at the Cashroom and all of the experience of the Cashroom team to deal with any questions or queries. We don’t need to worry about holiday cover or sickness and as we grow the Cashroom service grows with us. If you are setting up a new practice outsourcing your cash room function is really the only way to go and if you have an existing practice I would still urge you to talk to the Cashroom.
Mark Wilson, Wilson McKendrick