How can your law firm optimise social media for search engine optimisation (SEO)

What are the benefits of social media for law firms?

From raising your firm’s awareness, to giving your firm a personal touch, allowing potential clients to get to know your values and team and creating new enquiries, the benefits of social media for law firms shouldn’t be in question.

We appreciate that you are a busy firm, and quite often social media posting falls to the bottom of the list. But, if your firm is looking to generate new leads, social media could be the platform that your firm is missing out on. If your firm is new to social media, check out this blog post on five social media post ideas for law firms before reading on.

If your firm is already utilising its social media platforms, this blog post is for you. We will discuss how to optimise your social media for search engine optimisation (SEO) purposes.

How does social media impact SEO?

First up, by adding your FAQs, blog posts and content about your firm’s services to social media, you increase the chances of gaining new links to your website as the reader might see your website as a valuable source of content.

In addition to links, by connecting to members of the local community, using the location settings in-app and using local hashtags, potential clients can find out where you are based in the app too.

Another benefit of being active on your firm’s social media and optimising your posts for social by answering frequently asked questions and using keywords in your captions and hashtags, is that your company pages will show up when a potential clients search for specific things on social media. In the below, I searched ‘Conscious Solutions’ and you can see that on the first page of results, our social profiles show up.

This means that any competitors are likely to show up before us for this search result. Of course, if our profiles started showing up for search queries such as ‘law firm marketing’ and ‘digital marketing agency for law firms’ this would be even better! We’ll be taking our own advice and adding this to our to-do list.

And, a new collaboration that is currently being discussed according to Search Engine Journal, is that Google, Instagram and TikTok are currently in talks for short-form video content to show up in the SERPs too.

So, we hope you can see some of the benefits of using social media for SEO purposes already!

What are the benefits of optimising social media for SEO?

But if your firm still isn’t convinced, what are the benefits of optimising social media for SEO?

Although social media platforms aren’t technically classed as search engines, social media is where a lot of consumers go to find products, information and services. Have you ever used Instagram to look for a new outfit or a holiday destination? Have you ever searched for a hashtag of a topic of interest on LinkedIn? The possibilities of searching on social media are endless.

Especially because Search Engine Land recently reported that TikTok is creating a search ads platform that will allow businesses to bid on specific keywords and phrases related to their products or services, just like they would on Google.

Another benefit of using social media for SEO is content amplification. By sharing your content in different ways, on a different platform, you’re more likely to receive more engagement and have more ways to show up on the SERPs, beating competing law firms.

And a continued benefit of social media in general is brand awareness. By building your firm’s online presence, you are developing the trust and credibility of your firm which will ultimately lead to more enquiries.

So, how can your law firm optimise its social media for SEO?
1.     Use the features available

Remember, the features that social media platforms offer are there for a reason. Ensure you fill in your contact details in your bio, add a link to your firm’s Linktree* (or website at the very least!), use the buttons available to you, add a location and more.

*If your firm isn’t already using Linktree, we’d recommend setting up an account. Linktree enables you to add multiple links all in one place meaning you can send your followers to your website, blog posts, upcoming events, individual service pages and more.

2.     Use keywords

Keywords are a great way to get found in the SERPs for your website content, so why wouldn’t you use them in your social media content too? There are different best practices for each platform, but as a rule avoid keyword stuffing, make sure the content makes sense and add your main keyword in the first couple of sentences of your caption.

3.     Use hashtags

And on top of putting your keyword in the caption, you can also use your preferred keyword as hashtags making them searchable in-app. As well as keyword hashtags, make the most of local hashtags about your community, location hashtags relevant to the areas you operate in and other relevant hashtags to your services.

4.     Ask other websites and journalists for backlinks

Backlinks are a great way to build up the domain rating (DR) of your firm’s website, therefore increasing search engine rankings and, by default, traffic.

5.     Add alt-text to images

Alt-text on images is not only good for accessibility but it benefits your SEO too. The importance of alt-text on images can’t be ignored. It provides context to what an image is displaying, informing search engine crawlers and allowing them to index an image correctly.

6.     Add locations to your posts

As previously mentioned, make sure you are utilising all the features on each social media platform. With platforms like Instagram and Twitter, make sure you are using the features which allow you to add a location to your post. These will help your posts to be seen when someone clicks on that location helping your firm reach new people.

7.     And finally, don’t forget about your analytics

This is a key part of the process! Analytics are a necessity in identifying what is and isn’t working with your current strategy, allowing you to make changes that therefore boost your firm’s SEO efforts.

Need help with your law firm’s social media?

Hopefully, this blog has explained the benefits of optimising your social media profiles for SEO purposes and given your firm a few pointers on where to start.

If you need more advice on standing out on social media, take a look at this blog post.

Conscious Solutions have over 19 years of experience in helping law firms to become more successful online, so if your firm needs a hand on where to start give us a call on 0117 325 0200 or email sales@conscious.co.uk.

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
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How to Reduce Cyber Security Threats in your Firm

Whilst out of the office for the day at Manchester Law Society’s Management Conference last week, a theme that caught my attention was the risk of cyber crime to law firms. Law firms are a prime target for cyber criminals due to the high value transactions and sensitive information they hold. Cyber attacks on law firms have increased by 60% in the last 2 years alone and there are 4,000 cyber-attacks every single day. That’s 170 cyber attacks every hour. Scary right?

We all understand the risk of cyber crime and acknowledge it exists but there is still a culture of  ‘but it won’t happen to us’. But what if it does? And what additional measures can you put in place to protect your firm?

The National Cyber Security Centre released data that the average cost of an attack to a business is £4,200 for small businesses and this raises to £19,400 for medium and large firms, with 31% of businesses estimating they are attacked once a week it really is crucial, we are taking steps to reduce risk.

Jonathan Ashley from Eti-Cloud gave some great tips in his talk on Cyber Security which law firms can actively use to reduce the risk of cyber-crime. His five top tips below can help firms to ensure they are doing the right things to protect their firm against the increasing risk of cyber-crime.

Email and web filtering

Email and web filtering helps to categorize incoming emails, segregating spam emails, viruses etc so only safe emails from familiar email addresses can enter your inbox. There is also options to review emails that get ‘quarantined’ by this block, meaning staff can check the safety of an email before it can be ‘let in’ to their inbox. Web filtering works in a similar way keeping your network safe from malware and web-borne threats, helping to protect your data and the reputation of your firm.

Have a security policy

Having a security policy that everyone is aware of and adheres to is vital in protecting your firm. Security policies are important to protect a firms assets and identifying potential threats to those assets and what measures you as a firm take to prevent potential threats. Make sure your policy is visible and everyone in the business understands their role to play in upholding the policy to reduce threats to the firm and clients.

Conduct staff training

Reducing the risk of cyber security is not just your COLP/COFA’s job. Everyone in the business has a role to play in reducing risk and knowing what to look out for in the unfortunate event of an attack. Data breaches cost UK organisations an average of £6.4 million and investing in security awareness training reduces the risk of phishing attacks by around 50%. Conducting staff training increases awareness helping to protect the firm’s data, systems and networks from malicious attacks and threats. Training helps everyone in the firm understand the importance of cyber security and teaches staff how to identify potential threats and most importantly, how to respond.

Move away from email!

83% of cyber-attacks are phishing attempts, criminals replicating emails enticing your employees or clients to click fraudulent links or transfer money to fraudsters, and this is not as uncommon as you may think. We’ve all heard the horror stories. A lot of firms are now moving away from email communications to help reduce risk further, portal based communications can be a safer alternative,  especially for client facing departments.

2FA

Adding two-factor authentication to your systems protects fraudsters from getting in as you must enter a one-time password each time you log in. There are a variety of authenticator apps that you can use to help protect your firm. Adding that extra level of security on a day-to-day basis will go a long way in reducing the risk to your firm and your clients.

At Cashroom, we know how important risk reduction is for firms. We have created a unique and secure client portal which not only removes the insecurities of email communication but increases efficiency and ensures compliance for firms. Our portal has integrations to leading practice management systems, provides a clear audit trail and our streamlined and automated workflows ensure you can maximise efficiency whilst reducing risk to your firm and clients.

Eti Cloud provide data security and cloud solutions to help protect your firm. To find out more email info@everythingthatis.cloud

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
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5 ways that technology can help law firms attract and retain talent

By Gareth Walker, CEO, LEAP

Employers are currently facing a once-in-a-generation skills shortage. The loss of a talented team member was once a burden, but now the costly difficulty of replacing a good employee is a potential threat to business.

Record unemployment lows and an increase in competition has driven the need for law firms to attract and retain talent. SME law firms are reviewing the benefits, productivity tools, working day and models of working that they offer as a result of the growing need to attract skilled employees.

Technology can enable law firms to future proof their businesses, ensuring their staff and client needs are satisfied. By embracing legal practice management software and implementing self-service technology, law firms can automate lengthy processes, stand out from the competition and overcome the skills shortage the industry is facing.

Here are some ways technology can help law firms attract and retain talent.

  1. Create flexible working solutions

Using effective technology streamlines processes and offers employees more rewarding careers. This enables a focus on more valuable and interesting work, significantly reducing time spent on every day, repetitive, and non-billable administrative tasks. Law firms can attract and retain the best people because they want to work with the best technology.

SME law firms have the agility to implement innovative technology solutions quickly. This means they can deliver superior client service and flexible working conditions more easily than their larger counterparts. Law firms offering genuinely flexible working conditions are luring solicitors who are exhausted by long office weeks and commuting away from their current roles.

  1. Win back staff

Parenthood can interrupt or end a career but that doesn’t need to be the case. Effective legal practice management facilitates flexible hybrid working solutions, enabling firms to attract lawyers with family commitments by offering the chance to work from multiple locations. A typical day no longer needs to be so structured; cloud practice productivity solutions provide lawyers with the capability to work the way they truly want and will help win back the best employees.

  1. Invest and upskill junior lawyers

Junior lawyers are the future of the profession but may lack the legal expertise or business acumen necessary that comes with experience. As technology develops and more tasks are being automated, young lawyers are also most at risk. Law firms must have a plan in place to train and upskill these future experts and technology can help. Up-to-date legal guides available on legal publishing software can provide junior lawyers with the crucial training they need to progress, as well as templates and forms that they can tailor for client needs. This reduces barriers to development, enabling senior lawyers to delegate work and junior lawyers to work and learn independently.

  1. Keep lawyers doing what they love

A typical day for lawyers can be filled with tasks such as chasing overdue invoices, tracking each billable unit, training others and scheduling meetings. Lawyers are leaving the profession because they are unable to simply practise law. Fortunately, many of these tasks are now automated by good practice management software. Tasks such as signing documents, paying by credit card or tracking billable time can all be automated, freeing up lawyers to practise law.

  1. Access skilled expertise beyond traditional borders

Firms no longer need to limit their search for new talent to just their office proximity or within the current job market. Cloud technology centralises a law firm’s client and matter information, keeping it updated in real-time and accessible to all. Lawyers and support staff can work for their practice from anywhere in the world, expanding the talent pool for law firms. For firms that rely on cloud-based practice management software, geography is no longer a boundary to attracting clients, managing their matters or engaging expertise.

To read the full white paper on how your law firm can attract and retain the best talent and overcome the current skills shortage. Visit
https://info.leap.co.uk/sussex-law-society/newsletter/white-paper-skill-shortage

About LEAP

LEAP Legal Software has been helping small to mid-sized law firms to become more efficient and profitable globally for more than 25 years. LEAP is committed to consistently providing world-class legal practice productivity solutions and has innovation at the heart of its research and development so that users continually have the best possible experience.

Occupying a unique position in the legal software market, LEAP includes legal case management, legal accounting, document assembly, document management and legal publishing assets in one solution. Its software is designed to streamline tasks such as matter management, time recording document management, email management, automated forms, client accounting, billing, reporting and remote working.

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
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Are Cloud Adopters taking over the Legal Sector?

It’s no doubt the Legal Sector has seen challenging times over the past three years since the pandemic hit. Conveyancers saw the busiest time in history with the lifting of Stamp Duty regulations and the state of the housing market. The economic state of the country has also added strain on the industry. Meeting digital expectations from clients as well as retaining fee earners wanting a better work-life balance since the pandemic has also been a challenge. In Clio’s Legal Trends Report 2022 revealed that in 2021 20% of lawyers were looking for a pay rise and in 2022, 83% of lawyers say flexible working would drive their decisions when looking for a new role. 

One solution that can support firms is the use of cloud technology to support them with their matters, billing and more.  

Why Cloud adopting law firms are outperforming traditional law firms
Consumer Choice

It is becoming more and more common for lawyers to work remotely, this means clients no longer need to come into their office to sign paperwork or have a meeting, this can all be done online. This is a huge advantage to consumers, as they are no longer limited to using solicitors who are local to them and have a broader market to choose from. Many law firms offer both ways of working to suit their clients, but it is worth noting that 79% of consumers said working remotely with a lawyer is a key factor in hiring them. Showing that consumers are shifting to preferring remote working as it offers better convenience for them.   

When choosing a law firm, reviews have the largest impact on hiring decisions for consumers, with less than 1% of consumers in Clio’s survey concerned about the type of law firm e.g., Commercial or high street, 16% were interested in location, compared to 52% interested in clients’ reviews. Showing consumers are driven by customer service and reviews over location.  

Adaptability 

Firms utilising cloud-based technology are better placed to adapt and change to future changes and circumstances. Their way of working allows them to quickly adapt processes and procedures when needed. 

Customer Satisfaction  

Clio’s Legal Trends Report shows that in cloud-based law firms customer satisfaction is 86% compared to non-cloud-based firms at 60%. The report also states how growth of firms using cloud technology is higher as well as employee satisfaction. Cloud technology is allowing lawyers to work more flexible hours, as well as freeing up time for them to spend on fee earning tasks, meaning more work is getting done within their hours of work.  

A New Legal Era  

Law firms utilising technology and support available to them through cloud computing, outsourcing and much more have more capacity deal with increased demand as they can lean on technology and sources available to them. Law firms are choosing cloud technology to support their firm’s growth and because they are reaching for financial growth and a better work-life balance. Clio reported that 42% of lawyers work on a Saturday, often completing work to keep up with demand. Using technology can lift some of the strain on lawyers and support their job satisfaction.  Only 29% of lawyers are working from the office exclusively since the pandemic with law firms beginning to support a hybrid way of working to suit both their employees and clients.  

Law firms utilising cloud technology are more sustainable and able to retain and attract talent due to their forward-thinking approach to running their firm. Firms using cloud technology are winning in the new legal era.  

Read more about the Legal Trends of 2022 in Clio’s report here. 

Clio is a leading legal case management software providing services in billing, cases and more. Clio is also one of Cashroom’s integration partners, providing Clio clients with smoother and efficient processes.  

To find out more about Cashroom’s outsourced accounting services, get in touch with our team, email info@cashroom.co.uk or call 01695 550950.

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
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Leading the way in reducing risk and ensuring compliance

Cashroom has recently being shortlisted for multiple awards recognising our ability to reduce risk and ensure compliance for firms, as well as our unique and secure technology. These nominations are a fantastic achievement for our team here at Cashroom, recognising their hard work and developments especially regarding our innovative online portal.

How does Cashroom provide risk and compliance support?

Cashroom has created an award winning revolutionary web-based portal, built in its entirety by our in-house development team, to remove client communication from the insecurities of email, and to protect our clients from the rising threat of fraudulent payments by using authorisation workflows.

Our portal keeps over 250 law firms secure and provides an encrypted means of communication between Cashroom and our clients as well as providing excellent task management and making their lives easier. Using Cashroom allows law firms to increase efficiency, reduce risk and ensure compliance with Solicitors Accounts rules.  

How does our portal work? 

Our poral embeds automatic features such as approval options which allows clients to add approval stages into their workflows to reduce risk, increase productivity and ensure audit readiness. We know the importance of compliance and adhering to accounts rules, that’s why our portal provides a clear audit trail which is obtained for 7 years and allows clients to track requests from creation to sending to the bank. In addition to this, our portal hosts a report centre where clients can easily locate and download present and historical reports, which is essential for firms audits and compliance purposes.

Our communication and tracking are all done in one place for each request, reducing the risk of human error and missed tasks, increasing productivity further by removing the need for multiple requests or email chains relating to the same discussion point.  

The Legal Sector and especially conveyancers are a key target to cyber criminals and fraudsters due to the high monetary value of their transactions. Cashroom’s portal removes the risk of email modification and fraud as our clients are made aware we will never communicate with them via email for these reasons.   

Cashroom’s portal can keep any law firm secure

Our portal is system agnostic meaning we can work with the firm’s existing practice management system causing minimum disruption during the transition period. Further to this, our numerous systems means that we can help firms optimise their processes for their own system use, helping with data flow, task management, accuracy of data and efficiency, all as part of our standard way of working with our clients. We allow law firms to use Cashroom services alongside the system of their choice, we are fully system agnostic. Firms receive the benefit of our industry best processes and efficiencies, along with using the best system for their firm. Cashroom makes law firms tools work better by integrating with industry leading software and custom applications right into our Cashroom portal. 

Cashroom is leading the way in outsourced legal cashiering and accounting – your firm can benefit from our award winning, industry leading services and technology, so you can focus your energy on the law. Talk to our team to find out what we can achieve for you. 

E: info@thecashroom.co.uk   

P: 01695 550950 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

Why is Management Information so important?

Douglas Russell is an accounting legal sector partner at Armstrong Watson LLP and gives his advice on the importance of using appropriate Management Information within your Firm

There are numerous reasons why your Firm should have a variety of sources of key Management Information (“MI”) and what those sources should be, will depend on the specific requirements of your Firm. The important point is that the MI produced should be “Quality not Quantity” and should always be accurate, relevant, timeous and systemised. For some Firms, there will be key pieces of financial or other data that are produced on a daily or weekly basis that aid decision making or prompt further investigation. Some Firms will create live MI, while other Firms may only require monthly figures. We will explore some specifics below.

Your Early Warning System

 A reliable source of accurate MI will assist greatly in identifying performance against your Budgets, areas of overspend, aspects of underperformance or simply incorrect internal accounting allocations or adjustments. The more quickly that MI can be available, the earlier issues can be identified and corrective action taken. Core accounting information can be supplemented by a wider range of Key Performance Indicators (“KPI’s”), for example:-

  • Chargeable utilisation
  • Recovery rates
  • Debtor days
  • Work in Progress days
  • Gross profit %
  • Conversion rates
  • Success rates
  • Case life-span
  • Stage of case life-span
  • Client satisfaction

Not an exhaustive list, and individual Firms can design additional KPI’s that are particularly relevant to them.

Budget Setting

 Your Firm will typically set a Budget including cash flow projections for the year ahead, and this becomes an important piece of MI as you compare actual results when they accumulate throughout the year. With rising inflation and other factors facing the economy, it may be necessary to flex your Budget throughout the year on more than one occasion.

Combating inflation and maintaining profit margins

We all know the pressures that are facing businesses and individuals with high inflation, high interest rates and rising Corporate and Personal Taxation. All of these factors are likely to suppress demand for legal services from both businesses and consumers, with economic growth likely to remain flat over the next two years, and the possibility of a technical recession looming. Staying robust on your pricing will be key however, and being brave enough to increase your pricing given the specific inflationary pressures your Firm is likely to be facing on such areas as staff costs, energy costs and PI Insurance. In our own experience, our clients generally understand that our pricing has to increase to combat rising costs, so you may well find that there is not as much resistance as you expect. Cost control will be very challenging while inflation generally and sector inflation specifically increases your cost base.

Accurate MI will be a key management tool in monitoring your costs and highlighting areas of possible savings by reviewing suppliers and negotiating better prices. We know that many Firms are undertaking a line by line review of all of their overheads, but care must be taken to trim the “fat” but not cut into the operational “muscle” of your business.

Maintaining recovery rates and seeking out operational efficiencies will also assist in defending or improving your bottom line profits in real terms and only a robust and reliable system of producing the right MI will enable this. What gets measured gets done.

Benchmarking statistics from a pool of similar Firms can also be a powerful way of ensuring that your performance as indicated by your MI is not out of line with your peer group of Firms.

Cash is King

 You will no doubt have heard the saying – “Turnover is vanity, Profit is sanity, but only Cash pays the bills”. Achieving profitable top line growth is an admirable ambition at any time, but to avoid “over-trading”, Work in Progress needs to be turned into fees as quickly as possible, just as fees need to be turned into cash with minimum credit terms. A growing business always needs additional working capital and strong MI can identify this working capital requirement in advance, which will also impress funders to whom you may look to provide lending facilities to support that growth. This is particularly important where there are signs of an increasing number of businesses reaching financial distress and fee debtor days may be lengthening as cash resources tighten throughout the economy. Again, the appropriate MI and KPI’s can be used as an early warning system, so as to tackle any problem cases as early as possible.

Cash flow forecasting on a rolling 12 week basis will be an essential tool in monitoring the adequacy of cash reserves, and measuring against the annual cash flow targets. Some contingency planning based on some adverse sensitivities or “stress testing” is also useful to predict “worst scenarios”.

Interest rates

One of the upsides of rising interest rates, particularly for Firms that are not borrowing heavily, is the ability to generate significant additional income from monies on the general Client Account. Obtaining the best interest rates possible should be a priority, but there is a danger that the windfall to interest income, profits and cash flow this brings, may mask other areas of underperformance in your Firm. The “comfort blanket” of interest income propping up the profits of your Firm may expose the Firm to difficulties when interest rates start to drop again over the coming years as anticipated. While interest income will in itself be a key piece of MI to monitor, focus must remain on the long term profitability and sustainability of the underlying business. Robust MI reporting will help to keep that focus.

Summary

 It is fair to say that the last few years have seen an unprecedented and varied series of challenges for those of us in business. It certainly means that planning ahead and budgeting can be difficult, but we also know from historic recessions and the 2008 financial crisis that the “survival of the fittest” is always true. Indeed there may be great opportunities for Firms that come out of the next two years in good shape when, as it will, the economic recovery builds momentum. Your Firm will have much more chance of being in good shape if you are able to capitalise on, and react to, the early warning system that your MI systems can produce.

Douglas represents the legal sector at top 30 UK accounting firm, Armstrong Watson LLP. He is part of Armstrong Watson’s specialist legal sector team advising law firms throughout the UK on strategic, structural and other business improvement issues. Further information can be found at www.armstrongwatson.co.uk/legalsector

This article is a general guide to the issues that we see in practice.  It is not a substitute for professional advice which takes account of your personal circumstances.  No responsibility can be accepted for any loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action on the basis of this article.

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

The trend is – your own people!

As always I was delighted to be asked by David Opie and the wonderful team at Today’s Media to be a judge on the British Conveyancing Awards.

It’s always something I look forward to, as I am treated to a peep behind the curtain – some of the best property law firms in the country explaining how they operate and providing detailed submissions for us to review. Every year I’m fascinated to discover new methods, new approaches to technology and absolute best practice in the sector.

For the last few years the trend has certainly been for firms to discuss the ways they have dealt with the challenges from the pandemic, both with volumes of work and the tech requirements for firms to operate safely and efficiently while remote from each other. The focus of submissions was very much around new systems, new communication tools and the need for efficient, secure processes.

This year while judging submissions from various regions ‘Best Firm of the Year’ categories, it was noticeable that there was a shift in focus for many firms.

There was still content around implementation of clever technology, however there was far more said about the importance of happy staff. How crucial it is to retain your team. How brave decisions need to be made sometimes around caseloads and pricing. Many firms spoke about reducing caseloads and pushing up their prices, to give their own team the necessary time and space to deal with clients optimally. And of course this then fed into another theme which was the attention firms are paying to the power of positive reviews. Whether it’s Trustpilot, Google or Review Solicitors, there was a clear move to formalise the obtaining of reviews from clients and in the better firms, using that knowledge not just for a star rating, but to inform and guide proactive steps to improve service for the next clients.

The standard across the board was incredibly high – proof that this sector remains one of the most innovative and high quality of them all.

Now – I wonder what next year’s trend will be?

Have a chat with our Business Development team and speak to Alex Holt or Daniel Jones yourself. Discover how you can free yourself from the complexities of legal accounting with the help of outsourced legal cashiering, management accounts, credit control, payroll services and more. Outsourcing can help relieve the stresses law firms face when it comes to efficiency, regulation and compliance. Receive everything you need to run a successful law firm.

E: info@thecashroom.co.uk  

P: 01695 550950 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

Sharing the love for our Partners

In the spirit of Valentine’s day this week, we are sharing our love for some of our partners who we value at Cashroom. Our partners not only make our lives a lot easier, but also the lives of our clients.  

We believe that when you work with other people, magic happens.

Our unique and dynamic portal  

Our partners allow our portal to run even more efficiently to support our clients. Our portal has been built entirely in-house for law firms by our development team. Removing the insecurities of email communication, reducing risk and ensuring a clear audit trail.  

We have also added features such as communication tracking, a reports centre, approval options and an unclaimed monies dashboard to support our clients further with their finance functions. Providing clients with the ability to see funds received and claim what belongs to their clients, increase productivity and audit readiness. With Cashroom’s portal, firms can discuss a request within one area without multiple requests or email chains regarding the same discussion point which can become confusing.  

Our portal was developed with law firms in mind, and we recently have an added suggestion function for clients to help us continuously develop the portal in line with their needs.

We have also recently introduced open banking to our client portal, streamlining processes further.  

Practice Management System Integration Partners 

With integrations into leading Practice Management Systems and the banking network, Cashroom allows your law firms tools to work better by integrating with industry leading software and custom applications right into our Cashroom Portal.  

Although we are system agnostic and will work with any practice management system a firm is currently using, there are additional benefits for our integrated partners clients with more streamlined workflows, time saving and reduction in duplication of data.  

Our integration partners help us to drive efficiency, ensure compliance and reduce risk for our clients.  

Banking Partners

With the help of our banking partners, Cashroom can significantly reduce risk of human error when initiating payments and checking for incoming forms.  

With open banking technology we can now automatically pull bank transactions into the portal without the need to log onto the Banking platform. While some other entities can pull this data every 24 hours or so, no one else has yet been able to develop technology to do this in close to real time. 

If you are interested in sharing the love and integrating with Cashroom, get in touch with our Technology team. Email info@thecashroom.co.uk. 

Cashroom friends and publications 

We love working with our Cashroom friends and favourite publications in the legal space. The legal sector truly is a sector that pulls together and supports one another. Our favourite legal news comes from Today’s Conveyancer, Hey Legal, Modern Law, Legal Futures, Law Society of Scotland and Bold Legal.  

We are also proud to be part of legal networking groups such as Consortium of Professional Advisors, Law Firm Ambition and National Legal Alliance.

Happy Valentine’s Day – Competition time!

We have a Cashroom Valentine’s Day hamper up for grabs! Show your appreciation for a colleague, connection or friend in the industry who deserves a treat! All you need to do is share this blog, tag your nominee and Cashroom and hashtag #CashroomCares. We will reveal the winner on Tuesday 21st February! 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
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Navigating AML Compliance Risks: 4 Red Flags Every Law Firm Should Know

A recent survey found that 70% of accountants and lawyers are more concerned about money laundering since Russian events and sanctions began, with 75% moving anti-money laundering (AML) up the company agenda in the past year.  

What’s more, only 45% are completely confident in their current anti-money laundering procedures. Managing AML compliance in your firm when you’ve got the rest of your business to run often means that your team may be juggling several hats. As partner they may have their chargeable work, but as MLRO they may also need to oversee client onboarding, risk assessments and training.

Add staying up to date with compliance regulations and it’s fair to feel that something might slip through the cracks. What’s more, bad actors often deliberately exploit these weaknesses in order to launder their dirty money and carry out transactions with the proceeds of crime, using firms to add a layer of legitimacy to their work.  

In this guide, we cover the most common red flags that law firms should be aware of when it comes to suspicious activity that might be indicative of money laundering. 

Red flag 1: Your client has characteristics that make them higher risk

In your practice-wide risk assessment you will have likely already set out factors that require enhanced due diligence to be carried out. In the event that your risk assessment doesn’t cover these specifically, watch out for the following: 

  • If your client is a PEP (Politically Exposed Person) or a HNWI (High Net Worth Individual)  
  • If your client is a company that runs a cash-intensive business such as a hair salon, barber or restaurant (as these are often used by bad actors as a front for money laundering). 
  • If your client is acting secretively, or not giving you information that you need to carry out identity verification 
  • If your client has limited internet presence or is a business owner with an anonymised account such as Gmail 

Having any of these factors doesn’t automatically disqualify you from on boarding these clients, but you should ensure that your firm’s policies, controls and procedures sufficiently protect you from the added risk you are choosing to shoulder. 

Red flag 2: The parties to the transaction seem odd

This is especially in relation to transactions that have trusts, trustees, and beneficiaries. There ought to be a logical connection between all companies. If there are unexplained beneficiaries in the trust (for example, a beneficiary added to a family trust who is of no relation) or the reason, structure, or jurisdiction is not immediately clear, this is a red flag and you should carry out further investigation. 

Red flag 3: the nature of the transaction is different to usual 

Any of the following should raise red flags regarding the nature of the transaction: transactions that are significantly larger or more intricate than what is normal for your client (if you have worked with them before), transactions involving jurisdictions with weak anti-money laundering regulations, and transactions utilising shell companies for unclear purposes. 

Red flag 4: They’re avoiding giving a logical answer to enquiries about Source of Funds

Assessing the source of funds is vital in fulfilling anti-money laundering (AML) obligations. When evaluating the funds used in a transaction, be wary of scenarios where the funds are supplied by a third party with no relation to the transaction or your client, or if the funds originate from a foreign country with no connection to your client. Additionally, the use of large amounts of cash with unclear explanations of its origins should also raise suspicions. 

Conclusion

It is essential to be cynical and to consistently evaluate transactions, asking the question “does this seem legitimate?” The red flags outlined in this article serve as a guide, but it is not an exhaustive list. If you encounter any of these red flags, it is crucial to conduct further research and gather additional documentation to establish confidence in proceeding with the transaction. In the event that sufficient evidence cannot be obtained, it may be necessary to refuse to take on the client, take on the specific matter, and look to your MLRO or supervisory body for guidance on how to file a Suspicious Activity Report. 

About First AML  

First AML streamlines the entire anti-money laundering onboarding and compliance process for accountants, lawyers, real estate agents, and financial institutions. Its platform allows businesses to onboard international and complex entities easily, making an otherwise complicated and manual onboarding process simple for end users and cost effective and compliant for businesses. 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
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Travels and tales of an old ex-lawyer

I had a great day on Wednesday. Sometimes it’s good to call such things out!

I caught a train that was on time and had a table which wasn’t too crowded so I could get work done.

I walked down through a busy London and had a really productive networking lunch with National Legal Alliance. The group is made up of some industry leading suppliers and advisors, as well as numerous solicitors from firms all over the country. The discussions and networking were friendly and positive, and I made some great new contacts, while catching up with some of my favourite legal sector folk.

I then had a fascinating and exciting online call with a prospective US client.

It’s been so good to engage with that completely new market and find that our messages and approach are enthusiastically received.

Then it was back onto the streets to wander along to a venue near St Paul’s for a quick meeting with Philip Lewis and Paul McCluskey before we all headed into the January Hexagon Legal Network gathering. Pre-pandemic I always felt the Hexagon events were some of the best networking events around. They’re back in full effect and around 40 people from law firms and sector suppliers mingled and chatted and engaged. Those sort of events are so valuable as we strive to find the right mix of online and virtual meeting. There was an inspiring address by Shak Inayat on the importance of looking out for positivity and seizing the day, followed by a fascinating presentation on eDiscovery from Imogen Fraser-Clarke and Brenda Malinki.

It was a really positive event, added to by the presence of a large proportion of the CPA networking group; Amy Bell , Leah Steele ,Paul McCluskey, Philip Lewis and we were all celebrating being shortlisted for an award at the imminent Modern Law Awards. Exciting stuff, and a glass or two of red wine may have been raised. Next time Brian Boehmer, Lara Squires FCIM, Nicola Conboy.

A stroll back to my hotel, and my luck remained good.

The heavens had opened but… I had a brolly in my bag! It’s the little things, isn’t it?!

My trip to London was rounded off with a breakfast meeting the day after with the mighty Rob Blech, talking all things risk and compliance.

Then it was another on time train back up North. Productive, tiring, and exciting. That’s what the best Business Development trips can be.

Have a chat with our Business Development team and discover how you can free yourself from the complexities of legal accounting with the help of outsourced legal cashiering, management accounts, credit control, payroll services and more. Outsourcing can help relieve the stresses law firms face when it comes to efficiency, regulation and compliance. Receive everything you need to run a successful law firm.

E: info@thecashroom.co.uk  

P: 01695 550950 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

Hold your value

I was lucky to have an overnight stay in a spa hotel recently.  As excited as I was to be going, I did go on my stay thinking ‘this is a bit overpriced’. I was thinking of other hotels that don’t charge as much and as busy as we all are, what else I could and ‘should’ be doing with my time.  

When my stay ended, I realised my approach had been all wrong, in-fact I was completely wrong and should have known better, especially when I spend my working day explaining the value of Cashroom. I wasn’t thinking about the value I was getting for the spend. 

The staff were welcoming, approachable and made you feel at ease – important when the purpose of the trip is to relax, and you are wandering around for 24 hours in a robe – there was also always someone available if we needed them.

These attributes are similar at Cashroom.

You have a robust team providing the service throughout the week, crucial for timeous payments and varying levels of transaction complexities within your firms accounting – you get the right level of expertise at the right time.  

The hotel teams experience was crucial, they were experts in their field of hospitality or therapies – advising treatments for various aches and pains, adjusting treatments or menu items for likes and dislikes and altering their treatments to focus on individual’s needs. Training is a key area when you are part of team Cashroom. Our teams all have access to Cashroom Academy and every member of the teams go through custom built qualifications within our academy alongside ILFM or SOLAS. A supported team with career development opportunities helps our teams know how much we value them.  

The environment.

The purpose was to relax. The expertise that had gone into making sure this place was an environment, where no matter what ticked your box to relax, there was a space catered just for you – numerous relaxation areas, food and drink options, fitness classes, private areas, outdoor and indoor facilities. That selection of activities has come from their expertise and knowledge from their customers of what they want, and they have then delivered. Our mission at Cashroom is to revolutionise legal accounting. At Cashroom we use industry best practice that comes from delivering our service to over 250 law firms of all shapes and sizes. A solo accountant or bookkeeper, or smaller outsourced provider coming into your firm does not have that breadth of expertise or the ability to put industry best practice processes in place. We are always learning from our client’s feedback.  

The product.

The hotel was selling quality relaxation. They did this with high standard accommodation, exceptional food and all their products had been selected with expertise. The Cashroom client portal was built by our own development team specifically for lawyers and law firm accounting. Our technology team is award winning; we place high value in ensuring our client communication tool is the best, risk free, efficient, and user-friendly product in the industry. The portal integrates with several practice management systems alongside the bank network, our development team are continuously developing and improving to ensure a constant excellent product 

I won’t go into the benefits of a night away or a spa day if you can get one, there is countless literature on the benefits of wellness and mental health breaks, but did you realise how much easier you might sleep at night by working with Cashroom? Clients who use our management accounting service receive monthly management accounts allowing them to know exactly how their firm is performing.

Clients who use our cashiering service know they are compliant with legal accounting regulations and our processes and client portal minimise risk for firms in multiple ways.  

OK, so it wasn’t all perfect.  There were little niggles that come from when you expect quality that don’t perhaps live up to expectation however when addressed sensibly and both parties are open then these things can be fixed and moved on from quickly.  

So, as I left and settled the bill my tail should have been between my legs – exceptional value and service is worth it, the skills and expertise the team at the hotel brought to me were valued by me. They hold their own value by charging what they do and that should be respected – ultimately it is then on them to deliver.   

Do you hold your own value in your business?  

We hold value in our accounting professionals at Cashroom which is why we are the best outsourced accounting providers for law firms in the UK. We continue to learn from our clients, we continue to remain curious and strive for better ways to do things and we continue to deliver an exceptional and highly valued service. 

Get in touch with our team today for a confidential, no obligation chat to discuss how Cashroom could support your firm.

Email: info@thecashroom.co.uk  

Phone: 01695 550950 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

Where to start when promoting your law firm

Whether you’re a large organisation or a sole practitioner, it is important to look at how you can improve your branding. The best way to increase enquiries is using marketing. When considering how you can improve your firm’s presence, take time to research if you have poor conversion rates, a website that could be gaining more traction or even a lack of social media presence. It is key to recognise how important marketing and business development is when trying to reach growth targets, develop new leads and ultimately gain new clients. However, there are many lawyers and law firms who aren’t sure where to start or how to drive their business further.  

So, where do you start marketing your law firm? 

Websites are key

As the world is now digital, your website is the front door to your business. Your website is the foundation where all your leads will end up, whether they find you through social media, Google Ads or the many other ways to attract prospects. It’s important that your website is presentable, fast and has the information clients will be looking for. Look at your website from the reader’s perspective, and provide details and relevant content for the field of law you are specialising in. Here are some key aspects to consider when building your site – 

  • Make sure your site is introspective – Don’t tell visitors how you are the correct law firm for them, show them who you are. Show them what you know about a specific field of law by providing details and relevant content.  
  • Be passionate in your bio – Once you have ensured the rest of your website’s text informs the visitor of what your firm does and how it can benefit them, it’s time to talk about you! Describe how many years of experience you have, discuss the significant accomplishments you have achieved in your field, and even add a little bit about your hobbies. 
  • Professional photography – Add photos of all your team. There’s no need to have law books or fancy backgrounds. A consistent set of simple, professional images will allow viewers to see who they will be working with. 
  • Continuously update content – Add blogs, publications, links to podcasts and newsletters to your site often. Don’t let updating content stagnate – your website won’t look relevant or show care with old or out of date content being easily available. 
Attract new visitors with Google Ads

Now that you have the foundation prepared, Google Ads is a great way to bring people towards your website. To start off you will want to think about your budget, how much you will want to spend per month or perhaps you are more interested in using PPC (Pay Per Click) ads.  

Does the text of your advert read well? Is the messaging representing your business properly? Also, ensure that the links within your adverts land on appropriate pages which are fast, informative and will leave a positive impression on the visitor.  

You will need to choose your ad’s keywords. Pick words which are related to your company, services and words which you believe your potential clients may be typing into Google. Remember to take advantage of negative keywords so your ads do not show to the wrong audience, wasting your valuable budget money.  

Figuring out what’s important to your clients

Take time to figure out who you want your clients to be or who they currently are and where they can be found. Think about what language they want to be spoken to in – is it professional, friendly? Deciding what your client persona is going to be is a big step in attracting future clients and creating content that will draw them in. 

Measure your enquiries and figure out where your enquiries are coming from. Was it from your advert, your website or something else? You need to track what is working for you and what is worth investing in again. 

There are many ways to attract the attention of clients, whether it’s through paid adverts, social media campaigns, blogs, podcasts or events. Find people who care about what it is your company provides and bring them in to help you deliver on these marketing activities.  

What do potential clients need? Where are they located? And what kind of content might they be interested in seeing? To start growing your business’ enquiries, all you must do is figure out who your target audience is, what they require from your firm, and which form of advertising works best on grabbing their attention. You will be attracting leads in no time!

Let Cashroom worry about your finances while you focus on building your brand and business. Have a chat with our team to find out more.

E: info@thecashroom.co.uk 

P: 01695 550950 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

Boost your business from beginner to brilliant with outsourcing

One of the easiest ways to boost your law firm from start-up to success is through the help of outsourcing.  

A lot of law firms focus their time and energy on servicing clients. This leaves little time to focus on other essential aspects of running a business. Most industries have management teams whose entire purpose is to run the corporate entity. Law firms can be quite different in this regard as they rely on the partners and the highest fee earners to generate income and make use of their expertise, making it harder to find time to look up from their workload of helping clients and reflect on their business. It is important to focus on the growth of your clients – but you need breathing space to move your own business forward too. 

What are the benefits?

If you want to scale and grow, outsourcing is essential.  

When asked about the benefits of outsourcing, law firms have put an emphasis on the time saving aspect. Fee earners are now able to focus on billable work rather than having to work through time consuming admin. 

They also discussed the ease of flexibility. Businesses may not have enough work worth hiring new staff for. However, when it comes to outsourcing, you can take or add the number of hours each week that are required to get certain tasks completed.  

Being able to scale and grow has been an essential aspect of outsourcing for firms. Businesses who were one or two person start-ups have been able to grow in just a couple of years into businesses with larger teams as they focus their valuable time on client relations and business development. With any extra work they are struggling with, instead of scrambling to get it finished at the last minute, they can rely on outsourcing to carry the extra workload when needed. 

Where do you begin deciding what to outsource?

Research what’s out there, what functions can be outsourced and ultimately what your end goal of outsourcing is. It may be to free up more time to focus on important tasks or you may not feel qualified enough to be the best person to complete specific tasks – that’s where the expertise of outsourcing can boost the quality of your work. Consider what will be the best return of investment for your business, for example, which tasks are slowing you down that could be handed over to someone more skilled. Also, make sure you are investing in the right outsourcing company – research client testimonials for the services you are interested in.  

What kind of questions should you have for a potential outsource provider?

Again, it is important to identify the tasks that you need assistance with. This will help you find a perspective partner as you can list the exact work you need help with, and you can be directed toward someone with the abilities to provide the services that you need. You must also ask about the contract (when you can leave if needed), the hourly rates, how many hours the provider wants from you and their GDPR/confidentiality contracts. 

What’s some advice that could be given to firms considering outsourcing?

Don’t wait, just react. Think about what you need to do to keep growth on track and prepare for any situation the economy may throw your way. There’s no better time to start than now with uncertainty and a new year ahead – so let someone with knowledge and experience help guide you to where you want to be. 

Ultimately, decide what you want to outsource, get the provider on board with your team, and go for it! It is impossible to grow a company all by yourself. Speak to the experts and see how your business can be encouraged to flourish.  

Start your research into outsourcing your legal accounting today by having a chat with Cashroom’s team. We would love to answer all your questions. 

E: info@thecashroom.co.uk  

P: 01695 550950 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

Time for a fresh start?

New Year, new finance function?

It’s that time of year when we begin to reflect on what we can do better this year than we did last year. Working in the legal profession, making time to step back and reflect can be difficult but it is important for business development and optimising your processes for maximum return. 

For many firms, now may be the time you begin to look at your business, your processes and procedures and how you could improve these. This includes your finance function – could your finance function be improved to save your fee earners time and accelerate organisational growth?  

If your firm is looking at your strategy and processes for this next year, Cashroom can help you increase efficiency, reduce risk and ensure compliance with our fully outsourced finance function.  

Why use an outsourced finance function?

Using an outsourced finance function allows you to focus on core elements of your business giving you the time you need to scale your business. You no longer need to worry about staff training, holiday cover, sick cover, pensions or parental leave, these all become the responsibility of your outsourced provider.  

Outsourcing can help relieve a lot of the stresses law firms face when it comes to compliance, regulation and efficiency. A key reason firm’s look to outsource is to gain extra and more expert resource for a much lower cost. Alongside this, outsourcing your finance function frees up fee earners time to spend more time doing what they do best –practicing law and generating revenue.  

You can read more on the benefits of outsourcing in a recent blog article here.

At Cashroom, our legal cashiers consist of ILFM and SOLAS qualified Cashiers, Solicitors and Chartered Accountants, providing our clients with a unique support network for all aspects of managing their accounts department. In 2021 we launched our partnership programme with ILFM as a training resource for our client facing staff. Our directors have held partnership positions in top 50 law firms and many of our cashiers and accountants have worked in law firms so know first-hand what is required to support a law firms finance function.  

We have the ability to scale our services dependent on our client’s demand. This means clients are no longer paying senior members of staff to complete junior tasks and no longer need to worry about resource as we have that covered with over 135 members of staff.  

We’re not just your legal cashier, our service expands into management accounting, statutory accounts and tax returns and even finance director services where a member of our team will sit on your board each month to provide financial data insights to help your firm make the right decisions. We can provide a range of services to suit each client on a bespoke basis, from day-to-day cashiering, bank reconciliations and postings to year end reports and business consultancy. We can provide additional resource to your existing team or become your fully outsourced finance function, whichever service/s we provide, we see ourselves as an extended branch of your in-house team.  

Ready to reflect?

Are you ready to reflect on your processes and discover how outsourcing your finance function could save your firm time, money and resource?  

Get in touch with our team today for a confidential no obligation chat to discuss how Cashroom could support your firm’s new year plans become a reality.  

Email: info@thecashroom.co.uk  

Phone: 01695 550950 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

Cashroom Cares at Christmas

Working in the legal industry can be extremely rewarding and busy at the same time. It can be difficult to take a moment of calm in your day to yourself. Especially with the new hybrid working culture, switching off from work has been made even tougher. How many of us are guilty of having our work emails on our phones? Just quickly checking your messages and emails whilst wrapping presents or watching the TV? As accessible as technology has made remote and flexible working and the host of benefits that brings, we also need to remember to take time to fully switch off and re-charge, especially during the festive period. 

We are urging all our connections and Cashroom friends to take a moment to yourself and have a moment of calm in your busy day. Share your moments with us using the hashtag #CashroomCares. Whether it’s treating yourself to some chocolates, having a coffee, reading a book, whatever it may be that brings you calmness during your busy working days.  

Tips for taking a moment of Calm in your day
  1. Take 10 Breaths

Take a moment to breathe and reflect. Take 10 deep breaths. This is a great technique for when you may be feeling stress or having a tough day at work as this can be done anywhere. On your morning commute, at your desk or on your lunch. Take a few minutes to breathe. 

  1. List 3 positives for the day

When we are busy and feel stressed, it can be easy to forget the positives you may have completed in your day. Aim to list three things that have been positive at the end of your working day. Did you get a task done you have been putting off? Get through all of your to-do lists for the day? Receive some great client feedback? Whatever it may be that has been a positive in your day, take the time to note them down to reflect on.  

  1. Have a chat with a co-worker or friend

Especially when working remote, we can go hours of even days without speaking to our co-workers. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and have a chat, it doesn’t always have to be specifically about work. Ask them how their day is going and tell them about yours.  

  1. Go for a walk

Especially in the winter months, it can feel like we don’t see much daylight. Try to get out and go for a walk, in the morning or on your lunch break, it doesn’t have to be a massive hike, just a 5–10-minute walk can help relieve stress.  

At Cashroom, we encourage our staff to join in our daily mile. Staff are given the option to take an additional 15-minute break at 11am or 3pm whichever works best for them, to go outside and walk a mile. Getting away from your desk, even for a short time throughout the day, can increase productivity, relieve stress and allows you to re-charge a little. Plus, you can go with your co-workers to get everyone more motivated and social.  

How will you take your moment of calm and switch off over Christmas? Let us know on LinkedIn or Twitter using the hashtag #CashroomCares.

And to find out about our services or to book a call in with our team, get in touch: 

E: info@thecashroom.co.uk 

P: 01695 550950 

 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

12 Benefits of Cashroom

The holiday’s are just around the corner and we’re all looking forward to some downtime with friends and family and lots of good food and drink. But before we break off, in true Christmas spirit we want to remind you of the benefits that outsourcing your finance function to Cashroom can bring to your firm. 

It’s our Christmas gift to you… On the 1st day of Christmas Cashroom gave to me! 

One main point of contact

Working with Cashroom your firm will have a dedicated account manager who you can contact if you have any queries. You will also only need one set of login credentials when utilising our integrations for our client portal, reducing the risk of human error and cyber-crime.  

Two Billion

£2billion pounds of law firms clients monies transferred securely and efficiently each month by our expert legal cashiers. 

Three key benefits

 Our services allow firms to reduce risk, ensure compliance and increase efficiency.  

Four key integration partners

Our revolutionary web-portal integrates with four leading practice management systems, LEAP, Clio, Kylant and Denovo. This makes working with Cashroom even easier for our clients.  

Five senior managers and directors with unique experience in the legal sector

We have five senior managers and directors who have held senior roles at top 50 law firms – as well as some of our cashiers and accountants who have worked in finance functions for law firms, meaning they have first-hand experience working for firms just like you.  

Six services available

We have six core services available: 

Learn more about our services here.

Seven industry award shortlists

This year alone we have been shortlisted for seven industry awards, one of which one we went on to win – we are industry experts and our shortlists from this year alone support this, our service cannot be replicated by most law firms in house. 

Eight key banking partners  

Our integrations with our banking partners who include Barclays, Natwest and Santander allow us to significantly reduce the risk of human error when initiating payments and checking incoming funds.  

In the 9th month of the year we said ‘YES’ to the US

In September this year, after a successful trip in the summer, Cashroom employed and welcomed our first US bookkeeper to our ever-growing team.  

Over 10 years of supporting law firms 

Cashroom is now in our 15th year of supporting the industry with legal accounting. We have grown substantially over the past year and now have over 250 clients and over 4,500 users on our secure client portal.  

Eleven webinar collaborations

Our Cashroom experts have spoken on panels/co-hosted eleven webinars this year, covering key topics such as outsourcing dos and don’ts, open banking, business resilience, insurance, law firm growth and lots more. Our unique experience in the sector is just another reason why Cashroom is the ideal partner for your outsourced finance solution.  

Twelve months of continuous support for our clients

Using Cashroom means firms don’t need to worry about holiday cover, sick cover or parental leave. Cashroom gives you additional resource so that you can take your breaks rest assured that we have your accounts covered.  

 To find out more about our service or to book a call in with our team get in touch: 

E: info@thecashroom.co.uk 

P: 01695 550950 

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and all the best for 2023! We’re excited to see what the next 12 months will bring!  

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
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Habito: A Happy Cashroom Client

Habito is an award-winning mortgage broker and home-financing service. In 2020, Habito expanded their Habito Plus home-buying service – this combines the mortgage, survey and legal work under one roof – to include an in-house law firm dedicated to conveyancing.  

To support this expansion of the business, Habito partnered with Cashroom to deliver compliant, efficient and risk avoidant finance services to the firm.  

About Habito

Habito is an award-winning home-buying and financing company on a mission to make mortgages easier and to transform the UK’s £1.6tn mortgage market by taking the hell – stress, jargon and unnecessary cost – out of financing a home. 

Since launching in April 2016, Habito has: 

  • Helped over 500,000 people better understand their mortgage needs 
  • Submitted more than £9 billion worth of mortgages 
  • Launched Habito Plus – a ground-breaking home buying service which brings a buyer’s mortgage application, conveyancing needs and survey under one roof – in January 2020 
  • Built an award-winning service – *British Bank Awards 2021 – Customer Service Champion; British Bank Awards 2020 – Best Mortgage Broker; MoneyNet Awards – Best Online Mortgage Broker 2019 & 2020 
  • Created a service customers love: it is the top-rated mortgage company on Trustpilot, with more than 7,600 reviews (90% at 5-stars) 
  • Achieved B Corp-certified status and taken its place among a global movement of companies using business as a force for good that puts social and environmental responsibility on the same level as profit 
  • Raised more than £68 million in equity from some of the biggest names in Venture Capital: Augmentum Fintech, Atomico, mojo.capital, Mosaic Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Regah Ventures, Volution and SBI Investment 

Find out more about Habito here.  

About Cashroom

Cashroom’s mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting. Saving firms time and money whilst at the same time increasing efficiency, reducing risk and ensuring compliance. We have been supporting law firms for over 14 years and currently support over 250 law firms with over 4,500 users on our unique and dynamic client portal. Our experienced and qualified cashiers and accountants securely transfer over £2 billion each month for our clients. Cashroom work with firms of all shapes and sizes and can scale our services up and down dependent on demand, our services include:  

To find out more about our services get in touch with our team.

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

Striving for bigger things? How outsourcing can help your firm’s growth

Why Outsource?  

Every law firm has the same goal, success for both their client and their business. But, running a successful law firm is not always easy.  

Outsourcing can relieve a lot of the stresses law firms face when it comes to compliance, regulation and efficiency. One key reason firm’s look to outsource is to gain extra and more expert resource for a much lower cost. Another is to allow firms to free up fee earners time to spend more time doing what they do best – practicing law and generating revenue. As firm’s strive for success and growth, freeing up more time to focus on core functions and client care is critical. 

Since the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in firms outsourcing. Cashroom have seen a 35% increase in clients outsourcing their finance function since March 2021.

Key Benefits to Outsourcing  
Innovation  

During the pandemic, 85% of firms were using some form of software to manage their firm. 83% of client meetings were virtual and 79% were storing their data in the cloud. Reuters have reported that the number of lawyers wanting to work remotely is now 86%, this is double pre-pandemic figures.  

Outsourcing gives firms access to the latest innovations and technology to enhance their processes but without the cost and stress of implementing it themselves. This means firms can access the latest technology to ensure their infrastructure is as robust and efficient as possible. Outsourced partners will have the ownership too, freeing up time for the fee earners and directors. Why pay for systems and take time for training when you can outsource to an expert who has helped other law firms just like you?  

Cost Savings  

Reduce long term expenses and stay within your budget. Outsourcing provides cost savings in multiple areas for law firms. Save costs on office space and avoid overpaying senior members of staff to complete junior tasks. Save on NI and pension contributions amongst many other staff costs. Outsourcing allows you to get specific jobs done at a lower cost without compromising on quality.  

Compliance  

Outsourcing increases compliance for law firms. By outsourcing to experts in a specific area, you can relax in the knowledge that you are compliant with the regulator. Your firms processes and procedures can be optimised by outsourced professionals, ensuring compliance – let outsourced professionals take the burden of compliance on, so you don’t have to.  

Accelerate Organisational Growth  

Outsourcing provides you more time to spend on core functions and growing your business. Outsourcing also provides the tools firms wouldn’t have access to on their own, gaining expertise and amending processes to ensure optimal efficiency for your firm allows your business to grow substantially quicker, especially with the support and guidance of specialists coming in who see the business from an outside perspective.  

Increase Resource 

Outsourcing increases resource for your organisation at a fraction of the cost. You don’t need to worry about holiday cover, sick leave, parental leave, or pensions, all of this becomes the responsibility of the outsourced provider. All the reward, none of the stress. This also means your firm can operate with a reduced turnaround time which supports you, especially during particularly busy periods.  

Efficiency  

Outsourcing increases efficiency for firms, meaning firms can focus on what they do best. Law firms can outsource administrative support, IT services, accounting and cashiering, money laundering, compliance checks and many other services. All of which allows firms to increase their efficiency when it comes to their processes. Increasing efficiency again allows firms to focus on what matters – their clients. 

To discuss outsourcing your finance function, speak to one of our experts today:  

info@thecashroom.co.uk  

P: 01695 550950 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

The American adventure continues

Back in the summer a team from Cashroom went out to USA on a fact-finding mission. We had done as much online research and as many virtual meetings as we could, but if we were to truly assess the potential of the States as a market, we needed to get over there.

The trip was a resounding success with a universally positive response to our products and services – the beginnings of a network were there.

The go/no go decision was relatively easy- it was an emphatic GO! We hired our first bookkeeper in Nebraska, which is where we will be basing our team in the US. We started looking at other potential key hires, and we made arrangements to head back to the states in October.

It was one of those ‘meant to be’ moments when we realised that our already arranged attendance at ClioCon on the 10th and 11th October would be immediately followed by the Nebraska State Bar Association annual conference on 12th, 13th and 14th. We decided to sponsor that conference and take a speaking slot.

So it was that on the weekend of 8th October an intrepid team set out to ClioCon which was in Nashville this year. Four of us from the UK, and two from the USA.

The scale of the event was mind boggling- thousands of attendees, hundreds of exhibitors and a packed programme of speaking events and networking opportunities.

As you know – I love an event. I’ve been to hundreds of events over the years. This was, by a country mile, the biggest legal sector event I’ve ever seen. The speakers were fascinating – certainly not just a stream of Clio sales talks. Oh, and we were treated to an evening at the Grand Ole Opry (pretty much the home of Country and Western music) watching a few amazing bands. Sometimes this job has some really great elements!

On the Tuesday evening we took internal flights to Omaha ready for the Nebraska conference. We got to bed about 1am and then were setting up our stands by about 0730 on the Wednesday. We were a little unsure what to expect, but the warmth of the welcome we received from the Bar members themselves and the lawyers and other exhibitors was wonderful. It’s also important to mention the size of that event too- to put it into perspective this event was bigger than any UK legal sector event except perhaps for LegalEx and Legal Geek, I’d say. Thousands of lawyers and more than 30 exhibitors.

We had some really positive conversations, often starting with “I love your accents” but very quickly moving onto, “your services sound like just what we need”. It was a week of hard work but our team also had great fun – Liz, our US book keeper, fitted right in (and put up with my jokes). We also enjoyed delivering a talk on risk, efficiency and compliance which seemed well received.

As we packed up our stand on the Friday, we were tired but elated from a busy and successful week.

Our move into the USA is very much in its infancy, however it feels like things are moving forward at a good pace, while ensuring we get the foundations right. Exciting times ahead at Cashroom!

Get in touch with our team today as we revolutionise legal accounting: 

Email: info@thecashroom.co.uk

Phone: 01695 550950

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

A happy Law Society, a happy law firm client

Cashroom helps over 250 law firms throughout the UK with running their outsourced cashiering, management accounts and payroll functions. Our ILFM (Institute of Legal Finance and Management) trained team also work hard so that compliance is ensured for our clients’ businesses. We can help with SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority), CLC, Scottish Law Society or whatever regulatory regime the law firm falls under. We take care of the regulatory regime while law firms focus on what matters most to them – the law. 

One of the many firms who have benefited from Cashroom’s determination to ensure compliance is Law Firm X. They came from a position of not being sure how to use their Practice Management System – to having fantastic feedback from the Law Society of Scotland! But how did they achieve such amazing results, and how did we assist them on their journey? 

Law Firm X approached Cashroom back in 2020.

They had serious concerns about the state of their financial records and their ability to show compliance with the Law Society of Scotland Accounts Rules. This was following a Law Society of Scotland Inspection where the inspectors shared similar concerns.  

The main cause of the issues was the migration to and the use of their Practice Management System that no one had ever used before and so there were a considerable number of errors.

Cashroom then undertook a project to correct all these records and simultaneously began transition straight into one of our cashiering teams as well as an accounting team, where we began serving the daily cashiering and bookkeeping needs.  

As well as spending significant time fully understanding how the software works, we met with the client numerous times to completely understand their needs which allowed us to design robust processes that ensured compliance with accounts rules as well as meeting those requirements. We have now been working with this client for over 2 years and the firm is doing extremely well. 

Over the last 2 years we have worked hard to continue building the relationship with our team.

We meet with the Firm X regularly to discuss the ongoing service as well as taking time to understand how their business is growing and changing and how we can assist with that. This has resulted in us being asked to take on additional services, which is a great illustration of how well the team have worked over the last 2 years given the clients hesitation to outsource at the start of the relationship. It is a huge achievement that we have managed to gain this amount of trust with the client.

Finally, the client went through a Law Society re-inspection this year…

… And we received glowing feedback from the inspectors on how we had managed to turn the records around. This is amazing news and a huge congratulations to everyone who has been involved. A happy Cashroom team, a happy Law Society and, a successful law firm client! 

Cashroom ensures that firms are compliant with Solicitors Accounts Rules and other legislations. Your firm can benefit from this, just like our client did. Why not become another Cashroom success story! 

To find out more about our services that can help your firm, please contact daniel.jones@thecashroom.co.uk or call 07949 177 952. 

About Cashroom

Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

Book a demo

We’ve been with Cashroom for quite a few years now, and I would never go back. In any business, and particularly in times of uncertainty, it’s important to control your costs, and that’s exactly what you help me do.

Sharon Needle
Sharon Needle
Managing Partner, Needle Partners
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter
Scottish Office
  • Craglea House Quarrywood Court, Livingston Village, Livingston.
    West Lothian.
    EH54 6AX
  • 01506 401289
  • info@thecashroom.co.uk
English Office
  • Suite B, West Lancashire Investment Centre, Maple View, Skelmersdale, Lancashire.
    WN8 9TG
  • 01695 550950
  • info@thecashroom.co.uk
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