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
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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
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

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
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

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

Know your law firm inside out – with Management Accounts

Law firms, like any other business, rely on accurate and timely financial information to make informed decisions and to manage their operations effectively. Management Accounts provide this information by regularly summarising a company’s financial performance and position. Budgets, cashflow projections and expert advice are crucial to knowing where your law firm is and predicting where you are going.  

With the current economic times, it is more important than ever to have access to this data. So why should your firm be using Management Accounts and what are the benefits to you?  

Accuracy & Transparency  

Whilst lawyers have access to their own firm’s finances, this raw data can be difficult to decipher into meaningful information that can be used to support the business. Management Accounts provides you with detailed information on budgets, cashflow projections, performance analysis and more. Raw data is transformed into easy-to-read visual illustrations that have the power to add value across the entire business. The right and accurate data gives you more control over what is happening in your firm, and the transparency of management accounts gives firms more control, allows for better strategy planning and helps avoid penalties. This information supports organisational growth and stakeholder management. On top of this, transparency is valued by clients, strengthening client relationships and engaging new ones. 

Compliance & Efficiency 

Management accounts helps firms to manage their cashflow more efficiently, by the creation of budgets and forecasts, supporting firms’ growth. As well as budgeting and cashflow, Management Accounts also identifies areas in which firms can improve efficiency and reduce costs.

For example, a firm may realise they are spending too much on office supplies that are not needed as much as new technology to streamline operations.  

In law firms, compliance is key. Law firms are required to file financial reports and tax returns on a regular basis. Management Accounts helps to ensure that firms follow all relevant regulations and avoid penalties for non-compliance.  

Time Saving  

Management Accounts provides information to support your firm in improving overall performance. Calculations are made from time spent on clients’ tasks as well as identifying inefficiencies and time-wasting tasks. This in turn helps firms avoid bookkeeping and accounting problems by reducing the risk of overbilling and underbilling clients for work, which not only saves firms time and effort, but contributes to client satisfaction.  Management accounts allow firms to be prepared for a range of scenarios which could arise, such as potential financial risks and opportunities, changes in the legal market or fluctuations in demand for certain services. Having predictions through monthly or quarterly management accounting means firms can save time in their response and have clear plans in place before such events happen. 

Good management accounting is crucial to the success of a law firm, and it should be done by an expert in legal accounting.  Outsourcing Management Accounts to Cashroom allows your firm to focus on what matters – your clients. Not only freeing up time but also allowing your firms partners and managers to make strategic and operational decisions based on accurate and reliable data.  

At Cashroom we recognise how important this service is and provide our clients with a developed standard reporting package that meets the requirements of the banks’ annual review.  

Have a look at our whitepaper to find out more about Cashroom’s management accounts services or talk with our team to find out how we can help your 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
Sign Up to our Monthly Newsletter

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

New product updates

Out of Office

You can now mark your portal account as out of office. 

Managed from your portal profile, you can set your status to “Out of Office” which will display a red dot on the bottom right of your profile icon across the portal. This indicates to other users that you are out of office. You can also set an optional status message which will display when hovering over your profile icon to explain the why and when around your absence.

This will be visible to everyone in your company and your extended team at Cashroom.

Out of office
Matter kanban boards

We have added kanban boards specific for a particular matter for all clients using integrated Practice Management Systems (Currently Clio, LEAP, Denovo and Klyant).

Cashroom - Matter kanban board

At a quick glance, you will be able to easily see the status of all requests or transactions relating to a matter. 

Navigate to the matter kanban from the matter details on any request.

Cashroom - request detail

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

What happens when I join Cashroom?

If you are thinking of outsourcing your finance department or even part of it then you already know that it is a big decision to make! 

At Cashroom, we can scale our services to suit your demands. We work with law firms of all shapes and sizes from sole practitioners to top 50 law firms. Our service is also tailored to our clients, we can service your entire law firms finance function from daily cashiering, management accounts to year end reports. We can also provide support in other areas such as our Finance Director service, credit control, payroll and statutory accounts – enabling your firm to grow with the help and support of our expertise.  

A common question we are asked is what happens when I join Cashroom? The initial stage of joining Cashroom is our transition process. This is where our dedicated transition team analyse and review your processes to see where we can save you time and money as well as getting you set up on our systems ready for your cashiering and/or accounting team to get to work on your accounts.  

Let us start at the beginning…  

When you decide you want to work with us, we will issue a proposal to your firm. This will include our bespoke quote to you for the services requested.  

Then your contract will be prepared and sent to you to sign. Once signed we can begin to get you set up as quickly as possible. We will also provide you with a link to sign up to our quick and easy direct debit service. Finally, we will conduct AML checks on all owners of the firm, once all of this is complete, we can begin the transition process.  

Transitioning to your Cashroom Team  

Our transition process is designed to ensure we have everything in place we need to support your firm, assess your current processes, and ensure we are working towards the same goals. The transition team will be on hand to answer any queries you have along the way and support you through your onboarding journey. 

Access to our unique, secure, and dynamic portal  

You will be provided access to our portal. This is where you will communicate with your team at Cashroom and track your requests. The portal provides a clear audit trail and removes the insecurities of email communication, enhancing security for your firm.  

Our portal also integrates with the banking network and leading Practice Management Systems including LEAP, Clio, Denovo and Klyant. Our integrations ensure compliance with seamless workflows that reduce duplication of data entry, save time, and reduce risk of human error.  

Getting started 

In order to get started, we need to know which systems you are currently using such as your accounting system and online banking platform. We will send you our transition documents to be completed. Your transition administrator will then request access to the relevant accounts ready for our in-service teams to use.  

You will also have a processes and procedures discussion with your transition team to discuss the agreed services and how our team will work. This gives you a full overview of how the teams will work on our end and opportunity to ask any questions you may have. From this discussion, your transition manager will then take the time to create a bespoke service guide for your firm. Your service guide acts as a reference of the agreed service and procedures and details responsibilities for both parties.  

Training & Support  

We will then host a remote training session for all staff members who need to be able to use the Cashroom portal and demonstrate the new accounting procedures we have agreed with the firm. Refresher training is available when required and our in-service team will be on hand to support you throughout your time with Cashroom if you need any further support with the systems.  

Ready to go! 

Once transition is completed you will be introduced to your dedicated in-service team to relax in the knowledge that your accounts are now in the hands of our Cashroom experts. https://www.thecashroom.co.uk/how-cashroom-is-committed-to-staff-training/ 

Interested in working with Cashroom?  

Get in touch with our team today: 

Daniel Jones – Sales & Business Development Manager  

Email: Daniel.Jones@thecashroom.co.uk 

Phone: 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

Prepare to thrive during tough times

There is no point burying our heads in the sand and ignoring that times are tough – we can in-fact prepare and thrive in another recession. As well as previous recessions, the last few years have been pretty rough, but this means that law firms now have resilience and confidence they possibly did not have in the past. 

Many of you may or may not know that Cashroom was born in the 2008 recession. Founder Catherine O’Day was asked to help law firms who wanted to ensure compliant legal accounting and that the only staff the employed were their fee earners. It was clear to many firms back then that having compliant accounting and good management information was something they needed but could outsource. Over 250 UK law firms now work alongside Cashroom accountants and legal cashiers to do this. During the turbulent times we now find our country in, law firms are thinking again about how to survive.  

A lot can go badly wrong when it comes to accounting in law firms – especially if you put your accounting on the back burner even if you just plan to do it over a few months. 

A lot of areas of the law are what could be called ‘recession-proof’ and some legal services will always be needed regardless of the economy. Some problems are multiplied, and work becomes even more plentiful for some during a recession, for example family and criminal lawyers are likely to be as busy as ever. Good financial data is just as important for these firms, to allow good planning for sustainable growth.

So, some areas of the law are not going to do as well but firms where there may be financial problems need good financial data more than ever – this is not the time to scrimp on good accounting. Firms must strategically allocate resources to be prepared e.g., marketing spend, staffing costs, overheads. A professional legal cashier and accountant can help you manage your firm’s revenue and ensure your firm’s financial transactions are handled ethically and accurately. 

If you are the owner of a law firm, you should care about accounting for law firms and legal bookkeeping—a lot. Why? 
To ensure your firm’s financial statements are accurate, complete, and up to date, you need an excellent legal cashier or cashiering team.

Your firms’ financials should be handled in your firms’ best interests. Keeping your firm’s accounts in order may not be glamorous. But having up-to-date and accurate records and professional accountants experienced in accounting for law firms is key to unlocking law firm growth and financial success for your practice. 

Effective accounting for law firms is critical to your firm’s success. So be prepared, it’s likely going to be a bumpy journey ahead, but with the correct planning from good data your firm can ride out the rough road ahead. 

To find out how we can provide accounting services for your law firm, please email 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
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PII and Cashroom, how to de-risk your finance function?

It’s that time of year again when firms begin renewing their Professional Indemnity Insurance. This can be a stressful time for firms with so much to consider. An outsourced finance function can not only de-risk your business, but also importantly streamline efficiencies. This makes your practice run smoothly so you can focus on fee earning during this busy time. 

In their ‘De-risk your finance function’ article, Lockton, one of the leading UK suppliers of PII said; ‘A good quality outsourcer will have processes in place and certifications to counter cyber threats. They will have robust recruitment and supervision procedures to minimise internal fraud and error risks. These processes will be augmented using cutting-edge technology, such as secure communication portals and training routines to ensure all staff are constantly updated on threats. Use of automation and task management tools will also minimise errors.’ 

You may be thinking, how is Professional Indemnity Insurance relevant to Cashroom? Let us tell you…  

While Cashroom does not provide or submit any Professional Indemnity Insurance on behalf of or for firms, working with Cashroom does ensure that firms are compliant with Solicitors Accounts Rules and other legislations which can only be a positive for firms when applying for their renewals.  

Being able to prove your compliance from your accounts can only support your Professional Indemnity Insurance. So how does Cashroom ensure compliance?  

Unique and Secure Technology  

Creating a secure service with further reduced risk payment methods for firms is a massive priority for our full-time technology development team. Cashroom has designed and developed a unique web portal which removes the insecurities of email communication for clients. This reduces the risk of human error, fraud, and other cyber-crime. Our technology has been developed in its entirety in-house and is monitored daily. Clients can log on and request tasks for their accountants and cashiers and have clear visibility of their accounts and tasks. With integrations into the leading Practice Management systems and the banking network, Cashroom makes law firms tools work better by integrating with industry leading software and custom applications right into our Cashroom Portal. 

Qualified Cashiers and Accountants  

Our partnership with ILFM (Institute of Legal Finance & Management) means all of our cashiers work through the ILFM cashiering programme to gain their recognised qualification. Meaning, all our cashiers are qualified or are in the process of gaining their qualification. In the case of training cashiers, they always have a team leader and manager to supervise them whilst they continue to develop their skills. With our trained staff, we are providing our clients with a unique support network in all aspects of managing their accounts department. Cashroom’s expertise and dedication to regular training means we are always ahead of the game when it comes to new regulations and compliance, providing peace of mind for our clients.  

Clear Audit Trail  

Our Cashroom portal not only reduces risk for our clients but provides a clear audit trail for their (and their insurers) visibility. We can deliver this through our secure web portal where clients can communicate with their Cashroom cashiers and accountants, log requests and see an overview of their accounts.  

At Cashroom, we believe a good quality outsourcer will have processes in place and certifications to counter cyber threats. These processes will be augmented by the use of cutting-edge technology, such as secure communication portals and training routines to ensure all staff are constantly updated on threats. The use of automation and task management tools to also minimise errors. That’s why we ensure we deliver all of this, so our clients get the best service. 

Watch the video from Lockton which discusses how Cashroom can de-risk your firm’s finance function.

If you would like to hear more about how we can ensure compliance with your law firm, please email 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

How do you find out what’s happening in your marketplace?

A large part of running a business is making decisions. The best decisions are made when you have all the information on your various options… but how do you gather that information (accepting always that you will never have perfect information!)?

Many of the more critical decisions I made as Managing Partner of a law firm, were based on my views on the market – should we hire a Commercial Property specialist? Yes if the market’s growing, no if it’s going to crash.

But where do you get that market information? How do you know if the market is going to crash?

There are of course lots of different ways, from expensive paid for surveys, to your own reading and day to day experience. However, one of the best ways I found was to speak to as many people in your market as possible, and “distill” their collective wisdom. Of course, I came across many conflicting views, and some utter nonsense, but, for on the ground market intelligence, speaking to people operating in my market was always helpful.

When I joined Cashroom, I found there were very few firms operating in our market (outsourced legal accounting), but I could speak with lots and lots of solicitors?

Cashroom now acts for over 220 firms across the UK.

As Chairman, part of my role is to speak with as many of our clients as I can, simply the get a feel for how things are going. In these conversations, I gather lots of market intelligence.

For example, it seems the conveyancing boom ended in Scotland a while ago, but is just starting to turn in England now. Many clients are struggling to recruit, but one has been very successful in recruiting by thoroughly overhauling their benefits package, and including far more staff in (for example) private health insurance than might otherwise be the case. One client, faced with difficulty in recruitment, decided not to recruit, turned away all but the most profitable work, and is now more profitable than they have ever been.

Insolvency practitioners are as nervous as everybody else about the next few months as they fear that lack of liquidity/confidence will impact the purchase of distressed assets from insolvent companies. If that happens, there will be no cash available in many insolvencies to pay professional fees.

And finally, many (many) people are nervous about increasing interest rates and how that will impact on the market.

However, I was speaking to one client this morning who remembers interest rates of 14% … and the world didn’t end (cold comfort I know)!

So, next time you get an email from me, inviting you to fix a call I would appreciate 30 mins of your time for a chat. I’ll pick your brains about how things are going, share what I’ve learned from similar conversations, and try and make some sense of where it’s all heading!

Speak to you soon.

David Calder, Cashroom Chairman 

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
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  • Craglea House Quarrywood Court, Livingston Village, Livingston.
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    Lancashire.
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