Kennedy Partnership
Not many law firms can, like the Kennedy Partnership, trace their roots back over 200 years. From four offices in west Lancashire they provide residential and commercial conveyancing, estate agency, surveying, probate and personal injury services as well as handling family and criminal matters for private and legally aided clients.
The firm has used Quill accounting software since 1999 and it was to Quill that senior partner Stephen Hathaway turned again more recently for a solution to the need for more detailed management information direct from his desktop.
A significant investment in new hardware was the first step in creating a centralised system linking the four offices in a virtual private network (VPN) with the main server located at the firm’s head office in Ormskirk. Now with the latest Quillennium Interactive software installed, everyone in the practice is benefiting from the sharing of data and the efficiency of the workflow. Fee earners and secretaries can now open new clients and matters and immediately start recording time.
Practice manager David Hardy comments, “Previously I was responsible for providing a manual breakdown of income and expenditure for each branch. Now, by using a purchase ledger for the first time, we can allocate the expenditure that, along with the income generated by the fee earners, automatically creates an accurate profit and loss by department.
“My own PC at home is also linked to the VPN so that I can access my emails and Quillennium Interactive. If I need to work on the budgets, for example, I can do so from my home office,” David adds.
The firm’s Burscough branch handles a large volume of conveyancing work and now has access to the system 24/7 for the information necessary to work out clients’ final bills. This has eliminated a great deal of work, and reduced expenditure, as head office staff previously printed out the ledger and faxed it to the branch.
In a move away from paper-based systems, the practice plans to introduce e-chits in the very near future. Monthly submissions to the LSC are already being made on-line which has further cut down on paperwork.
On a monthly, weekly or daily basis Quillennium Interactive can provide a snapshot of what is happening within each department. Whether they’re monitoring the numbers of new files opened, checking profitability figures or accessing management reports, the partners have the information at their fingertips to ensure the fitness of the firm for the challenges of the 21st century.
