Stay safe; look before you leap

If you’re thinking of changing software suppliers, make sure you put data access and compliance high on your list of needs. Staying connected and being compliant is in reality what keeps your doors open. And at the core of compliance it’s about the proper handling of client money, maintaining accurate records and having a clear audit trail.

While system functionality is also important, unless you have the basics in place, the bells and whistles are irrelevant. So before taking a tour of all the features within prospective systems on your shortlist, think about these three questions:-

What service uptime guarantee’s offered?
Where’s the data centre located?
What’s the visibility of client and office account financials on one screen? 

To answer these questions, you should note:-

• Data centre location: New GDPR legislation specifies EEA-based servers for your data’s retention. Following Brexit, data centres in the UK are likely to be more preferable.
• Uptime guarantee: The higher the figure, the better, to keep your business continuously running without interruption. Aim for over 99.9%.
• Protection procedures: ISO accreditation, anti-spam, anti-virus, SSL encryption, automated back-ups, firewall and physical security measures should be the norm.
• Compliance centricity: Software offering AML screening, identity verification, conflict checking and breach alerts helps you stay in control of your regulatory requirements.
• Single-system accounting: Being able to manage both client and office accounts in one program is significantly easier than having to constantly switch between applications to manage each area independently.
• Support services: Evaluate the quality of support for implementation, training and account management. Don’t get caught off guard by unexpected delays.

At Quill, we promise to deliver all of the above and more. With us, your business really is in safe hands.

Check out our cloud-hosted Interactive practice management and legal accounts software for starters then get in touch to talk to our friendly team. Email us at info@quill.co.uk or call 0161 236 2910.