Exizent: Three benefits of standardising your estate accounts workflows
Standardising approaches has been a common tactic for many industries in the drive to become more efficient across the last decade however it is something that has been lacking within the legal sector, particularly when it comes to completing estate accounts.
As the final task to be completed in the preparation and distribution of an estate, there is no statutory requirement or prescribed rules as to the format of the estate accounts or the degree of detail required. However, they should be clear, accurate and easy for the personal representatives and beneficiaries to follow.
Whilst there are industry standards such as STEP which many lawyers incorporate into their accounting formats, there isn’t a standard way that makes it easy and clear for clients to understand that also takes the onus off of the more senior and experienced members of your team.
But beyond taking responsibility away from those senior members to what benefit does standardising, or even better – automating – your estate accounts process have on your ways of working?
- Greater delegation across subordinates
Without workflow standardisation, it’s likely that only a limited number of people can perform specific functions because the know-how required to complete key tasks is often siloed, or fragmentally passed along through emails, notes, or word-of-mouth.
By standardising your process, people within your organisation will be better equipped to perform the complicated tasks involved in estate accounts. It is often the case that the onus to complete estate accounts is on the more experienced solicitors, whose time is often more costly to the client and sparse, causing delays in the completion.
By creating a process that allows even junior staff members, who have a basic understanding of the principles of accounting, to complete complicated estate accounts, significant time and costs can be saved which are immediately transferred to the client, improving their experience in dealing with your firm.
- Significant time savings
One of the most time-consuming aspects of the administration of any estate is maintaining accurate records and preparing estate accounts. The accuracy with which it is done can make a major difference to the time it takes, which in turn impacts directly not only o cost, but also on the time taken to wind up the estate. Implementing procedures to standardise your estate accounts would facilitate easy and efficient record-keeping, saving you and your team significant time.
Given the complexity involved within accounts, it’s imperative that the information inputted throughout the estate administration is correct. By standardising your approach and even adopting an automated approach that lets you input information about a case once, with that information then transferred across all relevant areas of that case, through available software’s on the market such as Exizent, you can reduce the administrative burden and risk of errors. This approach would also allow for simpler collaboration between team members, reducing the time taken to complete your accounts and preventing any unseen delays that could impact the client.
One of the best ways to experience these gains is by leveraging an industry-wide approach to the input and output of estate accounts. With the increase in technology adoption within law firms, solutions are now available that incorporate standardised approaches for your team. These solutions help break down processes into individual steps and can provide instant reporting and s automated distribution calculations, saving the users significant time.
When you standardise a process, your team can complete tasks more confidently and consistently over time, and you have greater insight into the resources such as time, technology or labour required to reach specific outcomes.
- Amazing client services
Lastly, and arguably most importantly, standardisation results in incredible client services and happy clients.
Documented workflows reduce the likelihood that teams will make mistakes or miss steps when completing estate accounts. As a result, clients develop trust in your firm since they know they can expect a high-quality end product, every time. At a time when your clients are vulnerable and going through a bereavement, removing undue stress is key. By standardising your estate accounts, you ensure the output is clear and concise making it easy for the beneficiaries and creditors to digest.
Standardisation also sets advisor-client expectations. Your clients understand their role in your estate accounts workflows i.e., how, and when to provide you with documentation and information, and what they can expect from you in return. When both parties agree upon expectations, you can work together more effectively and cultivate a stronger relationship.
Clients who are happy with the service they receive, particularly when dealing with such a stressful and mentally-draining time, are hugely valuable to your firm – they are much more likely to sign up for additional services and work with your firm for the long run, as well as provide referrals. Focusing on client retention is critical to business success, as the cost of retaining a client is much lower than the cost of acquiring a new one.
Exizent’s mission is to improve the bereavement process for all involved. That includes the legal services firm dealing with a case, the financial institutions managing case assets, and the client.
We continue to develop and improve our product offering so that we assist in improving the bereavement process. Sign-up to our mailing list to hear about our latest innovative product development due to be released in the next month or book a demo and gain exclusive access to our new feature.
