CLIENT ONBOARDING: Tackle the complexity of options to make the right decisions with confidence.

Introduction

With the growing number of suppliers and software options available, each constantly adapting and developing, selecting the right onboarding system can be daunting. Evaluating and comparing these options to make confident decisions is challenging, especially when you need to get people from so many areas of your practice on board with the chosen system. This is particularly true as onboarding impacts all areas of your practice—lawyers, support staff, compliance, marketing, technology, finance—and because there are so many variations in the options available.

This article will help clarify what you ought to evaluate and compare to decide where best to compromise and balance pros and cons to meet the top priorities for your practice. There is a lot of "grey" to consider when you ideally want black-and-white answers.

Among the prominent players in the market are: Verify 365, Checkboard, Minerva, Sharedo, Perfect Portal, InfoTrack, Claimsgate, Propero, Legally Quoting, QMP, Legl, Smartsearch, Credas, Thirdfort, Hoowla, QuoteXpress, The Link App, Veriphy, Xapien, Validient, Legal Bricks, Brighter Law, InCase, Armalytix ...  Many of the legal practice and case management system providers would also say they have tools of their own or from third parties - and their own selection of third party providers - that can be used for some of this.   Clio Grow is a good example.

No doubt suppliers will let me know who we have missed off here … please, if you want to be included?

Why This Matters?

• As your clients become more IT-savvy, meeting their increasing expectations for simpler and more efficient legal services is crucial.

• Introducing the right onboarding and quoting tools is not just about meeting client expectations—it’s about transforming your practice.

• More significantly than most firms yet recognise, getting this right will help you capture invaluable client and matter data that will become crucial to enable your firm can tap into opportunities to harness AI in the future. 

• Efficient onboarding will streamline client intake, reduce administrative overhead and enhance compliance. 

• Accurate quoting improves client satisfaction and financial predictability. 

• In a competitive market, using these tools effectively can significantly differentiate your firm—leading to a more profitable business, an easier working environment for your people, better client relationships from the outset, improved compliance/risk management, and increased client retention, while building information that will help you to proactively maintain and nurture lifelong relationships.

What Should You Evaluate?

Start by deciding what current issues and gaps do you want to address and improve upon.  Map out your process and current providers now.  Which components of the onboarding process are your people and/or clients currently struggling with, or will do going forwards.  Are you already working with and have good relationships with some of the components that make up some of the offerings that you don't want to and may not need to break.  The key components are potentially:

1. What areas of legal work do you want to cover?
2. What duplication of effort (for you and for clients) do you want to remove?
3. Where are current costs too high?
4. Providing quotes, tracking and converting them?
5. Standardisation of process and documentation?
6. AML, ID verification and source of funds?
7. (Intelligent) Automation of your other compliance procedures?
8. Better, reliable data capture and verification, where client self service helps streamline the process?
9. Client portals to help reduce the volume of email exchanges and increase security?
10. E-signatures to enable digital working for you and for clients - get rid of printing?
11. Easier ongoing communication with clients - using tracked texts and messaging?
12. A streamlined sign-up process for clients - giving them the option to use digital or not?
13. Secure online payments to enable clients to make payments on account easily - and allocate them?
14. Better management information on volume of instructions, conversions etc.?
15. Better access for and collaboration with business partners e.g. estate agents?
16. Reliable, up-to-date licensed forms?
17. Property searches - part of the conveyancing process?
18. Integration with your case management and workflow systems?

Providers offer a wide mix of options, so you will often not be comparing like for like.  Start by checking which of these are part of the offering from potential providers, check them off against your requirements and compare options in these areas:

• Practice Coverage:  Will you be able to use it consistently across the whole of your practice or just for some areas of work?  Multiple processes are difficult to manage, waste time and resource.

• ID Checks & Source of Funds: Does it (directly or through integrated third parties) support individual or corporate checks, including NFC and open banking technology? To what extent are these actively monitored?  If clients struggle, how easy is it for them (and your people) to find their way again and get help?

• Conflict of Interest checks - how effective and integrated with other systems?

• Basis of & Approach to Pricing:  Any minimum numbers, term of contract, cost of and ties to ancillary products?

• Cost of implementation:  Both financial and time needed to get things up and running?

• Mode of Access: Can clients access the system via smartphones and/or desktops?

• Quotes & Estimates: What is the level of automation and intelligence in generating quotes? How integrated are these features with your case management?  Do documents and data synch automatically or is it "drag and drop"?  Are there tools to help you follow up?

• Email Communications: Can you use your own business email domain and logo in emails to avoid confusion and reduce the risk of emails being sent to spam?

• AML Checks – and what more is available to help you deal with compliance? 

• Are Property & Other Searches part of the deal? How does that impact on the suppliers’ business focus and pricing? 

• Electronic Signatures: How easy is it for clients to electronically sign onboarding documents? 

• SMS text options: and how they integrate with your case management systems.

• Onboarding Document Templates: Are there templates available for different areas of work to make setup easier and are your people prepared to adapt to fit.

• Client Portal: How easy is this for clients to access and use when you want to move away from emails both to reduce volume and increase security?  What functionality does the client portal offer? What can be stored there?

• Secure Email & Messaging: How secure are your communications with clients?

• Secure E-Payments: Are electronic payment options available? How well do they match what you need and fit with your accounts and case management systems?

• Collaboration Options with Introducers: Can you give access to e.g. estate agents and/or their clients.

• Compliance: Does the software comply with SRA, HMLR, and Safe Harbour standards?

• Management Reporting - to report what you want on transactions and the business overall.

General Considerations:

• PMS & CMS Integration: How well does it integrate with your practice and case management systems? Are there tried and tested APIs, and is the integration two-way?

• "Out-of-the-Box" or to be modified and developed with you? Should you choose a supplier that provides “out-of-the-box” modules, or one that will also work with you to adapt and continually develop, which adds value but might require more time and resources to implement?  How easy has this been for other users and what flexibility will you have to adapt wording and presentation?

• User-Friendly: Is the platform intuitive and easy to use for your team and your clients? 

• Technical Support for your team: Can the need for support be kept to a minimum? How available and good is it when called upon? How is it delivered? How will implementation be rolled out and what support will you get?  What do current users say about this experience.

• Client Support: it is increasingly being recognised that clients need help too, so how is this delivered?

• Automation: Does the software automate repetitive tasks to save time and reduce errors?

Making the Right Choice

This is not easy and can be very time consuming when starting from scratch.

Choosing the right system involves balancing these factors against your firm’s unique requirements and priorities to minimise compromises—where expert advice can make a difference. We understand the intricacies of legal tech, the nuances of legal processes, and the importance of getting buy-in from your team. We can also offer insights from your clients' perspective. Let us help you navigate these crucial decisions that impact your practice to ensure you get the best possible return on your technology investment.

Get in touch

For more guidance on selecting the right onboarding and/or quoting system for your law firm - the best tools for your firm to succeed in today's competitive legal market - get in touch.  We can give you a comprehensive evaluation of options that will be the best fit for your particular practice, systems and needs.

Contact:  Allan Carton or Frank Manning

Tel:  0161 929 8355

acarton@cartonconsultants.com or fmanning@cartonconsultants.com

www.cartonconsultants.com

For more of the rationale and recent history of e-onboarding in law firms, check out this article from Allan Carton in the Internet Newsletter for Lawyers.

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