Ross Auld, Chief Operating Officer at Burt Brill & Cardens
By Legal Futures’ Associate Quill
Burt Brill & Cardens Limited is the latest law firm to sign up to Quill’s Interactive legal accounting software. With a rigid timeframe for implementation, dictated by the end-of-contract date for its legacy legal accounts system, the practice went live in April 2019.
Ross Auld, Chief Operating Officer at Burt Brill & Cardens, describes the speed with which installation of Interactive was executed: “As any manager of a busy law firm can appreciate, deadlines have a tendency to creep up on you. Once we got the ball rolling, we had 6 weeks to contract renewal with our previous supplier which would be on new terms. So we had a very short period to investigate our options, meet with prospective providers, roll out our chosen software, convert data and receive training.
“We used the ILFM Software Suppliers Guide as research, looked at a dozen suppliers and spoke with Jo Poole at Quill as well as making enquiries with other software houses. We were upfront about our tight timescales and speaking with Jo gave us comfort that Quill could accommodate our request for prompt action.
“The Quill team put in the extra effort accordingly. Jo sent over a quote and performed a software demo on the road between client visits. Less than two days later, we’d signed the agreement and scheduled our data transfer. The latter was done over the course of one week. We achieved everything we set out to do within the defined period, due in no small part to Quill’s hard work.”
There are a multitude of reasons why legal practices change their software packages, with decisions mostly being driven by cost, functionality and people. For Burt, Brill & Cardens, all of these factors applied along with longevity.
“Before, we were paying a premium for our software but only using the legal accounts tools,” continues Ross. “Interactive, however, is very affordably priced. Interestingly, it still comes with all the bells and whistles, such as case and document management capabilities, should you wish to use them. Cost was our key consideration as it’s what instigated our software swap out project in the first place.
“Our second criteria was functionality. Accounting in the legal profession is so nuanced, it simply can’t be done with generic accounts software. We did quickly review non-legal-specific solutions but immediately dismissed them. Interactive is brilliant, easy to use and contains warnings to keep money management compliant with industry regulators. In this marketplace, assistance with compliance is a major benefit because it’s not a straightforward task.
“Finally, we were reassured by Quill’s length of time in business. Quill’s been supplying legal software for over 40 years. There’s a reason the company’s still going strong after all these years. This stability and reliability had a bearing on our decision as we place great importance on this type of status. Understandably so when you consider we’re a 126-year-old business ourselves.”
In his concluding statement, Ross comments: “We have complete trust in Quill, love Interactive, find everyone extremely personable and look forward to a long partnership, beginning now.”
For further information on Interactive, please visit www.quill.co.uk/legal-accounting-software, email info@quill.co.uk or call 0161 236 2910.
