5 Questions for Choosing the Right SaaS Financial Management Solution

Cloud solutions offer mid-sized law firms a unique opportunity to maintain their edge over smaller firms and to compete directly with larger firms. Decision-makers are realizing that by leveraging cloud solutions for their critical business systems they can access legal tech that has traditionally been available only to larger firms. Cloud solutions help them work smarter by modernizing workflows and optimizing operations, which enhances client service and drives profitability.

However, the requirements of mid-sized firms differ considerably from those of larger and smaller firms, and they need a financial management software that is built specifically for mid-sized law firms. That may sound obvious, but it’s not always easy to find solutions that provide a robust suite of capabilities at the right price point. You may not need all the bells and whistles a larger firm requires, but you’ll still need a more sophisticated system than would be suitable for a small firm. It’s a classic Goldilocks situation: It can’t be too basic. It can’t be too complex. It’s got to be just right.

If you’re running a mid-sized law firm, use these five questions to guide your discussion on what cloud-based financial management software to adopt. With careful consideration, you can ensure that you select the right solution and make your cloud migration a success.

1. Does the Financial Management Software Have the Functionality We Need?

When it comes to financial management software, you need a solution to streamline your internal workflows, automate processes, and create greater visibility over your matters and your business. This will help you achieve efficiency gains, enhance productivity, and improve oversight.

Carefully consider the exact functionality you need—this will help you create a product specification to effectively evaluate different solutions. For example, you may find it helpful if the solution:

• Has always-on time capture

• Includes a suite of preconfigured workflows and templates

• Creates a unified inbox for all your communications

• Has an easy-to-use mobile app

• Provides data analytics and visualization capabilities

Be clear on what tools will add value and which will not. Solutions with many impressive-sounding features may distract from getting the fundamentals right and may create internal confusion. Also ensure your provider stays current and invests in enhancements and improvements to deliver optimum performance and keep the solution future-proof.

2. How Fast Can the Financial Management Software Get Up and Running?

Many mid-sized law firms have limited resources available to manage a large-scale tech migration, and they simply cannot afford to have all these resources tied up on a single project for several months. It’s vital that the new software gets up and running as quickly as possible so you can start to realize a return on your investment.

While a speedy implementation might not always be the primary focus for the software provider, it's important to note that they are not intentionally causing delays. They may simply need to better understand your perspective and take additional steps to streamline the implementation process.

You should ask about the implementation process of any financial management software you are considering. Be sure to ask about the aspects that are most likely to affect your time-to-value:

• Is the implementation process fully systematized?

• Do they have a well-defined project timeline?

• How do they expedite the customer onboarding process?

• Do they have efficient and reliable procedures for data migration?

• How much training will be required and what is on offer from the provider?

3.  Does the Financial Management Software Require Extensive Customization?

When choosing a financial management system, it's beneficial to select one that offers robust capabilities right out of the box. For mid-sized firms, this means you can avoid the lengthy and costly process of extensive customizations. Instead, to ensure a smoother and quicker implementation, look for a cloud-native solution that comes preconfigured based on established best practices.

Most importantly, look for a provider with a proven track record working with law firms like yours and a deep knowledge of industry best practices. This way, you can be sure that the preset configurations will provide value to your firm.

4. Does the Financial Management Software Integrate with Other Applications?

The efficiencies created by your future cloud solution can easily be thwarted if the solution can’t integrate with your firm’s other systems.

Look for a cloud solution that increases rather than hinders efficiencies across systems to ensure your staff can be as productive as possible. If performance data can flow smoothly from one solution to another, you can gain a comprehensive perspective on your matters, your clients, and your business.

Determine the key applications or platforms (including third-party products) that you need to integrate with and ensure the solutions you’re considering can accommodate them directly or via flexible application programming interfaces (APIs) where necessary.

5. How Robust Is the Financial Management Software’s Security?

When everything is hosted in a cloud environment, the security level provided by your cloud provider is a critical concern. You are entrusting them with data security, so you need to know that they protect sensitive financial, practice, and client information using market-leading security infrastructure.

Ask targeted questions to establish whether the cloud solution you are considering is built using cloud-native architecture, has embedded multi-layer security protections, and is designed using Zero Trust principles. Also ensure it is hosted on a best-in-class cloud platform that invests heavily in state-of-the-art threat detection and prevention measures on an ongoing basis.

Choose the Right Financial Management Software

Asking the right questions from the start will help you decide your exact needs and what information you require from vendors. This ensures the solution you choose meets all your criteria, can be implemented quickly and effectively, and will be embraced by your firm