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The Essential 25 Law Firm KPIs – Module 3 Know Your Numbers

As part of our mission to help you run a stronger business, we will show you how to focus on 25 KPIs which are in use at one or more law firms that Katchr works with.
Last time we covered these KPIs:
  • 1. Number of Enquiries
  • 2. Conversion Rate %
  • 3. Cost per Enquiry – CPE
  • 4. Cost per Acquisition – CPA
  • 5. Income per Lead Source
  • 6. Gross Profitability per Lead Source

How to use this list

The list is designed to make you aware of metrics others are measuring but you may not be.
  • Only use those that are aligned with your firm’s business objectives
  • Most KPIs should be monitored per team and for the firm overall
  • Appropriate KPIs should be monitored per individual
  • Appropriate KPIs should be monitored per work type

KPI Number 12 – Average Cost Per Transaction

The average cost of time spent to complete matters.

Tips

  • Best used for volume work of repeatable transactions
  • Average costs per work type gives a baseline for pricing decisions
  • This KPI can be used to compare individual fee earners
  • As with all measures based on cost of time, to provide meaningful results fee earner utilisation needs to be at expected levels, otherwise costs are distorted by under-reported time

KPI Number 13 - Average Gross Profit per Transaction

Total billing minus Total cost of delivery divided by Number of transactions.

Tips

  • Best used for volume work of repeatable transactions
  • Average gross profit per work type provides insight into which worktypes are desirable (at current pricing) and which aren’t
  • This KPI can also be used to compare individual fee earners
  • As with all measures based on cost of time, to provide meaningful results fee earner utilisation needs to be at expected levels, otherwise costs are distorted by under-reported time

KPI Number 14 - Gross Margin %

Total billing minus Total salary costs divided by Total billing

Tips

  • Use gross margin to provide simple comparisons between teams
  • Avoids debate over apportionment of overheads
  • Focusses on contribution of teams to the firm as a whole

KPI Number 15 - Net Cash Impact

Calculated as:

Total billing
minus Unpaid bills
minus VAT on unpaid bills
minus Disbursements paid but not received
minus Disbursements written off
minus Total cost of employment
minus Marketing spend
minus Practising certificates, training etc

Tips

  • Use to focus teams and individuals on the difference between billing and cash
  • Helps to foster a cash is king mentality
  • Identifies where in the firm true value is being generated

KPI Number 16 - Number of Cases with Financial Risk

Total billing on matters per lead source in a given period.

Tips

  • Track lead sources in your PCMS for all new instructions
  • Exposing this data in regular reports (to team leaders) is the best way to improve the quality of this data

KPI Number 11 - Gross Profitability per Lead Source

Examples:

  • Quote or Estimate not provided
  • Quote or Estimate value exceeded
  • Working for client with unpaid bills

Tips

  • Use exception reporting to drive action
  • Use KPIs to focus on the exceptions not on lists of data
  • Find ways to communicate effectively with individuals responsible
  • Email is often the least effective way to do this

 

Explore these 5 KPI tips in more detail plus the other 19 KPIs here.

What our customers say

From improvements in their client service and billing to our own interface and customer support, our customers are singing the praises of Katchr — how it helps them build better practices and achieve their goals.

Andy Duckworth
Finance Director Trethowans

“Katchr is brilliant – it empowers fee earners and team leaders by giving them everything they need at their fingertips”

Alistair Howard
Finance Director Lodders

“The home page on Katchr, provides me with everything I need for ABC – Activity, Billing and Cash”

Brian Evans
Managing Partner Lanyon Bowdler

“The Katchr staff really understand how a law firm works, they talk our language, they use the terms that we use”

Explore our Katchr Enterprise Features to discover why top law firms choose to use our software to address their reporting challenges.

KPI
dashboards

Today’s data is real-time, and Katchr allows you to track and plan your firm’s management system from one central law firm dashboard.

Clear, in-depth data analysis at the touch of a button.

Ad-hoc
analysis

Katchr includes built-in, easy to use tools for ad hoc analysis of your law firm data.

Compare individuals, teams and offices across a broad range of performance measures.

Risk and
compliance

Sleep sound in the knowledge that Katchr has your back covered with its advanced Risk and Compliance Alerts system.Monitor all potential risks and pitfalls with law firm software that allows you to keep on top of your compliance obligations.

Advanced
Analytics

Dice and slice your data. Drill down to the details. Analyse the performance of your business by Client, Work Type, Source of Business, Sector or any other criteria that are important to your firm.

Financial
Reporting

Know your numbers – No more waiting days or weeks for month end reports.

Monitor your business in real time. Katchr provides fast, automated production of financial reports.

Business
Development

Understand your new business pipeline.

Get a detailed analysis of sources of business, the profitability of clients, by sector, and cross-selling opportunities.

FAQs

Find out more about the security of your data, how to integrate with other data sources or how to personalise your dashboards with these common questions and answers.
How secure is my data

Katchr Enterprise can store data either in your data centre (on premise, private hosted, private cloud), or in the Katchr Cloud environment. 

Either way you have the re-assurance that Katchr is certified to ISO27001, ensuring that we carry out all development, support and services using best practice and to the highest standards.

Katchr Cloud solutions store all data in UK data centres. More details available on request.

What source systems are supported?

The following PMS integrations are fully tested and available:

Current PMS Solutions:

  • Aderant Expert
  • Advanced Legal Business (ALB)
  • Civica (Norwell) Prescient
  • Eclipse Proclaim
  • Elite 3E
  • LEAP
  • Linetime Liberate
  • Peppermint CX
  • SOS Connect
  • Tikit Partner

Legacy supported products:

  • Advanced Legal Enterprise (ALE)
  • Advanced Legal Enterprise
  • Advanced Evolution
  • Elite Envision
  • Indigo
  • Lexis Nexis Axxia
  • OMS

Want another? Custom integrations are available on request for any data source with a SQL database or published API.

Can I add data from other sources?

Yes, absolutely. One of the benefits of the Katchr solution is the ability to consolidate data across multiple data sources, such as:

  • Multiple instances of the same PMS
  • Combining PMS data with other accounts packages (eg. Xero)
  • Using CRM and/or HR system data to provide KPIs across client and team engagement
Can I customise my dashboards?

Yes, Katchr dashboards are fully customisable using the built-in dashboard designer – a very popular feature.

Discover more

Katchr software is available across all devices so you are never more than a glance from your real-time data and your next essential business decision.
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© 2022 All Rights Reserved

Top 25 KPIs that law firms don’t measure (but should)

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How top law firms use data to improve performance and grow their business

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