Simply Conveyancing invests in LexisNexis Visualfiles to turbo charge business growth
Simply Conveyancing’s investment in Visualfiles as a future-proof platform is core to the firm’s strategy of using technology to meet ambitious growth targets and continually innovate.
Simply Conveyancing is ranked by the Land Registry as being in the top 1% of conveyancing companies in the UK by volume, from 5000 law firms. The firm provides legal services including buying and selling, remortgages, declarations of trust, lease extensions, equity release and transfer of equity. Not satisfied with resting on its laurels, Simply Conveyancing is investing heavily in technology to power its way to the top.
Future-proofing technology
Simply Conveyancing’s investment in Visualfiles as a future-proof platform is core to the firm’s strategy of using technology to meet ambitious growth targets and continually innovate to become the safest, most trusted, and easiest conveyancing firm to deal with by estate agents, mortgage brokers and clients alike.
Paul Tennant, CIO at Simply Conveyancing, elaborates: “Visualfiles sits at the heart of our future business. On go-live, it’ll give us exceptional case management capability, deliver business efficiencies and support growth. Thereafter, we’re creating a technology centre of excellence so that we can innovate and continually deliver services that beat customer expectation. As part of this initiative, we are looking to leverage the power of artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotic process automation, with the support of LexisNexis through the Visualfiles platform. Key to all of this is data. The structured and highly interrogatable dataset behind Visualfiles will make the adoption of these technologies possible.”
Partnership approach
Simply Conveyancing chose Visualfiles because it’s the most flexible, reliable, and scalable solution for conveyancing firms on the market. Tennant explains: “We carried out a thorough market review of potential technology solutions before selecting Visualfiles as our ideal system. It became clear that LexisNexis is more than just a supplier and would be a partner for our ambitions rather than a revenue extractor. The decision was made – we didn’t want to go anywhere else.”
Simply Conveyancing wanted a platform that could easily adapt to changing business requirements. “Unforeseen business scenarios come along. We didn’t want to buy a system that wouldn’t be able to accommodate our shifting needs in a few years’ time, because we couldn’t foresee those requirements at the time of purchase,” Tennant states.
Turbo charged implementation
Time is of the essence for Simply Conveyancing, so the firm has relied heavily on using the latest Visualfiles out-of-the-box Conveyancing Accelerator, a comprehensive suite of modules that give rapid access to workflows and to speed up project go-live as a foundation. Tennant says: “In an ideal world, we would develop our own workflows completely from scratch, but we don’t have the luxury of time. We’re on a compressed timetable and are using the Accelerators to deliver quicker time to value, rather than reinventing the wheel. Of course, once live we’ll continue to enhance and refine to our unique proposition. It’s a practical approach.”
Simply Conveyancing is creating a smooth and seamless business environment across the firm. Once Visualfiles is integrated with the firm’s client portal, eConvey, all parties will be able to view their case progress in near-real-time. Enabled by the ‘open’ nature of the Visualfiles architecture, Simply Conveyancing is connecting the platform with other third-party systems including those of search providers, estate agents, management information software as well as the Land Registry.
‘Business as usual’ innovation
In a sector where firms are often single-mindedly focussed on transaction volumes and profit margins, Simply Conveyancing is driven by customer excellence. Tennant adds: “Of course profitability is important, but never at the cost of client service. Visualfiles will take away the pain points and inefficiencies across transactions while continuously enabling new process improvements so that our property lawyers can spend their time delivering high quality advice to clients. Visualfiles is a never-ending project that’ll make innovation ‘business as usual’ in the firm.”
Simon Farthing, commercial and marketing director of LexisNexis Enterprise Solutions, comments: “What has impressed me with the team that now leads Simply Conveyancing is its exceptional commitment to continual improvement, in turn making innovation as part of the business’s DNA. This ‘never resting’ attitude is what will differentiate them and give the competitive edge for ongoing success.”
The platform is scheduled to go live imminently. Nearly 120 users will have access to Visualfiles from day one, with the number scaling rapidly as the firm grows to achieve its business vision.
