At a glance: the five workflows
- Client post, receipts and official post separated and assigned to the file
- Taking on a matter without the form marathon
- Deadlines nobody has to hold in their head
- The client file that maintains itself
- Practice software, accounting and client portal connected
Confidentiality comes before the time saved
For tax advisers, lawyers and auditors, handling client data is not a side aspect of an IT project. It is its precondition. Where professional secrecy applies, the question of which system gets to see which content has to be settled before any question of effort and benefit.
That does not rule automation out, it only determines its shape. Language models can be run entirely on your own infrastructure. The model then runs on a machine in your practice or on your own server, and no client record leaves the building. That is more demanding technically than an account with a cloud service, and in many practices it is the only variant open for discussion at all.
“Where the models run and which data they are allowed to see belongs at the start of the project, not at the end.
What changes, and how
How it runs today
- Five channels that somebody turns into one sorted pile every morning.
- The same set of documents is assembled by hand for every new matter.
- Deadline control rests on two people and their memory.
- Filing on the principle that whoever creates it names it differently.
- The same client is maintained in three systems and forgotten in two.
How it runs afterwards
- One in-tray per category, every item already assigned to a file.
- The complete set is pre-filled and ready for review and signature.
- Every deadline has an entry, an advance warning and two people who see it.
- A file structure that holds even when a colleague is on holiday.
- One master record, current everywhere. A question back is answered at a glance.
1. Incoming post separates itself
Every item is read, assigned to the client and the file, and placed in the right category: receipt, official post, client enquiry, deadline matter. Deadline matters are flagged and pulled to the top before anyone reads past them. Five channels become one in-tray per category.
This is the workflow that pays off first in almost every practice, because it comes up daily, because it contains no professional judgement, and because its result is visible immediately.
2. Taking on a matter without the form marathon
From the new client's details, the power of attorney, the fee agreement, the terms of engagement and the opened file are produced, pre-filled and complete. Identity verification and the filing of the evidence run as a guided process too, so that nothing is missing at the end that someone would have to chase later.
3. Deadlines nobody has to hold in their head
Deadlines, advance filings and follow-ups are recognised in the incoming post and created as a case with an advance and a final date. Advance warnings announce themselves in time, open deadlines appear in the day list of the person responsible and additionally in the partner's.
Calculating is not judging
The system calculates a deadline wherever the working is fixed: four days of deemed service, one month to object, deferral to the next working day. The working is shown alongside with the provision it rests on, so it can be checked. Whether that deadline is the right one in the specific matter remains professional judgement, and therefore yours. It is a calculation aid, not legal advice.
4. The client file that maintains itself
Documents are recognised, named, versioned and filed into the right structure. Following your system, not a foreign one. Missing papers are carried as an open point and chased with the client, so the state of a file can be read off without anyone leafing through it.
5. Practice software, accounting and client portal
Your practice application, the accounting, your document filing and the client portal know the same clients and the same matters, but never ask one another. We build the connections between them without any of these programs being replaced.
No change of system
Your practice software stays where it is. So does your document filing and your deadline register. Where the programs offer an interface, we use it. Where they do not, we take the route a member of staff would take. Replacing the core application is not necessary for any of the five workflows.
What stays with you
Nothing goes to clients, courts or authorities without your approval. The system prepares, you sign. The professional assessment of a matter remains entirely with you.
That includes the organisational side: we provide a data processing agreement and document who was able to access what, and when. At the end of the project you get your data out, and we delete demonstrably.
Where to start
With one workflow, not with your practice software. In a professional practice, the question of where the models run and which data they may see comes before any line of code. Once that is settled, incoming post is usually the first candidate: it arrives daily, it always has the same shape, and you see the result the next morning.
A single, clearly bounded workflow is running within a few weeks. Whether the next one follows is your decision, once you have seen the first one hold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we have to change our practice software?
No. We replace nothing. Your practice software, your document filing and your deadline register stay where they are. We build the connection between them.
Does client data leave the practice?
Only if you want it to. On request the language models run entirely on your own infrastructure, on a machine in your practice or on your own server. Then no client record leaves your building.
Does the system calculate deadlines itself?
Yes, wherever the working is fixed, and it shows that working: four days of deemed service under section 122 (2) no. 1 AO, one month under section 355 AO, deferral to the next working day under section 108 (3) AO. It also creates the case with an advance and a final date. Whether that deadline applies in the specific matter is professional judgement and stays with you. It is a calculation aid, not legal advice.
What about professional confidentiality?
That is why the question of where the models run comes at the start of the project. We provide a data processing agreement and document who was able to access what, and when. At the end of the project you get your data out, and we delete demonstrably.
What happens if the automation fails?
Then the workflow carries on as before, only by hand. We do not build anything whose failure brings your practice to a halt.
We have nobody for IT. Does it still work?
Yes. We set it up and look after it. On your side it is operated by someone who previously operated Excel.