In March our cashiering teams successfully processed £1,280,009,252.33 securely through our client portal. Over £1.2 BILLION! It’s an extraordinary amount of client money and we are thrilled with this achievement.

“It’s hard to understand how we would have coped with the volume of matters completing without the support of a great team at The Cashroom.”
Toni Wensley, Partner, Amphlett Lissimore

Anyone in the legal industry knows that March 2021 was a bumper month, however, here at Cashroom data is king. According to the UK property transaction statistics notes, the latest UK monthly property transactions data shows the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in March 2021 was 190,980. Because of this, the number of transactions in March 2020 is double (102.3%) and 32.2% higher than February 2021! See our client data below.

Clearly, the stamp duty holiday has created an artificially inflated market in residential conveyancing over the past 8 months. Because of this, the market has become extremely busy, along-with other factors. People have been reassessing their priorities in the last year including where they want to live. First time buyers, encouraged because of the mortgage guarantee scheme reducing the deposit required to buy a property, have also lead to increased volumes.

There is also a backlog of property transactions due to the stamp duty holiday.

It was welcome news for many that the stamp duty holiday was extended and given a tapered end.  Lenders, conveyancers and surveyors have been under pressure to keep up. Clients living through a pandemic seem to be more demanding and completions can be a fraught experience for firms’ clients, lawyers and also for accounts departments. The industry is experiencing pressure like never before. Firms are experiencing extreme stress during these periods and are more likely to make mistakes.

“The last year has been a rollercoaster for everyone. We have continued to work hard to support our clients through some difficult times and we are extremely proud of our teams for their ability to deliver this volume of activity in the month of March. We have been delighted to support our clients during an unprecedented busy time in the industry” Chris O’Day, Cashroom CEO.

As I said, we like our data and to put it into perspective the jump between 2020 and 2021 was marked.

In March 2020 we processed £396m and sent 6,508 client payments, but

For February 2021 we processed £727m and sent 9,137 client payments.

And in March, 2021 we processed £1,280m and sent 12,851 client payments!

Cashroom has strict controls and procedures to ensure our efficient service. Over 73,000 tasks were required to send the 12,851 client payments sent in March 2021. We manage and track these tasks on our bespoke client portal. This gives both clients and Cashroom a clear audit trail at all times. However, we can add in customisable partner approval of all payments, if required. In March 2021, 4,201 client payments leveraged our partner approval workflows helping to ensure accuracy and reduce risk.

With over 230 law firms as clients, March was the busiest month we have ever experienced.

Our cashiers were under the same pressures as the industry but we have the tools available to protect their clients. Therefore, Cashroom staff processed payments using secure open banking technology integrated into our portal. With integrations into the leading banking platforms, Cashroom can reduce the risk of human error. This will save time when initiating payments and checking for incoming funds. We could view March as our biggest test yet of our people and technology. In conclusion, we are delighted that our clients find benefit from our sophisticated technology and expert cashiering services.

“Cashroom continue to partner very well with Laurus.  Key to the successful processing of a high level of transactions up to initial stamp duty deadline, was regular reviews and planning.  The Cashroom operate like an in-house finance team, albeit they are outsourced which provides the benefit of greater expertise.  Excellent processes were maintained throughout this busy period, and additional shifts and cover were provided to get through all transactions.  Communication between Laurus’ dedicated team at Cashroom was excellent throughout, resulting in a high level of clients and Solicitors being very happy with the service.”
Richard Carroll, Laurus, CFO

According to Todays Conveyancer the market remains extremely active, with traffic to own-branded estate agent websites 44% above average, some 62% above the same week last year and 38% higher than the last “normal” year in 2019. In turn this traffic is generating 29% more live chat engagements than average which deliver 42% more leads than the pre-Covid 62-week average. Good news for conveyancing firms but are you confident in your firms accounting?

Reduce your risk and increase efficiency in your firm by outsourcing to Cashroom.

“The management information and constant support provided by Cashroom’s outsourced FD service was the life-raft that we clung onto to guide us through the stormiest of waters we have ever experience as a business – we could not have made it through the pandemic without the support of Cashroom.”
Billy Smith, Clarity Simplicity Solicitors