Legato Computer Services Ltd beat all comers scoring 89.33% in a survey which saw the top four user-graded suppliers score over 84%.

The results were obtained by submission on a web based survey, receiving a high level of response from the ILCA members who graded their software on the following criteria;-

 •  adequacy of training
•  ease of making postings
•  bank reconciliations
•  interest calculations
•  compliance to SAR’s
•  month end routine procedure
•  quality of help desk support
•  VAT return calculation
•  clarity of ledger card
•  nominal postings
•  bill postings
•  ease of reporting generally
•  upgrades
•  reaction time to regulatory changes

Dave Webber, managing director, Legato Computer Software Ltd, says

“We were all absolutely thrilled to hear that we had won the Supplier of the Year award. Having based our company ethos on strength and depth we have always believed in ourselves and our products, to have that belief echoed by our users is the highest accolade of all.

All our staff take enormous pride in their work, most have worked in a Legal Cashier’s environment or have been Legal Cashiers themselves and we feel this gives us the edge as we can speak the same language. Our software has to be as flexible as possible to grow with the firm and the legal sector in general. Therefore input from support and training staff and feedback from the users is always given careful consideration to ensure the software keeps up with changes in work methods and regulations.

Indigo, our new product, is based on state of the art software technologies, and to have this backed up by excellent support and services provides the perfect solution for the modern law firm. Indigo is at the beginning of its lifespan, the previous products developed by our software team (Indigo is the third after Paragon and Solomon) have lasted well in excess of 10 years and we expect Indigo’s longevity to be even higher because of the underlying technical platform. We would like to thank all our clients for voting for us”.

In all, there were responses on behalf of twenty software providers, with AlphaLaw in second place and TFB plc in fifth place receiving over 40% of the respondents between them.
The users scored all of the software suppliers well on the speed and quality of helpdesk support, the scores this year being shown separately. Fourteen of them were considered to provide excellent or very good quality of helpdesk response, scoring over 80%.

The speed of response raised a wider range of responses with only nine suppliers achieving 80% or more with average response times of ‘immediate’ or within one to two hours. Cognito Software Ltd was top of the tree in both sections of the helpdesk grading with 100% for quality and 95% for speed of response. Last year they scored 96.67% in this category, showing them to have a consistent excellent record.

The quality of training provided is an important consideration, not only at the purchasing stage but also for the availability of training for new staff members. The survey rated Solicitors Own Software as the best user training provider, closely followed by IRIS Videss Ltd and Legato Computer Software Ltd. These top three were closely followed by TFB plc, Quill, Cognito software Ltd and Linetime who all scored 80%.

Scores were then consolidated into two categories, Ease of use for the daily user (making postings, nominal, bills and compliance to SAR) and ease of use for the month end routines (general reporting, VAT returns, interest calculations and bank reconciliations, amongst others).
Almost all of the respondents considered the month end routines to be adequate for their purposes and the responses for daily use peaked at 93.33% for the winning software from Legato Computer Software Ltd.

David Sparkes, managing director, legalsupportnetwork.co.uk says

“The use of technology and systems has never been so integral to the successful management and development of a commercially focused law firm. The subject of software is regularly high on the list of topics for discussion at our networking events and soon we expect to see more of this conversation move online as our own community grows.

legalsupportnetwork.co.uk is delighted to sponsor the ILCA Award for the 2nd year running and congratulations to Legato Computer Services Ltd on achieving such recognition from the ILCA members”.

The Award will be formally presented at the forthcoming ILCA Annual Luncheon to be held in Middle Temple, London on 24th September 2008.

Editors Notes
The Institute of Legal Cashiers & Administrators is a not-for-profit organisation, and qualifies its members by moderated examination. It was formed in 1978 by a group of Cashiers committed to bringing the role of legal cashier up to the same professional standards as their accountant counterparts in industry and commerce. Today there are some 2,800 members many of whom have been formally trained by the ILCA to Diploma, Associate, or Fellowship level.
The Institute encourages the development of its members' competence through educational courses, training seminars, publications, exhibitions, advisory service and other membership facilities, as well as close liaisons with other sections of the legal community. Two examples of this liaison are (1) regional training courses are run in conjunction with local law societies, attracting expert speakers on subjects of interest to the legal profession (2) ILEX refers their members to the Institute with regard to training in respect of accountancy matters. The late ILCA President Barry Hilton was a significant contributor to "The Legal Accounts Manual", and he advised on the Law Society's "Complying with the Solicitors Accounts Rules: a Practical Guide".
For further details either visit the web site www.ilca.org.uk or contact the Executive Secretary, Margaret Macdonald at the ILCA, Marlowe House, 109 Station Road, Sidcup, Kent DA15 7ET tel: 020 8302 2867 e-mail: exec.sec@ilca.org.uk