For finance
For clients
Document management
Reporting and insights for small law firms
Turn your firm’s data into insights with dashboards and reports across matters, billing, financial performance, and firm operations.
Live dashboards
Real-time visibility without report running
This law firm reporting software gives every relevant user access to live operational data without needing to run reports manually or export data to spreadsheets. The system includes a set of operational dashboards available to all relevant users:
Matter overview
Open matters by status, responsible fee earner, and practice area.
Time and billing dashboard
Recorded hours, billed hours, WIP, and realizations by fee earner or matter.
Accounts receivable
Outstanding invoices by age, client, and value.
Cash position
Current bank balances including trust account balances.
Matter budget vs actuals
Real-time comparison of budgeted time and cost against recorded actuals.
Standard reports
Standard reports available out of the box
In addition to dashboards, the system includes a library of standard reports:
Work-in-progress (WIP)
Work-in-progress (WIP) by matter, fee earner, and practice area.
Fee earner utilization
Fee earner utilization with recorded hours as a percentage of available capacity.
Matter profitability
Matter profitability by revenue billed against time costs for each matter.
Aged debtor report
Aged debtor report with outstanding invoices categorized by age.
Trust account transactions
Trust account transaction report showing full transaction history for each client trust account.
Financial statements
Profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.
Revenue analysis
Revenue analysis by client, matter, work type, and financial dimension.
Analytics architecture
Analytics architecture and data foundation
For firms that need more sophisticated reporting, the solution includes a dedicated analytics architecture that allows Power BI to run independently of the live system, so complex queries do not slow down day-to-day operations.
Data Replicator
A Data Replicator capability moves data securely out of Business Central into an external data store. This separates analytics workloads from operational system performance, enabling firms to run deep analytical queries without any impact on their live environment.
Legal data model and data warehouse
Replicated data feeds into a dedicated data warehouse structured around a standard legal data model covering the core entities that law firm reporting requires:
- Matters
- Timekeepers
- Work in Progress (WIP)
- Revenue
- General Ledger data
This provides a reliable, pre-structured foundation for Power BI analytics, allowing firms to build and extend dashboards over time without rebuilding their data model from scratch.
General Ledger analytics
A standard General Ledger reporting structure is included, giving finance teams consistent, reliable financial views that reconcile with operational WIP and billing data. This means figures in management accounts and figures in operational dashboards always trace back to the same source.
WIP reporting
WIP and revenue-focused reporting
WIP reporting is a primary financial management tool, not just a billing input. The reporting capability gives partners and revenue teams visibility of non-invoiced and billable hours before billing cycles close, supporting earlier financial decisions and reducing end-of-period surprises.
Visibility of non-invoiced and billable hours by timekeeper and by matter within defined periods.
Clear distinction between WIP activity and invoiced revenue.
WIP build-up and revenue exposure visible before billing cycles close.
Identify delayed or at-risk billing based on WIP age and matter status.
Financial dimensions
Financial dimensions in reporting
Because Business Central’s financial dimensions framework is applied consistently across all financial and operational data, reporting can be filtered and grouped across multiple dimensions without custom development.
- Analyze revenue, costs, and profitability by practice area, partner, office, or department.
- Combine dimensions in a single report, for example, revenue by partner within a specific practice area.
- No separate data extracts or manual report consolidation required.
Power BI
Advanced analytics with Power BI
For firms that need more sophisticated reporting and analysis, the solution connects to Microsoft Power BI, which allows you to:
Build custom dashboards and reports using a drag-and-drop interface.
Combine practice management data with other data sources, for example, business development data or external market benchmarks.
Share reports with partners and stakeholders without requiring access to the main system.
Schedule automated report delivery by email.
Explore WIP, revenue, and financial performance across multiple dimensions in a flexible, slice-and-dice format, replacing dozens of static reports with a small number of highly flexible dashboards.
Compliance
Audit trails and compliance reporting
Every action taken in the system is logged with the user identity, timestamp, and relevant record. This produces automatic audit trails that support:
Trust accounting compliance
Every trust transaction is traceable and reportable.
Billing dispute resolution
A complete record of time entries, adjustments, and approvals.
Internal governance
A history of every change to a matter record, invoice, or financial transaction.
Capabilities
What the solution includes
Live dashboards
Role-appropriate dashboards for partners, fee earners, and accounts staff, updated in real time.
WIP reporting
Visibility of non-invoiced hours and revenue exposed by timekeeper, matter, and period.
Fee earner utilization
Track recorded and billable hours as a percentage of target or capacity by fee earner.
Flexible billing rates
Rates can be set at the fee earner, matter, client, or rate card level.
Data Replicator and data warehouse
Secure replication to an external store with a pre-built legal data model for Power BI analytics.
Financial dimensions
Multi-dimensional analysis by partner, practice area, office, or department.
Power BI integration
Connect practice data to Power BI for custom dashboards, advanced analysis, and automated reporting.
Audit trails
Full transaction and activity logs across matters, billing, and financials are available on demand.
The impact
Benefits for small law firms
Partners have the financial information they need without waiting for month-end reports or manual spreadsheet assembly.
Practice managers can identify which matters and fee earners are most profitable, and which need attention.
Compliance and audit processes are supported by automatic, reliable audit trails.
Analytics run separately from the live system, reporting does not slow down day-to-day operations.
Firms can start with standard dashboards and extend to fully custom Power BI analytics as needs develop.
Financial dimensions reporting gives partners visibility of their portfolio without manually assembled reports.
FAQs
Do we need a Power BI licence separately?
Power BI Desktop is free. Power BI Pro or Premium licences are required to share reports with colleagues. We can advise you on the right option for your firm.
What is the Data Replicator and do we need it?
The Data Replicator moves your practice data into a separate data warehouse that feeds Power BI. It is designed for firms that want sophisticated analytics without affecting live system performance. It is not required for standard dashboard and operational reporting.
Can we restrict which reports different users can see?
Yes. Role-based access controls determine which dashboards and reports each user can view. Partners may see firm-wide financial data; fee earners may only see their own matter and billing information.
What reports can law firms generate?
Small law firms can generate reports on matters, time tracking, billing, revenue, financial performance, and firm operations. Legal reporting software for small firms should cover all of these out of the box, and this solution does, with additional Power BI integration available for custom reporting needs.
Can dashboards be customized for different roles?
Yes. Dashboards can be customized for partners, finance teams, operations, and lawyers.