Client focus foremost for new CEO

It has been six months since Chris O’Day became Cashroom CEO. The midst of a global pandemic is possibly not the easiest time to become CEO, but six months on Cashroom, and the legal profession are thriving.

Chris always wanted to do something big. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant at Deloitte, he saw the opportunities at Cashroom and joined as a Management Accountant in 2014. His extensive experience in legal accounting saw him become Cashroom’s Client Services Director in 2017 – gaining significant insight as to what is valuable to clients and to the legal industry. In 2017, Chris also took on the role as Finance Director.  When David Calder became Chairman earlier this year, Chris stepped into the role of CEO and hasn’t looked back since.

David Calder, Chairman at Cashroom: “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved at Cashroom over the last 10 years, and look forward to seeing what Chris and the team achieve over the next 10.

“From working at Cashroom for many years, Chris knew that keeping clients at the core of the business was key – understanding what lawyers want and need and ensuring Cashroom provided that in the most efficient, compliant and risk-free way.”

“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 experienced as a business – we could not have made it through the pandemic without the support of Cashroom.”

Billy Smith, Clarity Simplicity Solicitors

“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

With the depth and breadth of expert Legal Accounting knowledge within our team at Cashroom, coupled with efficient processes and exceptional technology, we want to change the way firms view their accounts function.

Our vision is to Revolutionise Legal Accounting, and we’re on a mission to free lawyers from its complexity.

The legal tech industry is buoyant at the moment. The global pandemic has accelerated the adoption of new technologies in all areas, and the legal sector is no different. We were all forced to rethink the best way of doing things. Over the years firms have made significant investments in practice management systems, covering aspects such as document management, lead management, client communications and more, allowing firms to develop efficient processes and workflows for their fee earners.

However, we believe that a law firm’s finance function is often overlooked or misunderstood. Because Cashroom provides legal accounting as a service at scale, we can make the necessary investment in people, process and technology that very few firms can afford. In turn, that allows us to deliver an exceptional service to the profession, who can then pass all the benefits of that service on to their clients.

We have developed our portal platform over the last five years. From the outset we designed it to integrate with leading legal technology systems, as well as integrating into the open banking network. We firmly believe that collaboration is key to exceptional service. By collaborating with PMS providers and banks we are able to increase the speed, reduce the risk and improve compliance of all financial transactions across the legal sector. In June this year we successfully processed £1.6 billion of client payments through our client portal in a timely, efficient and secure manner. We made a real difference to what was a stressful time for our clients and received some fantastic feedback. Our aim is more than improving Cashroom service and technology; it’s about the larger impact we can have on the legal experience.

I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved at Cashroom, growing our team from two cashiers servicing three clients, to where we are today with a team of 110 people servicing 250 law firms across the UK.

But our revolution is just beginning – and we’re all excited to see what the next 10 years brings, as our revolution spreads across the UK and beyond!