Lateral is delighted to announce a new partnership with the Security Industry Authority (SIA) - an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Home Office.

Lateral’s CTO Ian McManus stated: “Lateral are thrilled to be providing web-based legal case management software to the SIA. We understand that the SIA have the highest security standards, which are central to their work, and ours. And we look forward to establishing a long and secure partnership with them”.

Lateral is delighted to be forging a new partnership with Brighton and Hove City Council, through the provision of parking enforcement software solutions.

Ian McManus, Lateral Co-founder and CTO, spoke positively of the deal recently: “we’re delighted to be supplying parking enforcement software solutions to Brighton and Hove City Council. Our software has been built from the ground up over the course of a decade. And I know the sophistication of the product will serve the city council’s needs perfectly”.

Lateral continue to expand their diverse client portfolio by partnering with Creditstar, a leading international digital consumer finance company. Lateral’s cloud-based debt collection software and debt management solutions will support Creditstar’s provision of its financial products across the whole of Europe. Ian McManus, Lateral’s Co-Founder and CTO comments on the partnership:

“We’re delighted to have partnered with Creditstar and look forward to providing support and guidance as they implement our collections software. We know that Creditstar have experienced impressive growth since they began their operations in 2006, and we expect that our partnership will accelerate their growth even further. It’s definitely an exciting time for both businesses”.

Lateral continue to expand their local authority portfolio through the establishment of a new partnership with Reigate & Banstead Borough Council. Lateral’s industry-leading automation software will serve the council in its pursuit of sundry debt and corporate debt. With debt recovery technology playing an increasingly critical role in every aspect of business, organisations are beginning to recognize the need to accelerate the development of digital collections solutions to ensure they remain on the competitive vanguard.

With more people than ever working remotely, there is a greater demand for debt collection software that allows you to work from home, connecting various parties to one centralised database. Lateral have developed a raft of advanced features and collections tools which aid remote working for all manner of debt collection processes.

Some people may think that empathy in debt collection is extraneous. That it’s irrelevant in our cutthroat world, where only the most cold-hearted grasp on credit control is an option. In reality we should recognise that empathy is a vital business skill that is critical to any debt collection process, particularly during these turbulent times. Empathy is at the core of debt collection efforts which understand, anticipate, and help lead to meaningful, concrete returns. And empathetic business practices should be at the forefront of any operation that strives to be ethical and fair.

Lateral is delighted to announce a new partnership with Buckinghamshire County Council (formerly Aylesbury Vale District Council). Lateral’s machine-learning powered debt management services will be utilized to power the county council’s revenues and benefits department, supporting the collection of council tax payments, benefit payments, parking collections and business rates.

Did you know that 70% of all cyberattacks target small businesses? To mititage this risk, many small law firms, businesses and organizations are turning their heads towards cloud-based software. However, cloud-based software is not without its security concerns too. Security your data is incredibly important, so here we present five important cloud security controls that you should be using today.

There is no doubt that Open banking has the potential to reshape both the competitive landscape and consumer experience of the banking industry. But what role will this innovation have to play in the debt collections process?

What is Open Banking?

The promise of Open banking is faster and easier ways to control and share our financial data, which in theory helps consumers make more informed choices and gain access to more benefits. It is also known as "open bank data." And as a banking practice it provides third-party financial service providers open access to consumer banking, transaction, and other financial data from banks and other financial institutions via the use of APIs (application programming interfaces).

Cybersecurity plays a vital role in protecting our most important information. Whether you’re an individual, or a leading a larger organisation, it’s likely that you care about the protection and security of your data. Legal firms, local councils, and debt recovery departments are all beginning to place their vital infrastructure online, making it vulnerable to attack. From smartphones to AI and machine learning systems, in 2020 the world is automated and connected. But how will cybersecurity evolve in 2020 and what will be top of the agenda over the coming year?

In 2020 it’s widely accepted that traditional call-centre led debt collection practices are inefficient and prone to human error. Those debtors you’re chasing often perceive that collectors are being intrusive and disrespectful. And likewise, many creditors feel that when they approach debtors via a telephone call, they’re left facing evasiveness and a lack of co-operation. So new practices have emerged. Ones which reduce debt collection costs for creditors, vastly increase customer satisfaction, and improve overall collection results. This new approach is based around multi-channel digital communications. The truth is digital multi-channel communications have a dramatic impact on collections success. They reduce the cost of all customer interactions whilst also enhancing the customer experience. It’s a win win. But what are the best communication channels to boost collections results?

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and chasing payments you’re owed can be a very challenging task. Clients and customers are likely to present a number of interesting excuses as to why they haven’t paid you on time. Constructing a clear and appropriate response to each excuse will help you achieve your goal: fast payment. Here we outline some of the most common excuses which can be relayed from debtors, and the very best way to respond to them.

You’ve probably heard of CRM, but perhaps you don’t know what it consists of and how it can be a great asset for your organisation. CRM stands for Client Relationship Manager and broadly speaking it’s a system in which you can manage relationships with your customer base. When harnessed effectively, a CRM system helps businesses and organisations strengthen their customer relationships, and streamline communications, thereby improving their customer service, increasing sales, and ultimately increasing their profitability.

Every day, in numerous business sectors, the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being leveraged. By the end of 2020 it is predicted that 30% of companies worldwide will be using AI in at least one of their sales processes. When it comes to debt collection there is arguably not a stronger tool at your disposal than AI. Taking a digital approach to debt collection and debt recovery not only improves efficiency, it provides its users with invaluable data. Here we outline five important ways which AI can change the debt collection process.

1. Taking Things Digital

The fact is in 2020 the world is digitally motivated. Conventionally the debt collection and debt recovery processes were very labour-intensive, and human-centric in terms of the nature of how they were run. When collecting debt, businesses and organisations relied heavily upon human labour to make telephone calls to pursue debtors. But now AI can be leveraged to reach debtors via digital channels they’re familiar with: text, email, chat etc. You’re more likely to gain a response if you communicate with a debtor via a channel they use regularly and reply with regularly.

As we look at the financial landscape in 2020, Artificial Intelligence is primed to provide a solution for multiple tasks, including in the recovery of debt. AI systems, including chatbots, improve overall workplace competency and reduce the likelihood of human error. By utilising the power of chatbots, businesses and organisations pursuing debt can achieve higher levels of success.

A chatbot is best described as a prominent type of Artificial Intelligence. It’s used as a form of communication between businesses and their customers. Chatbots are a means by which to leverage NLP (Natural Language Processing). This is AI technology that works by analyzing and understanding the human language that is being communicated. Most importantly, with NLP, chatbots can understand the intention and meaning of a conversation, rather than rather than just use the information to communicate with clients.

The automation of debt collection and debt recovery can dramatically reduce costs by eliminating wasteful or repetitive actions, and can simplify and re-organise each stage of the collections and recovery cycle. By using debt collection software to automate debt recovery, organisations can reduce bad debts, increase their adherence to compliance requirements, improve their debt recovery rates and streamline their whole management process. 

What is Automation?

The automation of debt recovery is when the management and accounting processes of collecting debt are run automatically. Debt collection software and debt recovery software manages the process on your behalf, reducing your labour costs and streamlining your collections process. The best collections software, such as Lateral, utilises a fully online, cloud-based web portal that automatically communicates with those who owe you money via SMA, emails, texts and letters. But what are the many benefits automation can bring to your collections department?

Today over 2 billion people across the globe use smartphones and this number increases every day. This means mobile technology is opening up innovative new commerce opportunities for law firms. Here are some tips on how you can take your law firm mobile, to harness the power of new technology, and grow your business.

1. Optimize Your Website For Mobile

It’s important to give your website a mobile-friendly makeover. Most people will be accessing your website via their phone, so check to see how professional things look. Fine-tune the display on your mobile website for optimal viewing and navigation. This is often the very first impression prospective clients will have of your firm. 

For any small law firm making a decision about investing in legal case management software in “the cloud” or on “on-premise” servers, we’ve outlined some important cloud-computing tips, which will be of use.

What is Cloud Computing? 

Cloud computing is computing services – servers, data storage, networking, databases – delivered remotely to clients over the Internet, which is referred to as “the cloud”. On-premise software is defined as software installed on the computers on the premises of the person or organization using the software, rather than existing in a remote capacity. When compared with an on-premise system, cloud computing can help lower a firm’s operating costs, run their operations more efficiently, and be easily scaled up or down if their needs change.

There are a number of challenges law firms face when it comes to billing for the services they provide. Billing discrepancies, inaccurate data, and delays in payments can put a strain on the warm relationship you hope to maintain with your client. So here we outline some tips to help you become more efficient at law firm billing.

1.   Get Mobile Friendly

It’s likely that your employees are with their phones for most of the day, so it makes sense for them to track their hours, and to bill, invoice and manage accounts from their personal devices. By using mobile-friendly software, you’re likely to prevent  losses on billable hours through missed time-tracking. Your employee is more likely to record their entries in real time if the can use their phone to do so.  

2. Harness Technology

Advanced cloud-based legal case management software solutions have a great role to play when it comes to being more efficient with your billing practices. Affordable and easy to use, you can now invest in an error-proof solution that bills and collects on your behalf. As an example, LATERAL has its own built-in time tracking tool, as well as integration with a legal time tracking partner, eBility. Because the legal case management software is cloud-based, time can be tracked and recorded at any time and anywhere. What’s more, reports and billing statements are easily generated by user, task type, and / or with a date range. The best legal case management software also helps its users to organise their cases and matters, and tracks expenses too. The whole process runs more efficiently.