Specialist software makes probate services a profitable option
New probate and estate management software packages are being made available to small firms of lawyers, chartered accountants and alternative business structures enabling them to provide the specialist services previously restricted to large and medium sized business.
Leading wealth management software developers, thewealthworks, has identified a market for smaller business who would like to offer probate services to loyal clients and their families but don’t have the volume of business to merit the investment.
Mick Jones, managing director of thewealthworks explained: “The ICAEW is now a regulator of probate services and accountants are able to provide reserved legal services which were previously restricted to lawyers. But the reality is few small practices have taken advantage of the new freedom because they can’t compete with the economies of scale enjoyed by larger firms.
“It’s not that they are restricted from offering the service, but that they have to work harder for their money with a lot of duplicated work such as keeping track of assets and beneficiaries on spreadsheets and manual completion of the IHT400 which increases the risk of filing a contentious probate.
“There is also much more competition with the emergence of online services being offered directly to consumers, but these bottom end solutions don’t have the power to cover the more complex cases. There is a gap for the low-end solution with top-end power.
“We developed Troika for Probate, a powerful and revolutionary system specifically designed for private client service providers that streamlines estate management, saves practitioners time and reduces risk, but which has only ever previously been offered to medium or large businesses, because power like that comes at a cost.
“Now small practitioners can take advantage of Troika’s cost-saving efficiencies for as few as 10 probate cases per annum and this includes a probate ready business laptop, training and ongoing support all for a fraction of the cost of investing in multiple licences designed for volume. We call it Takeaway Troika!’
“It provides an opportunity for small practices, whether they are chartered accountants or lawyers, to extend and improve the services they provide to their clients and to establish new and profitable income streams.”
