QuickBooks & Sage Cloud Hosting for Legal Services
Cloud Hosting Solutions for Legal Services
Time tracking is critical in the legal industry—so much of what lawyers and support staff do fall under the category of billable activities. QuickBooks and Sage cloud hosting solutions for legal services provide a modern way to track billable hours, create reports for clients, manage accounts receivable, and control office overhead. Those are just a few reasons why legal firms are relying on cloud hosting.
Benefits of Cloud Hosting for Law Firms
QuickBooks hosting for legal services offers law firms a way to keep their books accurate that is both easy to use and secure. It’s the anytime, anywhere finance program, so lawyers can record their expenses and time even out of the office. Consider some other ways the legal industry benefits from QuickBooks cloud hosting.
Scalability
With QuickBooks cloud hosting, legal practices only use and pay for the server resources they need, such as storage capacity and processing power. That is something you don’t get with traditional IT services. Cloud hosting creates flexibility for a more efficient distribution of resources.
Managed Billing
QuickBooks cloud hosting allows for individualized billing rates. Law firms can create custom rates for each firm member, from partners to paralegals to assistants. The software does all the math and generates reports in an instant. Firm staff can create reports that track every dollar for the client. The accounting department can record payments and even tag expenses by case.
Cost Savings
Creating an in-house IT infrastructure means buying hardware and software along with hiring staff to manage it. Cloud hosting for legal services eliminates the need for expensive hardware. It comes with some of the top network security talents in the country, too, so firms don’t need to hire IT staff. Legal firms don’t worry about storage for servers and paper records. There are no offices for IT personnel, either, allowing the practice to cut overhead with smaller office space.
Disaster Recovery
Disaster recovery is a concern for any business, including legal firms. Flooding, earthquakes, or fire — these are all disasters that can ruin a business. Disaster recovery is especially critical for law practices because they handle sensitive and secure data that is invaluable to their clients. With Sage hosting for legal services, all that critical data is stored in safe locations and backed up regularly just in case.
Third-Party Add-Ons
One of QuickBooks cloud hosting’s unique benefits is integrating essential third-party add-ons to get even more functionality from the program. Applications can include practice management systems and billing services that sync with QuickBooks for improved workflow.
Cloud Hosting Security for Law Firms
Law firms manage sensitive data, and security is of utmost importance. If information is leaked, it might be detrimental to their legal cases, clients, and the firm’s reputation. By opting to host QuickBooks or Sage in the cloud, law offices enjoy enterprise-level data security.
Choosing cloud hosting means enhanced network security for law practices, including 2-factor authentication. With the help of 2-factor authentication, legal offices secure their sensitive case data from would-be hackers. Staff members and lawyers would still be able to access the necessary records from anywhere, though.
Cloud hosting uses network segmentation, as well. Potential attackers trying to identify the network see more than one. The hosting system comes with privacy settings that allow only authorized people to see sensitive data. That’s true even within the firm. Staff members only have access on a need-to-know basis.
The encryption technology and dedicated servers also help to keep data secure. The hosting provider backs up the data regularly, so if there is a problem with the system or an emergency, that data is still safe. Cloud security measures by design keep the infrastructure safe 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
QuickBooks and Sage Products for Law Firms
QuickBooks Pro
QuickBooks Pro offers basic financial software for a single lawyer or small practice looking to manage their accounting tasks from any location. QuickBooks Pro hosting provides cloud access for a firm that already has a QuickBooks license. With it, they can migrate their data into cloud storage for added security and accessibility. Small law firms can tack on added programs such as time-tracking to their QuickBooks Pro plan to get even more out of it.
QuickBooks Enterprise
Large practices will benefit from the QuickBooks Enterprise product. It offers unlimited users, so everyone from partners to interns to clerks has the access they need. In addition, they get an infinite number of third-party integrations, allowing law offices to design the exact platform they want with all the necessary functions.
QuickBooks Accountant
QuickBooks Accountant is the right option for mid-sized firms that need access for multiple users. This hosting solution also builds on what the QuickBooks Pro option offers with features such as expense tracking, bill pay, and check printing. It also offers customized report generation from any device at any location.
Sage BusinessWorks Hosting
Sage BusinessWorks Hosting provides a multi-user environment that allows for better collaboration between lawyers and their clients. It also comes with top-notch security features with multi-factor authentication and 256-bit data encryption. This Sage hosting product is fully scalable and provides a custom cloud experience.
QuickBooks and Sage Apps for Law Firms
QuickBooks cloud hosting provides full functionality for lawyers maintaining virtual offices and law firms with 100 associates and three locations. The combination of cloud hosting, QuickBooks, and Sage accounting software makes this the right option for any law office.
Summit Hosting can help legal offices create the platform they need using third-party add-ons essential for them. Some applications that would be useful to law firms include:
Clio
Clio syncs documents, bills, and transactions from practice management software to QuickBooks.
LeanLaw
LeanLaw supports classing, expense invoicing, LEDS invoicing, and legal trust accounting.
Time Tracker + Legal
This add-on offers invoicing, ABA codes, and a conflict checker. It can take approved timesheets and sync them to QuickBooks for both billing and payroll.
Sharepoint
An excellent program for collaboration, case preparation, and meetings with clients.
Drake Tax Software
Drake helps to plan and process taxes.