Customer
Laurius is a leading Belgian law firm with offices in Antwerp and Brussels. They assist companies, investors and shareholders in complex legal matters, from corporate law to M&A and dispute resolution.
Their approach? Pragmatic, personal and strategic. Laurius works with a multidisciplinary team of some 30 lawyers: each with their own specializations, files and working methods. That requires a smart way of bringing together diverse data and translating it into clear insights for all involved.
Challenge
When law firm Laurius wanted to modernize its internal processes, the existing software no longer met expectations. Financial and operational reports were time-consuming to compile, insights were lacking, and the risk of errors was too high.
Today, Laurius works with a custom data-driven reporting environment built and set up by On IT. Thanks to Power BI, the firm now has real-time insight into files, performance and financial KPIs. This allows lawyers, partners and management to steer much more focused. A digital acceleration that makes daily operations more efficient and increases strategic effectiveness.
Reason
Time loss, error rate and Excel reports
The previous software system (DLex) did not offer sufficient reporting capabilities. These had to be compiled, over and over again, manually in Excel. This took time, increased the margin of error and did not provide a real-time picture of records or performance.
Financial monitoring was also fragmented. Reporting was done via Excel files, with no automated link between operational and financial data. As a result, management lacked a complete and reliable overview.
Laurius therefore wanted to move to a scalable, cloud-based solution while also working on centralized reporting for lawyers, partners, finance and management.
That was the moment when On IT could bring its expertise to bear. As a partner in digital transformation they guided Laurius in the further rollout of a future-oriented reporting environment.
Solution
One powerful reporting model, tailored to each team
To futureproof their operation, Laurius chose a combination of LawCloud as the operational platform and Exact Online for the financial processes. Together with On IT, a centralized Power BI model in which all data comes together – including additional information from Excel, such as post-calculations and margins.
On IT supervised the entire process:
from the analysis of data sources and processes to the architecture of the reporting layer, the automatic data flows and the development of intuitive dashboards tailored to each team. Data is automatically retrieved every night, securely stored in Microsoft Azure and prepared for use.
The reporting model developed by On IT is not only intuitive to use but also technically sound: from secure storage in Azure to role-based access (Role-Based Security) and robust error checking.
For example, the system automatically detects missing files or incorrect registrations, and partners can only access the files for which they are responsible. In this way, reporting remains reliable, scalable and tailored to the confidentiality required by a law firm.
The result is one stable, scalable and reliable reporting structure tailored to the needs of different user groups within Laurius:
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Lawyers
get daily insight into their performance, hours and claims. They can detect errors faster and adjust their own work.
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Associates
have an overview of pending files and team results. They see where margins are under pressure and can take timely action before the invoices go out the door.
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Finance
monitors data flows between systems, works with current figures around sales and margins, and uses “What-If analysis” and predictive dashboards to look ahead.
- Management has real-time insights into the operations of the office. Strategic dashboards show where growth is, which teams are under pressure and how returns are evolving. This gives them all the tools they need to make quicker adjustments, plan ahead and achieve their strategic goals.
Results:
More grip, less work
The new reporting brings greater visibility, speed and consistency to every layer of the organization. Both operationally and strategically, this makes a noticeable difference:
- Lawyers and partners have more control over their work.
- Manual Excel work has largely disappeared.
- Management can make quicker adjustments based on up-to-date info.
- Finance works more efficiently and can make informed decisions faster.
"Thanks to Power BI, today we have a powerful and reliable reporting platform that allows us to make decisions faster, more focused and with more confidence. What used to require hours of manual work is now available in a few clicks - fully tailored to the needs of our lawyers, partners and management. This digital step forward strengthens our strategic clout and supports our growth ambitions."
The project not only increased efficiency but also brought peace and confidence to the operation. Today, everyone within Laurius works with the same insights, tailored to their roles – strengthening cooperation, transparency and direction.
