How one insolvency firm saves up to 40 hours a month

Scaling up and driving efficiency in insolvency practices

With many businesses bracing for changes in the economic landscape, insolvency practitioners are in a unique position to scale and grow. This makes it more important than ever to ensure you are fully utilising your two biggest assets – your people and your technology. We spoke to James Imray, Director at Rodgers Reidy Brisbane, to learn about his experience.

A catalyst for change  

The evolving economic environment has highlighted the critical role technology plays in helping insolvency firms maintain and improve productivity. Now more than ever, the industry is looking for new ways to boost operational efficiency and reduce risk of fraud. By adopting innovative solutions, firms can scale up quickly to meet demand and empower their staff to focus on delivering exceptional client service.

According to Imray, the changes his firm has made have helped them increase productivity in recent years, saving up to 40 hours a month on administration while increasing accuracy and flexibility.

Connecting your systems to drive productivity

As one of the early adopters of Macquarie’s software integration solutions, Imray integrated his online banking with his practice management system and accounting software. This enabled his firm to streamline bill processing, payments and reconciliations by automatically uploading transaction data and sending approved payments directly from their practice management software to Macquarie for processing. 

Courtney Worrall, National Head of Insolvency at Macquarie, says this not only saves time, but also improves security and reliability. “It’s much more efficient since you don’t have to log into two platforms, and it also creates a robust risk protocol because the file can’t be manipulated after internal approval,” she says.

This service is supported by popular software providers such as CORE IPS, Aryza, MYOB and Xero, among others, and is readily available. “Many insolvency firms aren’t aware of just how easy it is to integrate online banking with their practice management and accounting software, with significant efficiency gains,” says Worrall.

Benefits of integrating your software

For Imray and his team, a key benefit is consolidated reporting of real-time account data, including in-bound payments. “Everyone comes in at 6 am and can see what’s been paid and whether there are any accounts that don't match our records from yesterday,” he says. “Now we can see every bank account at a glance and highlight which accounts have had money come in overnight.”

Automated data exchange also means staff can access accurate data anywhere and anytime – increasing transparency and helping avoid double entry. This integration helps avoid re-keying errors from multiple systems, reducing the risk of human error. 

Empowering your people 

Just as importantly, connected systems mean staff spend less time chasing paper and entering data, and more time on higher-value activities with benefits for everyone. According to Imray, “this means we can then provide our highly valued administration staff with more challenging and meaningful work to develop their roles, rather than wasting time on processes that can be automated”. 

That not only helps make the firm more efficient but also helps them attract and retain skilled staff at a time when experienced people are in demand. “It certainly makes it easier to promote your practice to candidates when you can explain the kinds of tasks that have been automated,” says Imray. “That has a lot of appeal because there are a lot of processes even senior staff members have to do in other practices, that in our practice they just don't have to spend time on.”

Supporting scalability and increasing efficiency

Imray and Worrall agree that insolvency firms are likely to see a significant increase in demand as businesses continue to navigate economic pressures. Yet Imray is confident that Rodgers Reidy is well-positioned to manage any increase in workload – in-part because the firm’s technology suite accommodates both efficiency and scalability.

“The beauty of these systems is that they're very scalable,” he says. “That means carrying a greater number of jobs doesn’t mean spending a significantly greater amount of time on administration, banking and reporting, because many recurring tasks are automated.”. 

“One of the biggest time savers is something we hadn’t thought about before, the reduction of paper flow,” Imray says. “Paper processing … actually adds up to a huge amount of time and that's just for one transaction … when you have hundreds of these transactions it really adds up.”

As a result, Imray believes Rodgers Reidy Brisbane is now more efficient.  “We’ve seen productivity increase,” he says. “My view is that this could be the beginning of a more accessible, 24-hour workforce, which will help us future-proof our business.”

By focusing on connected systems, automation, and empowering staff, insolvency firms can position themselves to thrive in an increasingly competitive and dynamic market. With the right tools and mindset, scaling up and driving efficiency is not just possible – it’s inevitable.

How Macquarie can help

The Macquarie Insolvency team is here to help you with personalised support, delivered by industry specialists.

To find out more, please contact your relationship manager, or learn more request a call.