Elite has enriched its cloud-based 3E software platform tailored for law firms by introducing advanced features in data management, billing, payments, time tracking, and e-invoicing. This enhancement is designed to streamline the work-to-cash process, fostering greater connectivity within operations.
This release showcases Data Connect, which operates on a new Data Fabric layer, and integrates an AI capability into the Proforma billing workflow. Additionally, it unveils new cloud-exclusive features for Payments and Time, along with enhanced e-invoicing compliance in 3E Financials.
The work-to-cash process refers to the comprehensive journey from tracking billable hours and managing cases to billing clients, processing payments, and reporting on revenue. Many law firms still navigate this cycle using various systems and teams, resulting in manual interventions that lead to delays and reconciliation challenges. Often, leaders depend on end-of-month reports, which can obscure visibility throughout the month.
According to research by Law.com, ineffectiveness throughout the work-to-cash cycle could lead firms to forfeit up to 25% of possible revenue.
“Friction hinders firms and affects lawyers daily. They prefer focusing on their clients rather than pursuing data, correcting invoices, or getting overwhelmed with administrative tasks,” remarked Mark Dorman, CEO of Elite.
Data Layer
Central to this update is Data Connect, the inaugural product utilizing Elite’s Data Fabric. Built upon Microsoft Fabric, the Data Fabric serves as a unified data layer for Elite solutions and the reporting environments of law firms.
Data Connect facilitates the near-real-time transfer of operational financial data from 3E to a firm’s Microsoft Fabric setup. Its purpose is to minimize reliance on custom data pipelines and manual reconciliation. The emphasis is placed on mid-month reporting concerning work in progress, billing updates, accounts receivable changes, and realization trends instead of awaiting end-of-period closures.
Elite reported that initial pilots have halved reporting times and eliminated a four-step workflow previously utilized for routine reporting tasks.
Billing Workflow
The enhancement includes the integration of Elite Intelligence into the Proforma billing system, enabling lawyers and billing teams to review and adjust draft invoices prior to distribution. Elite Intelligence is characterized as an embedded AI feature that aids in routine review tasks during the billing process.
Within Proforma, Elite Intelligence prioritizes edits, defers low-value items, and highlights high-impact proformas. This aims to alleviate repetitive tasks and expedite the movement of routine items through the billing workflow.
Elite anticipates that this feature could reduce pro forma review times by as much as four hours monthly for each lawyer, while simultaneously accelerating billing cycles and enhancing accuracy.
“Law firm finance thrives not in isolation, but as an integrated work-to-cash system,” stated Elisabet Hardy, CPO of Elite.
Payments Controls
Elite has enhanced its Payments feature with functionalities tailored for intricate law firm banking structures and trust accounting. This update allows for routing to multiple operational accounts and IOLTA-compliant trust deposits during checkout.
Now within 3E, cash receipts can be tracked by matter, office, or practice area, simplifying reconciliation and reducing errors in allocation and reporting. Elite emphasized that these modifications aim to expedite fund availability and lessen the manual workload for finance departments.
Time Capture
The Time product from Elite now incorporates AI technology to track time spent in Microsoft Teams and convert it into billable entries, functioning within a collaboration tool frequently used by lawyers for meetings, calls, and document reviews.
Elite highlighted that untracked time remains a significant source of lost revenue as lawyers frequently switch tasks without logging their activities. This feature is designed to recover previously lost revenue, hasten billing processes, mitigate client disputes, and reduce administrative burdens for both lawyers and billing teams.
E-invoicing Compliance
Elite is broadening its e-invoicing compliance features in 3E Financials, now incorporating country-specific requirements for Belgium, with plans to include Poland subsequently, extending its reach beyond Australia and New Zealand.
The platform formats, validates, and sends invoices to tax authorities through Edicom, a certified global tax authority network. The objective is to minimize manual processes for finance teams managing various invoice formats and local approval workflows.
“When data, intelligence, and financial operations align seamlessly, the work-to-cash process accelerates, cash flow improves, and leaders gain timely and clear insights into firm performance. This consistency and momentum is what Elite’s AI-driven cloud platform aims to achieve,” Dorman concluded.
