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As you may already be aware, some Local Authorities are merging from 1st April 2019.

However, we’d like to take this opportunity to reassure you that we are working closely with the relevant Local Authorities to make sure all of our processes behind the scenes continue to run smoothly, so you can continue to place your orders in the same way. 

If you’d like to see a summary of the changes, you can do so in the table below:

If you have any questions or queries, please contact your Account Manager, or get in touch with our friendly Helpdesk team on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk 

It’s been almost a month since Louisa Crook, Branch Partner at William H Brown in Wakefield started using sales progression and communication tool mio. Here she shares how it’s already making day-to-day sales progression quicker and easier.

1. I know exactly what’s top priority when I come into work each morning 

“It’s great that all of my tasks are highlighted on the dashboard as soon as I log in, as I can see exactly what I need to do, dive straight in and get it sorted. 

It’s particularly helpful, as I don’t need to think about what to do first or waste time reviewing files of information, especially when I’m so busy managing my branches as well.” 

2. The next steps in the sales progression process are clear for everyone 

“Before using mio, we relied on our own diary management to understand what we needed to do next to drive each sale to completion. This not only made it quite time-consuming to keep check of what needed to happen and when, but it also made sales progression challenging for less experienced members of the team – as they mainly relied on a paper manual of milestones to guide them through the process. 

Now, it’s so straightforward. The tasks, chain view and milestones help everyone to understand where each property is in the sales progression process. It’s clear to see it’s been designed by Estate Agents for Estate Agents.”

3. Emailing other estate agents and solicitors is simple – with just one click

“With mio, you have everything you need at your fingertips – including handy extra features to make life easier. One of my favourites is the ability to click on the name of a solicitor or other estate agent in the chain and open up an email in Outlook. I can get typing straight away and there’s no faffing around with finding the right email address, or worrying that I’ve mistyped their name.”

4. It’s quick and easy to find and open my current cases 

“I love it when things are simple and easy to use. The dashboard itself is particularly helpful, as it always shows my most recent cases, so I can dip into them quickly, progress the property transaction and update my notes.” 

5. There’s no barriers to sharing information or doing holiday handovers

“We used to keep a mix of handwritten notes and electronic records, which made it tricky to handover to colleagues during annual leave. Particularly as the handwritten notes weren’t always easy to read. As there were no time stamps on any of our notes, it could also be a challenge to know when a file was last updated and what needed to happen next. 

With mio, it’s great that everyone can see everything they need all in one place – from tasks and time-stamped notes, to milestone updates – so it’s simple and straightforward for one of my colleagues to just pick up where I left off.” 

6. Notes are time-stamped, easy to add – and can be as long as you like

“With our previous system, we had some issues with adding notes, as tapping the return key would trigger an auto save (instead of skipping to the next line) and we’d often end up with lots of bitty notes against a property. 

However, with mio, our notes can be as long as we like. As it’s so intuitive, we also don’t have to worry about any issues with the return key. We just click save when we’re done. It’s so much easier to add and review the information we need and keep each property up to date.”

7. It’s easier for us to share information between branches 

“All of our branches used to use different systems and processes to progress a sale, so if I needed to go to another branch, I would need to spend time understanding their way of working – before I could make any progress. mio has changed all that. By using the same system and milestones across all of our branches, it’s so much easier to switch between them. 

Across our branches, we’re also finding that we’re working together more and more to build a shared view of our connected chains – instead of duplicating effort across the business.”

Want to be in control of your transactions – rather than feel like they’re controlling you?

Contact us today – and try mio FREE for 6 months.

Since adopting mio in September 2018, Josh Lally, Senior Sales Negotiator based at Connells, Emerson’s Green, Bristol shares how mio has made chain building easier, been simple to learn AND increased his rate of exchange per month. In his own words, “the main game-changer has been convenience”. 

Building chains is quick and simple – with no risk of duplicated effort 

mio has been designed by property professionals for property professionals, offering a smarter way to manage the home buying process. With centralised communications and reduced rekeying, branches using mio have seen a noticeable increase in productivity – particularly when managing chain building.

“Building chains used to be incredibly frustrating, as it would take quite a long time to piece the full picture together, and often I would complete the work only to find out that my colleague had worked on the same chain earlier that day. 

However, with mio, it only takes a few minutes to put a chain together and I can immediately see if one of my colleagues has already built the chain, so I don’t have to. This has helped to save time (and frustration) across the team. It’s also far easier to come back to the chain and amend it, if necessary.”

Notes are clear and accessible for everyone involved 

mio also makes it easier for branches to manage day-to-day tasks, such as adding notes to cases and sharing information between colleagues and customers when they need to.

“mio definitely helps me to keep on top of my sales progression and makes it far easier to share information. If I’m out, I know one of my colleagues can easily see the information they need to be able to update a client.”

“Before mio, I relied on sheets of paper to keep on top of my sales progression. Not only were these sheets kept in a file, making them hard to find, but the template barely fitted all of the information on that I needed. Handwritten notes also made life difficult, especially if a colleague was off sick and someone else needed to read and share the information with any of our home movers.”

Easy to learn and navigate – from the very first day

One of the biggest concerns with adopting new technology is that teams will struggle to use it and it will have a negative impact on productivity before any benefits are realised. Yet this has not been the case with mio.

“When we were first talking about adopting mio, I was a bit worried that it would be somehow restrictive in what you could do, particularly in terms of updates and notes. I was also slightly concerned that it might not be easy to use and I wouldn’t be able to find the information that I needed. 

However, I’ve found it really easy to access and use. It wasn’t a struggle at all. The chains and updates are all very easy to navigate. Milestones are also quick to update, and then it’s clear what has and hasn’t been done – at just a quick glance.”

Want to be in control of your transactions – rather than feel like they’re controlling you?

Contact us today – and try mio FREE for 6 months.

One month on from introducing sales progression and communication tool, mio, to her branch in Chippenham (Wiltshire), Michelle Hallas, Residential Sales Manager at Allen and Harris shares how much easier it is to keep on top of her transactions – and share progress updates with her clients. 

“It used to be a struggle to keep our paper files up to date”

“We used to put all of our notes in a file, and it could be quite hit and miss as to how accurate and up to date they were. Even with the best intentions, it was easy to forget to add the odd note here or there – especially if the phone rang again and I couldn’t immediately get to the file. 

As you can imagine, this could create some rather frustrating situations, such as asking a customer or solicitor a question they’d already answered with one of my colleagues – purely because their file wasn’t up to date." 

“mio brings more visibility to our sales progression process and makes it so much easier to keep an eye on things” 

“I now use mio every day. It makes it so much easier to monitor progress. The milestones are great, as they prompt you on where you need to be with each transaction. It’s a massive improvement on riffling through paper files to understand where each property is and what needs to happen that week to move things forward.

That’s not all. mio brings visibility to all parts of the process, from seeing all of my recent cases on the home dashboard (so I don’t have to go searching for them), to offering a complete view of the chain, alongside easily accessible contact details of any connected estate agents and solicitors.” 

“The customer-facing app helps homemovers stay up to date – without needing to phone into the branch”

“The app is also great for staying in touch with our clients. Not only can they keep an eye on progress updates with a shared view of the property status, but they can message directly through it. One of my current homemovers even prefers instant messaging to phone calls, as she finds it quicker and easier to get a response – instead of trying to get through to me on my busy line. She even posted a message into our chat the other day saying “Thanks. You are a star.” using the star emoji, which was nice. 

From a compliance point of view, mio is also really helpful, as once a property completes, I can print off all of the notes against that case of every action, update and instant message, so I have a full audit trail on file – and nothing is lost in telephone conversations or inboxes.”

“It was easy to get started with mio. If I can do it, anyone can.”

“It was easy getting started with mio too. Our Account Manager came in to show us the ropes and we used it straight away. I’m not a massive technology person, but if I can do it, anyone can. It’s simple to navigate and understand.”

Want to be in control of your transactions – rather than feel like they’re controlling you?

Contact us today – and try mio FREE for 6 months.

A new highways data layer is now visible on your tmconvey mapping. Developed in line with customer feedback, you can highlight where the highway is, as well as see the name of the street. 

If you then click the highlighted highway on the map, a side tab will appear with information including maintenance, USRN (Unique Street Reference Number) and more.

If you would like to enable this new data layer, you’ll need to update your preferences in our recently added Map Data Layers section – by selecting the ‘highways’ option from the data layers listed. 

We’ve also added some helper text to the Map Data Layers section to make it even easier for you to choose the data layers you need. 

If you have any questions or queries, please contact your Account Manager, or get in touch with our friendly Helpdesk team on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk 

John Madge at Cox & Hodgetts Solicitors explains how switching to tmconvey’s Post-Completion services has helped him to speed up SDLT submission in his firm by 2 weeks. 

“It used to take at least a fortnight for any SDLT5 forms to be returned.”

“Before using tmconvey’s Post-Completion services, my firm relied on posting paper SDLT submission forms to HMRC – and I would typically be waiting weeks for my SDLT5 forms to be returned. Even the quickest turnarounds were at least a fortnight. 

This put pressure on my AP1 submission times and put them at risk of cancellation. Not only that, but occasionally forms would go astray, and I would have to waste time making chasing calls – and sometimes even start from scratch if they went missing completely. 

I also once had a case where I had to appeal the penalty for a late submission, by confirming the dates of cheques sent and cashed. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that HMRC had also been in touch with my client directly with a penalty notice, so I also had to mitigate the reputational damage with my clients with additional phone calls and evidence of payment.”

“It’s so much quicker to fill in the SDLT forms online – and we get our SDLT5 back within seconds.”

“I’ve been using tmconvey’s Post-Completion services since October 2018, and find it so much quicker than paper submission – especially as my SDLT5 forms are returned in seconds. 

I also find it easier to fill the SDLT forms in online, as not only is there no chance of it going missing in the post, there’s also less risk of information getting lost in translation and misspelt on any returned SDLT5 forms.” 

“Even the most complicated scenarios are simple to process with intelligent, online forms”

“I always used to hate complicated scenarios when it came to filling out the SDLT form, such as a freehold property with a separate leasehold garage under a different title, as I would never be 100% sure of the sections I should fill out or whether the form would be sent back to me with additional queries. 

However, as tmconvey’s online forms only present the fields I need to complete, it’s simple to fill out and get it right first time, so I can get the results returned just as quickly as any other submission I’m working on. 

The interactive forms and automated error checking also help to make sure I don’t miss off any information. For example, if my client hasn’t sent across their National Insurance number, it’s obvious this information is missing from the form – and I’m reminded to add it before I click submit.”

Want to find out how tmconvey’s Post-Completion services can help to save your team time when submitting SDLT forms?

Take a look at tmconvey’s Post-Completion services, or request a FREE demo of tmconvey’s Post-Completion services.

Ashleigh Thwaites, Branch Manager at Emersons Green, Taylors shares how mio has transformed her approach to sales progression by making it quick and easy to complete tasks, as well as train up new recruits on the end-to-end sales progression process. 

The crucial difference with mio is that by removing traditional silos of information, mio creates visibility across the chain – with everyone from homebuyers and solicitors, right through to other estate agents. This improves communication and ultimately speeds up the process. 

Slow and outdated systems only exacerbate the challenges of day-to-day sales progression

Sales progression can be a challenge, especially with outdated systems making the process even slower and more frustrating. 

“Previously, we were using quite an old system to manage our sales progression. It had elements of mio, but it wasn’t as easy to use. I had to go in and out of different pages to get the information I needed. I also struggled with interruptions. For example, if the phone rang and I hadn’t finished what I was doing, I’d often lose my notes and have to start again.”

mio removes traditional silos of information and makes it so much easier to complete tasks

mio gets you to rethink your approach to sales progression with a positive outcome; there is a whole suite of features to help agents identify and monitor delays – helping them to be proactive, rather than reactive, as well as keep incoming phone calls to a minimum.

Features include; 

• Presenting the whole picture, so you know what needs tackling first 

• Contacts digitised and stored in one place 

• Centralised communications all in one place 

• Automated chain building (and less rekeying) 

• Data feeds from conveyancers, lenders and surveyors 

“mio is very efficient, and I find it so much easier to complete my sales progression tasks. I particularly like the time stamp on the notes, as this helps everyone to know what has happened and when. I also like that you can see all of the details of the connected solicitors and clients on a single tab – with just a quick glance. Not only that, but new handy features are released regularly, making my job even easier.” 

mio’s clear dashboard and processes also make it very easy to teach sales progression to new members of the team. For example, showing a new starter the various elements of the mio dashboard helps them grasp the full extent of the sales progression process – even if they’ve never done it before.

mio keeps everything in one place and takes the hassle out of sales progression

“Since first adopting mio over a year ago, my sales progression has been much more efficient. I actually manage to complete my tasks quickly and get it done in one sitting – without worrying about interruptions. It’s great to have everything all in one place too!”

Switching to mio was also quick and easy for everyone involved. 

“When I was first looking at switching to mio, I initially thought “oh no, not another program to learn” – but I quickly found I had nothing to worry about as it was easy for my team to get started with mio. I also wasn’t sure mio was going to be much better than what we were already using, but it is so much more user friendly and easy to navigate.” 

Want to be in control of your transactions – rather than feel like they’re controlling you?

Contact us today – and try mio FREE for 6 months.

The Water Authorities, Coal Authorities and Local Authorities have advised of their annual round of price increases – taking effect on 1st April 2019. 

These changes will be automatically implemented on the tmconvey platform, and will be reflected in any new orders as the changes take effect.

Which Water Authorities, Coal Authorities and Local Authorities are changing their prices?

We’re working closely with the Water Authorities, Coal Authorities and Local Authorities to ascertain exactly which authorities are increasing their prices and what these new prices will be – and will continue to keep you updated as more information becomes available. 

The current available details are below:

Water Authorities 

The following Water Authorities have confirmed they will be changing their prices on 1st April 2019. 

The following Water Authorities have confirmed they will be changing their prices on 1st May 2019. 

Please be aware, Wessex Water and South West Water have advised that they are not changing their prices this year.

Coal Authorities 

The following Coal Authorities have confirmed they will be changing their prices on 1st April 2019. 

Local Authorities 

The following Local Authorities have confirmed they will be changing their prices on 1st April 2019. 

• Ashfield

• Basingstoke and Deane

• Bassetlaw

• Blaby *have advised of no changes

• Bracknell Forest 

• Braintree

• Broadland

• Bromley

• Bromsgrove

• Ceredigion

• Chelmsford *have advised they will not be changing their prices until 1st May

• Cheltenham

• Cherwell 

• Chichester 

• Cannock Chase *have advised of no changes

• Corby

• Dorset

• Dover District Council *Please be aware Dover changed their prices at the earlier date of 1st March 2019

• Epsom and Ewell

• Great Yarmouth

• Guildford

• Hackney

• Harlow

• Harrow

• Hertsmere

• High Peak

• Hillingdon

• Hinkley *have advised of no changes

• Kettering

• Kirklees

• Knowsley

• Leeds

• Leicester

• Lincoln

• London Borough of Newham *have advised of no changes

• Maidstone

• Malvern Hills

• Melton

• Mole Valley

• Monmouthshire

• Newcastle Under Lyme

• New Forest District Council *have advised of no changes

• North East Lincolnshire

• North Kesteven

• North Warwickshire

• Oadby *have advised of no changes

• Redditch

• Reigate Banstead

• Richmond upon Thames

• Richmondshire Council

• Ribble Valley

• Runnymede

• Rutland

• Scarborough

• Sefton

• Selby

• Solihull

• Somerset West & Taunton

• Southampton

• South Gloucestershire

• South Northamptonshire

• Spelthore

• Staffordshire Moorlands

• Stevenage

• Swale

• Swindon

• Tandridge

• Taunton Deane

• Test Valley

• Tower Hamlets

• Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone and Swale

• Test Valley

• Wakefield

• Wandsworth 

• West Norfolk

• West Oxfordshire

• West Somerset and Taunton

• Windsor and Maidenhead

• Worcester

• Wychavon

• York

If you have any questions, please contact our Helpdesk on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

29.4%. That’s how much of my life I have spent in the industry and with tmgroup and I’m heading to another year celebration. I remember going to the head office for my interview in a building surrounded by trees, which sadly made way for our need to use our cars and park them. Whilst musing over how much a loaf of bread cost in those days and that you don’t get much for a shilling now (I’m not quite that old!) it took me back to how things were and how much they’ve changed…

The advance in technology has had a huge impact in conveyancing as it has in all industries

We seemed to go from paper search requests to electronic almost overnight, creating digital plans with drawing tools and whizzy things that could tell us about an area of the country we’d probably never heard of before let alone knew anything about. Technology becomes a victim of its own success and the more it can give us the more we want, expect and demand. I’m proud to see my company not only move with the times but be ahead of them.

Post-Completion is a good example. We’ve seen the time taken to complete the forms reduced to minutes as they can be done electronically and submitted with one button. No more paper forms, the tmconvey platform is interactive and brings in the SDLT1-4 when needed and the SDLT5 certificate returns electronically. 

Times are a-changing and following a lengthy consultation, the 14-day SDLT payment window is coming in on 1st March.

Why are these changes being introduced?

The new payment window is being introduced to help further improve SDLT submission. It should hopefully also bring more consistency to the industry by encouraging firms to use the latest technology to save time and reduce risk.

This is a big step forward and reflects the changes and advances in technology, although I’m sure it will be the cause of anxiety for some firms.

One of the areas that seems to be of concern with firms is visibility and transparency (big buzz-words at the moment) and our Post-Completion services give you this. You can see the dates, times, submission status (and more) making it easy to keep your eye on that 14-day submission on the horizon.

Our integrated Post-Completion services have already saved lots of time for firms – including Cox Hodgetts LLP, who now receive the SDLT5 forms direct to the tmconvey platform within seconds of submitting their SDLT forms. 

They also find it quicker and easier to submit their SDLTs as our intelligent forms only present the fields they need to populate, reduce the risk of sections being missed and errors being made – even on more difficult cases. 

That’s not all. When cases are created on the tmconvey platform, it provides a seamless link with the Post-Completion forms to pre-populate information, which saves time and reduces the risk of re-keying errors. We’re also introducing look-up features for finding additional information to save checking separate websites, which will further reduce the time to submit, as well as the potential for error.

The best bit? SDLT submission via tmconvey’s Post-Completion service is available free of charge to all customers using the tmconvey platform and services, so you don’t have to worry about HMRC’s anticipated on-going costs of “amending systems and/or processes to ensure returns are filed and payments are made within the 14 day deadline”.  

What happens next?

Just to remind you, the measure reduces the time limit that purchasers have to file a SDLT return and pay the tax due from 30 days to 14 days – and will apply to transactions with an effective date on or after 1st March 2019. 

If you’re worried about meeting the new deadline, about to launch into a ‘pesky technology’ tirade or just want to find out more about how the latest technology can help save your team time, why not take a look at tmconvey’s Post-Completion services, request a FREE demo, or send me an email at Alex.Jackson@tmgroup.co.uk. 

With thanks to Alex Jackson, Senior Account Manager at tmgroup

The latest LPM Legal IT Landscapes Report has revealed that firms are feeling increasingly threatened by legal technology-based new businesses and are keen to adopt new technologies to set themselves apart from the competition – yet many are equally concerned that their firms simply aren’t allocating enough budget to keep up. 

Sponsored by tmgroup, along with a handful of other key players in the legal services and technology sector, the LPM Legal IT Landscapes Report 2019 shows that just 6% of the average firm’s revenue is invested in technology, and of that only 12% is spent on new things like creating client-facing systems – equating to approximately 0.5% of revenue. 

Emma Vigus, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of tmgroup comments: 

“Respondents acknowledge the threat posed by new entrants to the legal sector who focus on service delivery via technology – and the data demonstrates that law firms recognise the potential in technology-driven innovation. But with the budget allocated to the development of non-BAU technology at under 0.5%, firms are not investing in combating the competitive pressure.”

Legal technology-based new businesses pose one of the biggest threats

With such minimal investment, it is hardly surprising that 52% of firms do not believe they devote enough to new or non-business as usual technology. No doubt, this is exacerbated by the perceived threats in the market including; ‘Legal technology-based new businesses’ – concerning 18% of respondents – and ‘firms just like mine already in our geographies’ (15%). Both of which highlight that firms are becoming increasingly aware of the need to set themselves apart from the competition in order to succeed. 

Simon Elven, Commercial and Marketing Director at Tikit comments:

“What is starting to occur is a growing realisation across mid-market firms that these things are not only desirable but inevitable and that any long-term plans must take these into account.”

Client portals, CMS and AI all pinpointed as key game-changers for efficiency

According to the report findings, technologies expected to bring the best combination of competitiveness and efficiency to law firms are client portals, Case Management Systems (CMS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Firms investing in these technologies are already benefiting from increased efficiency and being able to deliver an enhanced customer journey, whilst those who aren’t should explore which technologies will give them the best return – even with just a slight increase in their technology budget. 

Eddie Harrison, Head of Business Optimisation at Lowell Solicitors comments:

“SME law firms should get out there and take calculated risks to bring about process changes and efficiencies. Even the smallest of gains can have a huge impact when scaled up, especially when relieving staff of some rather boring and repetitive tasks.”

Improving the customer experience should be at the heart of any investment 

One of the most resonating statements observations in the LPM Legal IT Landscapes Report is that “The market is maturing in a way that means SME firms will have to differentiate, innovate and improve their services to remain successful.”

With limited resources at their disposal, this is certainly a challenge, but there is a simple way to separate the wheat from the chaff – simply by asking “will this improve the customer experience?” This will help to make sure that any investment is giving firms a much-needed competitive edge – and not going to waste. As Julia Warrilow, Finance and Operations Director at Thursfields confirms; “It’s ultimately about what adds value to the client experience.” 

It’s also about understanding the technology investment that is both plausibly affordable for each firm AND has the potential to move the dial on revenue. For example, automating repetitive and mundane tasks can free solicitors up to spend more time on informed decisions and delivering a better overall customer experience; resulting in up and cross sell opportunities, repeat business and referrals.

This is where LPM’s ‘competitiveness v efficiency’ chart can really help to narrow down the search, with technologies such as client portals ranking highly. Available through conveyancing platforms such as tmconnect, client portals can make a real difference to the customer experience – from empowering clients to keep an eye on progress and communicate securely with their solicitor, as well as receive online forms and complete tasks. 

With so much to be gained, is it time firms started asking themselves if they are truly placing their customers at the heart of their investment decisions? 

The LPM Legal IT Landscapes Report 2019 is an annual snapshot of law firms' changing technology priorities – published on Friday 8th February 2019. 

You can find out more about the Legal IT Landscapes report here and read a full PDF version of the report here.