Buying software for a small practice: a practical guide

Most practices buy software the same way: someone recommends a tool, the senior clerk tries to evaluate it between two consultations, three months pass, and either it's adopted reluctantly or it's quietly never used. There's a better way.

Step 1: state the problem in one sentence

Not "we need a practice management system." That's a category, not a problem. State the actual pain: "Fee notes are routinely drafted after eight at night," or "We had two conflict embarrassments last quarter," or "Counsel can't find the brief at half past nine on a court morning."

Step 2: define the success criterion

A single, measurable thing. "Fee notes drafted by six o'clock, five days a week, for two months running." If the tool achieves that, you keep it. If not, you don't.

Step 3: trial in production, not in a sandbox

Test the tool on real work, for two weeks, with the senior clerk who will actually use it. Sandbox demos are useless. The friction in any tool only shows up when it meets a real working day.

Step 4: count the price honestly

• Licence cost (the easy bit).
• Time to set up — including loading house-style templates and history.
• Time per week training people on it.
• Time per week of friction once it's in use.

A tool that's €100/month cheaper but costs the senior clerk three hours a week in friction is more expensive than the tool you rejected.

Step 5: the DPA test

If the vendor can't return a signed Article 28 Data Processing Agreement within a working week, don't buy. If your matter data ends up in the wrong jurisdiction, no amount of feature delight will be worth it.

Step 6: keep the exit cheap

Any system you buy should let you export your data in a standard format. If you can't get a clean CSV of your fees, briefs, and diary out within an hour, you're locked in. Don't be locked in.