Spontaneous in Seattle

© Graham & Dunn PC
Waterfront office in Seattle, WA

A busy Seattle law firm deploys the ProVantage® Business Intelligence Suite and receives business performance information with a click of a mouse.

Perched upon Seattle's historic and picturesque Pier 70, Graham & Dunn, PC enjoys a thriving practice which includes complex litigation as well as advising clients in the hospitality, beverage, franchise, financial, real estate and communications industries, among others. Graham & Dunn uses ProLaw as its time & billing software, but the firm wanted a simpler, more efficient way to get its financial, timekeeper performance and compensation data.

Reporting Then and Now

Betty Greene, COO of Graham & Dunn, explains the general reporting process before the ProVantage Business Intelligence Suite. "All reports were generated from ProLaw via Excel, then distributed as paper hard copies. Information was available on a monthly basis or run as a custom report. If a manager wanted up to date information regarding attorney time and billing, special reports had to be created from ProLaw, which at the time entailed a lengthy, complex process and arcane SQL commands. We knew there had to be an easier, more efficient way."

Betty and others from her firm had heard about business intelligence software and its capability to pull data from transactions maintained in their accounting software, refining it and delivering it in organized, customizable presentations to the user's PC. "We began looking at business intelligence software as a means to access the information we needed."

Of course, the BI software had to meet certain requirements set down by Graham & Dunn. Specifically, it had to be an easy, drill down program that would require minimal training, and it would need to be intuitive enough so users could become proficient without using the program on a daily basis.

Intuitive Reporting Tool Returns Immediate Results

With these requirements in mind, Graham & Dunn ultimately chose the ProVantage BI Suite. Because the BI Suite sits "on top" of their existing ProLaw software, there were no costly infrastructure changes nor interruptions in the accounting process during implementation and deployment.

On using the ProVantage BI Suite, Betty states, "We like the speed at which data is obtained and the relatively easy way reports are generated. Results are immediate since the BI Suite has already collected and tallied all relevant data into a data mart. We also find the charts and table features to be very useful in discussions with timekeepers and relationship managers regarding their performance. It helps them see developing trends in performance levels. This quick, easy access to information encourages spontaneous inquiry by managers and team leaders."

Other critical reporting opportunities soon presented themselves. "Our shareholder compensation committee needed access to relevant data on a fiscal year basis, which is done by simply checking a box in the ProVantage BI Suite. This is another big timesaving feature for us," Betty reports.

The ProVantage BI Suite has proven itself an invaluable technology asset at the firm. Recently, when the controller left the firm, Betty found herself in charge of running the financial reports. "I was not proficient in generating reports from ProLaw, but because I was familiar with the ProVantage BI Suite, I could use it to keep critical information flowing to our firm president and board of directors. I have since learned more about report production in ProLaw, but I find that I still turn to the ProVantage BI Suite for most of my reporting needs. We have also made the BI Suite available to firm management, such as team leaders and the board of directors, so they can track individual performance. They can now look at hours and billing data anytime and anywhere via Citrix access. Our ultimate plan is to develop additional reports and to roll out the BI Suite to all other timekeepers within the year."

Betty and her firm believe in the ProVantage BI Suite and its intuitive, timesaving features. "We feel we have only scratched the surface of what the Business Intelligence Suite can do for us, and we look forward to advanced application of the software in the future."

Graham & Dunn is a Seattle-based, industry-focused law firm founded in 1890. In addition to representing clients in complex litigation, the Graham & Dunn attorneys focus on meeting the needs of hospitality, beverage and franchise, banking and financial services, real estate and communications companies. Graham & Dunn's clients range from small, emerging businesses to multi-national corporations.

Graham & Dunn PC is a member of MSI Legal and Accounting Network Worldwide (MSI), a leading multidisciplinary association of over 200 independent law and accounting firms in 90 countries. Graham & Dunn's affiliation with MSI enables the firm to serve clients in local, national and international marketplaces.

The ProVantage Business Intelligence Suite is a powerful graphical analysis tool used by senior managers and partners to examine their firm's key financial and business performance measures and runs in conjunction with most accounting systems. The ProVantage Business Intelligence Suite instantly delivers multi-dimensional views of strategic information captured during time & cost entry, billing and application of payments to time & cost transactions. The BI Suite is delivered with profitability, designer and reportwriter modules. The reportwriter allows users to move performance data to Microsoft® Excel for further analysis.

ProVantage Software, Inc. was founded in 1983, and develops high end time & billing, financial management and business intelligence solutions. Our client base includes professional service firms both large and small and from a number of industries. ProVantage Software, Inc. is a Microsoft® Certified Partner, a reseller of selected computer systems, and provides training, support and consulting services from its corporate office at 11411 NE 124th St Suite 230 Kirkland, WA 98033. The toll-free number is 800-843-2188.