Admin hacks: 10 ways to run a more efficient insolvency practice
An insolvency practice can lose a surprising amount of time to small administrative jobs.
Letters need printing, case documents need filing, notifications keep interrupting focused work and the same information gets typed into the same templates again and again.
None of these jobs looks enormous on its own. Put them together and they can take a sizeable bite out of the working week.
This article was originally published in 2020 and has been updated with 10 practical ways to reduce repetitive administration without turning the whole firm upside down.
The right process will depend on your firm, each case and any professional or statutory requirements that apply. This article provides operational guidance rather than legal advice.
Move routine insolvency post online
1. Use online print and post
Large circular mailings and routine case correspondence can take hours to print, fold, enclose and prepare in-house.
With an online print and post service, authorised users upload completed letters through an online platform. The provider then handles the physical production and postage.
This can reduce manual preparation, trips to the post room and reliance on a franking machine. It also means teams can submit letters when working away from the office.
Before changing the process, check the provider’s security, document setup, reporting and available postage records. Proof of postage records entry into the postal process. It does not prove delivery or receipt.
Make information easier to find
2. Give everything a clear home
A tidy workspace is not a miracle cure, but it does stop people wasting time looking for case files, stationery and the one folder somebody moved three weeks ago.
Use a simple structure for physical and digital information. Agree naming conventions, remove duplicate storage locations and make it clear where each type of document belongs.
The aim is not a perfect desk. It is making sure somebody else can find what they need without starting an office-wide search party.
3. Digitise records where appropriate
Review which documents genuinely need to be kept in their original format and which can be stored securely as digital records.
A document management system can make approved files easier to search, share and access across locations. Access controls, retention periods and disposal processes should form part of the setup.
Incoming post can also create delays when letters arrive at one office but the relevant case team works elsewhere. Postworks Receive™ can open and scan inbound business mail, then make it available digitally to authorised users.
Protect focused working time
4. Turn off unnecessary notifications
Email, chat and system alerts can make every task take longer than it should.
Set aside specific times for checking non-urgent messages and mute alerts while completing work that needs concentration. Keep clear routes available for genuinely urgent issues.
This is less about ignoring people and more about stopping every notification from appointing itself the most important job of the day.
5. Prioritise before the day takes over
Spend a few minutes deciding what is urgent, what is important and what can wait.
A shared task board, case management system or simple written list can all work. The tool matters less than having one agreed view of priorities.
Review deadlines, dependencies and who owns each action. That makes it easier to spot work that can be delegated or completed together.
Standardise the jobs you repeat
6. Create approved templates
If the firm sends similar letters or produces the same reports regularly, create approved templates for them.
Templates can reduce retyping and help teams follow a consistent structure. Mail merge fields can be used for addresses, dates and other case-specific information where the workflow supports it.
Templates should still be reviewed before use. Standard wording saves time, but it does not remove the need to check that the document is correct for the case.
7. Automate predictable tasks
Look for routine jobs that follow the same steps each time.
This might include recurring internal reports, document exports, task reminders or moving approved data between systems through an available integration.
Start with a low-risk process that is easy to check. Automation should remove repetitive work without making errors harder to spot.
Document the workflow, test it properly and make sure somebody remains responsible for monitoring the result.
Use people’s time more carefully
8. Delegate with a clear owner
Senior team members can easily end up completing administrative work simply because they know how.
Review whether each task needs their experience or whether it can be handed to somebody else with the right instructions, access and support.
Delegation works best when the task, deadline and expected outcome are clear. Passing over a vague problem is not delegation. It is just relocating the confusion.
9. Clear genuine two-minute jobs
Small tasks can clog up an inbox and take more mental space than the work itself.
When something can genuinely be completed in around two minutes, deal with it or place it into a short batch of quick actions.
Do not let this rule interrupt focused work every five minutes. The point is to clear small jobs efficiently, not create another source of distraction.
10. Track where time is going
For a week or two, record how much time the team spends on routine administration.
Look for repeated data entry, manual mail preparation, unnecessary approvals and jobs that rely on one person.
The results can help you decide which process to improve first. There is little value in fixing the task everybody complains about if another one is quietly taking twice as long.
One useful change is better than a long list that never leaves the meeting room. Pick the clearest source of wasted time, improve it and measure the difference.
