OPSIS News & Info

IRIS Laserform was the first to market with the launch of their new IHT400 Full system for probate practitioners who need to make the necessary submission of the deceased’s estate details to HMRC, and calculate inheritance tax payments.

The IHT 400 notes and its supplementary pages (IHT401 to IHT423) are used as part of the probate or confirmation process if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay or the deceased’s estate does not qualify as an ‘excepted estate’ (the form replaced the old form IHT200).

Both of the OPSIS solutions Practice Management System (PMS) and Small Practice System (SPS) integrate with the Laserforms electronic legal forms packages. In May 2009, Laserforms was greatly improved for the submission of inheritance tax forms. Please note Laserforms is an IRIS product (OPSIS is part of IRIS Software & Services).

The new HMRC IHT 400 Full is an adapted Laserform that combines all 25 forms and schedules into 1, which you can use if you want to save time, have several supplemental forms and you want the form to carry out the calculations for you. This 25-in-1 form will populate the information into all of the forms supplemental to the IHT400.

IRIS Laserform Sales Director, Mike Boynes, explained:

“The IHT400Full is both easy to use and a great time saver. Users simply navigate through the hyperlinked index to locate and select the forms necessary for completion. After the information for the deceased has been inserted into the IHT400, this information then automatically filters through to all the relevant supplemental forms.

Similarly, as the matter progresses and additional information regarding the value of assets becomes available or the values change and the information needs to be modified, you enter data or make changes only once on the relevant schedule, and this will automatically update the IHT400 and the IHT400Calc.

Many Laserforms clients have already signed up for the IHT400Full. Users are elated at the amount of time saved by the automatic flow through feature, which significantly increasese efficiency of the firms probate departments. The IHT400Full really is a “no brainer” for probate solicitors who demand more than just the standard IHT400 forms. We are inundated with requests for the IHT400Full as we continue to roll it out to a large proportion of our client and prospect base.”

February 19th, 2010 | Tags: iht400, OPSIS News | Category: OPSIS News |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

Two new brochures are now available on the OPSIS Sales web site on the product pages detailing our PMS Legal Case & Practice Management System, and the main features of the OPSIS Small Practice System.

Use the above links to learn more about our software and services, or download technical specifications.

If you are interested, please use the following download links for these brochures in Adobe PDF format:-

OPSIS PMS Data Sheet

OPSIS SPS Data Sheet

February 11th, 2010 | Tags: OPSIS Sales | Category: OPSIS News |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

The Legal IT Show 2010 will see the launch of the new IRIS Legal Software Solutions Guide, which features the OPSIS range of legal practice management solutions.

Entitled “using technology to improve practice and chambers performance”, the new guide aims to outline the changes in the industry that IRIS see impacting businesses for the long term, including the increasing need for remote access and web enablement.

It also contains valuable input from industry experts who explore:

• the requirements of law firms and barrister chambers for comprehensive IT strategies to support their long-term business plans,
• integrated workflows and how they can be tailored to gain maximum advantage,
• the latest trends in hosting/cloud computing and
• why CRM can be a colossal waste of money unless you are prepared to put the effort in to make it work.

The guide also includes the products and services offered by IRIS Legal Solutions and some of their premier partners.

To learn more read the press release at the IRIS News feed, or alternatively you can download the IRIS Legal Software Solutions Guide for 2010.

February 10th, 2010 | Tags: Exhibitions, OPSIS News | Category: Exhibitions |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

Martin Leuw, the Group CEO of IRIS, the UK’s largest private software house, and owner of OPSIS has launched a new blog at http://www.irisblogs.co.uk/

Commenting on the blogs launch, he said:

“This decade, more than ever before, technology will be a key point of competitive differentiation for all commercial decision makers in all businesses and in all markets, whereas in the past the firm’s IT strategy, if there was one, has not always underpinned a business strategy, if there was one. They need to be integrated, not dislocated.

This recession has been and will be a Darwinian experience for many businesses and everything will happen faster than ever before. The winners will be those who know where they are going, challenge the “status quo” and look for ways to use technology to do things quicker and more cost effectively than their competitors, whilst significantly improving the customer experience.

This blog is dedicated to those who love to question and its aim will be to stimulate, provoke and encourage feedback and interaction”.

January 13th, 2010 | Tags: Iris, OPSIS News | Category: OPSIS News |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

Welcome to the Winter issue of OPSIS News!

The Winter Editions of the Ireland and UK newsletters were emailed to our customers last week, but if you missed it or are new to OPSIS you can find the on-line version of the OPSIS Newsletter by clicking the link below……

2009 Winter Edition of OPSIS News

Headlines are as follows:-

• Recent News
• - Lexcel Precedent Packs
• Latest Releases
• - SCM V5.4.7
• - MA 5.77.1
• Additional Services & Upcoming Workshops
• - NEW PC INSTALLATION/ SERVER MIGRATION
• - CONSULTANCY OR MANAGED DAYS
• - WORKSHOPS
• - CPD POINTS
• OPSIS Support Resources
• VAT Changes

You are also welcome to send feedback to us about any of the articles contained in the Newsletter. Just use the feedback form found at the bottom of the newsletter pages.

January 7th, 2010 | Category: OPSIS News |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

OPSIS recently provided information relating to the 1st January VAT Rate changes and what needed to be done in our flagship products Millennium Accounts and Solicitor Case Manager.

The Law Society recently announced they have updated their Practice Notes in advance of the return of the VAT rate to 17.5 per cent on 1 January 2010.

The notes advise on charging the correct rate of VAT on the services you make both before or after 1 January 2010 and how to deal with those services that you started before but completed after the rate change.

Some queries have been raised by law firms to the Law Society in relation to paragraph 7.1 of the Practice Notes, and whilst the Law Society are seeking to clarify the position with HMRC Stamp Taxes and HMRC VAT you should refrain from making claims for repayments of SDLT. This will be resolved in the new year.

This does not currently involve any further changes in OPSIS products.

Click here to read the Law Society news article

January 6th, 2010 | Tags: Law Society, OPSIS Support, VAT | Category: OPSIS News, OPSIS Support |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

The key to better efficiency and increased productivity from your legal case management system is in the setup.

We understand that in a busy office environment it can be difficult for the supervisors to devote the time to setting up Work Types, Case Plans and Legal Precedents.

With this in mind, we are in the process of putting together new Starter Packs for the majority of legal practice work types. These will be pre-programmed with Case Types, Key Case Details, Contact Types, Reminders and a full set of precedents.

We have put together work-flows that will generate the correct letters and documents for each stage of the case and reminders will ensure that nothing is overlooked. This means cases can easily be followed from start to finish, even for those users who are not familiar with this type of work.

We are nearing completion of these new Precedent Packs for NI and we hope to have them available for purchase early 2010.

We are aiming to mirror the same Precedent Packs in ROI and a further update will be provided at the Republic of Ireland seminar in January.

January 6th, 2010 | Tags: Legal Precedents, NI, ROI | Category: OPSIS News, Resources |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

LEXCEL PRECEDENT PACK - Northern Ireland

Lexcel is the Law Society’s practice management standard. It is a scheme for any type of practice to certify that certain standards have been met following independent assessment.

The Lexcel practice management standard is only awarded to solicitors who meet the highest management and customer care standards. Lexcel accredited practices undergo rigorous independent assessment every year to ensure they meet required standards of excellence in areas such as client care, case management and risk management.

OPSIS have a precedent pack that will give you the Lexcel standard manual.  After inputting a few key staff members in your organisation, the manual will be created with these inclusions.

Please contact our Ireland offices if you would like to learn more about the Lexcel precedent pack.

January 6th, 2010 | Tags: Legal Precedents, NI, OPSIS Sales | Category: OPSIS News |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

A hot topic for OPSIS customers discussed in the Republic of Ireland seminar last month was Professional Indemnity Insurance.

For those of you who are perhaps concerned that you are not familiar with certain areas of your Case Management or Millennium Accounts systems which might assist you if you were to be assessed etc., please do not hesitate to contact us in order to avail of a “managed day” on site with PII in mind so that we can assess the areas which are perhaps not used sufficiently or not at all and we can outline a training program for all staff or alternatively your Supervisor users who in turn can train all staff.

If you are would like copies of the Professional Indemnity Insurance flyers provided at the seminar you can also download these here (contact us for login/password);

• PII-Flyer-Pg-1.doc
• PII-Flyer-Pg-2.doc

January 6th, 2010 | Tags: OPSIS News, ROI, Training | Category: OPSIS News |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment