From Chaos to Clarity: The Journey of Lawyers on Demand (LOD)
Every month, the finance team at Lawyers on Demand (LOD) embarked on a grueling journey assembling their board pack. The task was monumental, taking 8-10 working days, as they sifted through endless spreadsheets, manually extracted data from multiple sources, and pieced together a 24-to-36-page report. By the time they clicked “send” on the final board pack, they were too drained to analyze what the numbers actually meant.
Partnership with Akshar Business Consulting:
From:
- 10+ days of data wrangling and inconsistent reports
- Manual processes riddled with formula errors and data discrepancies
- Barebones commentary lacking operational insights
To:
- Automated, accurate reports generated in less than 2 minutes
- Time to dive into operational drivers and craft actionable insights
- A board pack that tells the story behind the numbers: the “what,” the “why,” and the “so what.”
Here’s how Akshar Business Consulting partnered with LOD to make this transformation happen.
The Problem: A Mountain of Manual Work
The board’s challenge:
Our reports provide a clear picture of what happened, but they fall short in uncovering the underlying reasons behind these events or offering actionable recommendations for what steps we should take next.
At LOD, month-end reporting was a laborious process, with the finance team manually compiling data from three sources into Excel.
Errors, such as misaligned formulas and unreconciled numbers, were common, and there was no time for double-checks.
By the time the team was done, they had a beautifully formatted board pack, but no energy left for meaningful insights, operational analysis, or identifying risks..
The reports served as a historical snapshot, not the strategic tool they were meant to be.
LOD’s Head of FP&A, Paul Rochester, knew they couldn’t continue this way. It wasn’t just about saving time—it was about making better decisions.
That’s when Akshar Business Consulting stepped in.
The Turning Point: Collaboration with Akshar Business Consulting
When Akshar Business Consulting joined the picture, we didn’t rush to implement tools. Instead, we listened.
The first step was understanding the data landscape—the sources, the bottlenecks, and the frustrations. Together with LOD, we designed a clear roadmap for the future.
This wasn’t just about automation; it was about empowering the team.
Here’s how we brought the vision to life:
- Unpacking the Problem:
We assessed the entire process, identifying inefficiencies and clarifying roles. Who would handle what on Day 1? Where were the errors creeping in? What could be streamlined? - The Power of Power BI:
We implemented Power BI, pulling data from all sources into a central dashboard. Instead of juggling multiple tools, LOD now had a single source of truth. - A Hybrid Solution:
Knowing that Excel was still crucial for commentary, we built a dynamic Excel board pack connected to Power BI. This allowed the team to seamlessly annotate insights and share them with the board.
The Results: A Game-Changer for LOD
The transformation was nothing short of extraordinary:
- From 10 Days to 2 Minutes:
Reports that used to take weeks now took less than 2 minutes to generate. - From Numbers to Insights:
With time freed up, the team focused on the “why” and the “so what,” creating actionable recommendations and operational insights. - From Frustration to Celebration:
The board was delighted. For the first time, the reports weren’t just backward-looking—they were forward-thinking, offering clear action plans.
One of the most remarkable moments came when LOD uncovered £350,000 of unbilled revenue using the new system. What once would have been buried in the chaos of manual, excel based processes was now visible at a glance.
In Their Words: “It felt like a true collaboration”
Paul Rochester, Head of FP&A at LOD, shared his experience working with Akshar Business Consulting:
“Tejas has been amazing. He listened to our needs, and advised the best solutions. We’re now able to refer to and interrogate a Power BI report throughout and after month-end to see the latest position and then use that same data to automatically generate an Excel board pack.
Once the reports were built, Tejas has also been valuable in sharing them with key stakeholders in the business and generating buy-in so the new solution will be adopted. It’s been a pleasure to work with him, and I look forward to working with him again in the future.”
A New Way Forward
For Lawyers on Demand, this wasn’t just a process change—it was a mindset shift.
By partnering with Akshar Business Consulting, they turned a frustrating, time-consuming task into an opportunity to add value, improve decision-making, and drive the business forward.
Today, LOD’s finance team isn’t just reporting the numbers—they’re telling the story behind them.
