A conveyancing firm needs four things from its IT: reliable support for LEAP and your legal software, strong security to protect client funds and data, secure access from the office and home, and a partner who answers the phone and fixes things fast. Get those right and IT stops being a worry and quietly supports the work, even at completion-day pace. For most firms that full service costs about £45 to £100 per user per month.
Conveyancing is deadline-driven, handles large client-account payments, and is a top target for fraud, so the support has to fit that reality rather than a generic break-fix contract. Here is what to expect, and what good looks like.
1. Real support for your legal software
You run LEAP, Oyez forms, eSigner, BigHand dictation and your tax and payroll software, and your day stops when any of them stops. Your IT partner should know these tools, keep them fast and available, handle their updates and deal with the vendors for you, rather than treating them as someone else’s problem. That means understanding how LEAP behaves across multiple offices, why a matter will not open, or why dictation has stopped syncing, and fixing it without a long ticket trail. When LEAP slows down or a document will not merge, you want it treated as a priority, because for your team it is the whole job, not a minor glitch.
2. Security that protects client money
Conveyancers are prime targets for fraud, from completion-payment redirection to phishing aimed at the client account. Layered security, including endpoint protection, application allowlisting, managed email security, multi-factor authentication and regular staff training, protects your money and your reputation. This is core, not optional. We also help you prove that protection to third parties, because lender panels, insurers and the SRA increasingly ask for evidence rather than assurances.
3. Secure access from anywhere
Your fee earners work from the office, from home, and across offices, often handling a completion from wherever they happen to be. They need secure, reliable access to LEAP and client files everywhere, through multi-factor authentication and properly managed devices, without weakening security to get convenience.
4. Fast, human support
When something breaks during exchange you want to call a person who fixes it, not sit in a queue. Expect quick response, a friendly helpdesk that knows your firm, and proactive monitoring that prevents problems in the first place. Ask any provider for their typical response and resolution times, and how much they catch before you even notice.
What this should cost
For a conveyancing or high-street firm, a complete managed service usually costs £45 to £100 per user per month, depending on headcount, number of offices, the software you run and the depth of security you need. A 10-user single-office firm typically sits in the lower half of that range. The figure should be clear, per user, and include support, security and backups, with no surprise charges for calling the helpdesk.
What to ask before you choose a provider
A few questions quickly separate a specialist from a generalist:
- Do you already support LEAP, Oyez and the other tools we run, and can you give a reference from a similar firm?
- What are your typical response and resolution times, and what do you fix before we notice?
- Is multi-factor authentication enforced on every account, with application allowlisting as standard?
- How often do you test-restore our backups, and how quickly could we be working again after an incident?
- Is the price clear and per user, with no extra charge for support calls?
A real example: security doing its job
We support a conveyancing firm that has rated our service positively on every ticket for around a decade. On one occasion the managed Sophos protection we run for them blocked an attempted exploit on a fee earner’s machine, stopping the attack before it could do any harm, and we had them working normally again the same morning. That is layered security doing its job at exactly the kind of firm criminals target.
Why conveyancing firms choose First Stop IT
First Stop IT has supported businesses since 2002, including conveyancing and high-street law firms, and we know the software your practice runs every day: LEAP, Oyez forms, eSigner, BigHand, Sage Payroll, PTP and Xero, alongside Microsoft 365. We support conveyancing and high-street firms in Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford, London and across Essex and Hertfordshire. Our credentials include:
- Cyber Essentials Certified
- IASME Cyber Assurance (Gold)
- NCSC Assured Service Provider (Cyber Advisor for Cyber Essentials)
- Microsoft Partner
- Crown Commercial Service Supplier (G-Cloud)
- Quality Principles Certified
We look after more than 2,000 endpoints across 50 companies, we have been named a Top 50 UK MSP for three years running, and we support organisations with 10 to 100 employees across Essex, Hertfordshire and London, including Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford.
Book a free IT and cyber security review
Want IT support built around how a conveyancing firm actually works? Book a free IT and cyber security review with First Stop IT and we will show you what good looks like.