Innovating to meet client expectations

Even as parts of the world slow down amidst the impact of COVID-19, customer expectations continue to accelerate. Research conducted by Salesforce shows that 64% of consumers and 80% of business buyers said they expect companies to respond to and interact with them in real time.  

For us, a Gold Coast law firm, our developer clients certainly confirm this trend – they expect efficiency and information at their fingertips. What has enabled us to keep up with this demand is innovating with new technology or adapting tried and tested technology in the market.

At Hickey Lawyers, we innovate in many ways, from building our own front-end proprietary software to using the best technology available in the market. For the last 10 years we have been developing and upgrading our own front-end software with the ability to host buyer information for reports, produce detailed progress updates and more, as there wasn’t one readily available in the market that satisfied our requirements and the needs of our clients. Understandably, it’s not always possible for firms to create their own customised platforms for everything. Most of the time, we aim to get on board with trusted, user-friendly solutions that are readily available.

For us, that means using PEXA and its development solution, PEXA Projects, in tandem with our own software.  A proven technology, PEXA Projects has been used to complete settlements valued at a total of $32.8 billion in FY20 alone. It streamlines the processes involved in the coordination and execution of settlements for multi-lot developments. When you have 50 lots settling on one day, the time saving is significant. In paper, this is a resource heavy exercise. Each lot would have its own file and the entire team would have to come together in one room and manually process all the information. In contrast, with PEXA Projects the data is all in one place and we can easily view our settlements on one dashboard. What would have taken an army, now takes a handful of personnel, and a fraction of the time.

In the current COVID environment, this extension of the PEXA experience for developments meant that we were able to continue to settle in bulk for our developer clients and protect our staff from unnecessary interactions at settlement. It was during this time that one of our developer clients, Sunland Group, requested digital settlements for their recent Magnoli project. Firstly, so we could continue to settle during COVID-19 restrictions and secondly, the added benefit of having GST Withholding paid at settlement through the platform.  

For developers, this has been a gamechanger. In the paper process, if a buyer hasn’t paid the GST on time, or it goes missing in the mail, the developer would need to spend the time and resources to reconcile the payment or be penalised by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Value-adds like these make it imperative for government to support the continuous innovation across our industry, and others. For Hickey Lawyers, we’re elated to be able to offer our clients the benefits that come with an enhanced digital experience and the opportunity to provide our feedback and be involved in the next stages of PEXA Projects enhancements.

To begin your digital experience, contact Rukshana.Sashankan@pexa.com.au

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