Alpha Legal feedback "excellent, robust, easy to use... highly recommended"

We all want satisfied customers.  But what we really want is delighted customers!

 Simon Bowman, one of our Alpha Legal will-writing users, has just posted this:

"For all the will writers out there, the Alpha Legal platform is an excellent, robust, easy to use tool which helps obtain keep and store clients ID at the touch of a button. Highly recommended"

Thank you Simon Bowman from Bowman Estate Planning - much appreciated!

Lovely feedback from an Alpha Legal user

Want to try Alpha Legal for yourself? Click here!

Our Alpha Anywhere-built app is managing asbestos in 4 million buildings worldwide

Our Alpha Anywhere-built system, Alpha Tracker, is now managing asbestos in more than 4 million buildings worldwide. That's incredible!

We use Alpha Anywhere from Alpha Software to build most of our software systems, whether they are destined to run in a browser, on a phone, or a laptop.

Can we help you with your idea of a new software system?  Get in touch!

Alpha Tracker milestone! 50 million asbestos items recorded

Alpha Tracker, the asbestos software system from Start Software, has reached an incredible milestone.  50,000,000 items of asbestos data have now been recorded in the industry-leading asbestos platform.

Alpha Tracker has recorded an incredible 50 million items of asbestos data

We're so proud of our asbestos consultancy and property management clients who have, between them, recorded so much data about this deadly material.  Together, we are helping to manage asbestos in more than 4 million buildings across the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Can we help you to manage your asbestos problem?  Get in touch - we'd love to hear from you.

150 free credits! Alpha Legal supports Data Protection Day

Today is the 15th annual Data Protection Day. Who knew?! We did at Alpha Legal!

Alpha Legal has been built to protect your business from security threats and to help you to communicate securely with your clients.  We fully support the Data Protection Day initiative.

We want to provide tools to our clients which protect them and their clients and which are a joy to use.  That's what Alpha Legal is all about!

To mark the event, you can sign up to Alpha Legal, risk free, with promo code DATAPROTECTION150 and get 150 free credits to use as you wish.

Alpha Legal supports the Data Protection Day initiative

If you are a will writer, estate planner, accountant, solicitor or estate agent and you are still sending emails to your clients with sensitive content, it's time to take a look at Alpha Legal.  Find out more here!

Request ID from your client from only 20p!

20p doesn't buy you much, but it is now enough for Alpha Legal users to request photographic ID from their clients!

Our basic ID request costs 5 credits.  With credits now starting from as little as 4p each, that's only 20p!

20 pennies... enough for an ID request in Alpha Legal!

Read more on the Today's Wills & Probate site here: https://www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk/partner-news/alpha-legal-price-drop/

Alpha Legal featured on Today's Wills and Probate

Alpha Legal form credits now even better value!

We've listened to our larger Alpha Legal will writing clients and made a new 10,000 credit pack available in the online shop.  This brings the price of each credit down to only 4p!

New 10,000 credit pack available

What does this mean for Alpha Legal users sending forms to their clients?

• a basic ID request (with one form of photo ID) can cost as little as 20p
  
  
• a gold-standard ID request (with more photo ID and a short video) can cost only 60p
  
  
• and COVID forms (for visiting clients at their homes) are still absolutely free!

If it can happen to BA, it can happen to you. Protect yourself with Alpha Legal

British Airways is one of the biggest businesses to ever suffer a significant data breach.

Websites are springing up to encourage BA customers to take legal action and join others for compensation for their loss of personal data.  Nearly half-a-million people had personal data stolen after BA servers and apps were compromised by hackers and affected customers may be entitled to claim £000s.

British Airways' data breach 

The BA story is a warning shot for us all.  Every business needs to take cybersecurity seriously.  

Alpha Legal is your defence against loss of data, GDPR breaches and damage to your reputation and business.

Alpha Legal helps you to secure your client relationships

Register risk-free and try Alpha Legal for yourself.

HSE Australia choose asbestos software Alpha Tracker

HSE Australia, based just a few miles away from our Alpha Tracker office in Adelaide, has chosen asbestos software Alpha Tracker.

HSE Australia choose asbestos software Alpha Tracker

HSE Australia offers a wide range of environmental services including asbestos management, occupational hygiene, contaminated land surveys and management and a variety of laboratory services.  Judy & Leanne are looking forward to helping HSE's environmental professionals to improve their productivity and effectiveness through the use of Alpha Tracker.

Welcome on board HSE Australia!

Another 1,000 ID checks via Alpha Legal!

Another week, another 1,000 ID requests have been processed by Alpha Legal!

When onboarding clients, are you still asking for ID documents by email? 

It's time you switched to Alpha Legal! It's easier for you and your client and it is secure.  Asking for ID documents by email is not secure and could lead to a GDPR breach and identity theft.  Read more here.

Sign up now - risk free - and try Alpha Legal for yourself.

Southern Asbestos Services is live on Alpha Tracker

Training by Zoom is fun! 

Kim completed the Alpha Tracker asbestos software training for Southern Asbestos Services yesterday.  Welcome on board!

The excellent Southern Asbestos Services website

Can we help your asbestos consultancy to be more efficient and have happier staff and customers?  Get in touch to find out what Alpha Tracker can do for you.

E-signatures in only 30 seconds! Alpha Legal is easy, safe & secure

Want to share a document with a client for an e-signature in Alpha Legal? It's as easy as 1-2-3:

1. search for the client
   
   
2. upload the document, and
   
   
3. share it with them for signature. 

The whole process takes only 30 seconds in Alpha Legal! Here's the proof!

New "sign with comments" feature in Alpha Legal

When you ask a client to electronically sign a document within Alpha Legal, what happens if they want to comment on it in some way?

For example, they may be happy to sign but want you to know that they have a question or a concern.

Or perhaps they don't want to sign because they can see a mistake in the document?

We've added a new feature to allow your client to either:

• sign with a comment (and you will be notified at the comment has been made), or
  
  
• reject the document and NOT sign it - again, with reasons.

Your clients can now "sign with comments" or choose to reject a document

Our beta testers are checking the new feature now and, if all goes well, we'll be publishing the new feature into Alpha Legal later this week. 

New Alpha Legal "how to" video on YouTube - setting permissions for users

Once you have invited users to join your company account, how do control what each user in Alpha Legal can see and do?

This is an important question.  You may want a "shared contact list" which all consultants can see, or you may want to keep each user's client list separate and hidden from each other.  It's your choice!

Similarly, the credit bank can be shared amongst all users, or can be allocated individually.  We've tried to make Alpha Legal work for every size and style of business.

Here is a quick video to show you some of the options.  Hope you'll find your chosen option here!

Alpha Tracker Release 34 is now available

150 new features, performance updates and bug fixes.  That's Release 34 of asbestos software Alpha Tracker!

The official software version number is 4870, which means that there are 150 or so changes since Release 33.  These updates focus mainly on:

• performance - many screens (especially those relating to asbestos registers) now open more quickly
  
  
• bug fixing - we've been working really hard over Christmas to clear every bug, however small, that we know about
  
  
• security - this version of Alpha Tracker is even more secure than ever and is compatible with the latest Alpha server software.

You can read Kim's release notes here as usual: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/release-notes/

Do get in touch and let us know what you'd like to see in Release 35.  We want to hear from you!

How do I update Alpha Legal? Stop trying! You don't need to!

One of our early Alpha Legal subscribers (an estate agent) has just asked "How do update Alpha Legal when new features become available?

Great question - the answer is easy, you don't need to!

Alpha Legal runs in your web browser with no software to install or update - ever

Alpha Legal is a web service that doesn't require any software to be installed on your computer.  You simply go to alphalegal.co.uk and log in.  Simple as that.  You can access Alpha Legal on any device from anywhere.

When we launch new features, all subscribers get access, straight away.  It really is as easy as that.

Want to try Alpha Legal for yourself to secure your client relationships?  Register, risk-free, here!

Pioneering asbestos treatment gives Mesothelioma sufferers new hope?

Regular readers of our asbestos software blog (relating to asbestos software Alpha Tracker) will know that we are supporters of asbestos disease charities, in particular Mesothelioma UK.

We were delighted to read this article from Wales Online about a pioneering treatment which looks like it may give new hope to people with this dreadful disease:

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/former-firefighter-told-six-months-19580729

Let's hope that the immunotherapy cancer treatment that is being trialled truly is a worthwhile and effective therapy and a beginning to the end of the deaths caused by exposure to asbestos.

Alpha Legal performance update is now live

If you're an early Alpha Legal subscriber, you'll be pleased to know that we've improved the performance of the system throughout.  

All screens should be faster to open but let us know if you think we can do better still!

Alpha Legal is now faster than ever

We've got some exciting new signature features coming next - watch this space.

"Client timeline" feature coming soon in asbestos software Alpha Tracker

We're developing a new client timeline feature in our asbestos software, Alpha Tracker.

It's early days but Tom is hard at work with the new, graphical display of the history of client's interaction with your business, from first contact, through quotations, projects, invoices and more.

It won't make the cut in Alpha Tracker Release 34 so we'll keep it for the Spring release 35.  If you have any other ideas for the next version of Alpha Tracker, let us know!

Identity theft is in the news again - Alpha Legal is a key part of your defence

Defend yourself and your clients against identity theft with Alpha Legal's secure forms & messaging feature.

There are so many ways to steal an individual's identity and the problem is in the news again: https://www.fsmatters.com/Kroll-outlines-tips-on-preventing-ID-theft

For more information, check out our new Alpha Legal website here.

New FAQ: How do I add extra consultants to my Alpha Legal company account?

Did you know you can create company accounts within Alpha Legal?  These are perfect if you have a number of consultants in your company or group:

• you can control and monitor the contacts each consultants has in their account
  
  
• the subscription fee is much reduced for each additional consultant in your account
  
  
• if a consultant leaves, they will no longer have access to the contacts, documents and forms within your company.

We've created this YouTube video to show you how to set up this feature.  Watch it here https://youtu.be/iFe93MBF1x4

Alpha Tracker Release 34 now in beta

Asbestos software Alpha Tracker is about to be updated again.

Alpha Tracker Release 34 is now being beta tested

Release 34 is primarily a performance and bug-fixing release but we are still expecting nearly 150 minor improvements and additional features.

We have beta-testing clients checking it out now.  Would you like to join them?  Join our beta programme and you will have access to the latest features before other asbestos consultancies do, in return for testing and giving us feedback.

Taeco Environmental switch to Alpha Tracker

Judy has just finished her Alpha Tracker onboarding of Taeco Environmental Management, an asbestos consultancy based in Queensland, Australia.

Judy completed the training for the asbestos professionals at Taeco via Zoom, a method we've used a great deal during the last 10 months (is it really that long!) of COVID travel restrictions.

Welcome to the Alpha Tracker family of asbestos consultancies, Taeco Environmental!

Today's Wills and Probate highlight the new features in Alpha Legal

Our marketing partners at Today's Wills and Probate have highlighted the latest features in Alpha Legal on their website today: https://www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk/partner-news/alpha-legal-update/

Take a look for yourself here - and sign up completely risk-free - to see the benefit Alpha Legal will bring to your legal business.

Start Software bespoke application for Urdd - the welsh-speaking organisation for young people - has gone live

We're really pleased to announce that our bespoke event booking system for Urdd has gone live!

Urdd provides opportunities through the medium of Welsh for children and young people in Wales to become fully rounded individuals, developing personal and social skills that will enable them to make a positive contribution to the community.

We have created a bi-lingual event booking system for Urdd to help them to advertise clubs and events on the web and have parents and young people find and book sessions all from their phone, tablet or laptop.

Our developers created the application using Alpha Anywhere from Alpha Software, one of the fastest ways to build web and mobile applications.  We at Start Software are Alpha Software's UK professional partners.  Do get in touch if we could build a similar system for you!

Alpha Legal webinar recording now available

The recording of Monday's "Superhero" webinar we ran with our partners, Countrywide Tax & Trust Corporation, is now available to view.

In the webinar, we

• introduced Start Software and Alpha Legal
• showed how easy it is to do a secure ID check within Alpha Legal
• demonstrated the integration between Countrywide Legacy and Alpha Legal
• showed the new features - document sharing and e-signatures
• talked about the next features to come along including E-asysign(R) signatures, the client portal and the Family Finances app.

Click this screenshot to watch it.  Have fun!

New FAQ: How do I add a photo to my Alpha Legal profile?

Want to know how to add your photo to your Alpha Legal profile page so that your clients see your face when they access forms, messages and documents you've shared with them?

Watch this YouTube video to show you how!

Did you watch the Alpha Legal webinar this morning? Don't forget to use your promo code WEBINAR100!

Did you join the Alpha Legal webinar this morning hosted by our partners, Countrywide Tax & Trust?  Lots of you did!

If you are signing up this week, don't forget to use your promo code WEBINAR100 to get 100 extra free credits to use on the site.  You could use these credits to request 20 sets of ID from new clients, all for nothing!

You can replay the presentation here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ur0A7ww1cCXVCL64kuKyt3TIOA5NhDVN/view?usp=sharing

Timely reminder about the dangers of asbestos - it's easy to imagine that COVID is our only health problem

Neil Munro, a director at Alpha Tracker user Acorn Analytical Services, has just published this timely reminder that COVID isn't the only health risk we are facing.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fighting-back-against-asbestos-related-cancer-neil-munro-frsph-/

Here at Start Software we will be supporting the Action Meso campaign group and supporting Neil's effort to put asbestos back into the national spotlight.  We urge all of our asbestos consultancy clients to do the same.

#actionmeso hashtag#asbestos hashtag#asbestosawareness hashtag#acornas hashtag#healthandsafety hashtag#construction

Alpha Legal "new features" webinar delivered in partnership with Countrywide

This morning's Alpha Legal webinar was complicated to put together to say the least!  The magic of Zoom managed to put four presenters in different locations together with 125 webinar attendees with live demos, videos and screen-shares everywhere... and it worked.  Phew!

We were showing some of Alpha Legal's new features including:

• secure document sharing
• easy e-signatures for one signature or multiple
• app notifications and an updated "dashboard"

Also on display were the features coming next including E-asysign signatures, the new client portal and our brand new Family Finances app.

The webinar will be running again on Monday in case you missed it.  Sign up here.

Start Software Support - performance during December 2020

Our Start Software support team did especially well with high priority problems during December 2020, with 19 out of 20 problems logged being resolved within 2 hours.

The picture wasn't quite as good for lower priority issues, with 83% being resolved within the timescales set by our clients.

We are the only software company in our markets which publishes support statistics each month.  We want customers and protective clients to know how well we are performing and openness is one of our core principles.

Alpha Legal webinars - register now!

We're running two Alpha Legal webinars with our partners, Countrywide Tax & Trust.

The first is tomorrow (Friday 8th Jan) and we'll be running it again on Monday (11th Jan).

Register now to see the latest features in Alpha Legal as well as a sneak preview of what's coming next.  You'll be able to see our new document sharing features, electronic signatures & more!

There is more information here, too! https://www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk/partner-news/customer-experience-is-the-next-competitive-battle-ground/

Start Software (for Alpha Legal) joins the UK Legal Tech Association

We're really pleased to announce that we have joined the UK Legal Tech Association, UKLTA.

Alpha Legal is Start Software's latest software product, aimed directly at will writers, solicitors, estate agents and IFAs.  It helps legal advisors to communicate securely & easily with their clients, sharing documents, requesting signatures, and collecting sensitive information such as ID documentation.

Robin Bennett, Director said:

 “We’re really pleased to join UKLTA at the same time as launching Alpha Legal, our latest web service for the UK legal industry". Robin created the UK’s first successful will writing software, Will Writer for Windows, and has software businesses in the UK, Australia and the US. “UKLTA is a great space to share ideas and to introduce new technology to the industry and we’re looking forward to being active members in 2021 and beyond.”

For more information about Alpha Legal, or to sign up for a no-risk trial, go to https://www.alphalegal.co.uk/

Happy New Year to our valued clients! And a lovely "thank you" message has been received already... good start to 2021!

2020 was grim for so many.  Livelihoods and lives have been damaged and lost, and businesses across the UK and beyond have had to dig deep to keep busy and afloat.

Here at Start Software we've been able to weather the storm.  Our key markets of asbestos and legal services both reacted well to the challenges of "COVID-safe" working and our business continues to thrive with the support of our wonderful customers and partners.

We wish all of you a wonderful 2021 and there are so many reasons to be optimistic. Let's look forward to a great year working together.

And, finally, a lovely "thank you" email has just come in from a customer.  What a good start to the year!