Cranach Patent Attorneys, originating in Northern Scotland, is a firm of UK and European patent attorneys. With specialist focus areas in oil and gas, renewables, medical devices, and chemistry, the firm offers an uncompromising commitment to the quality of its services and a positive learning culture that delivers an innovative, dependable approach to patent management.
In this case study, Craig Watson, founder of Cranach Patent Attorneys explores his experience of implementing Equinox at his then newly established firm.
“We heard some positive things about Equinox, especially from firms of a similar scale to Cranach. While we considered other IP management systems, we chose Equinox for its adaptability, disaster recovery, and client access options.
“We wanted to ensure that our clients have total clarity on the progress of their portfolio, and Equinox is ideally constructed to help us deliver that.”
After working with hundreds of IP professionals worldwide, we know how important it is for your clients to be kept updated on the status of their portfolios. Our Client Access Portal allows your clients to have independent, read-only access to the information they need to see, helping them get answers fast. Additionally, our suite of reporting tools can help you quickly produce professional data visualisation for those invaluable update meetings.
“The adaptability of Equinox represents a huge benefit for my firm. When I started Cranach, I took on 800 files from my client portfolio at a previous firm. Since I was already familiar with the files and their case codes, I wanted to retain that organisational system in my new software.
“Equinox was easily able to achieve this, avoiding the hassle of adapting to a new numbering system that could be onerous to me and my clients. I wasn’t forced into a new way of working; I could adapt the system to the way I like to work which has been invaluable as I’ve got Cranach established.”
Equinox is designed to fit around the way you like to work and magnify your abilities. You’ve spent your whole career perfecting your IP management processes, and your clients come to you for how you do things. This is why Equinox is packed with so many configuration options; everyone works differently, and when you start using the system we’ll help you adapt it to fit around your well-practiced processes and deliver the same reliable services your clients depend upon.
On top of that, we seek to enhance your processes. With powerful tools like automation at your disposal in Equinox, getting started with the system is a brilliant opportunity to make those process changes you’ve been thinking about and deliver even stronger results than before. The Onboarding team knows the capabilities of the system and how it can best be deployed in your firm, and they’ll offer you tips and advice on how to make efficiency and performance gains.
“Implementing any software adoption has its problems, but the Equinox team proved to be adaptable at key points in the onboarding process. Cranach had unusual circumstances when we came to Equinox; we weren’t coming from another system but rather starting from scratch with a portfolio from another firm. The Onboarding team was able to adapt to the situation, and I felt that our needs were more than catered for.
“Equinox is a good company to work with. Once the onboarding stage was over, Trad [from the Onboarding team] stayed my primary contact while I got started. It was reassuring to have someone that knows my system well to support me early on. I didn’t have to explain anything from the beginning, and I got support quickly.”
Getting started with new software can be difficult for any organisation, but when your clients need consistent support, you don’t have time for things to go wrong. Even once your system is set up and ready to go, our Onboarding team will stay in touch. They’ve trained your team and helped you get your system set up, so they know exactly how to help you with any questions you might have.
When you’re settled and comfortable with your system, they’ll hand you over to our Client Services team who will support you throughout your subscription.
“Having the integration with Xero is really helpful. I wanted a finance system that worked well with my IP management system, so the integration built into Equinox helps me keep an overview of my tasks from a central location.
“The Equinox team has also helped me improve my experience with the integration. When I was getting started, I would have to adjust the account codes when finalising the accounts in Xero, but I was able to work with the Equinox team to create a configuration where Equinox outputs the data to match with my account codes that has hugely reduced this administrative process. The support team can find a way to help you, and Equinox’s willingness to develop a solution for you is invaluable.”
We’ve developed a wide range of integrations with services IP professionals use daily. This includes universal software like Microsoft Office and Outlook, allowing you to create templates and manage correspondence within the system easily. Plus, Equinox is integrated with financial services like Xero and Sage to enable a smooth invoicing process.
There are also more specialist IP management integrations available. We’ve integrated with services like Billtrader which helps you more easily manage international payments, and we’ve introduced data sharing integrations with various official offices. Our aim is to help our subscribers manage as much of their portfolio as possible from within Equinox, from correspondence and document management to applications and renewals.
“It was a good decision to choose Equinox. It’s a well-developed and intuitive system that’s easy to navigate. Compared to proprietary IP management systems I’ve used at multi-national IP firms, Equinox has certainly been an improvement.
“Seven months after our system went live, I’ve been using more of the bespoke features and more closely configuring the system to our needs. For example, I’ve been able to adapt the drop-down menus to refine which items appear; small changes like this can make a big difference in helping us work faster and more consistently, and we have other configurations on the horizon.”
The configuration options in Equinox let you control even the most minute details. You can adapt anything from the items on your drop-down menus to the pre-set processes that keep your deadlines and tasks organised. Plus, if something isn’t covered by our configuration options, we review all subscriber feedback and plan our product pipeline accordingly. With a system update around every two weeks, our developers might be able to roll out a solution rapidly.
You don’t need to make any configurations to start using Equinox. Out of the box, it’s an intuitive, purpose-built IP management system. The power is in your hands to adapt it as much or as little as you like. Whichever way you want to use the system, our team of Equinox experts will be there to help.
With Equinox, it’s all about you.
The system is built from the ground up to be easy to use and as adaptable as possible.
Request a demo today and see why IP firms worldwide have adopted Equinox Law Firm.
