How to reduce AP1 requisitions by up to 30%

Requisitions are a pain point for every law firm when submitting the AP1. Without a doubt, you’ll receive them on a weekly basis and managing the communication back and forth with HMLR can be a time-consuming process. With the adoption of digital AP1s following the HMLR mandate that comes into effect from November 2022, it’s a great time for law firms to review how they manage their requisitions and whether they can reduce them. The great news is reducing your requisitions is absolutely possible.  

How to reduce digital AP1 requisitions 

With the introduction of mandated digital AP1s has also come the introduction of validations. We recently reviewed what validations are and how they help you to reduce your requisitions. Validations essentially help to minimise the risk of ‘avoidable requisitions’ at the source by prompting users to provide add necessary information and validate the details wherever possible throughout the AP1 form. 

You can also reduce your AP1 requisitions by up to 30% when you use InfoTrack. We’ve been the leading provider of digital AP1 submissions to HMLR since 2016, with more than 800,000 submissions completed to date. From all those submissions, we’ve spent time analysing the most common causes of requisitions and applied features within our digital AP1 tool to help you.  

From validations required by HMLR and our own validations that we’ve applied from those learnings over the years to flagging missing information or inconsistent data, we provide a host of handy features to make the chance of receiving a requisition against your AP1 submission lower. On average, InfoTrack users who submit their digital AP1 through our platform see a 30% reduction requisitions. 

How to improve your AP1 requisition management 

The reality is that requisitions will continue to be a part of the AP1 process, even following the switch to digital AP1s. So, if there are still requisitions it’s a good time to review how you manage them. Are you still using a spreadsheet or manually diarising key dates and deadlines? This could be costing you. 

The Digital Conveyancing Maturity Index found that 42% of law firms are managing their AP1 requisitions with digital dashboards to flag deadlines, automate responses, and create a digital audit trail. These digital tools make the management of requisitions simpler for law firms and remove the risk associated with potential human error or missed deadlines. 

Missing key dates can cause problems with expiring priorities, missing sending essential information, and overall can delay the transaction. You can minimise all of these risks with our digital AP1 service and AP1 dashboard. 

Let’s take a look at how these services can support your firm in improving your productivity and risk management when dealing with your post-completion process. 

How to manage your requisitions with InfoTrack’s AP1 dashboard 

Requisitions and AP1 management are crucial to the post-completion process. While reducing how many requisitions you receive is ideal, when they do occur, the next best option is to have a solid and reliable requisition management tool.  

Here's how our digital AP1 dashboard can help you monitor all your digital AP1 applications and manage any requisitions with ease.   

1. Ability to sort applications by status  

Transparency across all AP1 applications firm-wide makes managing the entire process simpler. The ability to sort applications by their status such as saved, in progress, requisition outstanding or early completion provides visibility and ensures that even if team members are on leave or off sick, that applications can be dealt with to ensure nothing is missed.  

2. View upcoming cancellations within the calendar 

Never miss key dates with automated calendar reminders. If you’re still using a manual method to track your AP1 applications, it can be easy to miss essential deadlines. Instead, the calendar within our AP1 dashboard helps you to stay on top of everything including expiring priority searches and upcoming AP1 cancellations. 

3. Email alerts make management simple 

We understand how busy conveyancers are, which can make staying on top of every transaction a juggling act. To reduce the burden, we have included email alerts for requisitions, early completion, warning of cancellation, cancellations, and completion of registration to help you keep up to date with your applications.  

4. WhatsApp-style chat system for directly contacting your caseworker 

If you do have a requisition or you need to share more details with your HMLR caseworker, it’s super simple with the built-in WhatsApp-style chat feature. There’s no need to access a separate platform, you can easily respond directly within InfoTrack and provide additional information, upload documents and answer any questions you receive from the HMLR caseworker. 

5. Ability to acknowledge requisitions  

Make recognising any requisitions that are raised easy with the ability to acknowledge them directly within the AP1 dashboard. No need to access another system. Users can also add internal notes to requisitions to ensure anyone who accesses the matter has all the information they need, such as when a colleague may pick up management of a requisition when someone is on leave or off work ill. 

6. Use of templated requests of HMLR 

Save time with templated requests such as ‘request an extension of time’ to increase your efficiency. Templated requests streamline the process and mean you spend less time preparing requests and can get on top of any queries faster. 

7. Templated responses to requisitions and ability to regenerate AP1 details  

Timesaving is a big benefit for busy conveyancers which is why templated requisition responses and the ability to regenerate AP1 details swiftly is a big win. With less time spent on the administrative process related to requisitions, you can spend more time keeping your clients up to date. 

8. View daylist alongside active applications 

Having everything you need in one place makes managing the whole requisition process simpler. You don’t need to open a new tab to view the daylist as we’ve included it directly within the AP1 dashboard for you, so you have everything you need at a glance.  

You’ll also easily be able to view the status of your application in relation to other applications on the same title, allowing you to easily track the progress. 

The introduction of digital AP1s can seem daunting. Learning a new system, getting familiar with validations, and finding new ways of managing your requisitions are all part of the process. Access our Digital AP1 Hub for more information on how your firm can adapt to the switch, with handy articles, case studies, and on-demand training to ensure you are digital AP1 ready.