How RedView Acuity Uses Advanced Analytics to Forecast a Law Firm’s Future Financial Performance
Most systems tell law firms what happened yesterday. RedView Acuity tells them what will happen tomorrow — projected revenue, expected cashflow, and future capacity demands — using a combination of real-time practice data and advanced modelling.
This is what positions Acuity as a true forward-looking management information system.
Expected Future Fees: The Core of the Forecasting Engine
Acuity starts by determining the Expected Future Fees for each open matter.
1. When a matter estimate exists:
Acuity calculates:
Matter Estimate – Fees Already Billed = Expected Future Fees
2. When no matter estimate exists:
Acuity automatically falls back to the Average Fees Billed for that matter type to produce a consistent, data-driven estimate of the likely remaining revenue.
This ensures the forecasting model remains complete even if lawyers skip entering an estimate — a practical safeguard that keeps the analytics both realistic and usable.
Expected Future Fees are then rolled up across and aggregated by
lawyer
team
matter type
department
office
the whole firm
This creates a dynamic, real-time forward revenue pipeline.
Note that Acuity also supports firms in maintaining estimate discipline by highlighting matters exceeding estimate or showing signs of inactivity.
Projecting Revenue Over Time
Acuity spreads these Expected Future Fees evenly across the average duration for each matter type. Combined with the average hourly rate, this creates an initial projection of:
monthly revenue
workload/capacity demand
overall fee pipeline shape
Example:
Remaining expected fees: $18,000
Avg matter duration: 6 months → $3,000 per month
While any individual matter may vary, the aggregate across many matters produces a stable, highly informative view of future performance.
Forecasting Cashflow
Acuity also forecasts when the cash will actually be received, using the firm’s average cash-collection days.
This means:
Revenue recognised in Month X
Cash received roughly X + collection days
This provides a powerful forward view of:
projected cash inflows
timing gaps between revenue and cash
future funding pressure points
For many firms, this is the first time they’ve had this visibility.
Forecasting Labour Requirements and Hiring Points
Acuity’s forward revenue and hours modelling allows it to estimate:
when teams will hit capacity
when hiring becomes necessary
how many new matters are required to maintain margins
the resourcing impact of growth in specific practice areas
Next Evolution: Billing and Work Profiles
The future roadmap includes modelling typical behaviour for each matter type:
When work is usually performed
When invoices are usually raised
When cash is usually collected
This will allow Acuity to move from a simple equal-spread model to a behaviour-based forecast that more accurately reflects real-life billing patterns.
The Evolution after that: business-development modelling
Beyond historical trends, the real value comes from letting firms adjust the forecast based on their growth goals.
For example:
“Increase Family Law enquiries by 15% next year”
“Ramp Personal Injury marketing from July onwards”
“Reduce Conveyancing matters by 10% due to market conditions”
Acuity could then recalculate all forward financials and capacity needs instantly based on these strategic dials.
This allows firms to see:
the financial impact of planned BD initiatives
when they will need more staff
what revenue uplift to expect
how margins will shift
whether growth targets are realistic
This turns forecasting from a passive view of what’s likely to happen into an active planning tool for shaping the firm’s future.
Is This Useful? Absolutely. And It’s Achievable Today.
Everything described above is:
Sensible — based on real matter and financial data
Possible — using analytics already built into Acuity
Useful — for forecasting revenue, cashflow, and capacity
Adoptable — requiring only basic matter closing discipline
Importantly, the existing model already delivers insights most firms have never had access to.
And the best part: everything else is automated.