Solicitors love to read exhortations from chartered accountants about improving their business techniques by employing computers to extract management information about their practices.

An article in the Gazette last month suggested that one third of legal practices might otherwise be headed for the rocks.You might just as well be told to build a lunar buggy.

The technology is a known quantity and it has been done before - so why should it be too difficult or expensive? The dilemma is this: as with moon buggies, so it is with computers.Unless you know about them, who can you trust to advise you on how to acquire and apply them? If we thought we could be skilled with computers, we would probably not have pursued a career in the law.

After all, when did you last hear of a software consultant's bill being taxed?As we near the end of the millennium, after 25 years of spin-off from the first moon landings - made possible by miniaturisation - should we be surprised to find our lives dominated by computer chips? And should we fight this phenomenon?The computer creates a level playing field on which firms, from sole practitioners up to those with ten partners and more, can run their practices on equal terms with the very largest firms.

What the City and nationwide practices can do with in-house chartered accountants, teams of staff, and expensive equipment, you too can manage for a few thousand pounds - provided you invest some time and summon up the enthusiasm to make it work.The pay-off is that you will transform your administration into a centre of excellence, and a show-case for the legal work you produce.

It will become a smooth-running system which should turn your professionalism into cash-flow.The aim of this article is to initiate a process of building self-confidence where hi-tech applications in the solicitor's office are concerned.

The structure, once created, will provide, as a start, the following benefits:-- always having your client and office bank accounts reconciled to the penny, ie daily;-- always having a cashflow/profit projection to the end of your financial year, updated within 24 hours of each month-end;-- always keeping track of your debtors and being able to identify quick and slow money;-- always having a happy and supportive bank manager behind you;-- never having need of your chartered accountant, prior to your year-end;-- never failing to produce and despatch any document on the day on which instructed; and-- never needing to purchase such items as headed note-paper, bill-heads or other stationery from a printer again.The largest firms in the country can do all this, and so can you - whatever size of practice you have.

The giants are self-sufficient when it comes to financial information and so can you be.

Modern technology is cheap and powerful.

It becomes more so daily, but do not delay in the hope that you may be able to buy more for less next year.

Time is money.The essentials for the structure you should be looking to create are:-- at least three powerful PCs, one for accounts, one for your secretary and one for yourself - all networked together;-- a modem to link the accounts' machine to your bankers so that you can have yesterday's statements before 9am today;-- a solicitors' accounts package, chosen from the Law Society's list of suppliers, appropriate to your size of practice;-- a propriety bundle of software.

This should comprise a simple spreadsheet and database: the former to enable you to reproduce your accounts format and then to enter into each column your estimated figures (including estimates as to debtors and bank balance) for each of the 12 months of your financial year with a final column for the anticipated year-end result; the latter will enable you to keep track of deeds, staff etc;-- word-processing software set up to produce your letter-head and bill-head plus appropriate precedents.

Some of these are provided by legal publishers on disk alongside their standard precedent books; and-- at least one laser printer.

This will enable you to print your letter- and bill-heads and to produce documents of all types that look as polished as those of even the largest firms.The building blocks of your new system can soon be in place, with the assistance of a freelance computer consultant.

There are plenty of bright, young enthusiasts who will understand your requirements.

Ask around and find out who others have used.You should be able to achieve your goals without going to expensive consultancies which do not understand the practicalities of what you are trying to achieve, although there are, within the legal profession, some consultancies whose advice will be the most relevant.With computers you have nothing to fear but fear itself.

The best way to learn, as with swimming, is to take the plunge, provided that you maintain parallel-running of your existing systems until the efficacy of your new systems has been established.

As your confidence increases you will find new ways of employing your systems in the development of your practice management skills.The systems outlined above will, with appropriate adjustments, work for practices of any size.

Within six months yours can be as efficient and professional as the best-run firms.

You will find that, at last, you really are running your firm, in a pro-active manner and, as a bonus, you will start saving considerable sums, repaying your investment of money, time and effort.