Conveyancers are working harder than ever to keep matters moving, but the data shows it’s not always working.
2025 research by Ochresoft, reported by Today’s Conveyancer, found that the average sale transaction in 2024 took 160 days from instruction to completion, and increase of 88% since 2007.
Purchases averaged about 120 days—approximately four months—and about 30% of agreed sales now fall through before completion, often because the legal stage is taking too long amid ever-lengthening chains.
While many bottlenecks sit outside a firm’s control, it’s much easier to claw back valuable time from the onboarding process.
Where delays happen
For many firms, it can take weeks to fully onboard a client.
Forms are sent out by email, returned incomplete, then endlessly chased until clients have sent over the correct documents. Then comes the laborious manual task of keying it all in to the case management system.
Even where there are digital processes, these are often split over multiple tools, with ID checks, source of funds, and risk assessments all taking place on separate platforms.
And since this all takes place before a matter has officially started, those delays rarely show up in transaction reporting.
From weeks to days
Checkboard unifies the onboarding stage into one client-facing workflow.
Clients verify their identity, submit supporting documents, and connect their bank accounts via open banking from one secure link.
And from that, the firm receives a complete, audit-ready report: ID, source of funds analysis, and a client and matter risk assessment, reviewed against the client’s personal details and the nature of the transaction.
The process is fast and efficient, with fewer missing documents to chase, no ID uploads to request, and no statements to manually read.
This means clients get legally ready in days rather than weeks, and matters can proceed quicker.
Winning more clients
In a market where almost a third of agreed sales never even reach completion, the firms that succeed are those that move fastest at the start.
That way, they keep clients on-side and ultimately win more referrals.
Checkboard can help you get there. Get in touch now to book a demo. https://checkboard.com/marketing-partnerships/todays-conveyancer-contact-page?utm_source=todays+conveyancer&utm_medium=marketing+partnership&utm_campaign=todays+conveyancer+articles
