Order in the court — and the back office
Client background
Angel Reyes & Associates isn’t your typical personal injury firm. Based in Dallas, Texas, the firm has built its name — and its momentum — on doing things differently. Over the past three years, Angel Reyes & Associates has quadrupled its revenue and grown from 70 employees to over 500. With four locations and a fifth on the way, the firm continues to expand its presence — while scaling law firm operations to support its rapid growth
The business challenge
When QuickBooks couldn’t keep up
Before implementing Sage Intacct, Angel Reyes & Associates ran its financials in QuickBooks while managing cases in a separate legal-industry application built on the Salesforce platform. With no integration between the two systems, the accounting team was stuck entering data twice — first in the legal system, then again in QuickBooks.
Mike, who joined the firm in 2021 as its first-ever controller (and is now CFO), knew something had to change. He also knew exactly who to call. Having worked with Baker Tilly at a prior firm, Mike had firsthand experience with their technical expertise and legal industry know-how.
Angel Reyes & Associates went live with Sage Intacct on Jan. 1, 2023, with the Salesforce integration going live just a few months later. “We were under budget, ahead of schedule and had zero issues,” says Mike. “That doesn’t happen unless you have a great partner.”
Baker Tilly is one of the biggest players in the space, but they never made us feel like just another client. They had the experience, they had the resources and they knew exactly what it would take to make this successful.Mike Gsell, CFO, Angel Reyes & Associates
Strategy and solution
Automation replaces duplication
Today, every new case — or “matter” — created in the legal system is automatically synced to Sage Intacct, where it’s tracked as a customer record. Revenue projections, matter types and attorney assignments are also synced, creating rich reporting without the need for manual consolidation. Settlement funds flow into Sage Intacct as receipts. Expenses entered by paralegals come through as accounts payable bills. Payouts to medical providers and clients are generated automatically. The result? Total elimination of double entry.
“Before Sage Intacct, we spent an enormous amount of time duplicating work just to keep the books balanced,” Mike explains. “Now, it’s all automated — and we’re so much more confident in the data.”
That confidence extends to other routine tasks, too. Bank reconciliations, which used to take two days, now take just a couple of hours. Monthly interest allocations — spread across 9,000 open matters — are handled in minutes using Excel import templates.
What used to take days now takes minutes. We've shaved hours off our daily processes.Mike Gsell, CFO, Angel Reyes & Associates
Leaner, smarter finance operations
Despite quadrupling in revenue and operating a now multi-entity, multi-location business, the firm has only increased its finance headcount from four to six.
“If we were still on QuickBooks, we would’ve needed at least two or three more people,” Mike notes. “At an average salary of $75,000, that’s hundreds of thousands saved each year.”
Doing more with less is only part of the story — what matters is doing it strategically. With time freed from manual tasks, Mike and his team now focus on forward-looking initiatives like modeling and forecasting.
Insights that drive performance
Sage Intacct, with Baker Tilly’s guidance, has become the backbone of a firm-wide performance culture. Using Sage Intacct dimensions, the firm tracks revenue by attorney and legal team, known internally as “pods.” Daily automated reports show exactly how each attorney is performing against their targets. That data helped Angel Reyes & Associates completely revamp its associate compensation model, giving attorneys clear goals tied to firm performance.
The firm also tracks and reports revenue by office, matter type and even projected value — giving leadership unparalleled visibility into performance and profitability. Those same insights support everything from budgeting and strategic planning to lender negotiations.
When we renegotiated our line of credit, I was able to deliver everything they asked for in 24 hours. That's a testament to the systems we've built — and to the support we've had from Baker Tilly.Mike Gsell, CFO, Angel Reyes & Associates
Designed for scale
As Angel Reyes & Associates prepares to triple in size over the next few years — expanding into new states and possibly acquiring other firms — Mike has zero concerns about the solution’s ability to scale with them. And Baker Tilly will be along for the ride. The firm continues to rely on them for ongoing support, strategic advice and help fine-tuning their system as needs evolve.