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Industries We Serve

Bookkeeping for Law Firms

Client trust funds are not firm revenue, and the books must never blur that.

Call (310) 800-4494Book a Free Consultation

Remote bookkeeping — monthly close, cleanup, and books ready for your CPA.

Legal bookkeeping carries a trust-accounting obligation ordinary businesses do not have. Client funds held in trust must reconcile three ways, and earned fees must be moved deliberately — not swept.

Trust account rules are set by each state bar. We keep the ledgers accurate and reconciled; compliance determinations rest with the firm and its bar.

At a glance

Trust never commingled

Client funds and operating funds strictly separate.

Client-level ledgers

Per-client trust balances that reconcile to the trust account.

Earned fees moved deliberately

Transfers out of trust documented, not swept.

Advanced costs tracked

Client costs carried as receivable rather than expensed.

What we handle

  • Trust and operating accounts kept strictly separate
  • Client-level trust ledgers reconciled to the trust bank account
  • Earned fees transferred from trust to operating on a documented basis
  • Retainers recorded as liabilities until earned
  • Case and matter-level cost tracking, including advanced client costs

Common problems we fix

  • Trust and operating funds commingled
  • Client trust ledgers that do not reconcile to the bank
  • Advanced client costs expensed rather than tracked as receivable

Trades and specialisms we cover

Law Firms is a broad category, and the bookkeeping differs meaningfully between the trades inside it. Here is what actually changes, trade by trade — each is handled under this service rather than as a separate engagement.

Personal Injury — jump to this section

Contingency practice means no fee until a case resolves, which can be years, while the firm advances case costs — filing, experts, records, depositions — on the client’s behalf throughout. Those advances are a receivable, not an expense, and a firm that expenses them understates its assets and overstates its losses in every year but the one where cases settle. Settlement funds arrive into trust and are disbursed to the client, to lienholders, and to the firm, and every one of those splits has to reconcile.

Immigration — jump to this section

Immigration work is largely flat fee, collected in advance and earned as the matter progresses through stages that can span years — which makes unearned fees a real and growing trust or liability balance rather than a technicality. Government filing fees paid on behalf of clients are pass-through and should never touch revenue. Matters going dormant for long periods leaves balances sitting in trust that need active management rather than being forgotten.

Family Law — jump to this section

Family practice runs on evergreen retainers: an advance held in trust, drawn down as work is billed, and replenished when it falls below a floor. The trust ledger therefore moves constantly and must reconcile per client, every month. Costs advanced for experts, evaluators, and court fees need tracking per matter, and fee disputes are common enough that the billing record has to stand on its own.

Estate Planning — jump to this section

Estate planning is typically flat fee and collected up front, so revenue is earned on delivery of the documents rather than on receipt of the money. Estate administration work that follows is billed differently again and may involve handling estate funds, which is a fiduciary responsibility distinct from the firm’s own accounts. Matters that reopen years later need a record that is still intact.

Criminal Defense — jump to this section

Criminal defence is usually flat fee by stage — pre-trial, trial, appeal — with the fee earned as each stage is reached, so a case that resolves early leaves an unearned portion that has to be handled properly. Payment plans are common, creating receivables in a practice that otherwise expects payment up front. Court-appointed work is billed to a public body on its own schedule and rates, and is a separate revenue stream entirely.

Intellectual Property — jump to this section

IP practice carries substantial pass-through costs in filing fees, foreign associate charges, and renewal and maintenance fees, frequently in other currencies — all of which are client costs rather than firm revenue. Docketed renewal deadlines stretch years into the future and are often prepaid, creating obligations that sit on the books long-term. Fixed-fee prosecution work and hourly litigation work behave completely differently and should be reported separately.

Not listed? Tell us what you do — these are the ones we are asked about most, not the limit of what we handle.

We keep the books. You run the business.

Categorization, reconciliation, month-end close, and clean financial statements — with nothing left for you to chase.

Call (310) 800-4494Book a Free Consultation
View pricing

How It Works

1

Free review

We look at how your law firms books are set up today.

2

Fix the structure

Chart of accounts rebuilt around how your industry actually earns and spends.

3

Catch up

Anything behind gets cleaned up at a fixed quoted price.

4

Close monthly

Current, reconciled books every month — ready for your CPA.

Law Firms — Frequently Asked Questions

Do you understand law firms specifically?

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Yes — that is the point of setting the books up by industry. Legal bookkeeping carries a trust-accounting obligation ordinary businesses do not have. Client funds held in trust must reconcile three ways, and earned fees must be moved deliberately — not swept.

What does bookkeeping for law firms actually involve?

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Trust and operating accounts kept strictly separate; Client-level trust ledgers reconciled to the trust bank account; Earned fees transferred from trust to operating on a documented basis; and 2 other recurring pieces. It is done monthly rather than reconstructed at year end, so the numbers are usable while the decisions are still open.

What usually goes wrong in law firms books?

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The three we see most: trust and operating funds commingled; client trust ledgers that do not reconcile to the bank; advanced client costs expensed rather than tracked as receivable. Client trust funds are not firm revenue, and the books must never blur that.

Do you work with personal injury, immigration, family law?

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Yes — those are three of the 6 trades covered under this service, and each is listed on this page with what changes about its books. They are handled under one engagement rather than quoted separately.

Do you work in the accounting file my law firms business already uses?

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Yes. We work inside your file so you keep ownership and full visibility. If you do not have one set up yet, we build it around your industry from the start, including a chart of accounts that matches how you actually earn.

Can you clean up law firms books that are months behind?

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That is our specialty. Cleanup is quoted at a fixed price after a short no-obligation review, so you know the cost before any work begins. Scope varies enormously, so we look first and quote second.

Related

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Bookkeeping built for law firms

Book a free consultation and we will tell you what your books need — and what it costs.

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  • Done-for-you
  • Solo or group
  • Nationwide

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