Law Firm Bookkeeping & Trust/IOLTA Compliance

Stress-Free, Compliant, Monthly Legal Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping designed for law firms that need accuracy, compliance, and clear trust account management. This service supports attorneys and legal practices that manage IOLTA/trust accounts and require dependable monthly oversight of their financial activity.

Law firms depend on accurate financials, consistent trust/IOLTA tracking, and monthly reporting that reflects true activity. This service provides structured legal bookkeeping that maintains compliance, strengthens financial controls, and delivers clarity across both operating and trust accounts.

What’s Included in Law Firm Bookkeeping

1. Trust/IOLTA Compliance

Trust account activity is recorded, categorized, and reconciled according to state-specific requirements and bar rules. Every transaction is tracked to the correct client matter, ensuring funds are handled accurately and fully compliant.

2. Operating Account Bookkeeping

All income, expenses, client costs, retainers, and reimbursements are reviewed and categorized using workflows tailored for law firms. Books stay clean, accurate, and properly aligned with legal accounting standards.

3. Monthly Bank & Trust Reconciliations

Operating and trust accounts are reconciled monthly (or more frequently if needed) to prevent discrepancies, ensure accuracy, and safeguard client funds.

4. Month-End Close for Law Firms

A structured month-end process ensures books remain current, compliant, and ready for reporting. Workflows include reviewing trust balances, matching client ledgers, and verifying operating activity.

5. Legal-Specific Financial Reporting

Monthly reports include:

• Profit & Loss
• Balance Sheet
• Statement of Cash Flows
• Trust/IOLTA summaries
• Client cost tracking
• Retainer activity
• Custom legal-specific reporting as needed

These reports give attorneys clear visibility into performance, compliance status, and financial trends.

6. CPA-Ready Year-End Package

A complete, organized, reconciled set of financials prepared for the firm’s CPA. This reduces errors, prevents reporting inconsistencies, and supports efficient tax preparation.

7. Unlimited Email Support

When questions arise, the firm receives timely, accurate support to keep financials aligned and compliant.

Our Law Firm Bookkeeping Workflow

1. File & System Review

We review your current QuickBooks Online file, trust/IOLTA setup, operating accounts, retainers, client ledgers, reports, and (if applicable) your practice-management system such as Clio, PracticePanther, or MyCase.
This ensures everything is aligned for accurate trust compliance and clean monthly reporting.

2. Trust/IOLTA Structure Alignment

We confirm trust liability accounts, client ledgers, trust workflows, and bank activity match one another.
If anything is out of balance, the issue is identified and corrected before monthly routines begin.

3. Monthly Categorization & Compliance Review

Each month we categorize operating and trust activity with attorney-specific accuracy:

• retainers
• settlements
• cost advances
• reimbursements
• refunds
• trust-to-operating transfers
• operating-to-trust deposits

Every transaction is assigned correctly based on bar rules and ethical separation.

4. Monthly Reconciliation (Trust + Operating)

Every account is reconciled monthly:

• Operating checking
• Trust/IOLTA
• Credit cards
• Settlement accounts
• Attorney fee accounts

Trust accounts are reconciled with both bank statements and client ledgers, ensuring full compliance.

5. Matter-Level Tracking (If Applicable)

You receive clean tracking for:

• client costs
• settlement activity
• matter-specific revenue
• retainers by client
• trust balances by client

This gives clear visibility into each matter without you having to rebuild spreadsheets.

6. Practice-Management Sync (Optional)

If you use systems like Clio or PracticePanther, we compare their ledgers to QuickBooks monthly to ensure:

• no duplicate entries
• no missing entries
• trust balances match
• client costs and revenue align

This keeps technology systems in sync with your financials.

7. Monthly Firm-Level Reporting

Each month you receive:

• operating P&L
• trust liability summary
• revenue and retainer tracking
• matter-level insights
• cash flow and billing clarity
• CPA-ready financial statements

Reports are written in plain language so you always know where the firm stands.

8. Year-End CPA Coordination

We provide your CPA with clean, organized, tax-ready financials and trust records.
All trust and operating accounts are fully reconciled, documented, and easy for them to review with no back-and-forth needed from you.

Who Law Firm Bookkeeping Is For

Solo Attorneys Managing Their Own Books

Attorneys who are tired of juggling client work, trust rules, and QuickBooks at the same time, and want clean, compliant workflows built for how they actually practice.

Small & Growing Law Firms

Law firms with multiple attorneys, paralegals, or staff who need reliable trust workflows and consistent monthly reporting.

If your firm needs ongoing monthly reconciliations, structured reporting, and dependable financial oversight, you can review our Monthly Bookkeeping service for full details.

Firms with Trust/IOLTA or Client Funds Requirements

Practices that handle retainers, settlements, cost advances, and client funds that must be tracked by matter, reconciled monthly, and documented for bar compliance.

Local Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler & Phoenix East Valley Firms

Law firms in the East Valley that want a local bookkeeping partner who understands Arizona trust rules and provides virtual support that fits into their existing systems.

Client Results Snapshot

⭐ Clean Financial Controls for a Small Firm

Rebuilt 18 months of trust and operating activity for a small litigation firm whose IOLTA account no longer matched client ledgers. After correcting trust-to-operating transfers, cleaning up retainers, and aligning reports with their practice management system, the firm passed its review with accurate records and a clear, compliant workflow going forward.

⭐ Trust/IOLTA Compliance Restored

A law firm with inconsistent trust accounting received a complete reconciliation of all trust activity. Every matter was realigned, trust balances were corrected, and monthly workflows were implemented to maintain ongoing compliance.

Common Law Firm Issues We Fix

Most firms reach out when something “doesn’t look right” in trust or operating, but the root problem isn’t always obvious. Some of the most common law firm bookkeeping issues we fix include:

• Trust balances not matching client balances
• Missing or incorrect retainers
• Improper trust-to-operating transfers
• Unreconciled trust activity
• Mixed client funds
• Incorrect settlement accounting
• Duplicate or missing entries
• Operating books not tied to merchant accounts
• Payroll mapped incorrectly
• Confusing reports or outdated workflows

We identify the problems, fix the errors, and create a clean, compliant system moving forward.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the most common questions law firms ask when they’re unsure whether this service is the right fit, especially when trust/IOLTA compliance or matter-level reporting is involved.

Do you work with law firms outside Arizona?

Yes. While we are based in Gilbert, Arizona, we support law firms nationwide through virtual QuickBooks Online bookkeeping and trust/IOLTA reconciliation.

Can you help if my trust account is already out of balance?

Yes. We review prior trust activity, compare it to client ledgers and bank records, identify where things went off track, and rebuild clean, compliant trust records so you can move forward with confidence.

Do you work with practice management or billing systems?

Yes. We frequently work alongside tools like Clio, PracticePanther, MyCase, and similar platforms. Our role is to make sure activity flowing into QuickBooks matches what’s happening in your practice management system and bank accounts.

Can you coordinate directly with my CPA or tax professional?

Yes. We often work directly with your CPA so they receive clean, organized, tax-ready financials and trust reports. This keeps everyone aligned and reduces the back-and-forth on your side.

What if my firm needs both cleanup and ongoing monthly support?

If your practice needs accurate, compliant trust accounting and organized monthly books, we begin with a structured Cleanup Bookkeeping engagement to correct past activity, then transition your firm into consistent monthly support.

Summary

This service ensures accurate financials, compliant trust/IOLTA accounting, structured month-end reporting, and reliable financial clarity for law firms. If the firm needs clean reconciliations, accurate client cost tracking, or trust compliance support, this service provides the consistent monthly structure required to operate confidently and remain compliant.