Legal accounting and attorney bookkeeping mistakes have catastrophic consequences for your business, income taxes, and license. Below we’ll show you the most commonly fall short in accounting practice. An accountant who has experience with financial forecasting and strategy can help a law firm plan for its future expenses and income.

The partner or attorney doesn’t place the value on having an expert handle these records. They figure it’s just data entry and whoever has law firm bookkeeping the best work ethic and is good at paperwork gets this job. They don’t know a debit from a credit or cash basis from an accrual basis.

Law Firm Bookkeeping Services

Data entry errors lead to wasted time, as you comb through records to figure out what the error is, as well as billing complications and compliance violations in the worst cases. Not all income is revenue — this is a distinction that needs to be made or you could have to deal with inaccurate bookkeeping. And with one error comes many more, so it’s crucial to keep things organized. And law schools don’t really go into how to manage these accounts properly, so we see a lot of lawyers going in blind. Trust accounting (including IOLTAs) isn’t a part of standard business accounting.

• If you have a debit in one account, it follows that there will be a credit in another account.
• Thankfully, good bookkeeping can also result in accurate reports on demand, make billing easier and improve the way you view your finances.
• While not necessary, we recommend working with a bookkeeper who has experience working with law firms.
• View your financial data, banking transactions, and case information side-by-side, and gain a clear understanding of your firm’s overall health and outlook.
• They can help level up your firm and make the legal accounting process even smoother by adding legal accounting and legal practice management software to your firm’s toolkit.
• If you mismanage this account, you could face severe consequences, including disbarment.
• Aside from auditing services, the Big Four offer tax law, strategy and management consulting, valuation, market research, assurance, and legal advisory services.

A chart of accounts (COA) is a list of all the financial accounts in the general ledger of your law firm. Every lawyer that manages trust accounts should know what three-way reconciliation means. Two core tasks of a legal bookkeeper include data entry and bank reconciliation. Without a trusted bookkeeper for attorneys, a legal accountant won’t have any data work off of.

Figure out how you’ll get paid

While you’ve spent years honing your skills to become a great lawyer, you didn’t learn about accounting or bookkeeping for attorneys at law school. We are the most trusted choice in the area, offering comprehensive bookkeeping services specifically tailored for law firms. You’re busy providing legal services and developing business, so that Uber expense to meet a client sometimes falls through the cracks. It’s best to record these expenses as they happen, but realistically there will be times when you forget.

Your checking account is self-explanatory — its primary purpose is managing business revenue. Following the above three best practices allows you to optimize your finances. Your budget is a vital tool for keeping you in control of expenditure and making sure you’re not overspending. With that said, knowing how to manage your money is also a reputation builder. Clients (and employees) talk, and if your finances are in shambles due to negligence, that could spell disaster for your credibility.

Why is Accounting for Law Firms Important?

Intermingling expenses isn’t a fatal mistake but it causes problems for your business when it comes to claiming expenses and tracking the financial health of your business. For example, if you purchase office supplies for your business, you should have an “Office Supplies Expense” account. But you don’t want to set up separate accounts for legal pads, pens, printer ink, etc. Lawyers spend years honing their legal skills, but they often have little knowledge of accounting practices. The following tips can help you get a better handle on your finances. You can try MyCase today risk-free with a 10-day free trial, which includes access to MyCase Accounting.