Staying on top of receivables is essential to the financial health of your business. Having too many accounts creates headaches later on, as it takes more time to review the books and increases your chances of making mistakes. Fortunately, with a combination of technology, best practices, and the right help, it’s possible to stay on top of your bookkeeping with little effort.

• 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.
• Once you have a strategy and budget in place, the work of day-to-day management sets in.
• Implement the right accounting software for your firm to save time, work, and money.
• It is a crucial document for partners and stakeholders to understand the firm’s financial health and make informed decisions.
• And you can’t do that if you’re not gathering and sorting it on a regular basis.
• Our bookkeepers are required to hold a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or a related field, possess 2-3 years of Trust Law accounting experience, CPA training, and other criteria.

Track and code credit card transactions to the GL and ensure statements agree to GL. Gain a better understanding of your firm’s cash flow and ensure that every transaction is accurately recorded with proper supporting detail. Know that your firm’s day-to-day transactions law firm bookkeeping are being accurately recorded to ensure smooth operation of your firm as a business. Practice Alchemyʼs team of legal bookkeeping experts know how to build and deploy successful bookkeeping programs to ensure your books are diligently and accurately kept.

Double-Entry Accounting

Forbes Advisor selected these services based on their service options, pricing, customer service, reputation and more. U.S. trained legal bookkeeping virtual assistants are carefully selected for their expertise and accounting experience, ensuring your law firm’s success. The goal of bookkeeping is to have an accurate picture of your current financial standing. For example, you might think you have plenty of money in the bank and buy a new computer before realizing you forgot to record that check to the court reporter. A simple mistake could send your firm into the red for the month.

Controllers often oversee the bookkeeper’s work, reconcile the accounts, and make more significant ledger adjustments. They can use your financial data to understand what it tells you about your business. As a solo attorney, managing your books via accounting software may get you started. Yet, if you own a small firm with multiple attorneys, employees, or contractors, hiring a bookkeeper is more than worth it. In this chapter, we’ll start with choosing accounting software. With those items in place, we can tackle what to monitor and when.

Why bookkeeping and accounting matter for law firms

Learn more about the legal chart of accounts and view examples of formatting. Kelly Main is a Marketing Editor and Writer specializing in digital marketing, online advertising and web design and development. Before joining the team, she was a Content Producer at Fit Small Business where she served as an editor and strategist covering small business marketing content. She is a former Google Tech Entrepreneur and she holds an MSc in International Marketing from Edinburgh Napier University. Katherine Haan is a small business owner with nearly two decades of experience helping other business owners increase their incomes.

• Process vendor bills with the proper approvals and timely payments.
• When it comes to accounting for law firms, whether you handle it yourself or hire someone, your bookkeeping system must maintain a consistent schedule for carrying out bookkeeping tasks.
• You don’t necessarily need accounting software or a professional bookkeeper to handle your law firm bookkeeping.
• Kelly Main is a Marketing Editor and Writer specializing in digital marketing, online advertising and web design and development.
• The following tips can help you get a better handle on your finances.
• Additionally, keep your financial records in check by syncing to a system for accounting for law firms like QuickBooks Online.