Fee receipts you can explain
Connect approved billing records, payments, credits and processor settlements. Check what the ledger already contains before adding another entry. Unclear deposits go back to you for context.
Law firm bookkeeping services.
Spend less time untangling your firm’s finances. Bookeeping.us provides monthly bookkeeping for US law firm operating accounts, fee receipts and business expenses in your accounting software. AI assists preparation; your named bookkeeper reviews the work and asks about unclear transactions. Trust accounting and IOLTA administration are outside the standard monthly offer.
Get my bookkeeping quoteOperating books. Human review. A dedicated account manager.
Keep practicing law.
Get clarity on the books.
Invoices, processor deposits and operating expenses can tell different parts of the story. Your bookkeeper brings the included records together, explains differences and prepares the reports in your proposal.
Operating costs kept in order
Organize rent, research subscriptions, insurance and other supported firm spending. Identify client-related recoveries separately for the agreed accounting treatment.
A more useful monthly handoff
Agree the operating profit and loss statement, balance sheet, reconciliations and open questions. Receivable/payable or matter views depend on the records and scope accepted.
Someone responsible for review
AI supports preparation. Your named bookkeeper checks the agreed work, and your dedicated account manager coordinates records and updates. Clarify unclear entries before finalization.
See the monthly service process. Daily billing, collections, payroll processing and live practice dashboards are not automatically included.
The financial context.
Without the case file.
Agree the period, source and access for the financial records needed. Use appropriate matter references and summaries rather than sharing unnecessary legal documents.
| Input | What it helps us check |
|---|---|
| Account and entity list | The firm's operating bank, card and financing accounts, and any excluded client-money accounts. Identify ownership and responsibilities before accepting work. |
| Fee billing and collection summaries | Approved invoices, payments, credits, write-offs and allocation references. Separate a billed fee, its collection and any balance still owed. |
| Processor and settlement reports | Gross payments, fees, refunds, adjustments and payout timing for included operating receipts. A net bank deposit alone does not explain the fee income. |
| Firm expenses and payroll summaries | Supplier bills, payment references and supported payroll accounting output. Processing payroll or advising on employment obligations needs a separate provider or scope. |
| Matter-cost and transfer summaries | The financial purpose, approved treatment and references for costs, recoveries and movements affecting operating accounts. Detailed schedules and trust activity require explicit assessment. |
| Prior reconciliations and opening balances | The last accepted month, unresolved items and existing software connections. Check the starting point before importing history or changing mappings. |
Use the bookkeeping documents checklist and bookkeeper handoff guide. A statement-upload workflow can be assessed without a mandatory bank connection.
Illustrative example · Fictional operating receipts
A $5,820 deposit.
A $2,000 unpaid balance.
Assume a fictional firm has already earned and invoiced $8,000 for completed services under its agreed accrual treatment. A client pays $6,000 by card. The processor deducts $180 and deposits $5,820 in the same period.
Invoice to collection
Keep the unpaid
amount visible.
- Earned fees already invoiced
- $8,000
- Payment allocated to that invoice
- − $6,000
- Remaining receivable
- $2,000
Payment to bank
Explain the net
operating deposit.
- Card payment received
- $6,000
- Processor fee
- − $180
- Bank deposit
- $5,820
The $6,000 collection reduces an existing receivable; it is not a second $6,000 sale. The $180 fee explains the smaller deposit. If the billing system already posted the invoice and payment, adding bank activity as another sale could duplicate income and leave the receivable wrong.
Assumptions: earned status and operating-account treatment already confirmed; no trust funds, advance fees, client-cost recoveries, refunds, tax, opening balances or other adjustments. The $180 is fictional, not a provider's quoted rate. Invoice issuance alone does not decide earning or permitted fund handling. This is a reconciliation illustration, not profit, taxable income or instructions to move client money. See receivables and payables and account reconciliation.
Operating books and client money.
Different responsibilities.
Our standard service covers the agreed firm operating books. Identify trust or IOLTA accounts at the start, even when they are outside the engagement, so a transfer or deposit is not treated as fee income without context.
The ABA's Model Rule 1.15 addresses safeguarding client and third-party property separately from a lawyer's own property. It is model guidance; the rules adopted in the relevant jurisdiction govern your practice. It is not a nationwide accounting checklist or a substitute for advice on your fee agreements.
For example, the State Bar of California publishes separate client-trust-account records and reconciliation resources. That illustrates why ordinary operating-bank reconciliation does not establish trust-account compliance. The standard offer does not include trust ledgers, three-way trust reconciliations, IOLTA administration, settlement handling or bar reporting.
Your firm and its qualified advisers determine permissions, earned-fee decisions and legal obligations. Specialist requirements must be assessed and assigned explicitly before work starts; a bookkeeping provider does not replace the firm's responsibility to supervise its financial process.
Keep your system.
Check the flow.
Assess what already posts
We assess QuickBooks, Xero, Sage or another current setup. Identify billing and payment sources, existing connections and the start date for any records supplied.
Agree mappings and review questions
Clio documents syncing approved bills and recorded payments with QuickBooks Online and recommends checking settings with an appropriate adviser. Product editions and settings matter; a connection alone does not verify completeness or correct treatment. We assess the workflow before promising support.
Confirm the starting point and price
Review entities, accounts, volume, software and reports before accepting a monthly fee. Catch-up and cleanup have separately agreed records, fees and timelines. New connectors, software and specialist reporting may cost extra.
Explore the cost guide, catch-up service or cleanup scope. Matter profitability, realization and utilization reports require reliable practice-management/time inputs and separate assessment.
Questions before
you get started.
What do your law firm bookkeeping services include?
We assess the firm’s operating accounts, fee billing and receipts, ordinary expenses and agreed month-end reports. The proposal identifies accounts, transaction limits, accounting basis, fee, records needed and delivery dependencies. A named bookkeeper reviews the agreed work before finalization; a dedicated account manager coordinates records and updates.
Do you handle IOLTA or client trust accounting?
Not within the standard monthly offer. Trust ledgers, three-way trust reconciliations, IOLTA administration, disbursement approvals and bar-compliance work require a separate specialist assessment. We do not promise to accept that work or certify compliance. Identify any client-money accounts before onboarding so operating and specialist responsibilities can be defined.
Can you work with QuickBooks, Xero, Sage and Clio?
We assess your accounting edition, legal billing system, exports, account mapping and existing entries before accepting the workflow. Clio documents a QuickBooks Online integration, but this is not a guarantee that every setup or feature is supported by our service. We can assess manual exports; a live bank connection is optional. New integrations, subscriptions and migrations are separately scoped.
How are retainers and transfers from trust treated?
A label such as retainer or a bank transfer alone does not establish earned fee income or permission to move client money. Your firm and its qualified advisers determine the applicable fee agreement, ownership, authorization and jurisdiction-specific treatment. We request the financial explanation needed for the accepted operating entries; trust administration and legal decisions remain outside the standard offer.
Can you track client costs and reimbursements?
We assess financial summaries showing matter references, costs paid, amounts billed and recoveries received. Your accountant confirms whether an item is a firm expense, an advance or another balance under the applicable policy. Detailed matter-cost schedules and their reconciliation need explicit scope. We do not assume every recovery is fee income or every court-related payment is immediately an expense.
Will your reports show profitability by matter or partner?
The core reports cover the firm’s agreed operating books. Reliable matter or partner profitability needs time, labor, overhead and cost allocations in addition to transaction categories. We assess those inputs and reporting separately. A collected fee or monthly bank surplus alone cannot establish a matter’s final margin or an amount available for partner distribution.
How much does bookkeeping for a law firm cost?
We quote after assessing entities, operating accounts, volume, billing/payment sources, software, accounting basis and reporting needs. The proposal states the monthly fee, limits and additional charges. Historical catch-up, cleanup, new software and specialist schedules may cost extra. No universal law-firm package price or compliance guarantee is published here.
Can you take over from our current bookkeeper?
We assess the last completed operating reconciliations, opening balances, unpaid invoices/bills and any existing adjustments before agreeing the handoff. Missing periods and incorrect balances are separately scoped as catch-up or cleanup. Existing trust-account issues need the appropriate specialist; they are not silently absorbed into routine monthly work.
Do you need privileged documents or access to case files?
The initial enquiry needs only a business description, software and the type of help required. Do not send client names, privileged communications, case documents, settlement instructions or financial records through the public form. Before work starts, agree appropriate access and financial summaries with your firm. Your firm controls confidentiality obligations and the sharing it authorizes.
A clear next step
for your books.
Tell us your firm size, accounting/billing software and whether you need monthly operating books, catch-up or cleanup. Share a business description only: no client names, case details, privileged material or settlement instructions. We will confirm fit, records, scope and price.
Please share a short description only. Keep financial documents, passwords and account numbers out of this enquiry form.