Law Firms
You mastered the law. Now someone needs to handle your books and keep your trust accounts compliant.
Law School Skipped This Part
You spent three years learning to think like a lawyer. Contracts, torts, civil procedure. Then you passed the bar, opened your own practice, and discovered that half of running a firm has nothing to do with the law. Trust accounting. Quarterly estimates. Payroll. Bank reconciliations. Client billing. Nobody mentioned any of this during 1L.
Most solo attorneys and small firms figure it out as they go. Some hire a part-time bookkeeper who doesn’t understand trust accounting. Others do it themselves on Sunday nights after the kids are asleep. Neither approach works well for long.
We handle the books and keep your trust accounts compliant. You handle the clients.
Trust Accounting Is the Whole Game
The California State Bar does not care how busy you were last month. They expect perfect IOLTA accounting. Every dollar of client funds tracked to the specific client and matter. Every disbursement documented. Every trust-to-operating transfer properly recorded. This is not optional and the consequences for getting it wrong are serious.
Beyond trust accounting, law firms have billing structures that general bookkeepers don’t understand. Contingency cases mean you advance costs for months or years before seeing a fee. Flat fee arrangements need proper revenue timing. Retainers get replenished and depleted constantly. All of this has to flow through your books correctly.
IOLTA Reconciliation
IOLTA Reconciliation
We reconcile your trust accounts monthly and maintain individual client ledgers. When the State Bar requests records or you face a random audit, you hand over a clean file instead of scrambling for weeks.
Clio Integration
Clio Integration
We’re Clio Certified. Your practice management data syncs to QuickBooks properly. Time entries, trust transactions, and client billing all flow without manual re-entry or cleanup work on your end.
Where Small Firms Get in Trouble
Most trust accounting problems are not intentional. A settlement check gets deposited to operating instead of trust during a hectic week. An office expense gets paid from the wrong account. A client ledger falls behind and nobody notices until reconciliation reveals a shortage. These honest mistakes become disciplinary matters. The State Bar does not distinguish between negligence and fraud when funds are missing.
The other problem is visibility. Many small firms cannot actually tell you if they are profitable. A big personal injury settlement comes in and everything feels fine. But the overhead keeps running. Staff salaries, office rent, malpractice insurance, expert witness advances on other cases. Without clean monthly financials, you cannot see margin erosion until the bank account forces the conversation.
Commingled Funds
Commingled Funds
Even accidental mixing of trust and operating funds can trigger an investigation. We maintain strict account separation, catch errors immediately, and document every transfer so there is never a question about where client money went.
Unreimbursed Case Costs
Unreimbursed Case Costs
You advanced $45,000 in depositions and expert witnesses on a contingency case. The case settled. Did those costs come out of the settlement before your fee calculation? Many firms lose money on cases because advances never get tracked and recovered properly.
Focus on Your Clients
You became a lawyer to help people through difficult situations. Immigration cases that keep families together. Estate plans that protect what people built. Personal injury claims that provide real relief after accidents. That work matters to your clients and to you.
Spending your evenings on bank reconciliations does not move that work forward. Worrying about whether your trust account will survive an audit does not help your clients. Guessing whether you can afford to hire a paralegal does not grow your practice.
Hand the books to someone who understands law firm accounting. We close your books monthly, reconcile your trust accounts, and give your CPA exactly what they need at tax time. Your financials stay clean and compliant. You stay focused on the people who hired you.
Audit-Ready Trust Accounts
Audit-Ready Trust Accounts
Monthly IOLTA reconciliation with individual client ledgers and complete documentation. When the State Bar sends a letter, you respond with confidence instead of panic.
Actual Financial Clarity
Actual Financial Clarity
Monthly profit and loss statements that reflect reality. Know what your firm actually makes after overhead and case costs. Make real decisions about hiring, marketing, and which practice areas to grow.
LA's Small Business Bookkeeper
The Next Step:
A Short Conversation
Tell us about your business and what you're dealing with. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and give you a clear price for the work.