Trust Accounting Software for Attorneys Stay Compliant

01.10.2025 |  Małgorzata Szostak

small law firm accounting software

As operations expand, delegating responsibilities to a certified public accountant (CPA) can help maintain compliance and unlock better financial insights. A CPA who understands legal accounting can handle tax planning, spot inefficiencies, and offer guidance on setting financial goals. However, additional payment methods and legal payment processors lead to more compliance requirements. Consider trusted solutions like LawPay’s payment processing software, which includes built-in compliance. Law firm accrual accounting is when your team reports transactions when they are earned rather than when cash is deposited or withdrawn. For example, if your payroll period ends on Friday, but you don’t pay employees until the next Monday, you will still record that transaction on Friday.

Confidently manage your trust account to meet state bar rules

small law firm accounting software

With a better understanding of how much time your team spends on any task, you’ll know whether or not you’re charging clients enough. Trustbooks has helped simplify what was an incredibly complicated, frustrating, and time-consuming part of my practice. I was trying to keep track of so many different binders, sheets of paper, excel spreadsheets, and bank receipts; it was a nightmare. This means that the product allows your firm not only to track where a file came from but also to allocate a percentage of the origination to individual users. Finally, sign up for a trial account with one or two likely software options, put them through their paces, and select the one that will work best for your firm.

Why Is accurate accounting for law firms mportant?

It’s also more complex and may require additional accounting staff to manage. You may want to consider this method if you’re planning to grow a large firm. Businesses must use accrual accounting if it is publicly traded or receiving federal funding. Some investors also prefer accrual accounting since it more accurately records income and expenses when they were earned. The next step is to nail down your law firm’s budget and related goals to help keep your team financially afloat. For example, you may invest in professional development opportunities if your goal is to expand your team’s skill sets.

The 10 Best Accounting Software for Small Law Firms in 2025

  • However, finding the perfect law firm accounting software for your legal practice can be daunting.
  • With over 30 million users, it seamlessly integrates basic accounting with time tracking and invoicing, making it an appealing foundation for small legal teams.
  • With ProLaw, your law firm can manage its clients, matters, billing, documents and accounting on a single package.
  • Attorneys and staff can track leads from first contact through to signing, and see exactly where there’s room to grow.

Payroll software for businesses, accountants and payroll service providers to manage payroll and prepare payroll taxes and forms. Zoho Books and FreshBooks are two of the most affordable tools with legal-friendly features. Zoho Books offers project tracking and basic automations for under $20/month if you choose annual billing. These reports help you monitor cash flow, prepare for tax season, and stay compliant with both bar rules and federal regulations.

Solo and small firms

small law firm accounting software

Yes, switching from other accounting apps or products to Wave is easy! See our step-by-step guide here on how to switch to Wave from Quickbooks. Your business is unique, and every job is different—create custom categories for gas, equipment, rentals, uniforms, or whatever keeps your business running.

  • Clio’s document management feature empowers law firms to securely store, organize, and access their digital files from anywhere.
  • Instead of chasing payments or dealing with messy records, you’ll have a system that keeps everything organized.
  • CosmoLex’s time and expense tracking feature allows law firms to capture and record billable hours and expenses accurately.
  • In addition, lawyers can easily include details such as case information, itemized services, rates, and payment terms.
  • Moreover, Clio’s communication logs enable lawyers to track and manage all client interactions, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks and facilitating effective client communication.

Automated accounts receivable removes the manual work of tracking invoices, sending payment reminders to clients, and collecting payments. Actionstep (formerly Soluno) accounting software is cloud-based and integrates trust, client, and office accounting into a single platform. Choose wisely—and don’t be afraid to test demos or request consultations. The future of your law firm’s financial health depends on the tools you adopt today.

  • By leveraging these features, law firms can optimize their operations, increase efficiency, and focus on delivering excellent legal services to their clients.
  • Xero is a user-friendly legal billing and accounting software developed to help law firms manage their finances more efficiently.
  • The software will also make it easy to run bank reconciliations regularly and manage client investments.
  • Generate financial statements like cash flow, profit and loss, or balance sheets.
  • When choosing law firm accounting software, it can be challenging to know which specific features you need to keep your business running smoothly.
  • There are QuickBooks resellers that are experienced with implementing it in the legal space.
  • Plus, view cash flow reports to keep an eye on income and expenses and make smart business decisions.

Although primarily a legal billing software, LeanLaw has a vital feature that reconciles trust accounts automatically. LeanLaw will help you fix your IOLTA funds if they keep going out of balance. Integrating IOLTA accounting into the invoicing workflow allows you to deposit trust funds directly into trust accounts and pay invoices.

small law firm accounting software

  • This may sound feasible with one client, but a DIY system can quickly become difficult to manage once you gain more clients and add more lawyers to your team.
  • Regardless if you’re directly managing your firm’s accounting, it’s important to familiarize yourself with basic accounting terms and principles.
  • Whether you specialize in a particular field of law or handle  different types of cases, you bring your experience, skill, and legal knowledge to every case.
  • With our accountant-approved, double-entry accounting, your accountant will have all the information they need at tax time.
  • Forecasting future income and expenses is a crucial part of budgeting.

MyCase has been law firm bookkeeping the technological, and case management backbone of supporting our firm’s case management and ensuring timeliness in our cases. We safeguard your practice with the highest security standards, ensuring your peace of mind and your clients’ trust. Stay on top of matters, communicate with clients, and view documents from your smartphone or any device with an internet connection. Deliver five-star client service without skipping a beat with intuitive case management. Get found online, build client relationships, and generate business with Rocket Matter’s growth and engagement solutions. Actionable reporting into your cases, clients and opportunities make it easier to run a smarter, more organized firm.

With all its advanced features, it is one of the best accounting software for law firms. With this software, you will get all the fantastic features for the least amount of money. You can connect PCLaw to other programs you currently use since it is a part of the LexisNexis legal practice management family. Using PCLaw is complicated but powerful legal accounting software, so you might want to consult an accountant or bookkeeper who is familiar with it. Using cloud-based law firm accounting software will ensure compliance with applicable ethics regulations. You want to make sure it will work with the other applications you are using today.

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