Service 02 · Client Trust Account Administration
Client funds accounted for with the precision bar rules require
Trust accounts carry the highest compliance stakes in legal accounting. This service focuses entirely on that — monthly reconciliation from three directions, individual client ledgers, and reporting built for bar review.
What This Delivers
Trust accounts managed to the standard bar associations actually look for
Client trust accounts exist to hold client money — retainer deposits, settlement proceeds, escrow funds — separate from the firm's own finances. That separation has to be real and verifiable, not just assumed. This service makes it so.
Each month, the trust account is reconciled across all three required sources simultaneously. Individual client ledgers are maintained and match the master account. Any discrepancy is identified and reported within the same billing cycle — not carried forward.
What You Can Expect
Three-way reconciliation, every month without exception
Bank statement, client ledgers, and the master trust account verified together. Not in sequence — simultaneously.
Discrepancy alerts within the billing cycle
Any mismatch is flagged and reported the same month it appears — not at year-end when the paper trail is harder to trace.
Reports structured for bar association review
Monthly reports formatted with the detail a compliance inquiry or audit would expect to see — assembled as part of the process, not prepared after the fact.
What Typically Goes Wrong
Trust account problems rarely start with bad intentions — they start with an inadequate process
Client trust accounts are technically straightforward: the firm holds client money, keeps it separate, and returns it or applies it as directed. In practice, the recordkeeping that makes that separation verifiable requires more precision than most general accounting setups are built to provide.
A retainer applied to an invoice before the ledger is updated. A settlement deposit recorded to the operating account by mistake. A reconciliation done against bank records alone without checking the individual client ledgers. Each of these creates a gap — and gaps compound over billing cycles until they're difficult to unwind cleanly.
Firms managing retainer deposits, settlement funds, or escrow arrangements face this every month. The records have to be right, not approximately right.
Single-source reconciliation
Checking bank records without verifying against client ledgers leaves the most common trust account errors uncaught.
No per-client ledger tracking
Without individual client ledgers, the master trust balance can look correct while individual client balances are wrong.
Delayed discrepancy detection
Errors found at quarter-end or year-end are harder to trace and correct than errors found within the same billing cycle.
The Approach
Dedicated trust account management — nothing else, done thoroughly
Client Trust Account Administration is a focused engagement: it handles trust accounts specifically, with the depth that requires. It's designed for firms handling retainer deposits, settlement funds, or escrow arrangements — any situation where client money sits in trust and the recordkeeping has to satisfy bar association standards.
Each month, the reconciliation runs across all three required sources at once. The bank statement is verified against individual client ledgers, and both are verified against the master trust account. If the numbers agree, the report reflects that. If there's a discrepancy, it's identified, documented, and flagged — not noted and carried forward to the next cycle.
Reports are formatted with the detail a bar review would expect: transaction-level documentation, clear fund separation, and a reconciliation summary that can be read without explanation.
Three-way reconciliation monthly
Bank statement, individual client ledgers, and master trust account — verified together, same cycle, every month.
Individual client ledger maintenance
Each client's trust balance tracked and reconciled separately — not rolled into a single aggregate entry.
Same-cycle discrepancy alerts
Mismatches flagged and reported within the month they appear — not carried forward or discovered at year-end.
Bar-ready monthly reconciliation reports
Reports formatted with transaction-level detail and clear fund separation — structured for a compliance review, assembled as part of the regular process.
Working Together
A monthly rhythm that runs with minimal input required from you
The engagement begins with a review of your current trust account structure — how many client ledgers are active, what types of funds are held, and what your current reconciliation process looks like. That review shapes the setup, which we handle.
Once the account structure is in place, the monthly cycle runs on its own schedule. Bank statements are pulled, client ledgers are updated and reconciled, and the master trust account is verified against both. The reconciliation report is delivered monthly, formatted for immediate review.
If a discrepancy appears, you hear about it that month — with documentation and a clear explanation of where the gap originated. If everything reconciles cleanly, the report confirms that and the cycle closes.
The Monthly Cycle
Account review and setup
Existing trust structure reviewed, client ledgers organized, reconciliation process configured to match bar requirements.
Monthly ledger updates
Each client's ledger updated with deposits, withdrawals, and application of funds — transaction by transaction.
Three-way reconciliation
Bank, client ledgers, and master trust account reconciled simultaneously. Discrepancies flagged immediately.
Report delivery
Monthly reconciliation report delivered in bar-ready format — clear, documented, and ready if a review arrives.
Investment
A focused service at a fixed monthly rate
Focused specifically on trust account administration. Fixed monthly engagement — no variable billing based on the number of active client ledgers.
What's Included
Three-way reconciliation every month
Individual client ledger maintenance
Master trust account management
Monthly discrepancy alerts
Bar-ready monthly reconciliation reports
IOLTA compliance alignment
Full transaction-level documentation
Fund separation verified at report level
Designed for firms handling retainer deposits, settlement funds, or escrow arrangements. Works for solo practitioners and firms with multiple attorneys. Can be engaged alongside Legal Practice Accounting or as a standalone service.
Why This Approach Works
Trust account compliance isn't about one report a year — it's about every month being accurate
Bar associations that audit trust accounts look at the records for the full period under review — not just the most recent statement. That means every month's reconciliation needs to hold up, not just the most recent one.
Three-way reconciliation matters because errors that look correct in one source show up when a second and third source are checked simultaneously. A deposit that cleared the bank but wasn't applied to the client's ledger. A withdrawal that reduced the master balance but doesn't match any client's activity. Checking all three together catches what checking one alone misses.
Monthly reconciliation makes those catches immediate. The error is recent, the source documentation is still accessible, and the correction is straightforward. The same error discovered six months later is a different kind of problem.
Reconciliation sources
Bank, client ledger, and master trust — all three verified against each other in the same reconciliation cycle.
Reconciliation frequency
Every month, without exception — because errors caught this month are manageable, and errors found at year-end often aren't.
Commingled funds
Trust and operating account activity is kept entirely separate in every report — no exceptions, no approximations.
Our Commitment
Accurate records, documented. If we miss something, we fix it.
If a reconciliation report contains an error that comes from our process, we correct it without additional billing or pushback. The point of this service is records that are right — and if they're not, that's on us to resolve.
The initial conversation doesn't commit you to anything. We're happy to look at your current trust account setup and explain how this engagement would work before you decide. If there's a better arrangement for your firm's situation, we'll say so directly.
Process errors corrected at no charge
Any reconciliation error originating from our side is corrected — no additional billing, no delay.
Response within one business day
Questions about any report or transaction answered within one business day — not queued for a monthly check-in.
No commitment to start
The initial conversation is about understanding your firm's trust account setup — not a step toward closing a sale.
Getting Started
From first message to monthly reconciliation in a few straightforward steps
The setup is straightforward. Monthly work begins once the account structure is in place and the reconciliation process is configured.
Send a message
A brief note via the contact form with your firm's setup and which services you're considering.
Trust account review
We review your current trust account structure, active ledgers, and existing reconciliation process.
Account setup
Client ledgers and master trust account configured to match bar requirements — handled by us.
Monthly cycle begins
Three-way reconciliation runs on a fixed monthly schedule from the first full billing period.
Ready to Talk
Tell us about your firm's trust account setup
A short message is enough to start. We'll follow up within one business day to understand your situation and whether this engagement is the right fit.
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