Top 5 Legal Accounting Software for Modern Law Firms

When you know exactly where your law firm’s money is, it’s easier to identify what parts of your firm are successful and where you’re struggling, to make more informed and strategic business decisions. Suppose  you choose accounting software that automatically syncs payroll functionality with time-tracking and expense apps. In that case, you can also generate pay runs with the click of a button, for better efficiency.

Small and medium law firms have a lot to benefit from this software, as well as solo accountants working for multiple clients. The software is user-friendly, offers plenty of useful feature modules, and is highly affordable. The free version is free forever and has plenty of invoicing and accounting functions. Becoming a lawyer requires a bachelor’s degree, plus a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from a law school—seven years of full-time study in all.

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Legal accounting and attorney bookkeeping mistakes have catastrophic consequences for your business, income taxes, and license. Below we’ll show you the most commonly fall short in accounting practice. Double-entry bookkeeping or double-bookkeeping accounting is a method that keeps track of where your money comes from and where it’s going. Every financial transaction involves at least two accounts, including debit and credit.

Automated workflows tag the matter, client, and attorney in every step to keep data integrity and boost cash flow. Forbes Advisor rated and reviewed some of the most popular legal billing software options available to help you decide which is right for your practice. Thankfully, there are a lot of tools available to help you manage your trust accounts, so you don’t have to go at it alone. Here are five common law firm accounting obstacles and mistakes you should be aware of so you can avoid them.

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You save time and reduce the risk of error meeting client, firm, bar association, and law society obligations. QuickBooks Online, for instance, works with Clio’s practice management software to sync contacts, invoices, financial information, trust transactions and disbursements. When you use these tools together through their Clio integration, this eliminates repeat data entry—saving you time and effort. However, with online legal accounting software, it’s easy to quickly produce reports that give you the insights you need—whether you need reports on sales, expenses, taxes, or other metrics.

At a glance, the COA should communicate all the financial transactions that your firm engaged in during a specific period. It’s broken down into categories and contains a name and description for ease of use. At its core, you must always know who’s entitled to the funds in your trust account and give it to that person. While you don’t need to familiarize yourself with an accounting encyclopedia, it will pay off to learn some common terms. You’ll run into them often, and knowing the basics will help you stay in the know. First, let’s differentiate between accounting and bookkeeping — two terms that are often used interchangeably but really shouldn’t be.

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Watch the talk with Uptime Legal and Clio on how to build out your law firm software toolkit. LexWorkplace is modern Document & Email Management, born in the cloud and built for law firms. If your law firm is a C corporation, law firm bookkeeping its federal income tax will be a flat rate of 21%. The Illinois corporate tax rate is now 9.5% (7% income tax, 2.5% replacement tax). So in total, that’s a combined tax rate of 30.5% paid by the corporation.

“Tracking payments to specific matters was a nightmare, not to mention they were still sending paper invoices and receiving paper checks.” Read our case study. You can send invoices and accept payments using another AbacusNext product, APX PayNow, which lets clients pay through a link in an emailed invoice. The software offers advanced reporting, including origination reports for new-business incentives, allocation reports, matter budgets, and team and matter productivity. It’ll even connect you with experts to build custom reports for your firm. With limited reporting and accounting features, TimeSolv is a good fit for smaller firms with less complex needs. It’s also a strong fit for nonprofit organizations, which can use the software for free.

Free tools

Despite the rise of online payments in the legal profession, some of the current Bar Association rules around law firm accounting were created back when everyone was still paid by check. This means that attorneys have to take extra care when selecting a merchant processor for their business. But taking the time to properly set up your finances won’t just make it easier to file your taxes each year.

• Accounting software with a robust client relationship management system (CRM) saves time and streamlines your firm’s invoicing and billing workflows.
• We will help you identify tax-savings strategies, such as determining if you have any unreimbursed business expenses that can be linked to your firm’s K-1 on your tax return.
• QuickBooks Desktop is the classic, full-featured accounting software that runs on Windows PC’s.
• FreshBooks Select is a custom plan built to save time and money, and ensure your growing legal business has the accounting solution it needs.
• These are trained professionals who can keep you on track, ensure you’re always compliant and find ways to optimize your finances for future success.

A business savings account is a good place to store money you’re setting aside for taxes and unforeseen emergencies. It’s best to work with a CPA who has experience working with law firms. Any CPA should be willing to sit down with you for a free consultation. Jane Haskins practiced law for 20 years, representing small businesses in startup, dissolution, business transactions and litigation.