Trust accounting is a cornerstone for any legal practice, and it must be handled with great care to maintain compliance with legal and ethical standards as well as to ensure transparency with your clients.
The complex nature of trust accounts and the unique rules set by state bar associations make trust accounting a challenging part of practicing law.
Here are six trust accounting best practices that aim to shed light on how law firms can streamline their accounting process.
Understanding trust accounting
Law firms must keep client funds given in trust separate from law firm operating funds. These funds can include:
- Retainers
- Advances for costs, such as court fees, used to manage the case
- Settlement funds obtained through personal injury cases or real estate transactions
- Judgment funds awarded by the court
- Third-party funds to pay for property sold or services rendered
The primary purpose of trust accounting processes is to safeguard client funds, maintain transparency, and adhere to legal and ethical obligations.
The complexity of trust accounting lies in its stringent rules and regulations. Law firms must:
- Maintain an individual ledger for each client
- Perform regular three-way reconciliations
- Ensure a clear separation of trust accounts and operating accounts
Non-compliance can lead to severe consequences, including disciplinary actions and legal liability. Therefore, understanding and implementing trust accounting best practices is crucial for every law firm.
Best practices for law firm trust accounting
Trust accounting is nuanced, but there are steps attorneys can take to simplify how they manage it and decrease the risk of missteps. Let’s take a look at the top six trust accounting best practices.
1. Adhere to bar association rules
The first step to achieving compliance in trust accounting is understanding the laws and regulations set forth by your state bar association.
Every state has unique rules for trust accounting that law firms must follow, but they all have these two basic points in common: keep accurate and detailed records, and avoid commingling funds.
Some states require monthly or quarterly three-way reconciliation for trust accounts. This process involves comparing your client ledgers, trust ledgers, and trust bank statements, ensuring that all records match. Regular adherence to this practice can help law firms stay compliant and manage their trust accounts efficiently.
2. Maintain separate accounts for trust funds and operating funds
One of the fundamental trust accounting best practices is the clear segregation of client funds from the law firm’s funds. This rule, set by the American Bar Association, ensures client funds are not commingled with the firm’s assets.
The money in a trust account usually consists of prepayment for services yet to be rendered, and it legally belongs to your client until the payment terms are fulfilled. Therefore, these funds should not be reported as income. Once a law firm has completed the service agreement, any remaining funds in the trust account must be returned to the client.
3. Communicate billing practices clearly to clients
Law firms cannot simply draw from trust funds as they see fit without an agreement on when and how much they will deduct to cover costs and services rendered. That’s why clear communication of billing practices is another crucial aspect of trust accounting best practices.
Law firms should provide clients with a detailed understanding of their billing practices, fees, and timeline. They can do this with a written agreement that specifies how funds will be distributed and how any retainer fees will be used.
Moreover, law firms should educate clients about the workings of trust accounts and the measures they take to secure them. This transparency can foster trust between law firms and their clients and preempt any misconceptions or confusion regarding trust accounting practices.
4. Establish clear procedures for handling trust accounts
Trust accounting requires precise procedures for handling client money held in trust, including everything from when to withdraw funds to replenishing retainers.
Having explicit agreements for the disbursement of trust funds is critical to avoid inadvertently violating state bar regulations. Your team and your clients need to know the procedures.
Additionally, law firms should allow adequate time for deposits to clear in the account before disbursing funds. Regular implementation of these procedures can help law firms manage their trust accounts efficiently and remain compliant.
5. Perform regular three-way reconciliations
Regular three-way reconciliations are a key component of trust accounting best practices. This process ensures that the IOLTA bank balance matches the checkbook trust balance and that both match the sum of all individual client ledger balances.
Performing three-way reconciliations regularly, preferably within the first 10 days following month-end, helps identify discrepancies, errors, or potentially fraudulent activities. It also ensures the accuracy of trust accounting records and provides law firms with a complete and precise overview of the funds they are holding in trust for clients.
6. Implement legal-specific tools for trust accounting
Trust accounting is challenging and involves many rules for which there are stiff penalties, so leveraging legal-specific tools can significantly streamline the process and help avoid risk.
Tools like Tabs3 Financials offer a comprehensive suite of features designed to simplify trust accounting and ensure compliance.
Tabs3 Financials allow law firms to track an unlimited number of trust accounts, execute three-way reconciliations, manage trust accounts from one system, and view dashboard summaries of account activity. It also supports the Positive Pay program, a fraud prevention measure used by banks.
With the latest legal-specific software, firms can automate their trust accounting practices, reduce the risk of human error, and maintain a transparent and efficient system for managing their clients’ trust accounts.
An easier way to ensure compliant trust accounting
Law firms used to maintain client ledgers by hand or on stand-alone spreadsheets. But not anymore. Legal-specific software can simplify trust accounting for law firms. It should integrate seamlessly with a law firm’s general accounting system and offer robust trust accounting, general ledger, and accounts payable features.
Tabs3 is an industry-leading software solution with features that make it an ideal choice for managing trust accounts:
- Trust accounting: Tabs3 Financials allows you to track unlimited trust accounts, ensuring precise and efficient management of all client funds.
- Three-way reconciliation: The software enables regular three-way reconciliations for trust accounts, ensuring compliance with state bar association rules and providing an accurate overview of your trust accounts.
- Dashboard summaries: Tabs3 offers dashboard summaries of account activity, providing a quick glance at your firm’s trust accounts and bank balances.
- Positive Pay: Tabs3 supports the Positive Pay program, helping law firms prevent fraud and safeguard their clients’ trust funds.
Law firms can implement trust accounting best practices efficiently, maintaining compliance with state bar regulations and enhancing client trust using Tabs3.
See what Tabs3 Software can do for you
To explore how Tabs3 can help your law firm manage trust accounts accurately and efficiently, schedule a walkthrough demo or sign up for a free trial today.
