Client money that survives an inspection
Client ledgers, ring-fenced balances, separate designated accounts and the interest you owe clients. Built into the matter, not kept in a spreadsheet beside it.
What is client account software for a UK law firm?
Client account software records money a firm holds on behalf of clients, kept separate from the firm's own money. Writford keeps a client ledger per matter, ring-fences funds held for a specific purpose, supports separate designated client accounts, and tracks the interest the firm owes each client.
- Does Writford keep client money separate from office money?
- Yes. Client and office accounts are structurally separate throughout Writford, from the bank register to the ledgers and reports, because mixing them is the error that causes a firm the most serious problems.
- What is a separate designated client account?
- A separate designated client account holds one client's money in its own bank account rather than in the pooled general client account. Writford reports on designated accounts separately, with listing, control account, ledgers and statements.
- Can I ring-fence client money held for a specific purpose?
- Yes. Amounts held against a retention, an undertaking or a specific liability can be ring-fenced on the matter, so they show apart from freely available client money and are not transferred by accident.
- How does Writford handle interest owed to clients?
- Writford reports the interest due to each client from what the firm actually held, and interest is settled one matter at a time. There is deliberately no button that pays every client at once, and settling requires the client money permission rather than general billing access.
- Can I print a client statement?
- Yes. A client statement prints straight from the client ledger, so when a client asks where their money is the answer does not have to be rebuilt by hand.
Every penny of client money, on the ledger it belongs to
A client ledger for each matter, showing what you held at the start of a period, what moved, and what you hold now. Opening and closing balances are stated on the face of the report, so a partner can see at a glance whether a balance moved at all. Print a client statement straight from the ledger when a client asks where their money is.
- Per-matter client ledger with opening and closing balances
- Firm-wide client money report across every client account
- Client statements you can print or send without rebuilding them
- Filter by client bank account, by matter or by date range
- Balances that have not moved are flagged rather than buried
Money you are holding for a reason, marked as such
Some client money is not free to use: a retention, an undertaking, a sum held to answer a specific liability. Ring-fencing marks those amounts on the matter so nobody transfers them by accident, and the report shows how far the record has drifted from the underlying ledger if it ever does.
- Ring-fence an amount against the matter it is held for
- Protected balances shown separately from freely available client money
- Drift between the ring-fence record and the ledger is surfaced, not hidden
- Per-matter view of everything currently held back
Separate designated client accounts, reported four ways
A separate designated client account holds one client's money in its own bank account rather than in the pooled general client account. That distinction matters to a client and to an inspection, so it is stated on every screen that touches it. Listing, control, ledgers and statements sit behind one switcher in the same visual language as the bank register.
- One client's money in its own account, never pooled by mistake
- Listing, control account, ledgers and statements in one place
- The pooled and designated distinction stated on every relevant screen
- Interest handled separately, because the arrangement is separate
What the firm owes clients for holding their money
A running report of interest due to clients, and a deliberate act to settle it. There is no button that pays every client at once. Each client's interest is a separate obligation and a separate decision, so it is settled one matter at a time, and moving the money needs the client money permission rather than the permission that merely opens the report.
- Interest due per client, calculated from what you actually held
- Settled one matter at a time, never in bulk
- Settling needs the client money permission, not just billing access
- Your firm sets its own rate and threshold, because the rules leave that to you
- Every settlement leaves a record of who did it and when