The money and the matter, on one set of records
Legal accounting software for UK law firms: client ledgers per matter, designated client accounts, bank reconciliation, VAT and month-end close, running on the same records as the work they came from.
What is legal accounting software, and does Writford do it?
Legal accounting software keeps client money separate from the firm's own money and proves it. Writford runs client ledgers per matter, ring-fenced balances, designated client accounts, bank reconciliation, a three-way reconciliation report, VAT and period close, on the same records as the matters.
- What is legal accounting software?
- Accounting built around the rules a law firm works under rather than general bookkeeping. It keeps client money separate from the firm's own money, tracks a ledger for every matter, and produces the reconciliations and reports a firm has to be able to show.
- Does Writford handle client money?
- Yes. Client ledgers per matter, ring-fenced client balances, separate designated client accounts, transfers from client to office, and refunds of client money.
- Can it reconcile the client account against the bank?
- Yes. Bank reconciliation against statements, a cash book and bank register, and a three-way reconciliation report comparing the bank, the cash book and the total of the client ledgers.
- Do I still need a separate accounts package?
- No. The accounting runs on the same records as the matters, so time, bills, ledgers and the reconciliation all read from one set of figures rather than three systems that have to be kept in step.
- Can the cashier be kept out of the legal work?
- Yes. A cashier sees every matter and edits none, and handles client money, client-to-office transfers and refunds. Read access and write access are separate permissions, so sight of a matter never grants the ability to change it.
- How is VAT handled?
- The VAT on each invoice line is worked out and stored when the bill is raised, and the VAT return reads those stored figures rather than recalculating them later. That is what keeps a reduced-rate or zero-rated line correct months after the event.
- What happens at month end?
- A period is closed and locked once it is signed off. Reopening it needs a written reason, and every posting keeps who made it and when.
- Does it produce what my accountant needs?
- Yes. A trial balance, matter balances, the client account reconciliation and an accountant's report pack can be produced from the same records without re-keying.
Somebody else's money, kept visibly separate
Client money is not the firm's money, and the accounting has to show that at any moment, for any matter, without a spreadsheet in the middle. Writford keeps a client ledger for every matter, ring-fences the balance, and supports separate designated client accounts where a matter needs one of its own.
- A client ledger on every matter, with the balance held for that client
- Separate designated client accounts where a matter needs one
- Transfers from client to office recorded against the bill they settle
- Refunds of client money handled as their own operation, not an edit
- The interest owed to clients tracked, at the rate your firm has decided
- A cashier can move the money without being able to change the file
The reconciliation your accountant asks for
A reconciliation is only worth anything if all three numbers are compared: what the bank says, what the cash book says, and what the client ledgers add up to. Writford produces that comparison from the records themselves, so the figures are not assembled by hand the week it is due.
- Bank reconciliation against the statement, item by item
- Cash book and bank register kept as you post
- A three-way reconciliation comparing bank, cash book and client ledgers
- Differences shown as differences rather than quietly absorbed
- A period locks when it is signed off, and reopening needs a written reason
- Every posting keeps who made it and when, for six years
Figures that still agree with the bill months later
The VAT on a line is worked out once, when the bill is raised, and stored on the invoice. Every later reader, the VAT return included, reads that stored figure instead of recalculating it. A firm that bills a reduced-rate line does not want the return to decide, a quarter later, that it must have been 20%.
- VAT worked out and stored when the invoice is raised, never re-derived
- The VAT return built from those stored figures
- Trial balance, matter balances and fee earner performance
- Aged debtors, so it is clear what is owed and how long it has been owed
- Work in progress by fee earner and by matter before it is billed
- An accountant's report pack produced without re-keying anything