Tag Archives: trust accounting

It’s Good To Be Back!

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Big news from Skepsis!  After taking a year off to travel, we’re back at it – back to helping our clients, particularly law firms, with their bookkeeping.  This means that you, my fellow solo/small firm practitioner, again have a bookkeeper you know you can rely on – and who can handle the unique ethical and technical aspects of your trust accounting.  I can’t tell you how much fun, and how exhilarating, it has been to be back in the saddle, helping law firms with their bookkeeping and trust accounting.

If you haven’t yet had a chance to try out our bookkeeping services, now is the perfect time, as we’ll be offering discounts for new clients between now and the end of the year.

What’s so unique about Skepsis?  

I’m, Devon, the owner of Skepsis, and a licensed attorney, just like you.  That means I know trust accounting like other bookkeepers don’t.  I supervise our small team of bookkeepers very closely, including personally managing and reviewing your trust accounting each month, so you can be confident that Skepsis’ bookkeeping services meet or exceed the standards your bar card requires you to maintain.  I have presented on the topics of ethics and trust accounting at numerous CLEs across the country, including national webcasts, and authored dozens of articles that have helped attorneys across the country go mobile and manage their firms better.  I am licensed in Washington, Oregon, and California, although I provide bookkeeping services for firms nationwide.

More About Devon.  I was an attorney and partner in a national, complex commercial litigation firm for over 11 years.  During that time, I succeeded in not only resolving numerous complex commercial cases, but also, during my time as Managing Partner, I grew our firm from two attorneys to five; increased firm profitability; and implemented a paperless office.  That, in turn, allowed me and my employees to improve our work-life balance, and work effectively whether we were in the office, in court, at a client’s office, or on the beach in Tahiti.  Now, in addition to Skepsis, I continue to run my own law firm focusing on serving small to medium businesses and insurance matters.

What Can Skepsis Do To Improve Your Practice, And Improve Your Life?

If you have any questions about how to grow your practice, or how to manage your existing practice more efficiently and effectively, Skepsis can help.  Some of the services we offer for law firms include:

  • Bookkeeping, including client trust accounting and compliance
  • Solutions for paperless and mobile offices
  • Website design and management
  • Solutions and strategies customized for your practice to work more efficiently and increase profitability
  • Private in-house CLEs, including ethics credits, regarding practice management and work/life balance
  • Flat fee solutions for bookkeeping, trust accounting, and more, so you can manage your expenses better, and more profitably.

Would you like to find out more about what Skepsis can do for you, and what our services cost?  Set up a call today.

Reconciling Client Trust Accounts In Clio

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Performing an ethics-compliant, three-way trust accounting reconciliation in Clio is easy when done correctly.

Step 1: Ensure Your Individual Clio Trust Balances Match Your Bank Statement

First, make sure you’ve received your bank statement for the month.  Reconciling with Clio works best when you receive a paper or PDF bank statement, rather than a download of transaction listings.  Using the actual bank statement, it is easier to compare balances.

Print a Trust Listing Report.  In Clio, select the tab for Reports, then click Trust Listing.  Settings for the report should be as follows:

  • Uncheck “Show clients with zero balance”
  • Select the button for “All Clients”
  • Select Practice Area: All
  • Select Date Range: Custom: Leave the start date blank, and set the end date as the date of your statement
  • Output Format: CSV
  • Click “Generate Report”

The report will automatically download, and you can typically find it in your downloads folder.  Move it to your trust reconciliation file, and save it there.  Now open it.

If you have more than one trust account, you’ll have to delete all the other trust accounts from this report, so that only the trust balances for the account you’re reconciling remain.  If you don’t have more than one trust account, skip this paragraph.  To do this, sort Column B (the Account column) A > Z.  (Place your cursor in Column B; click the Data tab; and click the screen-shot-2016-11-22-at-10-22-12-ambutton.)  Delete all lines in the spreadsheet that contain any account other than the one currently being reconciled.  Do you agree with me that it would be nice if Clio’s report feature would let us select a certain account so we don’t have to do this deletion step?  Please email them and let them know.

In Cell E1, enter the following formula: =SUM(D:D)  Hit enter.  The number Excel spits out in the cell should equal the Ending Balance on your bank statement.  When it does, the first of your three reconciliations is complete.

Step 2: Ensure Your Bank Account Activity Report Matches Your Bank Statement.

Print a Bank Account Activity Report.  In Clio, select the tab for Reports, then click Bank Account Activity.  Prepare your report with the following settings:

  • Trust Accounts: Select “Specific Account,” and choose the correct account
  • Select Practice Area: All
  • Select Date Range: Last Month (unless your bank statement doesn’t run with the calendar month, in which you’ll select “Custom” and enter the same dates as your bank statement)
  • Check the box for “Include Opening Balance”
  • Do not check the box for “Display Matter to Matter Transfer Transactions”
  • Output Format: PDF

Click “Generate Report” to download it, move it to your reconciliations folder, and open it.  Ensure that the opening balance matches the opening balance on your bank statement.  Ensure the closing balance also matches your statement.  Finally, check to ensure that all transactions showing on your bank statement appear on your report (which they should, if the opening and closing balances match).

Step 3: Ensure Your Bank Account Activity Report Balance Matches Your Trust Ledger Balance

If you’ve performed the two steps above and the ending balances match, then this step is already complete: compare the total balance on your Trust Ledger Report (which was calculated in Cell E1 in Step 1) with the ending balance in your Bank Account Activity Report.  When these two balances match, your three-way reconciliation is complete.

Not currently using Clio?  Try it for free.

Skepsis would love to perform your monthly trust reconciliations for you, whether or not you’re using Clio.  Please email email us at [email protected].  Gain more great insights by subscribing to our newsletter below.