Law Firms Trust Accounting & Financial Solutions
Befree provides specialist accounting for law firms across Australia, ensuring your trust accounts stay accurate and audit-ready. We streamline your financial processes so you can focus on your clients without worrying about compliance obligations.
Accounting for Law Firms Built Around Compliance and Control
Running a successful law firm means balancing billable hours with strict regulatory obligations. The stakes are high. A single administrative breach in your trust account can trigger a Law Society audit and put your practising certificate at risk. Slow WIP tracking and delayed invoicing can quietly damage cash flow, even in profitable firms. That’s why accounting for legal firms goes far beyond year-end tax work. You need structured law firm trust accounting that keeps client funds protected, reconciliations accurate, and compliance airtight.
Befree provides the operational backbone your practice needs to scale with confidence. From daily legal bookkeeping and disciplined trust monitoring to partner reporting and profit distribution planning, our team ensures your records remain audit-ready. Our legal trust accounting services reduce compliance pressure, strengthen billing workflows and minimise the risk of breaches, giving you the clarity and control to focus fully on your clients and cases.
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Professional Law Firm Bookkeeping Services You Can Rely On
From audit risk protection for your trust ledgers to daily cash flow acceleration, our legal accounting services give you complete control of your practice finances.
Trust Account Management
We manage daily trust account reconciliations in compliance with the legal profession uniform law and prepare your files for your annual external examination.
WIP & Lock-Up Reporting
Tracking your work in progress against billings for your “lock-up” days so you can reduce the time you spend doing the work to get paid.
Disbursements & Cost Recovery
Expert bookkeeping for law firms to track anticipated disbursements (search fees, court filing fees, etc.) and recover them from clients under the right GST treatment.
Office vs. Trust Accounting
We maintain strict separation between your office and trust accounts, preventing commingling of funds, a common trap in bookkeeping for lawyers.
Partner & Fee Earner Performance
Detailed reporting on billable hours per fee earner, realisation rates, and profit-sharing calculations for equity partners.
Legal Payroll Services
Management of salaries for solicitors and support staff, including complex bonus structures based on fee-earning targets.
We Work With Your Existing Tools
Legal Bookkeeping Services for Modern Legal Practices
From sole practitioners at the Bar to multi-partner practices, our team understands the unique characteristics, structural demands, and strict compliance requirements of accounting for law firms.
Boutique Law Firms
Scalable law firm bookkeeping services for criminal, family, and conveyancing practices that need to keep overheads low but compliance high.
Barristers
Specialised support for the bar, managing chambers fees, clerk payments, and BAS lodgments for sole traders.
Mid-Tier Practices
Full-service legal accounting for multi-partner firms, including high-volume trust transactions and department budgets.
Conveyancing Practices
Full-time bookkeeping for property lawyers, matching PEXA settlements and trust transfers.
Meet Your Dedicated Legal Accountant
Our team delivers professional bookkeeping services for law firms, ensuring compliant trust management, precise reporting, and complete financial clarity.
Our Step-by-Step Legal Trust Accounting Service Process
Requirement Gathering
- We assess your Trust Account status, practice management software (e.g., LEAP), and audit cycle.
Why Choose Befree for Legal Accounting Services
Smart accounting for law firms goes beyond just tax. We synchronise with your billing cycles and audit requirements.
Financial Advantage
Save 40-50% on legal bookkeeping services compared to hiring a specialised legal cashier in-house.
Flexibility
Scale your support instantly during big litigation cases or property settlement peaks.
Specialisation
We understand the difference between ‘Trust Money’ and ‘Controlled Money’ and how to treat them under the Uniform Law.
Agility
Daily reconciliation of Trust Accounts, ensuring you are always audit-ready.
Lower Overheads
Eliminate recruitment fees and finance staff leave expenses.
Quick Setup
Experts in LEAP, Actionstep, and Smokeball for immediate integration.
Transform your
business today!
Looking to outsource accounting or streamline your back-office operations? Book a free consultation or request a trial to discover how our expert consultants can support your business’s growth.
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FAQs about Our Bookkeeping Services for Law Firms
How should a law firm operate under accounts rules?
The general accounts rules require law firms to return client money when there is no longer a reason to keep it. Under the legal profession’s Uniform Law of Australia, all money received for legal costs incurred prior to the rendering of services must be paid directly into a trust account. And finally, no client money shall be mixed with office money, even temporarily.
What is a deficiency in a trust account?
Deficiency in a trust account occurs when a payment from a particular trust matter ledger exceeds the available balance for that matter. In Australia, causing a deficiency or intermixing trust money are serious irregularities. Solicitors are statutorily obligated under the Uniform Law to report trust account irregularities (or suspected irregularities) to the law society as soon as reasonably possible after they are identified. Strong law firm trust accounting controls are essential to prevent these breaches and protect your practising certificate.
Can an office account be used instead of a trust account in Australia?
No. The use of a general office account to hold client funds is a violation of the Legal Profession Uniform Law. Any money received prior to legal services being rendered, or destined for disbursements not yet invoiced, is trust money and must be placed in a trust account. No matter if the money is held for 10 minutes or 10 weeks, the office account is never a substitute.
Do you handle the External Examination of the Trust Account?
We prepare the accounts for the external examination. We are not the auditor (as you need an independent External Examiner), but our law firm bookkeeping services ensure your files, ledgers, and reconciliations are 100% ready, making the audit process faster and cheaper.
What is "Lock-Up" and why does it matter?
Lock-up is the cash tied up in unbilled WIP and unpaid debtors. If your lock-up is too high, your firm can be profitable on paper but have no cash to pay rent. We focus on reducing lock-up as a core part of our legal accounting services.