[Question] bookkeeping service for small law firm?

[Rosie18]

Hello everyone!
I have a client who has a lawyer client (a one person lawfirm - I believe this lawyer is just starting on her own, after being a lawyer for another firm) and this lawyer needs a full charge bookkeeper. The lawyer was thinking of using a remote service like NexFirm but I don't know anything about this company. The lawyer needs someone to do their billing, bank recs, and other general bookkeeper services. I think this lawyer also wanted to use someone remotely because they do not yet have any legal software (for billing, etc.). My question is, do you think that this lawyer needs a person in-house or is it ok to use someone remotely? This lawyer wants to really hit the ground running with her new venture, but I'm sure needs to curb costs as well. I'm not familiar with legal bookkeeping, so I'd really appreciate any thoughts or tips that anyone could give me.

Thanks so much!

Rachel

[leedrozak]

Rachel,

I would encourage her, or you can on her behalf, put up an RFP and see what options she has as colleagues respond. I have not done bookkeeping for lawyers so I cannot give you advice about in house vs. out sourced. However, with an in house person she is going to need equipment and software.

[Kerans VA]

Hi Rachel,

I don't know where you are located but where I am lawyers have certain requirements they need to abide by if they do any trust accounting. Those requirements are dictated by the Law Society of which they are a member so it might be helpful to start there. The regulations here are very stringent for both general and trust accounting including rules stipulating that accounting records are to remain on site. There are also a host of other special requirements that include financial records that must be submitted to the Law Society on a yearly basis and as well as having accountants review certain records.

If the lawyer is venturing out on her own for the first time as opposed to being employed by another law firm, she may not be aware of all these requirements. The Law Society rules here allow the Law Society to walk in any law firm at any time and conduct an audit of the financial records which they do randomly and without notice so it's important that she is aware of what her responsibilities are with regards to her accounting system if these same rules apply. While curbing costs is important during start up, this is actually one arena where she needs to do everything she is required to do and skimping on costs or ignoring requirements can impact her standing as a lawyer.

I would start with looking at her local State Bar Association or Law Society on the web and see if they list what kind of regulations lawyers are required to abide by in relation to maintaining their financial records.

Hope that helps!

Kate

[bbSquire]

Wow, the same thing just happened to me yesterday.

Law and paralegal bookkeeping are really not that different from regular bookkeeping. There are just more rules that apply. You deffinatly need to find out which law society they are part of and obtain a copy of their bookkeeping guide. Then if they need in-house or remote will really depend on how much they work they have. With the extra rules it will take a little longer to do the books, especially in the begining. If they have a lot of work then in house is better. Since she is just starting out then it can be done remotely, just make sure she knows that if her client base starts to get large it would be worth it to hire someone to work in-house. Even if it's part time.

I hope this helps.

Kim.

[Rosie18]

Thank you everyone for your replies! I am going to relay this information to my client and see what she wants to do. I am so grateful for this forum!
Have a great day!

Rachel

[karlaamaya]

HI Rosie,

I do some light bookkeeping for a two attorney lawfirm. I come to their office once a week to work from there and the rest of the week, I work offsite. I also do payroll for 10 employees only because I've known them for over 15 years. By the way, I worked as a receptionist for them before. So, I think that maybe you can come up with some suggestions like coming to the office once a week like I do, to discuss the work and such. I come to the office on Thursdays when I do payroll and take that chance to speak with them if any concerns arrive etc. I hope this helps!