Three-way reconciliation done monthly, from the books you already have
Trust Reconciler connects to your firm's QuickBooks Online or Xero, reads the trust bank account and the individual client ledgers you already maintain, and performs the three-way reconciliation your bar expects every month: bank balance, book balance and the sum of client ledgers, with every difference listed. You stay on the accounting system you have.
- Read-only connection; it reconciles your books, it never changes them
- Flags the things that get lawyers in trouble: negative client balances, disbursements before deposits clear, fees sitting in trust, stale checks
- A monthly pack with the reconciliation, ledgers, outstanding items and a signature line for the responsible attorney
TrustBooks, a dedicated trust-accounting product, sells automatic three-way reconciliation at $59–79 a month.
Source: trustbooks.comTrustBooks also offers a done-for-you tier at $249 a month, a sign of how many firms would rather not do this themselves.
Source: trustbooks.comThe bar wants a three-way reconciliation every month; the tools want you to switch systems
Every state bar requires lawyers who hold client funds to keep individual client ledgers and reconcile them regularly against the bank and the general ledger. Most require the three-way version monthly, signed by a responsible attorney, and kept for years. Trust-account errors are among the most common reasons for discipline, and the mistakes are usually bookkeeping: a disbursement from the wrong client's funds, a deposit recorded twice, a fee left in trust.
Small firms generally keep their books in QuickBooks Online or Xero, with a bookkeeper or the office manager. The trust-accounting products on the market either run their own ledger at $59–79 a month, so you keep two systems, or come bundled inside practice-management suites that expect the whole firm to move onto them.
So the reconciliation gets done in a spreadsheet, late, by someone who is not sure what 'three-way' means, and signed by an attorney who has not checked it. The cost is not the hour a month; it is the exposure if the bar asks for twelve months of packs and there are nine.
Without it
- TrustBooks: A dedicated trust-accounting system at $59–79 a month, with a $249 a month done-for-you tier. Well established. It…
- Clio, CosmoLex and other practice-management suites: Trust accounting comes bundled with matter management, billing and time tracking. The right choice if you want the…
- A spreadsheet and the bar's template: Most state bars publish a three-way reconciliation template. Free, and sufficient if someone careful does it every…
With Trust Reconciler
- Read-only connection; it reconciles your books, it never changes them
- Flags the things that get lawyers in trouble: negative client balances, disbursements before deposits clear, fees sitting in trust, stale checks
- A monthly pack with the reconciliation, ledgers, outstanding items and a signature line for the responsible attorney
- Three-way reconciliation
- Client ledgers from existing books
How it works
- 1
Connect the books
Authorise Trust Reconciler in QuickBooks Online or Xero with read-only access. Point it at your trust bank account(s) and tell it how client ledgers are kept: sub-customers, classes or tracking categories.
- 2
Map client ledgers
We import your clients and matters and build a ledger per client from the transactions already in the books. Unassigned trust transactions are listed for you to allocate.
- 3
Reconcile monthly
On the day you choose, the three balances are compared: bank statement, trust ledger in the books, and the sum of client ledgers. Differences are itemised: uncleared checks, deposits in transit, unallocated items, bank fees.
- 4
Review, sign, file
The responsible attorney reviews the pack, signs electronically, and it is locked and archived. Reminders go out until it is signed.
Features
Three-way reconciliation
Compares the bank statement balance, the trust account balance in the books and the total of all client ledgers for the period, and lists every item that explains a difference. Runs monthly or on demand.
Client ledgers from existing books
Builds a per-client ledger from QuickBooks sub-customers or classes, or Xero tracking categories or contacts, so there is no second system to key into.
Exception alerts
Daily checks for client balances below zero, disbursements that exceed a client's cleared funds, merchant or bank fees charged to the trust account, and earned fees held in trust longer than the number of days you set.
Outstanding items
Tracks uncleared checks and deposits in transit by age, and flags checks outstanding more than 180 days so they can be followed up before they become unclaimed property.
Monthly pack by state
The reconciliation, bank statement, client ledger listing with balances, outstanding items and the attorney signature page, laid out to match your state's record-keeping rule. We confirm the format for your state at onboarding.
Locked archive
Signed packs are locked and kept for the retention period you set (default seven years), with a log of who signed and when. Download any month as PDF in one click.
Multiple trust accounts
An IOLTA account plus separate interest-bearing accounts for individual clients, each reconciled on its own, with a firm-wide summary.
Bookkeeper and advisor access
Give your bookkeeper or outside accountant access to run and review reconciliations, with the attorney keeping the signing step. Advisors can manage several firms from one login.
A look inside
What you see day to day: the working view and the monthly summary.
Who it's for
Solo practitioners holding retainers
You are the responsible attorney and the back office. You get the reconciliation done and in front of you to sign, every month, without learning a new system.
Small firms with an office manager or bookkeeper
Someone else keeps the books in QuickBooks or Xero. They run the reconciliation; the partner reviews and signs; the pack is archived.
Real estate and family law practices
Many small client balances moving quickly. You get daily exception alerts when a disbursement would overdraw a client's funds.
Accountants and ProAdvisors serving law firms
You look after several firms' books. You get a consistent monthly process across clients and a pack you can stand behind.
Works with
- QuickBooks Online (read-only)
- Xero (read-only)
- Bank statement PDF or CSV upload for the statement balance
- Electronic attorney signature on the monthly pack
- PDF export of monthly packs and ledgers
- Email and text reminders
Pricing
Billed monthly per firm, cancel any time. Founding customer pricing is fixed for 24 months. All plans include three-way reconciliation, client ledgers, exception alerts and the archived monthly pack.
Solo
$39 per month
One trust account, up to 50 client ledgers
- 1 trust account
- Up to 50 active client ledgers
- Monthly three-way reconciliation
- Exception alerts
- Monthly pack with signature page
- Seven-year archive
Firm
$59 per month
Small firms with several accounts
- Up to 3 trust accounts
- Unlimited client ledgers
- Bookkeeper and attorney roles
- On-demand reconciliation any day
- State-specific pack format
- Everything in Solo
Advisor
$129 per month
Accountants managing several firms
- Up to 5 firms included, then $25 each
- Multi-firm dashboard with reconciliation status
- Shared ledger-mapping rules
- Monthly status report across firms
- Priority support
Compared with the alternatives
- TrustBooks
- A dedicated trust-accounting system at $59–79 a month, with a $249 a month done-for-you tier. Well established. It keeps its own trust ledger; Trust Reconciler instead reads the books you already keep in QuickBooks or Xero.
- Clio, CosmoLex and other practice-management suites
- Trust accounting comes bundled with matter management, billing and time tracking. The right choice if you want the whole firm on one platform; a large change if you only want the reconciliation handled.
- A spreadsheet and the bar's template
- Most state bars publish a three-way reconciliation template. Free, and sufficient if someone careful does it every month. It does not alert you to a negative client balance on the day it happens.
- Your bookkeeper, by hand
- Works if the bookkeeper understands trust rules and the attorney actually reviews. Trust Reconciler makes the same process faster, consistent and signed.
What changed
- TrustBooks, a dedicated trust-accounting product, sells automatic three-way reconciliation at $59–79 a month. Source: trustbooks.com
- TrustBooks also offers a done-for-you tier at $249 a month, a sign of how many firms would rather not do this themselves. Source: trustbooks.com
- Legal staff on r/paralegal ask how to track trust funding after a signing, a sign of day-to-day confusion around client ledgers. Source: reddit.com
Your first week
We onboard new accounts within 2 business days. We map your client ledgers with you, run the first reconciliation on last month's statement, and set the pack format for your state.
- Day 1: Request service and tell us your state, accounting system, number of trust accounts and how client ledgers are kept today.
- Day 2–3: Your account is live. Connect the books read-only; we build client ledgers and list any unallocated trust transactions.
- Day 4–5: Upload last month's bank statement and run the first reconciliation together. Resolve differences in the books and re-run.
- Day 7: The responsible attorney reviews and signs the first pack. Monthly reminders and daily exception alerts are on.
Security and data
- Data is stored in a US data-centre region, encrypted at rest and in transit (TLS 1.2 or higher).
- QuickBooks Online and Xero connections use OAuth 2.0 with read-only scopes; we never hold your accounting or bank passwords, and you can revoke access from the platform.
- Access is per firm and per role: bookkeepers run reconciliations, attorneys sign, advisors see only the firms assigned to them. Every signature and download is logged.
- Signed packs are immutable once locked and retained for the period you set (default seven years); cancelled accounts can export everything before deletion 30 days later.
- Full deletion on request at any time, confirmed by email.
Questions
Is this legal or compliance advice?
No. Trust Reconciler is record-keeping software. It performs the arithmetic of a three-way reconciliation and flags common exceptions. Your state's trust-account rules, what counts as earned, and how to fix a shortfall are matters for your bar's guidance and your own professional judgement.
Which states do you support?
The three-way reconciliation itself is the same everywhere. The monthly pack format and retention default are set per state; we confirm your state's requirements with you at onboarding and adjust the pack to its rule.
Does it write to QuickBooks or Xero?
Never. The connection is read-only. When the reconciliation finds a problem, you fix it in the books and the next run shows it resolved.
How do you get the bank balance?
Upload the monthly statement as PDF or CSV, or enter the closing balance. If the books have a bank feed we also show its balance, but the statement remains the authority.
What if a client ledger goes negative?
You get an alert the day it appears, with the transactions involved, because paying one client's costs from another's funds is the classic trust violation. We flag it; correcting it, and any reporting duty, is yours.
Can it handle credit-card payments into trust?
Yes. Processor fees that hit the trust account are flagged, since in most states fees must come from the operating account, and the gross deposit is matched to the client ledger.
How long are records kept?
Signed packs and ledgers are kept for the retention period you set, defaulting to seven years, which meets or exceeds most states' trust record rules. You can export everything at any time.
Ready when you are
Tell us about your setup. We confirm by email and get you running within 2 business days.
Request service