Is this the same as legal cashiering?

Yes, it is the legal-cashiering work done to the SRA Accounts Rules: posting client and office transactions, keeping client money separate, reconciling the client account and clearing residual balances, so the firm stays compliant through the year.

How does this help with the annual report?

The report is a check on how you handled client money. If the client account is reconciled and clean all year, the report is a formality. If it is not, the report is where a year of problems surfaces, sometimes as a qualification.

Can you take on a client account that is behind?

Yes. We bring the books up to date and clear the backlog of reconciliations and residual balances first, then keep the account current on a regular cycle so it does not drift again.

A fixed monthly or annual fee agreed up front, scaled to the volume of client-account activity. Tell us about the firm's client account and we will price it.

SRA-Compliant Bookkeeping and Client Account

Written and reviewed by the Legal Accountants editorial team. Last reviewed 28 July 2026.

This is the engine-room service: keeping a firm's books and client account to the SRA Accounts Rules through the year, so the position is always right and the annual report is a formality rather than a scramble. It is the legal-cashiering work, done properly.

Fixed fee, agreed before we begin, whether you want the client account alone or the full accounts and tax with it.

What We Handle

The client-account bookkeeping the rules require: posting client and office transactions correctly, keeping client money separate, running the regular reconciliations and investigating differences, and identifying and clearing residual balances before they become a finding.

We keep the records that make the annual accountant's report straightforward, and flag any breach early so it can be put right rather than discovered at the year end.

Where It Goes Wrong Without It

Firms rarely fall foul of the Accounts Rules through dishonesty; they fall foul through drift. A reconciliation slips, money for fees moves before a bill, residual balances build up, and by the time the reporting accountant looks, there is a year of small problems to unpick.

Keeping it current fixes that. A client account reconciled every month surfaces a problem while it is one problem, which is both cheaper to fix and far less likely to turn the annual report into a qualified one.

How It Runs

We connect to the firm's systems and the client and office accounts, take on the posting and reconciliations on a regular cycle, and report the position to you so you always know where the client account stands. Identity checks come first. Where the books are behind, we bring them up to date before starting the regular cycle.

It sits alongside the firm's accounts and tax, or stands alone if you only need the client-account side kept right.

What It Costs

A fixed monthly or annual fee agreed before work starts, sized to the volume of client-account activity rather than billed by the hour. A low-volume account is at the lower end; a busy conveyancing or litigation client account costs more, and we tell you which first.

To get a price, tell us about the firm's client account and we will come back with a fixed quote.