Firms located in Australia can stay compliant with trust accounting rules by providing records of trust account activity. See below for a summary of the trust account management report in Clio Manage and what type of information the report offers.
File maintenance report
The file maintenance report shows any changes made to contacts, matters, and bank accounts, including trust accounts. You can use this report as part of your firm's audit.
- Date & Time
This column shows the date and time of the change made.
- Related to
This column shows information about the matter, contact, or account to which the change was made type and is gathered from the Source/Recipient field from when you are recording a new transaction.
- Action
This column shows the type of change that was made (Created, Deleted, Updated).
- Value Before
This column shows the information prior to the change.
- Value After
This column shows the information after to the change.
Trust trial balance report
The trust trial balance report shows all client trust balances in your firm's trust account. It is recommended that you generate this report before month-end reconciliation to verify that your account is balanced before starting the reconciliation. You are required to submit this report to the NSW Law Society each month. Confirm with your law society for all other states in Australia.
Trust cashbook report
The trust cashbook report shows either all credit or debit transactions for a trust account, excluding any transfers, over a period of time. When generating the report, you can choose to view Receipts or Payments. You are required to submit this report to the NSW Society each month. Confirm with your law society for all other states in Australia.
Trust journal report
The trust journal report shows journal transfers between accounts and between client and matter balances over a period of time.
Trust ledger report
The trust ledger report shows a detailed view of client and matter transactions, including payments, disbursements, and transfers, and balances across all client accounts. It also includes a summarized view at the bottom of the report. You can submit this report to regulators such as law societies and bar associations.
- Date
This column shows the date that the transaction occurred in the account. Transactions include deposits, withdrawals, and transfers. Multiple transactions that occur on the same day will appear in random order.
- Source/Recipient
This column shows the payment type and is gathered from the Source/Recipient field from when you are recording a new transaction.
- Reference
This column shows data entered in the Reference field from when you recorded a new transaction.
- Matter
This column shows the matter that is linked to the transaction.
- Description
This column shows the information entered in the Description field from when you recorded a new transaction.
- Funds out
This column lists withdrawals or payments from the account.
- Funds in
This column lists payments deposited into the account.
- Balance
This column shows the amount of money left in the account after each listed transaction.
- Closing balance
This lists the closing balance of the Funds out, Funds in, and Balance.
- Client total
This lists the total balance of the Funds out, Funds in, and Balance for all of the client's matters. If you have transactions across multiple operating and trust fund accounts, you may see different balances.
- Balance summary
This section will appear at the bottom of the report if you selected the option for Display bank account summary before running the report. This section shows the current balance of your accounts. If you sort results by a specific date range, this section will show an opening balance that summarizes the transactions prior to the selected date range and a closing balance that summarizes the account balance at the end of the date range.
Trust overdrawn report
The trust overdrawn report shows transactions that resulted in overdrawn client balances over a period of time. You are required to submit this report to the NSW Law Society each month. Confirm with your law society for all other states in Australia
Trust dormant balances report
The trust dormant balances report shows funds held in any trust account where the balance has not changed for 12 months.
Trust account statement report
The trust account statement report shows all receipts and payments for a trust ledger account over a period of time on a per matter basis.
Controlled money accounts listing report
The controlled money accounts listing report shows all controlled money accounts at the end of any given month.