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General Questions
GROWTH Accounting Solutions provides outsourced bookkeeping and controller services exclusively for law firms. We handle everything from monthly bookkeeping and IOLTA trust account reconciliation to payroll processing, financial reporting, and matter-
level profitability tracking.
Unlike general bookkeeping firms, we work exclusively with law firms — which means we understand bar compliance rules, legal billing systems, trust account requirements, and the unique financial pressures attorneys face.
Yes — 100%. We built GROWTH specifically for law firms and that is all we do. We don't serve restaurants, retailers, contractors, or any other industry. This isn't a niche we dabble in — it's the only thing we do.
That specialization matters when your bar license depends on the accuracy of your trust account reconciliations. A generalist bookkeeper who learns legal bookkeeping on the job is a liability. We know this world inside and out.
We work with law firms nationwide. Everything we do is handled remotely — all communication, document sharing, and financial reporting is done digitally. You don't need to be in our city or state to work with us.
We are familiar with bar rules and IOLTA requirements across all 50 states and stay current with any rule changes that could affect your trust account compliance.
We work with law firms of all sizes — from solo practitioners to large multi-partner firms. The right engagement is scoped based on your firm's size, transaction volume, and specific needs rather than a one-size-fits-all package.
Solo attorneys and small firms benefit from full-service outsourced bookkeeping. Mid- size and larger firms with in-house staff often engage us for controller-level oversight and financial reporting. We tailor our service to fit your situation.
Absolutely. We treat your financial data with the same level of discretion you extend to your own clients. Your firm's financials, client information, and trust account details are never shared with any third party outside of your engagement.
We use secure, encrypted platforms for all financial data and document sharing. Confidentiality isn' just a policy for us — it's a professional standard we hold ourselves to.
Law firm bookkeeping is fundamentally different from standard business bookkeeping. IOLTA trust account rules, three-way reconciliation requirements, matter-based billing, partner draws, and bar compliance obligations create a level of complexity that most
general bookkeepers have never encountered.
A mistake in a standard business's books might cost money. A mistake in a law firm's trust accounts can cost an attorney their license. The stakes are too high for someone who is learning legal bookkeeping on your dime. We've been doing this exclusively — it's what we know.
IOLTA & Trust Accounts
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OLTA stands for Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts. It is the account where attorneys are required to hold client funds — such as retainers, settlement proceeds, and advance fee deposits — that have not yet been earned or disbursed.
IOLTA accounts are strictly regulated by your state bar. Commingling client funds with operating funds, failing to maintain proper records, or mishandling trust account disbursements can result in bar discipline, suspension, or disbarment. It is the single area of law firm finances where errors carry the most severe professional consequences.
Three-way reconciliation is the process of verifying that three separate records all agree: your bank statement, your trust account ledger, and your individual client ledgers. All three must reconcile to the same balance every month.
Most state bars require attorneys to perform three-way reconciliation monthly. Failure to do so — even if no funds are missing — is itself a violation of bar rules. We perform this reconciliation for every client every month and maintain records that are always audit-ready.
The most common IOLTA errors we see when onboarding new clients include: commingling operating and trust funds, failing to perform monthly three-way
reconciliation, taking fees from trust before they are earned, not maintaining individual client ledgers, and allowing the trust account to go negative — even temporarily. Many of these errors happen not because attorneys are dishonest but because they are busy practicing law and their bookkeeping has not kept pace. The fix is straightforward — proper systems and consistent monthly reconciliation. That is exactly what we provide.
We track each client's retainer balance individually within your trust account. This includes recording deposits, tracking earned fee drawdowns, flagging when retainers fall below replenishment thresholds, and maintaining a clear audit trail for every client ledger.
Retainer mismanagement is one of the most common sources of bar complaints. Knowing exactly what every client has on deposit — and whether those funds have been properly earned before being transferred to your operating account — protects both you and your clients.
This is actually one of the most common situations we encounter with new clients. Before ongoing service begins, we perform a trust account cleanup and reconciliation going back to the point where records are clear. This is scoped as a separate one-time project.
Once your trust accounts are clean and reconciled, we transition you into our ongoing monthly service so they stay that way. We have cleaned up trust accounts that were years behind — whatever the situation, we have seen it and can fix it.
Yes — and ideally you never need to scramble for an audit because your books are always audit-ready. That is the standard we hold every client to. Every month, your trust account records are reconciled, documented, and maintained in a format that satisfies bar requirements.
If you have received notice of a bar audit and need emergency cleanup or documentation, we can help with that as well. Contact us directly to discuss the situation and timeline.
Yes — while the core principles of IOLTA are consistent across states, specific requirements around recordkeeping, reconciliation frequency, and reporting vary by state bar. Some states have more detailed requirements than others.
Because we work with law firms nationwide, we are familiar with bar rules across all 50 states. When we onboard a new client, we review your state's specific requirements and make sure your trust account management meets or exceeds them.
Our Services
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Matter-level profitability tracking is the process of allocating revenue, time, and costs to individual client matters — so you can see the true profit or loss on each case, client, and practice area. Most firms know their total revenue but have no idea which matters are actually profitable.
This service is particularly valuable for firms with multiple practice areas, high contingency volume, or flat-fee matters where time can easily outpace the fee. If you have ever wondered whether your biggest client is actually your most profitable one — this answers that question definitively.
Controller Services is designed for law firms that already have an in-house bookkeeper or office manager handling day-to-day accounting. We provide the expert oversight layer — reviewing the monthly close, checking trust account reconciliations, catching errors, and delivering accurate financial reporting to your partners.
Think of it as having a controller on your team without the cost of a full-time hire. Your staff keeps doing what they do. We make sure it's done right and that your partners always have financials they can trust.
Yes — we provide full payroll processing for law firms, including attorney compensation, staff payroll, payroll tax compliance, and direct deposit management. Law firm payroll has unique considerations including partner draws, varying compensation structures, and proper separation of payroll from trust account funds.
Payroll can be added to any bookkeeping engagement or handled as a standalone
service depending on your needs.
Yes — this is one of our most requested services. Our Cleanup and Catchup Bookkeeping service gets your books current regardless of how far behind they are. We have caught up books that were over a year behind, including trust account reconciliations.
Cleanup is handled as a one-time project with a flat fee scoped to your specific situation. Once your books are clean and current, we transition you into our ongoing monthly service so it never happens again.
No — we focus exclusively on bookkeeping and controller services. We do not prepare tax returns or perform financial audits. What we do is maintain clean, accurate books and prepare your financials so that your CPA has everything they need to file your taxes efficiently.
Many of our clients find that switching to GROWTH significantly reduces the time and cost of working with their CPA because their books are always clean and organized at year end.
Every client receives a monthly reporting package that includes a profit and loss statement, balance sheet, cash flow summary, accounts receivable aging report, and trust account reconciliation documentation.
Depending on your engagement, we can also provide partner-level reporting, practice area profitability breakdowns, and budget vs. actual comparisons. Reports are delivered in a clear, readable format — not a raw accounting export.
Pricing & Engagement
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Our engagements start at $599 per month. Your actual monthly rate is determined by your firm's size, transaction volume, number of trust accounts, services selected, and whether any cleanup work is required upfront.
For context — the average cost of a full-time in-house bookkeeper including salary, benefits, payroll taxes, and overhead is over $58,000 per year. Most of our clients pay a fraction of that for more specialized expertise and better compliance oversight.
No. We work month-to-month. There are no long-term contracts or cancellation fees. We believe we earn your business every month through the quality of our work — not through contractual lock-in.
Never. Your monthly rate is agreed upfront and does not change without a conversation first. We do not charge per bank account, per entity, or for standard service inclusions. What we quote is what you pay.
The only scenario where your rate would change is if your firm's needs grow significantly — for example, a major increase in transaction volume or adding a new service. Any change is always discussed and agreed to in advance.
Yes. If your books need catchup work before ongoing monthly service can begin, that is scoped as a separate one-time project with its own flat fee. The cleanup project and ongoing monthly service are quoted separately so you know exactly what each piece costs.
The true cost of an in-house bookkeeper — including base salary, benefits, health insurance, payroll taxes, PTO, software licenses, and onboarding — typically runs $58,000 to $62,000 per year for an average U.S. bookkeeper.
Our clients starting at $499 per month pay $5,988 per year for more specialized legal bookkeeping expertise than a general hire would bring. Even at higher engagement levels, most firms save 50-75% compared to the true cost of an equivalent in-house hire.
That is exactly what the free consultation is for. Book a 30-minute call and tell us where you are — we will ask the right questions and tell you honestly what we think you need. There is no obligation and no pitch. Just a straight conversation about your firm.
Software & Technology
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We work primarily with QuickBooks Online and Xero for accounting, and integrate with the major legal practice management platforms including Clio, MyCase, and PracticePanther. If your firm uses a different platform, let us know — we work with most major tools in the legal industry.
Yes — Clio is one of the most widely used legal practice management platforms and we work with it regularly. We can integrate Clio with your accounting software to sync matter data, time entries, and billing information so your books accurately reflect your practice management records.
This integration is also essential for matter-level profitability tracking — pulling time and billing data from Clio and matching it against costs in your accounting system.
Not necessarily. If you are already using QuickBooks, Xero, Clio, or another compatible platform, we work within your existing setup. If you are using software that creates limitations, we will discuss alternatives during onboarding — but we never require you to purchase anything before we assess your situation.
We use secure, encrypted platforms for all document sharing and financial data exchange. Bank statements, reports, and other sensitive documents are never sent over unencrypted email. During onboarding, we will set up a secure workflow that makes document sharing easy and safe for your team.
Yes. Setting up QuickBooks correctly for a law firm — including a chart of accounts built for legal billing, trust account setup, payroll configuration, and practice management integration — is something we handle during onboarding. A proper setup from day one prevents the most common bookkeeping errors law firms encounter.
Getting Started
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Book a free 30-minute consultation. We will learn about your firm, your current bookkeeping situation, and what you need. Within 48 hours of that call we will send a custom proposal with a clear scope and flat monthly rate. If it looks good, we move into onboarding — typically within one to two weeks.
Most clients are fully onboarded within one to two weeks of signing. Onboarding includes connecting to your accounting software, reviewing your current books, setting up your trust account reconciliation workflow, and establishing your monthly reporting schedule.
If your books need significant cleanup before ongoing service begins, the cleanup project runs concurrently with onboarding and we set a clear timeline upfront.
During onboarding we will ask for access to your accounting software, your last several bank and trust account statements, and any existing bookkeeping records you have. We keep the onboarding process as simple as possible — most of what we need can be shared digitally within a few days.
You work directly with us — the founders of GROWTH. Not a junior staffer, not a rotating team member, not someone who learned your account from a handoff document. The same people you speak with on your first call are the people managing your books every month.
That direct relationship is intentional. Your bar license is on the line — you deserve to know exactly who is handling your trust accounts.
Switching is straightforward. We handle the transition process and work with your current bookkeeper or accounting firm to ensure a clean handoff of all records, software access, and historical data. We have managed many transitions and know how to make the process smooth with minimal disruption to your firm.
In many cases, we also perform a review of your existing books during onboarding to identify any errors or compliance gaps that need to be addressed. That way you start fresh with clean, accurate records.