FAQ:
Q: "I already have a trust account setup in QuickBooks. How do I attach that to a client in LeanLaw?"
A: It seems that you are looking for information on how to set up and handle trust in LeanLaw. The below article, How To Set Up Trust Accounting in LeanLaw should help you get started!
In LeanLaw, our true integration with QuickBooks means you can make legal trust deposits and pay invoices from trust in a few simple steps. Easily deposit client funds and pay invoices with trust funds.
Start In QuickBooks Online
These steps are only necessary if your firm doesn't already have the Trust/Operating accounts set up in QuickBooks Online. If you do have them set up, please skip to the next section.
1. Create Your Operating Bank Account
To begin, you will start in QuickBooks and set up your Main Operation Bank Account. This is needed so that transactions that affect both accounts (such as invoice payments from the trust account) will be properly recorded in QuickBooks Online.
You can choose if you want to use the Undeposited Funds account in QuickBooks Online to “hold” your trust deposits until your actual bank deposit is made. You will want to make sure that your Operating account in QuickBooks Online is properly set up as a bank account and you will probably use checking account for the detail.
There will be a dropdown menu where you should be able to find the proper bank account from your QuickBooks Online chart of accounts.
2. Creating the Trust Account
The next step is to connect your Trust Account to the account set up in QuickBooks Online. It is important to make sure that you have the account set up with proper details. The detail for your Trust Account should be Trust Account, not checking (even if it is a checking account). This is necessary for the mapping from LeanLaw to QuickBooks Online.
You can see that because the account called IOLTA checking was properly set up in QuickBooks Online, it was able to be identified during the trust set up in LeanLaw.
3. Connect Your Trust Liability Account
You now need to connect your trust liability account. If you do not have one, LeanLaw will automatically set it up properly in QuickBooks Online for you and then connect to it. If you do have a main liability account already established, you should be able to identify it during setup.
As you can see in the QuickBooks Online account above, the account and detail types should be set specifically to Other Current Liabilities and Trust Accounts Liabilities respectively.
Go To LeanLaw
1. Go to Settings in LeanLaw:
2. Scroll down to the Trust Accounting section
3. Edit Invoice Trust Notice
You will also see the default message that will appear on invoice memos related to a client’s trust account. It will recap the trust balance, payment made on the invoice, and then the remaining balances. This message can be customized as needed. Read on here to find out more: How to Change the Retainer Information Memo.
And that's it! You have completed your trust accounting setup!
If you'd prefer a video walkthrough, this video explains how:
Once you are set up, read on here for more information on trust deposits, payments, and requests: