19 Apr A lawyer’s guide to pro-active bookkeeping

If you are reading this post, you might be a lawyer looking for the secret sauce to pro-active bookkeeping. While you certainly need a degree of knowledge about business accounting and finances, proactive bookkeeping is more about time management and organization than it is about bookkeeping. Since it all comes down to time and with time practically never on your side, we want to give you a few pointers. Here is a lawyer’s guide to pro-active bookkeeping.

Start strong

When you are first getting your practice going, there isn’t much to read or record but as you grow and expand things that used to take a minuscule amount of time now take a lot longer. If you are proactive in your bookkeeping now by setting up the proper systems, you will be way ahead of the game. It just takes a little forethought to get you on the right foot.

Read reports

Carving out time to read the financials of your law practice is never a bad idea. It can make problems go away before they occur and spending minutes at the end of each day, month or quarter going over the numbers is a smart strategy for any lawyer. Paying attention to what is happening day in and day out will give you a clear picture of right now but also the future growth your practice could achieve with some careful financial planning.

Keep meticulous records

Now about those reports, there is no sense reading them if all the information is inaccurate. Dot every I and cross every T. Make sure you are doing this daily and if you have an accounting system that you are inputting things into, do it correctly. It’s a hassle now but time savings later. It’s the pro-active mindset you need to take if you want to stay on top of things.

Pay attention to payroll

Payroll is inevitable if you want to grow your practice and making sure all those pay slips are correct, is a timely pursuit but a worthy one. Payroll is intricately linked to bookkeeping because you need to keep accurate payroll numbers just as much as you need to keep expenses organized. Don’t forget this area of your bookkeeping and as mentioned above, even if you are starting, putting a system in place for growth at the beginning is never a bad strategy.

Follow the law

Ironic, isn’t it but there are laws in place for business bookkeeping and accounting, A.K.A. The Income Tax Act of Canada that you need to follow. Not to mention the compliance requirements with the Law Society, which are even more intricate then the CRA. So being on top of your trust accounting is imperative to your practices success. If you are proactive in your bookkeeping, you can nail all those laws down BEFORE you start keeping your books so that there is never an uh-oh moment down the road. Getting audited is never pleasant for any business, and it is time that most law practices don’t have.

Outsource to the experts 

When time isn’t on your side, outsourcing anything to someone knowledgeable and professional is your best bet. One personality trait that most lawyers share is that they are great problem solvers. Outsource your bookkeeping and then, problem solved! That’s where Rochon & Associates comes in, providing pro-active bookkeeping for when you are time-starved and need to focus your attention on the backbone of your law practice, your clients.

If you have read this whole post and want to chat with us to see how we can make pro-active bookkeeping happen for you, get in touch today!