Frequently Asked Questions

BaseLedgerPro Legal is accounting software built specifically for law firms. It combines full double-entry bookkeeping with IOLTA trust accounting compliance — including client ledgers, three-way reconciliation, matter expense tracking, and settlement statement generation. Unlike generic accounting tools, every feature is designed around how attorneys actually handle money.

BaseLedgerPro Legal is built for solo practitioners, small firms (2–10 attorneys), and boutique practices that need proper trust accounting without a $400/month practice management subscription. It's especially well-suited for firms handling contingency matters, real estate closings, estate work, or any practice area where client funds flow through a trust account.

Yes — every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, no credit card required. You can set up your trust account, create client matters, and test every feature before committing.

Yes. BaseLedgerPro Legal includes a QuickBooks General Ledger import tool that maps your existing chart of accounts and creates opening balances. This lets you transition mid-year without losing your history.

Yes — it's the core of the product. BaseLedgerPro Legal maintains a separate trust ledger and per-client matter ledgers, tracks every receipt and disbursement, and generates the monthly three-way reconciliation report (bank balance, trust ledger balance, sum of client ledgers) required by state bar rules.

At the end of each month, run the reconciliation report from the Trust Accounting dashboard. It shows your bank statement balance (after adjustments for outstanding checks and deposits in transit), your trust ledger balance, and the sum of all open client ledger balances. All three figures must agree. The report is printable and signable for your records. See our step-by-step guide for details.

The system records it as two linked entries: a disbursement from the client's matter ledger (reducing their trust balance) and a receipt into your operating account that posts to fee income. Both sides of the transfer are recorded automatically — no manual journal entry required.

Yes. The settlement statement workflow lets you enter the gross settlement, your contingency fee, costs advanced, and the client's net disbursement. The system generates the settlement statement document and automatically posts all the journal entries — reducing the trust liability, recording fee revenue, and recording the cost reimbursement — in one step.

Yes. You can create multiple trust bank accounts in the system and designate each as IOLTA or non-IOLTA. Each has its own ledger and reconciliation. Client funds for real estate closings, estate matters, or other fiduciary accounts are tracked separately from your IOLTA operating funds.

Each matter has its own ledger tracking time entries, expenses advanced, trust deposits and disbursements, and billing history. You can see the full financial picture of any matter — how much has been billed, collected, held in trust, and the matter's overall profitability — from a single view.

Yes. Each matter is configured with a billing type. Hourly matters pull unbilled time entries and generate invoices from them. Flat fee matters track time for profitability reporting even if not billed by the hour. Contingency matters integrate with the settlement statement workflow.

Yes. Each user can enter their own time entries at their own hourly rate. The matter summary shows total time by attorney so you can see contribution by timekeeper and analyze blended rates.

Plans differ primarily by the number of users and matters supported. The Solo plan is designed for sole practitioners. The Practice plan covers small firms with multiple attorneys. The Firm plan is for larger operations with additional reporting and support. See full details on our pricing page.

Each plan includes a set number of users. Additional users beyond the plan limit can be added for a per-user monthly fee, or you can upgrade to the next plan tier if you're adding several at once.

Yes. Annual billing saves approximately two months compared to monthly pricing. Switch to annual from your account settings at any time.