Specialized Service
Law Firm Books Clean-Up. No matter how far behind.
What Ethnum delivers
2–6
Weeks typical clean-up timeline to baseline
What Is a Law Firm Books Clean-Up?
When your books are behind, wrong, or both — this is where recovery starts.
A books clean-up is a focused engagement where Ethnum works through unreconciled accounts, identifies discrepancies, reconstructs missing records, and brings everything to a clean, accurate baseline. It can cover trust accounts, operating accounts, or both — depending on where the issues are.
Most firms come to us with one of three issues: unreconciled trust accounts without proper three-way reconciliation, operating books with missing or miscategorized transactions, or records left disorganized by a previous bookkeeper unfamiliar with legal accounting. We’ve resolved all three — often together.
A clean-up is not just about fixing the past. It creates the foundation for everything that follows. Without a clean starting point, future bookkeeping and reconciliations are built on a flawed base. Ethnum delivers a complete, documented baseline — then provides ongoing monthly maintenance so the backlog never returns.
Scope
Trust accounts, operating accounts, or both — no exceptions
Timeline
2–6 weeks typical — scoped after the initial assessment
Starting Point
Most recent clean period forward — no guessing, no gaps
What You Receive
Fully clean baseline, documented resolutions, audit-ready records
Your Point of Contact
One dedicated accountant managing your clean-up start to finish
What's Included
Every aspect of your backlog — resolved completely.
Every item below is worked through by your dedicated Ethnum accountant until it is fully resolved. We do not deliver a partial clean-up or leave open items for you to figure out.
Trust Account Backlog Reconciliation
Every unreconciled month in your IOLTA or trust account worked through in sequence — bank statement, trust ledger, and individual client ledgers reconciled to a full three-way match for each period.
- Each unreconciled period worked through individually
- All three legs reconciled to the penny per month
- Client ledger balances verified and corrected
Operating Account Clean-Up
Every unreconciled or miscategorized transaction in your firm's operating account identified, corrected, and brought into balance — against a law-firm-specific chart of accounts built for your practice.
- All transactions posted and categorized correctly
- Mislabeled income and expenses corrected
- Chart of accounts reviewed and restructured if needed
Discrepancy Investigation
Every balance mismatch, unexplained variance, and unidentified transaction traced to its source, documented, and resolved — with a clear written explanation of what caused it and how it was corrected.
- Every discrepancy traced to the source transaction
- Root cause clearly documented
- Resolution confirmed and verified before moving forward
Missing Records Reconstruction
When bank statements, ledger entries, or transaction records are missing entirely, we work with available data to reconstruct them as accurately as possible and document what was rebuilt and why.
- Missing bank statements reconstructed
- Ledger gaps identified and addressed systematically
- Reconstruction methodology documented for audit trail
Chart of Accounts Review & Repair
If your existing chart of accounts is not structured for a law firm — or was built by someone who didn't understand legal accounting — we rebuild it correctly so every future transaction has a proper home.
- Existing categories reviewed against law-firm standards
- Misclassified account types corrected
- Trust vs. operating separation enforced structurally
Clean Baseline & Audit Documentation
At the conclusion of every clean-up, you receive a complete, organized package of your corrected records — formatted for bar audits, CPA review, or your own records — with every resolution documented.
- All reconciled periods compiled and organized
- Discrepancy resolution log included
- Records formatted for immediate audit readiness
HOW IT WORKS
From your first call to a clean baseline — here's the process.
Every clean-up follows the same four-phase process. We assess the scope, work through the backlog, resolve every outstanding issue, and hand you a complete clean starting point.
The Problem We Solve
Why law firm books fall behind — and why they stay that way without intervention.
Trust accounts without proper three-way reconciliation
Many firms reconcile only part of the trust account, leaving hidden discrepancies unresolved.
- Ethnum rebuilds each unreconciled month with complete three-way reconciliation.
Small errors turning into major discrepancies
Minor unresolved errors can grow into larger reconciliation issues over time.
- We trace the root issue and correct downstream discrepancies.
Bar audit approaching with unready records
Firms often face audits with incomplete or disorganized trust records.
- Ethnum fast-tracks clean-up to get records audit-ready quickly.
Books left disorganized after staff turnover
Records left by previous bookkeepers are often incomplete or inconsistent.
- We rebuild the books on a clean, documented foundation.
Ethnum Clean-Up Checklist
All unreconciled periods resolved — every month worked through in sequence with a reconciliation
Every discrepancy traced and documented — root cause identified, corrected, and explained in writing
Client ledger balances verified — no negative balances, no unassigned funds, no zero-balance gaps on closed matters
Trust and operating accounts fully separated — any commingling errors identified and corrected in the records
Operating transactions categorized correctly — law-firm-specific chart of accounts applied to all periods
Audit-ready documentation package delivered — all records organized, labeled, and ready for bar review or CPA access
Before Ethnum: most new clean-up clients fail 4 or more of these checks when we first assess their books
100%
Clean Baseline Delivery Rate
Every Ethnum clean-up ends with a clean, documented baseline — no unresolved items handed back to you.
Who This Is For
If your law firm books are behind, broken, or both — this is for you.
Books clean-up is the most common first step for new Ethnum clients. Here are the situations we handle most often — and the one that fits you best.
Firms Behind on Reconciliations
Six months behind, two years behind — it doesn't matter. We have seen every size of backlog and resolved every one. We work through each period in sequence and do not stop until your books are fully current.
Firms Facing a Bar Audit
If a bar audit is pending or you've received a notice, we move quickly. We prioritize your trust account clean-up and get your records into audit-ready condition as fast as possible — no scrambling, no improvising.
Solo Practitioners Who've Been DIYing
Many solo attorneys have been reconciling their own books for years — and doing it incorrectly without knowing it. We take stock of what was done, correct what needs fixing, and give you a clean foundation going forward.
Firms After a Bookkeeper Departure
If your trust or operating account has balances that don't add up and you can't figure out why, that's exactly what our discrepancy investigation process is built for. We trace every unexplained variance to its source.
Firms with Unexplained Discrepancies
If your trust or operating account has balances that don't add up and you can't figure out why, that's exactly what our discrepancy investigation process is built for. We trace every unexplained variance to its source.
New Partners Inheriting Firm Books
Taking over a firm or buying into a partnership means inheriting whatever state the books are in. Before you assume responsibility, let Ethnum assess and clean the records so you know exactly what you're starting with.
No Backlog Too Large
We have never walked away from a backlog. We are not going to start with yours.
Every backlog looks overwhelming from the inside. From our perspective, it is a defined set of unreconciled periods and unresolved transactions — worked through one at a time, in sequence, until they are all done.
All
Years the longest single backlog Ethnum has fully resolved
Daily
Clean baselines delivered — every clean-up completed in full
0
Weeks — typical timeline from first call to clean baseline
48h
Unresolved discrepancies left on completed clean-ups
What we work through in every clean-up:
- Unreconciled bank statement periods — every statement from the last clean point forward pulled, reviewed, and reconciled in sequence
- Missing or incomplete client ledger entries — gaps in individual client trust ledgers identified and reconstructed from available transaction data
- Negative and mismatched trust balances — every client ledger showing a negative balance or unexplained variance traced and corrected
- Commingling errors between trust and operating accounts — all cross-account transactions identified and documented for correction.
- Years of miscategorized operating transactions — income and expenses recategorized using a consistent law-firm chart of accounts.
- Incomplete or unsigned reconciliation reports — all prior periods lacking three-way reconciliations are completed before clean-up closure.
What You Receive
Three deliverables. From start to clean baseline.
You are kept informed throughout the process and receive a complete package at the end. No surprises, no ambiguity — just clean, organized records and a clear path forward.
- During Clean-Up
Weekly Progress Updates
Throughout the clean-up, your accountant sends regular progress updates on reconciliations and discrepancies.
- Weekly reconciled periods confirmed
- Clear discrepancy explanations
- Live completion updates
- Client inputs surfaced promptly
- Upon Completion
Final Clean Baseline Package
You receive corrected records, reconciled accounts, reports, and resolved discrepancy documentation.
- Completed reconciliation reports for all unreconciled periods
- Discrepancy logs with corrections
- Corrected client ledger balances
- First Month After
Month-One Maintenance Report
For clients continuing monthly maintenance, the first report confirms the clean baseline and establishes ongoing reporting.
- First reconciliation from the clean baseline
- Confirmation of no residual issues
- Maintenance schedule and deliverables set
- CPA handoff package available on request
Works With Your Stack
We work inside the software you already have.
No migration, no new tools required. We connect directly to your existing practice management platform and accounting software to pull what we need — you don’t need to organize anything before we start.
What Attorneys Say
From attorneys who came to us with their worst backlog.
Common Questions
Books clean-up — answered plainly.
As far back as necessary. We have resolved backlogs spanning 3+ years for new clients. We work from the most recent clean point forward, gathering all available bank statements, ledger records, and transaction data to reconcile each period systematically. No backlog is too large to resolve.
Primarily access to your bank accounts, accounting software, and practice management platform. We gather what we need directly from those sources. If certain records are missing entirely, we work with what exists and document what could not be reconstructed. You do not need to organize anything before we start — that is our job.
Most clean-ups are completed within 2–6 weeks, depending on the size of the backlog and the complexity of the issues involved. A 3-month backlog with minor discrepancies may take 1–2 weeks. A 2–3 year backlog with significant trust account errors typically takes 4–6 weeks. We provide a timeline estimate after the initial assessment call.
You receive a complete clean baseline package — all reconciled accounts, documented discrepancy resolutions, and audit-ready records. From there, most clients transition directly into Ethnum's ongoing monthly maintenance service so the backlog never returns. Continuing with monthly bookkeeping or trust accounting is recommended but not required.
Yes — and this is often the most efficient approach. Trust and operating clean-ups are related: commingling errors, misdirected transactions, and categorization issues frequently affect both accounts simultaneously. Cleaning both at the same time ensures the two sets of records are correctly separated and reconciled against each other from the start.
Clean-up pricing is scoped by the size of the backlog, the number of accounts involved, and the complexity of the issues discovered. Most solo and small firm clean-ups range from $800–$3,500 as a one-time project fee. We provide a firm quote after a free 20-minute discovery call — no surprises, no open-ended billing.
Ready to stop dreading what's in your books?
Schedule a free 20-minute discovery call. We’ll assess the scope of your backlog, identify exactly what needs to be resolved, and give you a clear timeline and fixed price — with no obligation.