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IOLTA reconciliation for small law firms

Reconcile your IOLTA or client trust account: bank statement, trust ledger and client ledgers side by side, negative client balances flagged, and a signed report to keep.

🔒 Nothing uploaded⚖️ Bank · book · client ledgers📊 CSV or Excel exports🆓 Free, no signup

What the rules ask for

Trust accounting rules are set by each state, but most follow the same pattern. The ABA Model Rules on Client Trust Account Records list a ledger for each client, monthly trial balances and quarterly reconciliations of the client trust account, with records kept for five years; the comment to the rule notes that monthly reconciliation is better practice. North Carolina's Rule 1.15-3(d) requires a quarterly reconciliation report showing that the general ledger balance, the total of all positive client ledger balances and the adjusted bank balance are equal, signed and kept for six years. California's Handbook on Client Trust Accounting describes a monthly three-way reconciliation. Check your own state bar's rule — Tiesheet doesn't know which state you're in.

What Tiesheet does

  1. Matches the bank to the ledger: by check number, then by amount and date, then batched deposits (one bank deposit = several client receipts) and split items.
  2. Works out the adjusted bank balance: statement ending balance + deposits in transit − outstanding checks.
  3. Totals every client ledger from the client and matter on each ledger line — or uses your practice software's client balance report as the third leg.
  4. Shows whether all three agree, and if not, why: bank items you never recorded (fees, interest, chargebacks), a missing entry, a wrong amount.
  5. Flags the risks: negative client balances, clients that dipped below zero mid-month, entries with no client, stale checks, deposits that never reached the bank, duplicates and dormant balances.

The report

Print or save as PDF: the three-way summary, every client balance, outstanding items, bank items missing from the ledger, the checks Tiesheet ran and signature lines for the person who prepared it and the lawyer who reviewed it.

Files it reads

Any bank's CSV or Excel export (date, description, amount or deposit/withdrawal columns, optional running balance and check number), and a trust ledger or journal exported from QuickBooks, Excel, your practice-management or property-management software — one row per receipt or disbursement, with a client (or owner, tenant, matter) column. QuickBooks-style reports grouped under a client heading work too. Download the templates to see the layout.

Nothing is uploaded

Trust account data is about as confidential as it gets. Tiesheet reads your bank export and ledger with JavaScript in your browser tab; nothing is sent to a server, there's no account, and nothing about your transactions is saved — close the tab and it's gone. (Pro can keep this month's outstanding items in this browser so next month picks them up; you choose.)

How it works

  1. Drop the bank statement export and the trust ledger (CSV or Excel). Optionally add your software's client balance report.
  2. Check the period and ending balance — read from the statement when it has a balance column.
  3. See whether it ties: outstanding items, bank items missing from the ledger, every client's balance and the checks that failed. Print it, or with Pro download the Excel workbook.

FAQ

What is a three-way reconciliation?

It shows that three balances agree on the same date: the bank statement balance adjusted for outstanding checks and deposits in transit, the trust account ledger (checkbook) balance, and the total of all individual client ledger balances. Lawyers with client trust (IOLTA) accounts and real estate brokers holding escrow funds are generally required to do it regularly; how often depends on your state.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Your files are read by JavaScript in your browser tab and never sent to us or anyone else. Transactions aren't stored at all. With Pro you can choose to keep this month's outstanding items in this browser for next month.

Which files can I use?

CSV, tab-separated or Excel exports. The bank file needs a date and an amount (or deposit and withdrawal columns); a check number and running balance help. The ledger needs a date, an amount and a client, matter, owner or tenant column on each line. QuickBooks-style reports grouped under client headings work. Download the templates to see the layout.

What's free?

Matching, the three-way summary, outstanding items and every check, for any number of transactions. The printed report and CSV list up to 10 client ledgers with a small footer. Pro lists every client ledger and adds the Excel workbook, ledger cards and month-to-month carry-forward.

Does it replace my trust accounting software?

No. Tiesheet reconciles the records you already keep; it doesn't record transactions, write checks or connect to your bank. It also doesn't know your state's rules — check them, and have the report reviewed by the responsible lawyer or broker.

Why doesn't the bank balance agree with my ledger?

Usually bank fees or interest that were never recorded, a deposit or check recorded for the wrong amount, or an item outstanding from last month. Tiesheet lists bank transactions missing from the ledger and says when they explain the whole difference.