Clio’s Newest Update Makes Trust Accounting Easier for Law Firms
June 13, 2016
Clio’s new Trust Request feature helps lawyers with their specialized trust accounting compliance.
VANCOUVER, BC — June 10, 2016 — Clio, the world’s leading cloud-based legal practice management software, now bridges the trust accounting gap that most law firms struggle with. Clio’s new capabilities, called Trust Requests, helps lawyers create and track requests for deposits of funds by clients into special trust accounts. While looking similar to, and operating like an invoice, Trust Requests helps lawyers remain compliant with their fiduciary duties by keeping the accounting of trust funds separate from their operating accounts.
“Most off-the-shelf software does an extremely poor job of handling one of the most crucial and high-stakes aspects of a lawyer’s responsibilities: trust accounting,” said Jack Newton, CEO of Clio. “Clio’s new Trust Request feature streamlines typically arduous and error-prone aspects of trust accounting by making it it easy to document requests for trust fund replenishment, track deposits, and generating required ledgers.”
Many law firms ask clients to deposit funds into trust accounts to be used as payment for future work done on the client’s behalf. After an invoice is issued, lawyers can transfer funds from the client’s trust account to pay the bill. All lawyers operate under strict rules to document funds held in trust, their source, the client that deposited the funds, and to which matters those funds should be applied. Tracking trust funds is a concern for many law firms, as mishandling of funds can lead to malpractice complaints and discipline reports from regulators. Clio helps lawyers maintain these required documents, automating many of the required transactions while preventing avoidable errors that business accounting software may not recognize.
Clio also makes it easier for clients to deposit funds directly into a law firm’s trust account. Using credit card processing supplied by the legal industry leader, LawPay, lawyers with Clio can have clients deposit trust funds online. By issuing a Trust Request, lawyers can send their clients a deposit request that can be easily fulfilled over the internet. Clients can enter their information securely online, depositing funds without having to use checks or wire transfers. After the transaction is processed, Clio will update the law firm’s required records automatically with the deposited amount. Using online payments can reduce a law firm’s wait for client deposits from 3 months to a single day.
Automating required financial record keeping while helping clients work with their lawyer, Clio’s new Trust Requests is yet another feature that simplifies the practice of law.
Interested law firms may request a demo of Clio’s new Trust Request feature at https://www.clio.com/schedule-a-demo/.
About Clio
Clio is the most comprehensive cloud-based practice management platform for the legal industry. With the help of the cloud, Clio eases the process of time tracking, billing, administration, and collaboration for law firms of all sizes. Based in Vancouver, B.C. and launched in 2008, Clio is used by legal professionals in over 50 countries. Clio has raised $27 million from investors including Bessemer Venture Partners. Learn more at www.clio.com.