Accounting
Bookkeeper for a US law firm
AccountingFull-timeUSD 1,200 – 1,700 a monthPosted Sep 3, 2026
About the role
You own the monthly close for a US law firm, from bank reconciliation through to a set of statements the partners can read without asking questions. The part that separates this from ordinary bookkeeping is trust accounting: client money is held separately, it has to balance to the penny, and a shortfall is a regulatory problem rather than an accounting one. You will work to a firm close deadline of the fifth working day, so the work is steady and predictable rather than a scramble. Nobody is checking your reconciliations line by line, which is the point of hiring someone who does not need it.
Key responsibilities
Monthly close
- Reconcile every operating bank and credit card account.
- Post accruals, prepayments and depreciation.
- Produce a profit and loss, balance sheet and cash summary by the fifth working day.
Trust accounting
- Maintain individual client trust ledgers and keep them balanced against the trust bank account.
- Perform the three way reconciliation every month and document it.
- Flag any shortfall or commingling risk the same day you see it.
Billing and receivables
- Prepare client invoices from time entries and chase the entries that are missing.
- Apply receipts, manage the aged receivables list and escalate what is overdue.
- Handle vendor bills and prepare the payment run for partner approval.
Reporting
- Answer partner questions about a number with the working behind it, not a guess.
- Prepare the year end file so the external accountant has no follow up questions.
Qualifications
- At least three years of bookkeeping for US clients, ideally including a law firm or another business holding client funds.
- Direct experience with attorney trust accounting and three way reconciliation.
- Fluent in QuickBooks Online, and comfortable in at least one legal billing system such as Clio Manage or TimeSolv.
- Strong with spreadsheets, including lookups and pivot tables, without needing a template built for you.
- Accurate under a fixed close deadline, and willing to raise a discrepancy while it is still small.
- Available for a daily overlap with US business hours for partner questions.
Skills
- Trust accounting
- QuickBooks Online
- Clio
- Excel