Trust Accounting · Ontario Law Firms

LSO trust accounting,
built into your practice.

Track every client trust receipt and disbursement. See per-client balances in real time. Get alerted the moment a balance goes negative. Export your trust ledger as CSV any time — all inside Atticus, your AI practice management platform.

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LSO By-Law 9

“A licensee shall maintain one or more trust accounts...in the name of the licensee clearly identified as a trust account.”

Ontario lawyers are required to maintain separate trust accounts for client funds, keep records for 10+ years, and never allow a negative balance. Atticus is designed to help you stay organized and compliant.

Everything you need for
Ontario trust compliance.

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Record Receipts & Disbursements

Log every trust receipt and disbursement with client, matter, date, amount, description, and reference number. Supports cheque, wire, and electronic fund transfers. Works for any Ontario law firm trust account.

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Per-Client Trust Balances

See every client's current trust balance in real time. Balances update instantly with each new entry. View all clients on the Trust Balances tab or check an individual client's trust ledger from their client page.

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Negative Balance Alerts

LSO rules prohibit negative trust balances. Atticus flags any client whose trust balance goes negative — immediately on the Trust page and in your daily morning briefing email. No compliance surprises.

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Trust Ledger CSV Export

Export your complete trust ledger as a RFC 4180-compliant CSV: Date, Type, Client, Matter, Description, Reference Number, Amount. Import directly into Excel, Google Sheets, or your accounting software for LSO compliance records.

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Filter by Client or Matter

View trust transactions for a specific client or matter. From any client page or matter page, click 'Trust' to see all trust activity scoped to that client or matter. Makes client-specific reconciliation fast.

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Record Trust via AI Chat

Tell Atticus: 'Record a $5,000 trust receipt from Smith for the Mitchell purchase' — and it records the transaction directly from your conversation. Also works for disbursements. Ask 'What's Smith's trust balance?' anytime.

Trust accounting as part of
your whole practice.

01

Receive funds into trust

Record a trust receipt from the client with a reference number and description. The client's balance updates instantly. You can see it in the Trust page, on the client card, and in the matter timeline.

02

Pay disbursements from trust

Record disbursements as you incur them — land transfer tax, title insurance, government fees. Atticus tracks the running balance and prevents any negative-balance blind spots.

03

Morning briefing flags negative balances

If any client trust balance goes negative — say, a disbursement was recorded before the corresponding receipt — Atticus flags it in your next morning briefing email so you catch it immediately.

04

Export for your accounting software

Download your trust ledger as CSV any time. One click, RFC 4180-compliant, importable into your bookkeeper's software for your annual trust compliance report.

Trust accounting questions

Does Atticus replace my accounting software?

No — Atticus is designed to complement your accounting software, not replace it. Atticus keeps your trust records organized within your practice management workflow. The CSV export feeds into your bookkeeper's software for tax and LSO compliance purposes. Think of Atticus as your daily operational tool; your accountant uses the exported data for year-end compliance.

How does Atticus handle trust accounting by matter?

Every trust transaction can be linked to both a client and a specific matter. On any matter page, you can see all trust transactions linked to that matter. This is especially useful for real estate closings where each transaction may have multiple disbursements tied to a specific deal.

Can my assistant or paralegal use Atticus?

Yes. Atticus is designed for solo and small law firms. Multiple team members can use the system. All trust entries are logged with timestamps. Note that Atticus currently operates under one lawyer account — multi-user firm accounts are on the roadmap.

What's the difference between Atticus trust accounting and QuickBooks?

QuickBooks is general-purpose bookkeeping software. It doesn't understand legal trust accounting requirements, client-matter structure, or LSO compliance. Atticus is purpose-built for Ontario law firms — it knows what a trust receipt is, enforces per-client balance tracking, flags LSO violations like negative balances, and integrates with your document management and AI assistant.

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Full trust accounting included. No credit card required.

Trust accounting · AI document processing · Morning briefings · Conflict checks

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