Law firms and advocates
Billing and accounting software for law firms and advocates
Raise fee notes with the right tax treatment, hold client advances on account, recover court fees and disbursements at cost, and pay your clerks and associates from the same books.
In short
SimpleERP is billing and accounting software for law firms and advocates. Fee notes carry the right tax for each client, advances wait on account, disbursements are billed back at cost, and expenses, payroll and the ledger stay in one place.
Illustration of tax invoice INV-2026-0213 to Northside Retail with tax 10% and the amount in words.
A day in a law firm
A firm sells advice, drafting and appearances, so the money side is a steady stream of fee notes, advances and small costs paid for clients.
At Hartley and Osei Solicitors in London, the morning starts with the senior clerk listing what was spent yesterday: a court fee on a fresh claim, a search fee on a property purchase, a notary charge and a taxi to the High Court. Each belongs to a client matter and must come back on the next fee note, yet today they sit on scraps of paper.
In the afternoon a software company in Amsterdam asks for its fee note for a legal opinion. It is a business abroad, so the fee is billed without UK tax and the fee note must say why. A retired teacher's property dispute is local, so her bill carries the standard rate. Then a payment arrives short because a client's bank charges were taken off, and nobody is sure where to put the difference.
SimpleERP gives that firm one ledger. Each client has a tax treatment, each fee note carries the rate on every line and a note on why, an advance stays on account until a bill takes it, and the clerk's out-of-pocket spends are recorded against the books the firm's accountant reads.
Billing
Fee notes with the right tax for every client
Legal services usually carry your country's standard rate for a local client, while advice to a business abroad is often outside the scope. SimpleERP lets you mark a client as exempt so the print says so, pick the rate on each fee line, and write the reason in the invoice notes.
- A saved service for each kind of work: advisory, drafting, appearance and arbitration, each with its tax rate.
- Client tax treatment set once per client; an exempt client's bill prints "Tax: exempt" with no tax rows.
- Notes and terms on the fee note for the tax wording and your bank details.
| Line | Client | Usual tax treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Advice, drafting or representation | Individual or business in your country | Your standard rate, such as 20% VAT in the UK |
| Legal opinion | Business in another country | Often outside the scope of your tax; say so in the notes |
| Court fee paid as the client's agent | Any | A disbursement, billed back at cost without tax |
| Travel or copying you buy to do the work | Any | Part of your fee, taxed the same way |
Payments
Advances and part payments that settle themselves
Clients pay before the work and again in instalments, so receipts rarely match a single bill. In SimpleERP an advance is recorded as a receipt that stays on account, and when the fee note is raised it is applied, leaving the true balance on the client's statement.
- Receipts by bank transfer, card or cheque, with the reference or cheque number kept.
- Money on account shows on the client until you allocate it to a fee note.
- Bounced cheque is cancelled with a reason, and the bills it paid re-open.
- Receivables ageing by client, so a slow payer is visible before the next hearing.
Illustration of receivables ageing: 2,441 to collect across 5 buckets, with customer totals.
Expenses
Court fees and disbursements, billed back at cost
The clerk pays court fees, search fees, notary charges, certified copies and travel on the client's behalf. Each one is recorded with a photo of the receipt, and the same amount goes on the client's next fee note as a disbursement line without tax, so nothing paid out is forgotten.
- Expense from a phone with the receipt photo attached and a category such as court fees.
- Staff claims for the clerk's own cash, approved by a partner and reimbursed.
- Free-text lines on the fee note for each cost recovered at cost.
Illustration of an expense claim on a phone with a receipt photo and Approve and Reject buttons.
People and payroll
Pay clerks and salaried associates on one run
A firm of eight usually has a senior clerk, a secretary and a few associates on a fixed monthly amount. The payroll run reads paid days from attendance and leave, and each payslip posts its salary and deductions to the books on approval.
- Salary structures with basic pay and allowances, set per person.
- Salary advances to a clerk, recovered from later payslips until settled.
- Self-service on the phone for attendance, leave and payslips.
- Consultant counsel who send their own bills are paid as suppliers instead.
Illustration of a payslip with Basic salary, Allowances, Bonus and net pay of 4,440.
Accounting
Books your accountant can close without calling the clerk
Every fee note, receipt, expense and payslip writes its own journal, so the trial balance and P&L are ready on any date. The few entries no document covers, such as tax withheld by a client or a partner's drawings, go in as journals the database refuses to save unbalanced.
- Bank register reconciled by ticking cleared lines against the statement.
- Law library and furniture kept as fixed assets with monthly depreciation.
- Accountant role for your accountant, with reports exported to CSV.
By job
Law firms and advocates by job
Inventory for law offices
Most firms skip stock; those that track stationery, toner or file covers can, and the library is an asset.
Read moreAccounting for law firms
Fee income, client advances on account, tax withheld by clients, office expenses and a month-end your accountant can close.
Read morePayroll for law firms
Monthly salaries for clerks, secretaries and salaried associates, with deductions, advances and payslips on the phone.
Read more
One system
The modules that do this work
A fee note posts the receivable and the income, a receipt settles it, and the clerk's expenses and the monthly payroll land in the same ledger.
Invoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
See howPayments & receivables
Receipts and payments allocated oldest first, receivables and payables ageing, and statements.
See howExpenses
Business expenses with receipts, and staff claims from submit to approve to reimburse.
See howAccounting
A double-entry ledger with journals, bank registers, statements and a lock date.
See howPayroll
Salary structures, monthly runs and payslips with your earnings and deductions, posted to the books.
See howFixed assets
An asset register with monthly depreciation, custodians, maintenance and disposal.
See how
Honest limits
What SimpleERP does not do for law firms yet
Firms ask about these, and the honest answer is no for now.
- Matter or case management, and a court diary or hearing calendar.
- Client trust or escrow accounting: a client advance is an ordinary receipt held on account, not a separate client account.
- A reverse charge flag on the invoice; where a client accounts for the tax, the wording goes in the invoice notes.
- Tax withheld by clients is not computed; post what clients deduct with a journal.
- Timesheets or billing by the hour from tracked time.
Getting started
Start with your first invoice
Sign up with your email
Name, email and a password. No card for the seven-day trial.
Tell us about the business
Pick your country and, if you are registered, type your tax number. Accounts, tax rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for that country.
Add what you sell
Add your services, such as legal opinion, drafting and appearance, with their tax rates. Mark exempt clients as exempt when you add them.
Post your first invoice
Pick the customer, add lines and save. Your first invoice can be out within 10 minutes of signing up.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Do lawyers charge tax on their fee notes?
In most VAT and GST countries, yes: legal fees to a local client carry the standard rate, and advice to a business abroad is often outside the scope. Many US states do not tax legal services. In India, legal services to a business usually fall under reverse charge, so the client pays the GST. In SimpleERP you set the rate on each service and an exempt client's bill prints "Tax: exempt". Rates differ by country and change, so confirm the rate for your goods with your accountant or tax authority before you rely on it.
Can SimpleERP keep track of my matters and hearing dates?
No. There is no matter management or court diary. Many firms name the matter in the invoice reference and notes so the fee notes for one case are easy to find, and keep the hearing calendar where it is today.
How do I record an advance a client pays before the work starts?
Record it as a receipt from that client. It stays on account and shows on the client's statement until you allocate it to the fee note it covers. It is not a separate client account, so check your regulator's rules on holding client money.
A client paid less than the fee note. How is that recorded?
Record the amount that actually reached your bank as the receipt. If the client withheld tax, post that part with a manual journal to a tax receivable account; if they disputed part of the fee, raise a credit note. The fee note then shows as settled.
We keep our accounts in spreadsheets or an old app. How do we move?
Start from the first day of a month or your financial year: import your clients and services from a spreadsheet, with each client's opening balance. Old fee notes stay in your old books.
Related
Keep reading
Professional services
Service invoices with the right tax, quotations, a CRM pipeline, expense claims and payroll.
Read morePayments & receivables
Receipts and payments allocated oldest first, receivables and payables ageing, and statements.
Read moreExpenses
Business expenses with receipts, and staff claims from submit to approve to reimburse.
Read moreAccounting for law firms
Fee income, client advances on account, tax withheld by clients, office expenses and a month-end your accountant can close.
Read more
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