Law firms and advocates
Inventory software for a law office
A law firm sells advice, not goods, so most never open the stock screens. If you want to track paper, toner and file covers, or keep the law library on the books, here is how much to set up.
In short
SimpleERP is ERP software that a law office can run without stock. Services never touch inventory; a firm that wants it can track stationery and file covers with reorder levels, and keep its law library as fixed assets.
Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.
An inventory day at Hartley and Osei Solicitors
Nobody at Hartley and Osei Solicitors thinks of the firm as having stock. Yet the clerk buys A4 paper by the carton, matter file covers by the hundred, printer toner every few weeks and a box of court bundle dividers, and twice this year the office ran out of paper the evening before a filing.
The other thing on the shelves is the library: bound law reports, practitioner texts and a set of commentaries worth several thousand dollars. Those are not consumed, they are kept for years, and the partners' accountant wants them on the balance sheet with depreciation.
SimpleERP handles both without forcing either. Consumables can be products with a reorder level, the library is a fixed asset, and if the firm decides stock is not worth the effort, the stock screens simply stay out of the way.
Do you need it
Does a law firm need inventory at all?
Usually not. Your fee lines are services, and services never appear in stock screens or move stock when a fee note posts. A firm that buys paper and toner can just record those as expenses and stop there; tracking them as stock is only worth it when running out costs you a filing.
- Services and goods kept apart: a legal opinion never touches a warehouse.
- Stationery as an expense in one step, with the bill photo attached.
- One location by default, with branches and warehouses hidden until you add them.
Consumables
How would we track paper, file covers and toner?
Add each consumable as a product with a unit and a reorder level. A purchase bill from the stationer adds to stock at its cost, a monthly stock count records what the office used, and anything at or below its level shows on the low-stock list with the supplier you last bought from.
- Units that match how you buy: ream, box, carton, piece.
- Purchase order drafts from the low-stock list, one per supplier.
- Weighted average cost on every item, so the value on hand is right.
| Item | Unit | Reorder level | Bought from |
|---|---|---|---|
| A4 paper, 80 gsm | Ream | 20 | The stationer near the courts |
| Matter file covers | Piece | 100 | The same stationer |
| Printer toner cartridge | Piece | 2 | The printer dealer |
| Court bundle dividers | Box | 5 | The legal stationer |
Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.
Disbursements
What about fees and searches bought for clients?
Search fees, court fees and certified copies are normally bought for one client's matter and billed back to that client, so it is an out-of-pocket cost, not stock. Record the purchase as an expense and add it to the client's fee note at cost; keeping it as inventory only adds a step.
- Expense with the receipt recorded the day it is paid.
- Billed back at cost as a line on the client's fee note.
- Notary charges and courier costs handled the same way.
Fixed assets
Can the law library go on the books?
Yes, as fixed assets rather than stock. Each set of law reports or commentaries is an asset with a cost, a purchase date and a depreciation method, and one click each month posts the depreciation journal for all of them.
- Asset register with the library, computers, furniture and the firm's car.
- Custodian on each asset, such as the partner who keeps a laptop.
- Disposal with the gain or loss worked out when an old set is sold.
Illustration of a fixed asset card with a monthly straight-line depreciation schedule.
One system
Where stock and assets connect
Stationery bills add to stock or go straight to expenses, and the library's depreciation posts to the same ledger as your fee income.
Law firms and advocates
Fee notes with the right tax, client advances on account, disbursements at cost and payroll for clerks.
See howPayroll for law firms
Monthly salaries for clerks, secretaries and salaried associates, with deductions, advances and payslips on the phone.
See howAccounting for law firms
Fee income, client advances on account, tax withheld by clients, office expenses and a month-end your accountant can close.
See howInventory
Stock on hand by warehouse at weighted average cost, with a movement ledger and a low-stock list.
See howFixed assets
An asset register with monthly depreciation, custodians, maintenance and disposal.
See how
Honest limits
Limits for a law office
- No batch, lot, serial or expiry tracking, and no barcode scanning
- Weighted average cost only; there is no FIFO
- No automatic reorder suggestions: the reorder level shows what is low, you decide what to buy
- No library lending register for who has borrowed which volume
- No document or file tracking for case files moving between chamber and court
Getting started
Start with inventory
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 products and opening stock
Most firms can skip this. If you track consumables, add paper, file covers and toner with units and reorder levels, and the count you have today.
Post a bill and an invoice
Stock rises on the purchase bill and falls on the invoice, at weighted average cost, with nothing to count by hand.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Will the stock screens get in the way if we never use them?
No. A firm that only bills services never sees stock moving, and inventory stays a menu you do not open. Nothing about fee notes or payroll depends on it.
Should law books be stock or assets?
Assets, in most cases, because they are kept and used for years rather than sold or used up. Your accountant can confirm the depreciation rate you should apply to the library.
Can I charge a client for the stationery used on their matter?
Add it as a line on the fee note. If the item is a product in stock, the line also issues it from stock; if it is a cost you recorded as an expense, use a free-text line at cost.
We have two offices, one near the courts and one in Canary Wharf. Can stock be kept separately?
Yes. Add a second warehouse and move paper or toner between them with a transfer. Until you add it, the second location stays hidden.
Related
Keep reading
Law firms and advocates
Fee notes with the right tax, client advances on account, disbursements at cost and payroll for clerks.
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
See how inventory works in SimpleERP for law firms and advocates
Seven days free. No card. Your first invoice in minutes.