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Law firms and advocates

Payroll software for law firms and advocates

Run one monthly payroll for the clerks, secretary and salaried associates, recover the clerk's salary advance on its own, and let everyone see their payslip on their phone.

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In short

SimpleERP is payroll software for law firms and advocates. Salaried clerks and associates are paid from attendance and leave, with the deduction lines you set, salary advances recovered each month and payslips posted to the books.

Illustration of a payslip with Basic salary, Allowances, Bonus and net pay of 4,440.

A payroll day at Hartley and Osei Solicitors

Hartley and Osei Solicitors pays seven people every month: a senior clerk who has been with the firm for twenty years, a junior clerk, a secretary, an office assistant and three salaried associates. Two consultant lawyers work on a retainer and send their own bills, so they are not on the payroll at all.

The clerks spend half their days at the court registry, so attendance on a register in the office never matched reality. The senior clerk also took $1,800 as a salary advance for his daughter's college fees, to be repaid at $300 a month, and the partners kept forgetting to cut it.

In SimpleERP each person marks attendance on their phone, leave is requested and approved there too, and the monthly run builds every payslip from the paid days, with the advance recovery as a line of its own.

Salary structure

What does a clerk's salary look like in the payroll?

Each person has a structure with exactly one Basic line, any allowances, and the deductions that apply to them. Amounts are pro-rated by paid days, so a clerk who took two unpaid days is paid for the rest without anyone working it out.

  • Pension for those who are enrolled, with the employer share posted too.
  • Income tax and social security as amounts or percentages you set per person.
  • Bonus or arrears added to one month's payslip without changing the structure.
ComponentTypeAmount
BasicEarning$3,000
Travel allowance for court visitsEarning$200
Income tax withheldDeduction$410
Pension, employee share 5%Deduction$160
Salary advance recoveryDeduction$300
Net pay$2,330
October payslip for the senior clerk at Hartley and Osei Solicitors, full month. Deduction amounts follow your country's rules.

Attendance

How is attendance marked when clerks are at court all day?

Each person checks in from their phone wherever the day starts, whether that is the office or the registry, and HR or a partner can correct a day by hand. Leave requests go to a partner on the phone, and the balance updates the moment one is approved.

  • A default shift and your holiday list decide the working days.
  • Leave types such as annual and sick leave, with paid or unpaid set on each.
  • Office closures entered as holidays so they do not count as absence.

Illustration of the daily attendance sheet on a phone with a Mark all present button.

A clerk's attendance and leave on the phone.

Associates

Do consultants on a retainer go through payroll?

Only if they are employees. An associate paid a fixed salary goes on the payroll like anyone else; a consultant on a retainer who issues a bill each month is a supplier, and the bill is recorded as a purchase with the fee as an expense.

  • Salaried associates in the payroll run with their own structure.
  • Retained consultants paid against their bill, with the payment allocated to it.
  • Each run moves from generate to approve to pay, and posts salaries payable.

One system

Where payroll connects

Attendance and leave feed the run, the approved run posts salary expense and payables, and paying it clears them from the bank.

Honest limits

Limits for a law firm's payroll

  • Income tax withholding is not computed from government tables; you set the deduction per employee
  • Social security, pension and end-of-service amounts are components you set, not statutory calculations
  • No biometric device integration: attendance is marked on the phone or entered by HR
  • Tax withheld from fees paid to retained consultants, where your country requires it, is not computed; enter it on their bill

Getting started

Start with payroll

  1. Sign up with your email

    Name, email and a password. No card for the seven-day trial.

  2. 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.

  3. Add your people

    Add the clerks, secretary and salaried associates with their joining dates, salary structures and the deductions that apply.

  4. Run the first payroll

    Attendance and leave feed the run; payslips post to the books and staff see them on their phones.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Can a clerk see their own payslip without asking the office?

Yes. Each employee signs in with their email and sees only their own attendance, leave, payslips and advance balance. Partners and the accountant see everyone.

How is the senior clerk's salary advance recovered?

Record the advance with a monthly recovery amount and each payroll deducts it until it is repaid. The last month deducts only what is left, and the advances page shows paid, recovered and due.

We are only seven people. Is payroll worth setting up?

It takes an afternoon: seven structures, a shift and a holiday list. After that each month is one run to generate, check and approve, and the journal posts itself.

Can a month with an office closure be paid in full?

Yes. Enter the closure days as holidays, so they count as paid and no one loses pay for days the office was shut.

Related

See how payroll works in SimpleERP for law firms and advocates

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