Billing & Trust
Getting paid without friction, and keeping trust accounting clean and compliant.
Billing a Contingency File Without Guesswork
A practical way to track time and disbursements on a no-win-no-fee matter so the fee statement is clean, compliant, and defensible when settlement lands.
Realization Versus Collection, and Why the Gap Costs You
A legal bookkeeper explains why billed is not collected, where firms quietly lose money between the two numbers, and how a small practice closes the gap.
Reading a WIP Report Without Getting Lost in the Numbers
A hands-on walkthrough of a work-in-progress report, showing which lines to bill first and how to turn aging time into paid invoices.
Writing Bills Your Client Actually Pays
Vague block billing is the real reason invoices sit unpaid. A plain-language narrative is not a compliance chore: it is one of the cheapest ways to improve your collection rate.
Realization and Utilization in Plain English
Two firm metrics everyone nods along to but few can define. Here is how each is actually calculated, and which one to fix first when profit feels thin.
Write Bill Narratives Your Clients Never Question
The words on your invoice decide whether a client pays without a second thought or picks up the phone to argue. Here is how to write narratives that hold up.
When a Client Disputes the Bill: Staying Calm and Getting Paid
A story about one uncomfortable fee dispute, and the small choices that de-escalated it, kept a good client, and made every bill I sent afterward clearer.
Retainer Replenishment Without the Awkward Email
A practical checklist for topping up retainers on a steady cadence, so the ask reads as routine housekeeping instead of a nervous plea for money.
Trust accounting without the month-end dread
Trust rules are strict, but the daily habits that keep you compliant are simple. Here is how to make reconciliation a non-event.
Fee Agreements That Head Off the Fight
A billing practice advisor on the exact engagement letter clauses that stop fee fights before they start, from scope creep to disbursements and flat fees.
Setting Flat Fees That Do Not Lose You Money
Flat-fee billing is great for clients and genuinely risky for lawyers who price it on instinct. Here is how to use your own data to set fees that hold up.
Staying Ready for a Trust Account Audit
Trust audits find bookkeeping failures, not just fraud. This checklist covers what your records need to look like every month so an audit is never a surprise.
Clear Your WIP Before Month End
Logged time that sits too long quietly stops being billable. Here is a weekly routine that turns work in progress into sent invoices before it goes stale.
Deposit and Evergreen Retainers: Choosing a Policy That Holds
Straight answers on upfront deposits versus evergreen top-ups, what belongs in trust, when to trigger a replenishment, and how to word a policy clients accept.
When a Client Disputes a Card Payment for Legal Fees
A client disputes a credit card charge for your fees. Here is what a chargeback actually is, what evidence you need, and how to respond before the deadline passes.
Why Firms Are Finally Getting Paid Online
Online and pre-authorized payments are quietly reshaping how Canadian firms collect fees. Here is what changed, what the rules allow, and where adoption is heading next.
Collecting Aged Receivables Without Souring the Relationship
A graduated sequence of reminders and honest conversations that recovers old invoices while keeping clients willing to hire you again next time.
You Found a Trust Shortage. Now What?
A calm, plain walkthrough of the moment you spot a trust shortfall: what to check first, when your law society expects a report, and how to fix it cleanly.
Invoice Narratives Clients Read and Approve
Most slow-paying invoices are not a client problem. They are a narrative problem. Here is how to write time entries that answer questions before clients ask them.
A Month-End Billing Routine a Solo Can Actually Keep
Billing slips when it has no home on your calendar. Here is a short, repeatable close routine that fits into one focused afternoon each month.
Setting Your Hourly Rate Is a Business Decision, Not a Guess
Most lawyers underprice out of habit and then never revisit the number. Here is how to set a rate on purpose and raise it without losing good clients.
Trust Reconciliation, One Careful Step at a Time
A numbered reconciliation checklist you can run the same way every month, so your trust account balances and your law society audit holds no surprises.
How We Turned a Chaotic Month End Into a Calm One
How one small firm replaced a Sunday night scramble with a repeatable month-end close, and why the numbers improved once they did.
Disbursement Tracking That Puts Real Money Back in Your Pocket
Small firms quietly lose thousands a year in unbilled disbursements. Here is where the money leaks, and how the shift to real-time cost capture is closing the gap.