Sample Bookkeeping Calendar for Law Firms

It’s a new year!  Time to make your law firm bookkeeping processes a breeze.  To do that, here’s one tool for you to add to your arsenal in the fight against the administrative beast: a calendar!  After checklists, calendars are one of our favorite beast-taming measures, and we’ve prepared this one just for you.

• January 5: Run depreciation for prior year. Enter & reconcile December transactions.  Review P&L. Review Balance Sheet.
• January 6: Prepare 3-Way Trust Reconciliation for prior month. Prepare quarterly trust statements and send to clients.
• January 10: Clean up stale A/R and A/P transactions. Review annual P&L and Balance Sheet.  Finalize budget for the year.
• January 31: Issue and file prior year’s 1099s.
• January 31: Close your firm books for the prior year and send them to your CPA to begin preparing taxes.

• February 5: Enter & reconcile January transactions. Review P&L.  Review Balance Sheet.
• February 6: Prepare 3-Way Trust Reconciliation for prior month.

• March 5: Enter & reconcile February transactions. Review P&L.  Review Balance Sheet.
• March 6: Prepare 3-Way Trust Reconciliation for prior month.

• April 5: Enter & Reconcile March Transactions. Review P&L.  Review Balance Sheet.
• April 6: Prepare 3-Way Trust Reconciliation for prior month. Prepare quarterly trust statements and send to clients.

• May 5: Enter & Reconcile April Transactions. Review P&L.  Review Balance Sheet.
• May 6: Prepare 3-Way Trust Reconciliation for prior month.

• June 5: Enter & Reconcile May Transactions. Review P&L.  Review Balance Sheet.
• June 6: Prepare 3-Way Trust Reconciliation for prior month.

• July 5: Enter & Reconcile June Transactions. Review P&L.  Review Balance Sheet.
• July 6: Prepare 3-Way Trust Reconciliation for prior month. Prepare quarterly trust statements and send to clients.

• August 5: Enter & Reconcile July Transactions. Review P&L.  Review Balance Sheet.
• August 6: Prepare 3-Way Trust Reconciliation for prior month.

• September 5: Enter & Reconcile August Transactions. Review P&L.  Review Balance Sheet.
• September 6: Prepare 3-Way Trust Reconciliation for prior month.

• October 5: Enter & Reconcile September Transactions. Review P&L.  Review Balance Sheet.
• October 6: Prepare 3-Way Trust Reconciliation for prior month. Prepare quarterly trust statements and send to clients.

• November 5: Enter & Reconcile October Transactions. Review P&L.  Review Balance Sheet.
• November 30: Prepare draft list of 1099 recipients; send Forms W-9 to 1099 recipients.

• December 5: Enter & Reconcile November Transactions. Review P&L.  Review Balance Sheet.
• December 6: Prepare draft budget for upcoming year.
• December 29: Deadline for W-9 recipients to return completed W-9 forms.