ONLINE LEGAL BOOKKEEPING COURSE - ONLINE LEGAL BOOKKEEPING

LEGAL BOOKKEEPING COURSE

TELL ME AND I WILL FORGET

SHOW ME AND I WILL REMEMBER

LET ME AND I WILL UNDERSTAND

Table of contents

Module 1 Introduction and basic concepts. General overview of AJS

Module 2 General Bookkeeping – File Maintenance eg, opening of various accounts, various transaction postings

Module 3 Business control of Trust and business principles and the practical running of a business.

Module 4 Accounting records, systems, and procedures, methods of recording various types of entries including journals. What is “transfer of cash” and “transfer of value” ?

Module 5 Transfer journal and transfer procedures from Trust to Business Transfers and the understanding of the function of the Transfer journal.

Module 6 Investment / Section 86 Accounts and the difference between investment and investment principles. Section 86 (1); Section 86 (2) and Section 86 (3). Interest calculations on Section 86 accounts.

Module 7 Correspondent transactions and accounts. Conveyancing transactions and how bond/guarantees, VAT/Transfer duties are recorded.

Module 8 Fee book Manager and Work in progres “WIP”. Printing Tax Invoices, on-line receipting and Statements.

Module 9 Balancing of General Ledger accounts

Module 10 Petty Cash Journal; Value Added Taxation (VAT) Input and Output, principles, applications, terminology calculation and record keeping

Module 11 Cash books and Bank Reconciliation

Module 12 Various AJS reports, month end and year end procedures

Introduction to Legal Bookkeeping

The system used today, dates back to italy in approximately 1494. It was introduced by Luca Pacioli, a mathematician and monk and is referred to as the DOUBLE ENTRY SYSTEM.

LEGAL BOOKKEEPING, and the more detailed ACCOUNTING can be referred to as the LANGUAGE of finance or money. It is a means to explain what has happened to money when a TRANSACTION takes place. To come to terms with this LANGUAGE, certain fundamental principles must be adhered to, and learnt.

This course has been designed to lead the Learner through a systematic path to ultimately having a clear understanding of LEGAL Bookkeeping, and to be able to record all relevant information.

Transactions

A transaction takes place between two or more people who exchange something of value and this transaction must be recorded in the records. The need for the recording is to enable a historical record to be kept, for analysis purposes and to ensure that all the relevant parties have the necessary information available to them.

The Legal Bookkeeping Process:

Full accounting system including trust management, with facility to prevent funds transfers by use of ‘holding trust’ and automatic transfers for an unlimited number of trust bank accounts.

Opening and maintaining client matter accounts, nominal and trust ledger accounts as well as any other files

Debit notes, Disbursements, Journals, Receipts and Payments. On-line receipts; Bank Recon, and Fee book postings.

Work in Progress “WIP” which allows the fee earner to record charges as he performs the work, but will only be debited to the client’s account at a later stage – the recorded fees can then be selectively converted to actual fees.

Bank deposits, Trust Transfers and Interest/Standard Debit Updates, and Update Interest on Investments.

Customised reports. Perform account enquiries on client, nominal and trust ledger accounts. Maintain all fee books.

Section 86 Investment accounts as per the Legal Practice Council “LPC” guidelines.

The Legal Practitioners Fidelity Fund interest.

Agent or correspondent control accounts.

Trust cashbook and Trust Investment Accounts

Direct debiting for collections, Supreme and Magistrates courts, Party & Party, Attorney Client as well as Attorney Own cient scales.

Client ledgers – made up of client and matter accounts with trust and business balances kept strictly separate.

Nominal Ledger – All Private and Business Creditor accounts.

Assets, Liabilities, Income, Expenses and Control account.

Trust Ledger – all trust bank accounts

Creditor Accounts (eg Sheriffs., Advocates and General Creditors)

Month-end functions such as, statements and remittance advices.

Client Ledger

The client ledger consist of a client (with one account number), with one or more matters linked to the client account

Separate Matters

For matters linked to a separate matter client, there is no financial offset between the other linked matters i.e. the balance on each linked matter is kept separate, and does not update the client balance.

Nominal Ledger

Asset Accounts eg : Business Cash book, Petty Cash, Office equipment, Vehicles etc
Liability Accounts eg : Partners Capital, Loans, etc
Income eg : Fees, Interest Received
Expense Accounts eg : Salaries, Rent, Telephone, etc
Business Creditors eg : Advocates
Control Accounts eg : VAT Input and Output Vat accounts, Take-on Accounts