Melville, New York · Accounting organized by industry☎ (631) 349-1661 · [email protected]
Industry practice

Law Firm Accounting & Bookkeeping Services

Precision Accounting & Consulting is based in Melville, New York and works with clients nationwide.

Law firm accounting is a specialty, not a setting in your bookkeeping software. Between IOLTA trust rules, three-way reconciliation, advanced client costs, partner compensation, and practice-area profitability, a firm’s books have to answer questions a general accountant never sees — and getting them wrong risks your license, not just your margin. Precision Accounting & Consulting runs a dedicated law-firm accounting practice built specifically for New York attorneys.

What we do: full-service accounting and bookkeeping built for New York law firms — IOLTA/trust accounting and three-way reconciliation, a proper law-firm chart of accounts, advanced-client-cost tracking, partner compensation, monthly close, and tax planning — so your trust account stays compliant with Rule 1.15 and you can finally see which practice areas actually make money.

A Dedicated Law-Firm Practice — Not a General Accountant Dabbling

Precision is built as a niche accounting firm: instead of one generalist trying to cover every industry, we run focused practices with specialists for the fields we serve — construction, commercial real estate, and law among them. For attorneys, that means the person handling your books actually understands trust accounting, realization, and the ethics rules that govern your money. We work with solos, partnerships, and multi-attorney firms — personal injury, real estate, estate planning, and general practice — across Long Island, NYC, and New York State.

Law Firm Accounting & Bookkeeping Services

  • IOLTA / trust accounting — properly separated trust and operating accounts, per-client ledgers, and the discipline that keeps you compliant with New York’s Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15.
  • Three-way trust reconciliation — monthly reconciliation of trust bank balance, book balance, and the sum of client ledgers, so a discrepancy never becomes a grievance.
  • Law-firm chart of accounts — a proper structure that walls off trust liability, tracks advanced client costs as assets (not expenses), and segments income by practice area.
  • Bookkeeping & monthly close — clean, timely books on a law-firm chart of accounts, not a generic template.
  • Partner compensation & profitability — guaranteed payments vs. distributions, realization by matter, and which practice areas actually carry the firm.
  • Tax planning & preparation — entity strategy, New York PTET, QBI, and the timing decisions that lower an attorney’s tax bill.
  • Cleanup & catch-up — rebuilding messy or behind books, including trust accounts, into accurate monthly reporting.

The Problems We Solve

“My trust reconciliation doesn’t balance and I don’t know why.”

“I have no idea which practice area is actually making money.”

“My advanced client costs are a mess and I think they’re hurting me at tax time.”

“I’m terrified of a Rule 1.15 problem with my IOLTA account.”

“My current accountant doesn’t really understand how a law firm works.”

Why a Law-Firm Specialist Matters

Commingling trust and operating funds, or failing to keep per-client ledgers, is one of the fastest routes to a disciplinary complaint — and it usually starts with a chart of accounts that was never set up for a law firm. Booking advanced client costs as expenses quietly overstates your costs and understates recoverable assets, distorting both profit and taxes, especially on contingency work. And when every fee lands in one “legal fees” line, no one can see that the flat-fee work is subsidizing a stalled contingency docket. These aren’t bookkeeping quirks; they’re the difference between a firm that scales cleanly and one that stumbles into an ethics problem. We build the systems that keep them right all year.

How We Work

  • Assessment — we review your books, trust accounts, and chart of accounts to find the gaps and any compliance risk.
  • Cleanup & setup — a law-firm chart of accounts, trust and client-ledger structure, and advanced-cost tracking.
  • Ongoing accounting — monthly close, three-way trust reconciliation, and practice-area profitability reporting.
  • Advisory — partner comp, tax planning, and profitability guidance as the firm grows.

Serving New York Law Firms

Based in Melville on Long Island, Precision Accounting & Consulting works with law firms across Long Island, the five boroughs, and New York State — on-site where it makes sense and remotely everywhere else.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a law firm accountant do that a regular accountant doesn’t?

A law firm accountant handles IOLTA/trust accounting and three-way reconciliation, a law-firm chart of accounts, advanced client costs, partner compensation, and practice-area profitability — the ethics-driven, industry-specific work a general accountant typically isn’t set up to do.

Do you handle IOLTA trust accounting and three-way reconciliation?

Yes. We maintain properly separated trust accounts and per-client ledgers and perform monthly three-way reconciliation to keep your firm compliant with New York’s Rule 1.15.

Can you clean up our books and trust account if we’re behind?

Yes. We regularly take on cleanup and catch-up engagements, rebuild the chart of accounts and trust ledgers, and get firms back to accurate monthly reporting.

Do you work with solo attorneys and small firms?

Yes — solos, partnerships, and multi-attorney firms across personal injury, real estate, estate planning, and general practice throughout New York.

Can you help lower our firm’s taxes?

We provide tax planning and preparation, including entity strategy, New York PTET, and QBI considerations, though specific outcomes depend on your firm’s facts.

Talk With a Law-Firm Accounting Specialist

If you want books that protect your license and show your true profit, Precision Accounting & Consulting can help. Contact us to talk with a law-firm accounting specialist, or read our guides to the law firm chart of accounts and three-way trust reconciliation.

Disclaimer: General information only, not accounting, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional about your firm’s specifics.

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