The Attorney Trust Account Reconciliation is the monthly record that proves the money you hold for clients is all there, fully accounted for, and never mixed with your own funds. Every lawyer who holds client money in a trust or IOLTA account must complete one, because ABA Model Rule 1.15 and nearly every state’s matching rule require it. This guide uses the State Bar of California’s one-page form, titled Monthly Trust Account Reconciliation and Review Certification, as the model, because it mirrors the standard “three-way reconciliation” that bar associations across the country expect.
This task feels scary for many lawyers, and that fear is fair. Failed or missing reconciliations are the single most cited problem in attorney discipline cases involving client funds, and fewer than 60% of small firms do this step every month. The good news is that the form follows a clear pattern: three numbers must match, and when they do, you have audit-ready proof that every client dollar is safe.
Here is what you will learn in this guide:
- 📋 What the three-way reconciliation form is and exactly who must file it
- 🗂️ The eight documents and records you must gather before you start
- ✍️ A line-by-line walkthrough of every box on the form, with sample entries
- 👥 Three full examples that follow real lawyers through the whole form
- ⚠️ The most common mistakes that trigger bar audits, and how to dodge them
What the Form Is and Who Must File It
The Attorney Trust Account Reconciliation is a written record that compares three separate sets of numbers and confirms they agree to the penny. The three numbers are your trust account journal balance, the total of all your individual client ledger balances, and your adjusted bank statement balance. When all three match, your account is “reconciled,” which means no client money is missing, misplaced, or mixed with firm money. The California form carries the revision tied to current Rule 1.15, so confirm you are using the version posted on the State Bar site before you begin.
Every lawyer who holds funds belonging to a client or third party must complete this reconciliation. That includes solo practitioners, small-firm bookkeepers, paralegals, office managers, and managing partners who review staff work. The duty itself is nondelegable, which is a key word. You can have your bookkeeper do the math, but the responsible attorney must personally review and sign the certification, and that attorney bears full responsibility no matter who held the pen.
The agency that can demand this record is your state bar. In California, that is the State Bar of California, through its Client Trust Account Protection Program. The statute that requires the record is Rule 1.15 and its recordkeeping Standards, and the deadline is monthly. The penalty for skipping it can include a mandatory audit at your expense, suspension of your trust account, and discipline up to disbarment, even when no client money is actually missing.
A common misconception is that you only need to reconcile when you suspect a problem. That belief gets lawyers suspended. The rule requires a reconciliation every month, on a set schedule, whether or not anything looks wrong, because the record itself is the proof regulators want to see.
Before You Start: Documents and Information You Need
Gather every record before you open the form. Trying to fill in boxes while hunting for a missing bank statement is how errors creep in, and a single missing document can leave your reconciliation incomplete and out of compliance. The State Bar instructions list six attachments, and a complete file needs even more. Here is the full pre-filing checklist:
- The trust account journal (account journal). This is the running record of every deposit and disbursement across the whole account. Without it, you cannot enter Box 1, and your reconciliation has no starting point.
- Individual client ledgers. You need one ledger per client showing that client’s deposits, costs, and current balance. Missing even one means your total in Box 2A will be wrong.
- The bank statement with check copies. This shows the bank’s official ending balance and every cleared item. Without it, you cannot complete Box 3 or verify that recorded checks actually cleared.
- A client ledger summary with balances. This is a one-page list of every client name and their current balance, used to total Box 2A. If it is missing, you cannot prove the sum is correct.
- A list of outstanding deposits. These are deposits you made but the bank has not yet posted. Leaving these off makes your adjusted bank balance too low and breaks the match.
- A list of outstanding disbursements. These are checks you wrote that have not yet cleared. Forgetting them makes your adjusted bank balance too high and breaks the match.
- Your firm’s general ledger trust liability account. Many systems track a trust liability balance that should equal the client ledger total. Skipping this check hides posting errors between systems.
- The prior month’s reconciliation. Last month’s outstanding items and ending figures are your starting reference. Without it, you cannot tell which old checks finally cleared.
Also collect basic account facts you will type into the gray header: firm name, bank name, account name, account number, the account open date, and, if relevant, the close date. Missing these does not break the math, but it makes the record harder to match to the right account during an audit.
Where to Get the Form and How to Access It
The official California form lives on the State Bar website as a fillable PDF. You can download the Monthly Trust Account Reconciliation and Review Certification directly from the State Bar’s client trust accounting resources page, which also hosts the account journal and client ledger templates that feed this form. The form works with any recordkeeping system, whether you use paper, a spreadsheet, or software.
If you practice in another state, your own bar likely publishes a close cousin of this form. The Washington State Bar Association offers a Monthly Reconciliation and Review Report, and the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers and North Carolina State Bar publish their own guidance under their versions of Rule 1.15. The structure is nearly identical everywhere because all of them flow from the same three-way reconciliation concept.
You can also generate the same three figures inside practice management software such as Clio, MyCase, or TrustBooks, or in accounting tools like QuickBooks paired with a trust add-on. Software fills the numbers in for you, but you still must review each line and sign the certification. The fillable PDF auto-calculates the totals in the shaded boxes once you type the inputs, which cuts down on math errors.
A common misconception is that using software means you can skip the form. That is false in California, where the written reconciliation record is itself a required record under the Standards adopted pursuant to Rule 1.15. Keep the signed form even when software did the work.
Step-by-Step: How to Fill Out the Trust Account Reconciliation Line by Line
The form has a gray header for account details and three numbered sections that must agree. Fill them in the order they appear, because Section 3 depends on lists you build while reviewing the bank statement. Sample entries below are shown in italics so you can tell them apart from instructions.
Header: Firm Name, Bank Name, Account Name, and Account Number
This top block asks for the basic identity of the account you are reconciling. Enter your firm’s legal name, the bank’s name, the exact account name as printed on the statement, and the full account number. Type them as they appear on the bank statement, not from memory, so the record matches the bank’s records during an audit.
A solo lawyer might enter Lopez Law Office as the firm name, First County Bank as the bank name, Lopez Law Office Client Trust Account as the account name, and XXXXXX4417 as the account number. You can mask all but the last four digits for security when you store copies. Once you enter this block, save the file as your template, because these fields will not change month to month.
A nuance here involves firms with more than one trust account. You must complete a separate form for each trust account you hold, so a firm with an IOLTA account and a separate interest-bearing account for one large matter files two forms. A common mistake is reusing one form for two accounts, which blends the numbers and guarantees the totals will never match. The misconception to correct is that the account “name” is your firm name; it is the title printed on the trust account itself, which usually includes the words “client trust account.”
Header: Month and Year, Account Open Date, Close Date, and Reconciliation Date
This part of the header sets the time period the reconciliation covers. Select the month and year from the drop-down boxes, enter the account open date, leave the close date blank unless you closed the account, and enter the reconciliation date. The reconciliation date is the last day of the bank statement period, not the day you happen to do the work.
For a statement covering May 2026, you would select May and 2026, enter an open date of 01/15/2019, leave close date empty, and enter a reconciliation date of 05/31/2026. Use the MM/DD/YYYY format throughout for consistency. If you closed the account mid-month, enter the close date so the bar knows why the next month has no activity.
A nuance is that the reconciliation date drives every balance you report; all three sections must be measured as of that same date. A common mistake is using the date you sat down to work, which pulls in transactions from the next period and throws off the match. The misconception to correct is that “month and year” means the month you are doing the work; it means the statement month you are reconciling, which is almost always the prior month.
Box 1: Trust Account Journal Balance
This box asks for the balance shown in your account journal as of the reconciliation date. The account journal is the master log of every deposit and disbursement across the entire account. Enter the ending balance from that journal as of the last day of the statement period.
If your journal shows a running balance of $2,380.00 on May 31, you enter $2,380.00 in Box 1. Pull this figure straight from the journal, not from the bank statement, because Box 1 is meant to test your own records against the bank’s. The form then asks a yes/no compliance question: Does each entry contain the information required by Standard (1)(b)? That means client name, date, amount, payor or payee, and current balance.
A nuance is the compliance question itself. If you used the State Bar’s journal template, you can answer Yes, but if your entries are missing the payee or a running balance, you must answer No and fix the journal. A common mistake is entering the bank balance here instead of the journal balance, which defeats the whole purpose of the check and can hide a missing journal entry. The misconception to correct is that Box 1 should already match the bank; it often will not until you adjust for outstanding items in Section 3, and that is normal.
Box 2A: Total Individual Client Ledger Balances
This box asks for the sum of every client’s current trust balance, including all undisbursed funds. Build a client ledger summary that lists each client name beside their balance, then total it. Enter that grand total in Box 2A.
Suppose you hold $1,500.00 for client Maria Lopez and $880.00 for client James Carter; you would enter $2,380.00 in Box 2A. Each ledger must show date, amount, payor or payee, purpose, and current balance, and the form asks you to confirm this in a yes/no question. The form also asks whether all client ledgers have a positive or zero balance, and you must be able to answer Yes.
A nuance is that “undisbursed funds” means money you are holding even if you believe you have earned it but have not yet moved it. A common mistake is leaving a client off the summary, which makes Box 2A too low and breaks the three-way match by exactly that client’s balance. The misconception to correct is that a negative ledger is a minor rounding issue; a negative client balance means you used one client’s money for another, which is a serious ethics violation that you must fix before you continue, and you cannot reconcile around it.
Box 2B: Total Bank Charges Balance in Trust Account
This box captures the small amount of your own firm money that you are allowed to keep in the trust account to cover bank fees. Rule 1.15(c)(1) lets you deposit funds reasonably sufficient to pay bank charges, and this box reports that cushion. Enter the balance of firm funds held only for bank charges as of the reconciliation date.
If you keep a $50.00 buffer in the account to cover monthly service fees, you enter $50.00 in Box 2B. The form then asks whether the firm funds are no more than reasonably sufficient to pay bank charges, and you answer Yes if the cushion is small and tied to real fees. The form auto-calculates Total 2 by adding Box 2A and Box 2B.
A nuance is that many lawyers keep no buffer at all and instead pay bank fees from the operating account; if that is you, enter $0.00 here. A common mistake is parking a large sum of firm money in the trust account, which is commingling and a direct rule violation. The misconception to correct is that any firm money in a trust account is illegal; a small, documented amount for bank charges is allowed, but anything beyond what fees require is not.
Box 3A: Bank Statement Ending Balance
This box starts the bank side of the reconciliation. Find the ending balance printed at the top of your trust account bank statement for the period and copy it exactly. Enter that figure in Box 3A.
If the statement’s ending balance is $2,700.00, you enter $2,700.00 in Box 3A. Use the official ending balance, not the available balance or any mid-cycle figure, because only the ending balance lines up with your reconciliation date. This is the bank’s word on how much cash sat in the account at period end.
A nuance is that the bank’s ending balance almost never matches your journal yet, because checks you wrote may not have cleared and recent deposits may not have posted. A common mistake is grabbing the “available balance” from online banking, which can include holds and pending items and will not match. The misconception to correct is that a gap between Box 3A and Box 1 means an error; the gap is expected and gets resolved by the outstanding items in Boxes 3B and 3C.
Box 3B: Add Outstanding Deposits
This box adds back deposits you have recorded and made but the bank has not yet posted to the statement. Review your journal against the statement, list every deposit that has not yet cleared, and total it. Enter that total in Box 3B, where it is added to the bank balance.
If you deposited a $500.00 client retainer on May 30 that does not appear on the May statement, you enter $500.00 in Box 3B. Build a written list of outstanding deposits so you can prove each one, and keep that list with the form. The form adds this figure because the money truly belongs in the account even though the bank has not caught up.
A nuance involves deposits that never clear; if a deposit is still outstanding after the next statement, investigate, because it may have been lost or recorded twice. A common mistake is forgetting a late-month deposit, which makes the adjusted bank balance too low and breaks the match by that amount. The misconception to correct is that a deposit “counts” only once the bank posts it; for reconciliation it counts on the date you received and recorded it.
Box 3C: Less Outstanding Disbursements
This box subtracts checks and other payments you have recorded but that have not yet cleared the bank. Compare your journal of checks written against the cleared items on the statement, list every check still outstanding, and total it. Enter that total in Box 3C, where it is subtracted from the bank balance.
If you wrote check number 1001 for $320.00 to South County Superior Court on May 28 and it has not cleared, you enter $320.00 in Box 3C. Keep a written list of outstanding disbursements, including check number, payee, and amount, attached to the form. The form subtracts this figure because that money is already promised out, even though it still shows in the bank balance.
A nuance is the stale check; if a disbursement stays outstanding for months, contact the payee, because uncashed trust checks can eventually become unclaimed property you must report. A common mistake is omitting an outstanding check, which leaves the adjusted bank balance too high and breaks the match. The misconception to correct is that a check leaves your trust the moment you mail it; it remains your responsibility, and outstanding, until it clears.
Total 3 and the Final Match: Do Totals 1, 2, and 3 Agree?
This is where the three-way reconciliation comes together. The form auto-calculates Total 3 as Box 3A plus Box 3B minus Box 3C, producing your adjusted bank statement balance. You then answer the final yes/no question: Do total balances of 1, 2, and 3 agree?
Using the figures above, Total 3 is $2,700.00 + $500.00 – $320.00 = $2,880.00. Wait, that does not match $2,380.00, which signals an unrecorded item to investigate; in a clean month where the only outstanding item is the $320 check and Box 1 is $2,380, Total 3 would resolve to $2,380.00 and all three agree. When Box 1, Total 2, and Total 3 are identical, you check Yes and your account is reconciled.
A nuance is what to do on a No: the form tells you plainly that the account is not reconciled, so you must identify the error and re-reconcile rather than sign. A common mistake is forcing the numbers to match with a fake “adjustment” entry, which is a glaring red flag in any audit. The misconception to correct is that a one-dollar difference is harmless; a tiny gap usually points to a process failure that will grow, so you chase down every penny.
Reconciliation Prepared By and the Attorney Certification
The bottom of the form has two signature blocks. The first, Reconciliation Prepared By, asks for the preparer’s name, position, signature, and date, which is where a bookkeeper or paralegal signs. The second, the Attorney Certification, asks for the attorney’s name, bar number, signature, and date.
A paralegal named Dana Reyes would sign the preparer block as Paralegal on 06/05/2026, and attorney Carlos Mendez, Bar No. 248115 would sign the certification after reviewing every figure and attachment. The certification language states that the attorney personally reviewed the report and all supporting documents and holds a nondelegable duty for the funds. If you are a solo who did the work yourself, you sign the attorney certification and can note that you prepared it too.
A nuance is timing; the attorney should sign only after the totals agree, because signing an unbalanced reconciliation certifies something untrue. A common mistake is the attorney rubber-stamping a staff member’s work without checking the attachments, which transfers none of the liability but all of the risk. The misconception to correct is that the bookkeeper’s signature satisfies the rule; it does not, because only the attorney’s certification meets the duty under Rule 1.15.
Three Filled-Out Examples Using Real Scenarios
These three scenarios follow real lawyers through the form so you can see how the pieces fit together. Each table shows the form section and what that person enters.
Scenario 1: Solo lawyer with one client retainer. Aisha runs a solo family law practice and holds a single client’s retainer this month.
| Form Section | What Aisha Enters |
|---|---|
| Account Name | Aisha Khan Law Client Trust Account |
| Month and Year | May 2026 |
| Reconciliation Date | 05/31/2026 |
| Box 1 Journal Balance | $3,000.00 |
| Box 2A Client Ledger Total | $3,000.00 (one client, Bell matter) |
| Box 2B Bank Charges | $0.00 |
| Box 3A Bank Ending Balance | $3,000.00 |
| Box 3B Outstanding Deposits | $0.00 |
| Box 3C Outstanding Disbursements | $0.00 |
| Do 1, 2, 3 Agree? | Yes |
Scenario 2: Firm holding settlement funds for several clients. Marcus is a personal injury lawyer holding settlement money for three clients while liens get resolved.
| Form Section | What Marcus Enters |
|---|---|
| Account Name | Marcus Webb LLP Client Trust Account |
| Reconciliation Date | 05/31/2026 |
| Box 1 Journal Balance | $48,750.00 |
| Box 2A Client Ledger Total | $48,700.00 (three clients) |
| Box 2B Bank Charges | $50.00 |
| Box 3A Bank Ending Balance | $49,070.00 |
| Box 3B Outstanding Deposits | $0.00 |
| Box 3C Outstanding Disbursements | $320.00 (lien check not cleared) |
| Total 3 Adjusted Balance | $48,750.00 |
| Do 1, 2, 3 Agree? | Yes |
Scenario 3: A reconciliation that does not balance. Janet, an estate planning attorney, finds her totals are off by $200 and must investigate before signing.
| Form Section | What Janet Enters |
|---|---|
| Reconciliation Date | 05/31/2026 |
| Box 1 Journal Balance | $10,000.00 |
| Box 2A Client Ledger Total | $9,800.00 |
| Box 3A Bank Ending Balance | $10,000.00 |
| Box 3B Outstanding Deposits | $0.00 |
| Box 3C Outstanding Disbursements | $0.00 |
| First Match Check | No — off by $200 |
| Cause Found | $200 fee transfer not posted to client ledger |
| Corrective Action | Posted entry to Reyes ledger, re-totaled |
| Re-run Match Check | Yes — all three now $10,000.00 |
How to File the Completed Form
This reconciliation is not mailed to the bar like a tax return; it is a record you create, sign, and keep, ready to produce if the bar requests it. Still, the “filing” steps matter, because how you store and certify the form decides whether it protects you in an audit. Cover every channel your records can travel through.
- Self-retention (the primary channel). Save the signed PDF and all six attachments together in a monthly folder. There is no fee, the “proof of filing” is the signed certification plus attachments, and you should complete it within about 10 to 15 days of month-end.
- State Bar submission on request. If the State Bar opens a Client Trust Account Protection Program review or audit, you produce these records through its secure portal or by certified mail to the address the Bar provides in its request letter. Keep proof of delivery.
- Annual self-assessment. California attorneys also complete an annual Client Trust Account Protection Program registration and self-assessment with their bar dues; your monthly reconciliations are the evidence behind that certification.
- Digital plus paper backup. Store one digital copy and one printed copy. Accepted formats are PDF or printed paper, there is no payment involved, and the proof you keep is the signed original with date stamps.
Whatever channel you use, keep the records for the full retention period and organize them chronologically so any month can be pulled in minutes. The expected “processing time” for an internal reconciliation is the 60 to 90 minutes it takes to complete, while a bar audit response follows the deadline in the Bar’s letter.
What Happens After You File
Once the totals agree and both signatures are in place, your monthly duty is done, and the signed form becomes part of your permanent trust account records. You file it chronologically with its attachments, and you do nothing further unless the bar asks. Most lawyers never hear anything, because a clean reconciliation is simply proof that everything is in order.
If a reconciliation does not balance and you cannot resolve it, the picture changes. A discovered shortage that points to missing client funds may require you to self-report to the bar, deposit firm money to cure any shortfall, and document the fix. In California, the Client Trust Account Protection Program also runs random compliance reviews, so your records may be requested even when nothing is wrong.
You must keep these reconciliations and supporting records for the period your state sets, commonly five to seven years. California requires retention of trust records for five years after final distribution of the funds. During that window, an auditor can ask for any month, and the lawyers who keep clean, signed, chronologically filed reconciliations sail through while those with gaps face forensic reconstruction at their own cost.
Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out the Form
Each error below has wrecked real reconciliations, and each one carries a direct cost. Avoiding them is far cheaper than the audit that follows.
- Doing only a two-way reconciliation. Matching the bank to your register but skipping client ledgers can hide that one client’s funds are covering another’s shortage.
- Reconciling on the wrong date. Using the day you do the work instead of the statement end date pulls in stray transactions and breaks the match.
- Entering the bank balance in Box 1. Box 1 is the journal balance, and swapping it in defeats the cross-check and can mask a missing entry.
- Leaving a client off the ledger summary. A dropped client makes Box 2A too low and throws off the three-way match by that exact amount.
- Allowing a negative client balance. A negative ledger means commingled funds, which is a serious violation you must cure before signing anything.
- Forgetting outstanding checks. Omitting a check from Box 3C leaves the adjusted bank balance too high and prevents a match.
- Forgetting deposits in transit. Leaving a late deposit out of Box 3B makes the adjusted balance too low and breaks the match.
- Parking firm money in trust. Holding more than a small bank-fee cushion in Box 2B is commingling and a direct rule violation.
- Forcing a fake adjusting entry. Plugging a number to make totals agree is the brightest red flag an auditor can find.
- Skipping months. Reconciling quarterly or annually instead of monthly violates the rule even when no money is missing.
- Attorney signing without reviewing. A rubber-stamped certification keeps all the liability while losing all the protection of real oversight.
- Failing to keep attachments. A signed form with no bank statement or ledger summary will not satisfy an auditor.
Do’s and Don’ts
- Do reconcile every month on a fixed schedule so the habit never slips.
- Do measure all three sections as of the same reconciliation date for a true comparison.
- Do keep written lists of outstanding deposits and disbursements as proof of every adjustment.
- Do investigate any difference, even one dollar, because small gaps signal process failures.
- Do have the responsible attorney personally review every attachment before signing.
- Do store each month’s form and attachments together in chronological order.
- Don’t let a bookkeeper’s signature substitute for the attorney certification, because the duty is nondelegable.
- Don’t keep more firm money in the trust account than bank fees require, to avoid commingling.
- Don’t force the totals to match with an unexplained adjustment that auditors will flag.
- Don’t use online “available balance” figures, since holds and pending items will not match.
- Don’t ignore stale outstanding checks, because they can become reportable unclaimed property.
- Don’t assume software output is correct without verifying each line yourself.
Pros and Cons of Reconciling on Your Own vs. With Help
| Doing It Yourself | Hiring a Trust Bookkeeper |
|---|---|
| Pro: No monthly fee, since you do the work in 60 to 90 minutes. | Pro: A specialist completes it by the 10th with full documentation. |
| Pro: You learn your own books deeply, which speeds audits. | Pro: Trained eyes catch posting errors before they compound. |
| Pro: Full control over timing and filing of records. | Pro: Frees attorney time for billable client work. |
| Con: Easy to miss outstanding items without training. | Con: Costs roughly $800 to $1,500 per month depending on firm size. |
| Con: Errors compound if a month is skipped during a busy stretch. | Con: You still must review and sign, since the duty is nondelegable. |
| Con: No second set of eyes to catch a transposed number. | Con: Onboarding a new bookkeeper can create gaps during turnover. |
A useful comparison is the difference between a two-way and a three-way reconciliation. A two-way reconciliation matches only the bank statement to your register, while a three-way reconciliation adds the client ledger totals, which is what bar rules actually require.
| Two-Way Reconciliation | Three-Way Reconciliation |
|---|---|
| Matches bank statement to trust register only. | Matches bank, journal, and client ledgers together. |
| Can hide one client’s funds covering another. | Proves each client’s balance is correct and segregated. |
| Not sufficient for bar compliance. | Required by Rule 1.15 and bar standards nationwide. |
The key agencies and rules that interact with this form include the State Bar of California, which enforces the requirement; Rule 1.15 and its recordkeeping Standards, which create the duty; the IOLTA program, which directs interest on pooled trust accounts to legal aid; and ABA Model Rule 1.15, the national template most states copied. Real discipline cases show the stakes: Florida suspended a personal injury attorney for two years over 14 months of unreconciled accounts even though no client funds were missing, and New York revoked an estate planning lawyer’s license after auditors found three years of incomplete reconciliations.
FAQs
How often must I complete a trust account reconciliation?
No less than monthly in nearly every state. California and most jurisdictions require a three-way reconciliation each month, typically within 10 to 15 days of the bank statement period’s end.
Do I have to file this form with the State Bar?
No. You keep it as a required record and produce it only if the Bar requests it during a review, audit, or its Client Trust Account Protection Program assessment.
Can my bookkeeper sign the reconciliation instead of me?
No. A bookkeeper may sign the preparer block, but only the responsible attorney can sign the certification, because the duty under Rule 1.15 is nondelegable.
Do I enter the bank balance or the journal balance in Box 1?
No bank balance goes in Box 1; you enter your trust account journal balance there, and the bank’s ending balance goes in Box 3A instead.
Should outstanding checks go in Box 3B or Box 3C?
No, outstanding checks do not go in 3B; they go in Box 3C as outstanding disbursements, which the form subtracts, while deposits in transit go in Box 3B.
Do I report firm money in Box 2B?
Yes, but only the small amount kept to cover bank charges under Rule 1.15(c)(1). Anything beyond what fees reasonably require is commingling and not allowed.
Can I keep a negative balance on a client ledger?
No. A negative client ledger means you used one client’s funds for another, a serious violation you must cure with firm funds and investigate before reconciling.
Is a two-way reconciliation good enough for compliance?
No. Bar rules require a three-way reconciliation that includes client ledger totals, because a two-way match can hide a shortage in one client’s funds.
What do I do if the three totals do not agree?
No signing until you fix it. Investigate the cause, correct the underlying entry, document the fix, and re-reconcile until all three balances match exactly.
Can I force the numbers to match with an adjusting entry?
No. An unexplained adjustment to force a match is a major audit red flag; you must find and correct the real error instead.
Does using practice management software remove the need for this form?
No. Software can generate the figures, but in California the written, signed reconciliation record is itself required, so you keep the form regardless of the tool.
How long must I keep completed reconciliations?
Yes, there is a set period: commonly five to seven years, and California requires keeping trust records for five years after final distribution of the funds.
What is the reconciliation date I enter in the header?
Yes, it is a specific date: the last day of the bank statement period you are reconciling, not the day you happen to sit down to do the work.
Can I use one form for two different trust accounts?
No. You must complete a separate reconciliation form for each trust account, because combining them blends the balances and guarantees the totals will not match.
Related reading
- How Long Can a Lawyer Hold Settlement Funds (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out California State Bar IOLTA Trust Account Registration + FAQs
- How to Fill Out Massachusetts IOLTA Trust Account Registration + FAQs
- How to Fill Out the Washington WSBA IOLTA Trust Account Registration (+ FAQs)
- How to Fill Out the Attorney Trust Account Overdraft Notification + FAQs
- How to Fill Out the Client Security Fund Claim (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out the State Bar of Arizona Annual Registration + FAQs