The choices made in the first week of a PCLaw installation stay with a firm for years. Some of them, such as the fiscal year, the matter numbering scheme and the chart of accounts, are awkward to change once real transactions exist. This checklist puts the decisions in the right order.
Before you install
- Choose the edition. The c-tree edition suits most small firms. PCLaw Enterprise on SQL Server suits larger ones. If you expect to grow quickly, starting on SQL Server avoids a migration later.
- Decide where it will run: a server in the office, or a hosted desktop.
- Check the system requirements published by the vendor for your version.
- Agree who is responsible for the system day to day, and who backs them up.
Decisions to make with your accountant
Settle these before entering anything:
- Fiscal year end
- Cash or accrual accounting
- Sales tax registration and the rates you charge
- How partners or shareholders are paid, since it shapes the equity and expense accounts
- Whether you need departments, offices or practice areas reported separately
Firm setup
- Firm name, address and tax registration numbers, exactly as they should print on bills
- Fiscal year and the starting month for your books
- Tax rates
- Number formats for matters, invoices and cheques
Chart of accounts
- Start from the default chart and adjust it. Do not build one from nothing.
- Keep it short. Every account you add is one more line on every statement.
- Ask your accountant to review it before the first transaction is posted.
- Confirm the control accounts are in place: trust liability, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and client disbursements recoverable.
Bank accounts
- General (operating) account, with the correct opening balance and next cheque number.
- Trust account, set up as a trust account so that PCLaw applies trust rules to it. Pooled and separate interest-bearing accounts should each be their own account.
- Credit cards and lines of credit as their own accounts.
- Record the opening balance of each as of your start date.
Trust accounting
This is the part regulators examine, so set it up carefully.
- Turn on the safeguard that prevents a matter's trust balance from going below zero.
- Decide who may enter trust transactions and who approves them. Ideally these are different people.
- Set a fixed date each month for the trust reconciliation. In Ontario, for example, the monthly trust comparison must be completed by the 25th of the following month. Check the rule that applies where you practise.
- Print a test trust cheque and a test trust receipt on your actual stationery.
People
- Timekeepers: every lawyer, clerk and paralegal who records time, with initials or a short code.
- Rates: a default hourly rate per timekeeper, plus any special rates by client or type of work.
- Users: one login per person. Never share logins. It destroys the audit trail.
- Security groups: restrict access to trust, payroll, the general ledger and system settings to those who need it.
- Passwords: set a real password on the administrator account on day one.
Codes and lists
- Types of law or practice areas
- Task and activity codes for time entries
- Explanation codes for common disbursements
- Responsible, assigned and referring lawyer fields, if you will report on them
Agree on these as a firm. Inconsistent coding is the main reason reports are not trusted later.
Clients and matters
- Choose a matter numbering scheme and write it down. Client number plus matter number is the most common.
- Define which fields are required when a matter is opened.
- If you are moving from another system, import clients, matters and opening balances as of a clean month-end. Our migration service handles this.
Templates
- Bill layouts, with your letterhead, payment instructions and tax numbers
- Cheque layouts for general and trust, aligned to your cheque stock
- Statements and reminder letters
- Pre-bill layout for lawyer review
Produce a real sample of each and have a partner approve it before the first billing run.
Backups, from the first day
- Nightly backup, with one copy off site and out of reach of the server
- A restore tested before you go live
- The installer and licence details stored somewhere safe
See our PCLaw backup guide for the full routine.
Test before going live
Run one made-up matter through the whole cycle:
- Open the matter.
- Enter time and a disbursement.
- Receive a trust retainer.
- Produce a bill.
- Pay the bill from trust.
- Write a general cheque to a supplier.
- Reconcile both bank accounts.
- Print a trial balance and check that every figure is where you expect.
Then remove the test data, or restore the backup taken before the test.
The first month
- Reconcile both bank accounts at month-end, on time.
- Check that the client trust listing equals the trust bank balance.
- Review the first real bills closely.
- Take a labelled backup once the first month is closed.
Have it set up properly
A setup done right takes a few days. Unpicking a poor one takes far longer. Our PCLaw installation and configuration service covers everything on this list, including staff training. Contact us to plan your installation.