Client Ledger

Contents
What Entries Appear on the Report
The Common Tab
The Other Tab
The Report
Drill Down
Reconciling the Client Ledger

What Entries Appear on the Client Ledger

The Client Ledger lists transactions by matter, including opening balances, disbursements, time
and fees, billing, and payments. All accounting history pertaining to the matter is contained on
the Client Ledger. The report can be created by matter, client, or responsible lawyer, for all dates
or a specific period. A summarized ledger displays only matter and firm totals or firm totals only.
Options allow the user to view only time entries, disbursements, receipts, trust entries or billed
items.
The following table lists PCLaw features that add or modify entries on the Client Ledger.

Data Entry Window Fees Disb Receipts Trust Billing

General Check add

Receive Payment add

General Retainer add

Release Check add

Trust Check add disb

Trust Receipt add receipt

Matter-to-Matter Transfer add disb/

rcpt

Bank-to-Bank Transfer add disb/

rcpt

Trust-to-General Transfer add add disb

Release Trust Check add disb

New/Open Payable add

Quick Timer add time

entry

Time Sheet add time

entry
 Client Ledger

Data Entry Window Fees Disb Receipts Trust Billing

Fee Sheet add fee entry

Expense Recovery add

Transaction Levy add

Global Change Time modify time/

fee entry

Matter Opening Balances fee opening disb prior opening prior

balance opening payments balance invoices
balance

Appointment Sheet add time

entry

Phone Call add time

entry

Web Timer add time

entry

Calendar add time

entry

Quick Bill add fee entry add add add

Bill add time/ add add add disb add

fees

Release Bill add time/ add add add disb add

fees

Change/Write Off Bill fee disb adj

adjustment
Transactions that appear on the Client Ledger

Page 2 © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc

 Client Ledger

The Common Tab

Reports > Client > Ledger > Common tab
Use the Client Ledger Common tab to select the primary parameters for the report, or to
customize the report.

The Common tab of the Client Ledger

Matter
• Select the matter nickname to view records for that matter.
• A matter summary appears at the bottom of the window.
Client
• Select the client nickname to view records for matters assigned to that client.
• Client totals are included at the bottom of the report.
Resp Lawyer
• Select the lawyer nickname to view records for matters assigned to that responsible lawyer.
Start Date
• Select to view records for matters posted on or after that date.
End Date
• Select to view records for matters posted on or prior to that date.
Totals Only
• Check to display only matter and firm totals.
Firm Totals Only
• Check to display only firm totals.
Layout
• Select from the drop down menu to produce a customized Client Ledger
• To add or change a layout, refer to the document “Customizing Reports” in the Practice
Management Document Library in Support Center.

Page 3 © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc

 Client Ledger

Adv Search
• Click to customize the report filtering process using the Advanced Search window.
Output
Check one or more of the following:
• Printer to print a hard copy of the report.
• Screen to view the report on the screen.
• E-mail to attach the report to an e-mail in one of text, rich text, portable document, or Excel97
formats.
• Editor to produce the report as a file in one of text, rich text, portable document, or Excel97
formats.
Load Last
• Click to use the settings from the last time the report was created.
OK
• Click to produce the report.

The Other Tab

Report > Client > Ledger > Other tab
The Other tab displays report options that are not as frequently used.

The Other tab of the Client Ledger

Include Entries
Check one or more of the following:
• Billed Only - Display only billed transactions
• Disbs Display client costs
• Receipts:Display Receive Payments and General Retainers
• Trust - Display trust checks and receipts
• Select in the Bank Acct box, the account nickname to display trust entries for one bank
account only.
• Time/Fees - Display time and fee entries.

Page 4 © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc

 Client Ledger

Include only Matters with Retainer Balances

• Check only if required
• Display only for matters that have a general retainer balance
• If only one matter for a multi-mattered client has a retainer balance, only the ledger for that
matter is created.
Include only Matters with Negative Unbilled Disb Balance
• Check only if required
• Display only for matters with a negative balance for unbilled disbursements
• Only matters with an overall negative unbilled disbursement balance are included on the
report
• If a matter contains a negative unbilled disbursement but the overall unbilled disbursement
balance is positive, that matter is not included on the report.
Working Lawyer
• Select the lawyer nickname to show only transactions for a specific working lawyer.
No Activity After
• Select the date in the Show Matters With area, to include only matters with no transactions
after that date.
Display Entries in
• Select Date Order to display records according to the posted date
• Select Order Entered to display records according to entry number.
Show Client Address
• Check to include the client street address, city, and postal code
• The client number and name, matter nickname and description appear on the ledger
regardless whether or not the check box is selected.
Show Interest
• Check to include interest owing and paid on the Client Ledger
• The Interest Up to box becomes available
• Select the date to set an ending calculation date for interest
• Interest owing is displayed in the billing slug and the matter totals section.
• Interest Paid is displayed in the explanation for payments received and in the matters total
section.
Consolidate Payments
• Check to list payments without allocations to fees, disbursements or taxes.
Include Corrected Entries
• Check to include transactions that have since been modified.
Show Paid by Check # on Paid Payable
• Check to display in the explanation, the check number for disbursements created and paid
through Accounts Payable.
Show Invoices that Payments Were Applied to
• Check to display in the explanation, the invoice number where a payments was allocated.
Show Trust Summary by Account
• Check to display in the matter and firm totals section, balances for each trust bank account.

Page 5 © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc

 Client Ledger

The Report
The Client Ledger lists fee, disbursement, billing, payment and trust information for matters. The
described customizable report uses the Default layout. The Default with (usr) layout is also
provided.

Excerpt from the Client Ledger

The header for each ledger contains the client number and name, matter nickname and
description, and the responsible lawyer for the matter.
The header for each ledger contains the client number and name, matter nickname and
description, and the responsible lawyer for the matter.
Date / Entry #
• The posting date and entry number appears for each item.
Received From/Paid To
• Displays the contents of the Received From or To boxes for all receipts and checks, the
working lawyer, rate, and hours for time entries, or default transaction descriptions for billing,
trust transfers, and interest.
Explanation
• Displays the contents of the explanation box from the matter allocation section of the
respective data entry window
• If Show Paid by Check # on Paid Payables is enabled, a ‘Paid by Check #’ notation is
included in the explanation for any disbursements created and paid through Accounts
Payable
• If Show Invoices that Payments were Applied to is enabled, a ‘PMT - Inv # Amount $$$’
notation appears in the explanation for any payments allocated to one or more invoices.
Che# / Rec#
• Lists check, A/P invoice, reference, or receipt numbers for general check, new payables,
receive payment and general retainers, or client expense recovery features.
General > Rcpts
• Lists payments, general retainers, and general retainer re-allocation amounts.

Page 6 © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc

 Client Ledger

General > Disbs

• Lists general check and A/P allocations of client costs, and client expense recoveries
• When an invoice is created, GST and sales tax charged to disbursements appear in the
column
• Write-ups and write-downs to disbursements or taxes on disbursements through the Change/
Write Off Bill feature are also included in the column.
Fees
• Lists time and fee entries, and fee adjustments at the time of billing
• When an invoice is created, GST and sales tax on fees appear in the column
• Write-ups and write-downs to fees or taxes on fees through the Change/Write Off Bill feature
are also included in the column.
Bld Inv#
• When a transaction is included on an invoice, the invoice number appears on the transaction
line in this column.
Trust Activity > Acc
• For every trust transaction, the trust account number in which the transaction is posted is
displayed in this column.
Trust Activity > Rcpts
• Lists trust receipts and incoming transfers.
Trust Activity > Disbs
• Trust checks and outgoing transfers are listed under the column.
Trust Activity > Balance
• Displays the running trust balance for the matter
• The running balance includes trust transactions that occur prior to the start date of the report
• Balances in separate trust accounts are not differentiated in the Balance column nor in the
matter totals.
The Matter and Firm Summary sections are divided into Unbilled and Billed totals for fees and
disbursements. Unbilled disbursements are further sub-divided into Che and Recov. Che
balances consists of matter allocations from the general check and accounts payable features.
Recov consists of matter allocations from the Expense Recovery feature.
Balances for General Retainers, Interest Paid, and Interest Due are provided in both the Matter
Summary and Firm Summary sections.
The Client Ledger includes the following summary sections:
Summary Title Appears when

Matter Totals Always appears.

Firm Totals Always appears.

Trust Summary by Account As selected by user.

Summary sections on the Client Ledger

Page 7 © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc

 Client Ledger

Drill Down
PCLaw provides the option to drill down on any report open on the screen to view a value in
greater detail or view the source of an entry. There are two methods to drill down on an entry:
• double click the entry
• right click on the entry, from the cascade menu, select View Details.
When drilling down on an entry for the majority of PCLaw reports, a data entry window or a more
detailed report appears displaying the selected entry.
Drill down on Opens the following window

Matter Information Open Matter

Unbilled Time Correct Time Entry

Unbilled Fees Correct Fee Entry

General Check Allocation Correct General Check

Expense Recovery Correct Expense Recovery

Billing Slug Change Bill

Receive Payment Correct General-Receive Payment

Write Up/Down Change Bill

Trust Check Correct Trust Check

Trust Receipt Correct Trust Receipt

Matter-to-matter transfer Correct Trust Matter to Matter

Bank-to-Bank Transfer Correct Trust Bank to Bank

Trust-to-General Transfer Correct Trust-to-General

General Retainer Correct General Retainer

Table displaying fields where drill down is enabled and the reports or features that are opened

Reconciling the Client Ledger

The chart below lists PCLaw reports that reconcile to the Client Ledger, and the item on the report
that can be reconciled. The reports must be run with identical dates and parameters.

Client Ledger Reconciles to Additional comments

Unbilled > Che + Client Acc’ting Disb For matter, client, or firm.
Recov Ledger

Client Summary Unbd Disb For matter, client, or firm. Start date for
Client Ledger must be 1/1/82.

Work-in-Progress Unbilled Disb > For matter, client, or firm.

Total

Matter Status Unbd Disbs For matter only

Page 8 © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc

 Client Ledger

Client Ledger Reconciles to Additional comments

Unbilled > Fees Client Summary Unbd Fees For matter, client, or firm. Start date for
Client Ledger must be 1/1/82.

Client Fees Amount > No matter or client totals when report is

Listing Unbilled run for the firm.

Work-in-Progress Fees For matter, client, or firm.

Matter Status Unbd Fees For matter only

Client WIP, W.I.P. Time For matter, lawyer, or firm.

Billing, &
Collection
Summary

Unbilled > Total Work-in-Progress Total > Total For matter, client, or firm.

Billed > Disb Client Summary Bld Disbs For matter, client or firm. Start Date for
Client Ledger must be 1/1/82

Billing (Fees) Billed > Disbs For matter, client or firm. Select Include
Journal Write-Ups and Write Downs & Include
Paid Invoices. Run reports for all dates.

Invoice Journal Disbs For matter, client, or firm. Start Date for
both reports must be 1/1/82.

Billed > Fees Client Summary Bld Fees For matter, client or firm. Start Date for
Client Ledger must be 1/1/82.

Client Acc’ting Fees For matter, client or firm. Billed fees

Ledger appear as a negative value on Client
Accounting Ledger.

Billing (Fees) Billed > Fees For matter, client or firm. Select Include
Journal Write-Ups and Write Downs & Include
Paid Invoices. Run reports for all dates.

Invoice Journal Fees For matter, client, or firm. Start Date for
both reports must be 1/1/82.

Billed > Tax Client Summary Taxes For matter, client, or firm. Start Date for
Client Ledger must be 1/1/82.

Billing (Fees) Tax For matter, client, or firm. Select Include

Journal Write-Ups and Write Downs & Include
Paid Invoices. Run reports for all dates

Invoice Journal Fees For matter, client, or firm. Run reports

for all dates.

Billed > Receipts Billing (Fees) Paid For matter, client, or firm. Select Include
Journal Write-Ups and Write Downs & Include
Paid Invoices. Run reports for all dates.

Payment Total For matter, client, or firm.

Allocation Listing

Page 9 © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc

 Client Ledger

Client Ledger Reconciles to Additional comments

Balances > A/R Client Acc’ting A/R > Totals for For matter, client, or firm.
Ledger Report Period

Client Summary A/R Bal For matter, client, or firm. Start Date for
Client Ledger must be 1/1/82

Matter Status A/R For matter only

Billing (Fees) Outstanding For matter, client, or firm. Select Include

Write-Ups and Write Downs & Include
Paid Invoices. Run reports for all dates.

Invoice Journal Total For matter, client, or firm. Start Date for
both reports must be 1/1/82.

Receivables by Total For matter, client, or firm. Start date for

Client both reports must be 1/1/82.

Receivables by Firm Totals > For firm only

Lawyer Total

Accounts Closing Balance For Accrual Accounting method only.

Receivable
(1200)

Balances > Trust Client Acc’ting Trust > Totals for For matter, client, or firm.
Ledger Report Period

Client Summary Trust Balance For matter, client, or firm. Start Date for
Client Ledger must be 1/1/82.

Client Trust Matter Total For matter, client, or firm.

Listing

Client Trust Matter Total For matter, client, or firm.

Ledger

Matter Status Trust For matter only. For all accounts only.

General Client Acc’ting Retainer For matter, client, and firm.

Retainers Ledger

Client Summary Retainers For matter, client, and firm. Start Date
for Client Ledger must be 1/1/82.

Matter Status Retainer For matter only.

Interest Paid Client Summary Interest Paid For matter, client, and firm. Start Date
for Client Ledger must be 1/1/82

Interest Due Client Summary Retainers For matter, client, and firm. Start Date
for Client Ledger must be 1/1/82.

Receivables by Interest Due For matter, client, or firm. Run reports

Client for all dates.
Table displaying Client Ledger fields that reconcile to other reports in PCLaw

Page 10 © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc

 Client Ledger

The Client Ledger does not reconcile to the Hard & Soft Cost Analysis report for Che or Recov for
the Hard & Soft Cost Analysis report does not separate billed and unbilled costs.
The Client Ledger does not reconcile to the General Bank Journal when generated for a specific
matter, for Che as the General Bank Journal does not differentiate between billed and unbilled
matter allocations.
The Client Ledger does not reconcile to the Interest Calculation report for Interest Due or Interest
Paid, for the Interest Calculation report only adds interest accrued according to the last A/R
activity for the matter. In addition, Interest Due and Interest Paid is given as an aggregate total.

Page 11 © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc