Law Firm Accounting Setup & Integration

QuickBooks Online and legal software setup for law firms.

Accounting Atelier sets up and corrects accounting systems for established solo and small law firms nationwide. We configure QuickBooks Online, review and correct Clio Manage and MyCase integrations, and establish bookkeeping workflows for firms using CosmoLex.

We address account structure, mappings, and where transactions originate so your firm has a defined process for recording financial activity. Setup is available as a standalone project or before ongoing monthly bookkeeping.

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25+ Years of Accounting and Financial Management Experience · Former Financial Controller · Attorney at Work Contributor · Featured or Quoted in Forbes · Serving Law Firms Nationwide

YOUR ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS NEED TO WORK TOGETHER.

QuickBooks Online and legal software like Clio, MyCase, or CosmoLex need clear roles, correct mappings, and a defined workflow for where financial activity belongs.

What does law firm accounting setup & integration include?

Law firm accounting setup is the structure behind the day-to-day bookkeeping. We set up or correct QuickBooks Online and the related legal-software workflows so each system has a clear role and financial activity is recorded correctly.

  • We set up or review the QuickBooks Online file, accounts, opening structure, bank and credit-card connections, and other accounting settings needed for the firm’s bookkeeping.

  • We build or reorganize the chart of accounts for legal fee income, operating expenses, advanced client costs, and trust liabilities where applicable. We also review the accounts selected by the firm’s legal-software integrations.

  • We configure or review the Clio and QuickBooks Online connection, including account mappings and the workflow for financial activity moving between the two systems. We also troubleshoot setup issues that are creating missing, duplicated, or incorrectly recorded transactions.

  • We review how MyCase and QuickBooks Online are connected and how accounting activity is being recorded between the systems, including mappings and workflows that need to be set up or corrected.

  • For firms using CosmoLex, we help set up or correct the accounting side of the system and establish the workflow for managing financial activity within the firm’s broader bookkeeping process.

  • We review where transactions originate, where they should be recorded, and how they move between the firm’s legal software, payment systems, bank accounts, and accounting records. Incorrect mappings or duplicate workflows are corrected at the source when possible.

    For firms using LawPay, we review how payment records, processing fees, and deposits flow into the legal software and accounting records. We identify mapping or duplicate-entry problems and determine where corrections are needed.

  • If the firm is changing systems or inheriting an accounting setup that is not working, we review the existing structure, identify what needs to change, and establish the accounting setup needed going forward.

    For system changes, the proposal defines which accounting records and setup tasks are included in the migration.

Your legal software changes how the accounting setup should work.

CLIO + QUICKBOOKS

Clio Bookkeeping Setup & QuickBooks Online Integration

Accounting Atelier configures and reviews Clio Manage - QuickBooks Online integrations for law firms. We review billing-item mappings, sync start dates, trust-account settings where applicable, and transactions already recorded in QuickBooks.

The work focuses on missing activity, duplicate entries, and transactions reaching the wrong accounts - not just whether the software connection is active.

Read our Clio - QuickBooks integration guide 
MYCASE + QUICKBOOKS

MyCase & QuickBooks Online Integration Setup

Accounting Atelier reviews and corrects MyCase - QuickBooks Online setups, including the selected accounts and how invoices, payments, and retainers reach the books.

MyCase sends accounting data to QuickBooks through a one-way integration. We review where transactions should be entered and how corresponding bank-feed activity should be handled without creating a second entry.

Read our MyCase accounting review 
COSMOLEX ACCOUNTING

CosmoLex Accounting Setup & Workflow Review

Accounting Atelier helps law firms set up or correct their accounting workflow in CosmoLex, whether they use its native accounting or its QuickBooks Online integration.

These are different configurations. Enabling the QBO integration makes CosmoLex Business Accounting and Matter Budgets unavailable. We review the firm’s accounting needs and existing records before determining which setup to use and where financial activity should be recorded.

CosmoLex Accounting Review 
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Who is Accounting Atelier a good fit for?

Accounting Atelier works with law firms that need QuickBooks Online and their legal software set up around a clear accounting workflow, whether the systems are being built for the first time or an existing setup needs to be corrected.

Explore our services 
QUICKBOOKS ONLINE SETUP

Your firm needs QuickBooks Online set up or reorganized with an account structure and chart of accounts that fit how a law firm operates.

CLIO OR MYCASE + QUICKBOOKS

Your firm uses Clio or MyCase with QuickBooks Online and needs the integration, account mappings, and flow of financial activity between the systems set up or corrected.

COSMOLEX SETUP & WORKFLOWS

Your firm uses CosmoLex and needs help setting up or correcting the bookkeeping workflow, account structure, or how financial activity is handled within the system.

EXISTING SETUP PROBLEMS

Your systems are already in place, but incorrect mappings, duplicate transactions, missing activity, or unclear workflows are creating bookkeeping problems.

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Clio and QuickBooks Integration for Law Firms: Trust Accounting Configuration
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QuickBooks for Law Firms: How to Configure It Correctly
QuickBooks for Law Firms: How to Configure It Correctly

QuickBooks works for law firms when configured correctly. Here's how to set up trust accounting, chart of accounts, and legal-specific reporting in QBO.

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Why Law Firms Choose Accounting Atelier for Accounting Setup

Accounting Atelier is founder-led and team-delivered. Founder Amy Coats brings 25+ years of accounting and financial-management experience, including work as a Financial Controller.

Amy is a QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor. Accounting Atelier is a Clio Certified Partner, MyCase Partner, and CosmoLex Partner.

Our work connects software configuration with the bookkeeping behind it: how financial activity is recorded, reviewed, and reconciled.

Our process

How to get started

Review the Current Systems and Scope

We review QuickBooks Online, your legal practice-management software, bank and credit-card accounts, existing integrations, account mappings, and the way financial activity is currently moving between systems.

Configure or Correct the Accounting Setup

We build or correct the QuickBooks Online structure, chart of accounts, integrations, and account mappings, and define what financial activity should be recorded in each system.

Define the Ongoing Bookkeeping Workflow

Once the setup is in place, we establish the bookkeeping workflow between QuickBooks Online and systems such as Clio, MyCase, or CosmoLex so the firm has a clear process to follow going forward.

READY TO GET YOUR ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS SET UP CORRECTLY?

Tell us what systems your firm uses, how they’re connected, and what isn’t working today.

We’ll determine whether the right starting point is QuickBooks Online setup, a Clio or MyCase integration review, CosmoLex setup, or corrections to your existing account mappings and accounting workflows.

Request a Consultation

FAQ

  • Law firm accounting setup and integration can include setting up or correcting QuickBooks Online, building or reorganizing the chart of accounts, connecting bank and credit-card accounts, configuring legal-software integrations, reviewing account mappings, and defining how financial activity should move between the firm’s systems.

    For firms already using QuickBooks Online, Clio, MyCase, or CosmoLex, we can also review an existing setup and correct workflows that are creating missing, duplicated, or incorrectly recorded activity.

  • QuickBooks Online should be structured around the way the law firm actually operates. That includes a law-firm-appropriate chart of accounts, correctly configured operating and other bank accounts, credit-card accounts, and a defined process for activity coming from legal practice-management and payment systems.

    When legal software such as Clio or MyCase is connected to QuickBooks Online, the integration and account mappings should also be reviewed as part of the setup.

  • Yes. Clio Manage has a QuickBooks Online integration that can sync financial information including contacts, bills, payments, and certain trust and operating transactions. The accounting setup still matters because the QuickBooks accounts, mappings, and workflow need to be configured around how the firm uses Clio.

    Accounting Atelier can set up or review the Clio and QuickBooks Online accounting workflow and correct configuration issues when the systems are not producing the expected accounting records.

  • Yes. MyCase supports a QuickBooks Online integration that can send information such as invoices, payments, retainers, and related accounting activity to QuickBooks. During setup, the firm selects the QuickBooks accounts that MyCase will use for the integration.

    Accounting Atelier can review those account selections and the broader MyCase-to-QuickBooks workflow so the accounting structure matches the way the firm is using MyCase.

  • Yes. Accounting Atelier can help a law firm review and configure the accounting workflow it uses within CosmoLex, including how financial activity, bank accounts, payment processing, and bookkeeping processes are structured.

    CosmoLex includes its own legal accounting functionality, so its setup is different from connecting a practice-management platform to QuickBooks Online. CosmoLex states that QuickBooks is not required to use its accounting system.

  • Yes. QuickBooks Online setup can include creating or reorganizing the law firm’s chart of accounts so the accounting structure supports the firm’s operating activity, legal-specific transactions, and financial reporting.

    If the firm is also using legal software, we review the chart of accounts in conjunction with the integration so the accounts being used by the connected systems make sense together.

  • You do not necessarily need to start over. We can review the existing QuickBooks structure, integration settings, account mappings, and the transactions moving between the systems to determine where the problem is occurring.

    Depending on the issue, the correction may involve changing mappings or workflow settings, correcting the accounting structure, or addressing transactions that were already recorded incorrectly.

  • Yes. Accounting setup and integration focuses on building or correcting the accounting structure: QuickBooks Online, the chart of accounts, legal-software integrations, account mappings, and the workflow between systems.

    Ongoing law firm bookkeeping is the recurring work performed after that structure is in place, such as transaction review, reconciliations, month-end close, and financial reporting.

    A firm may need setup work as a standalone project or before transitioning into ongoing monthly bookkeeping.

  • Accounting setup establishes or corrects the accounting structure and workflow. Historical bookkeeping cleanup, trust-account reconstruction, and ongoing monthly reconciliation are scoped separately when needed. We identify those needs before defining the engagement.

  • Projects are quoted based on the systems involved, the changes required, and the condition of the existing records. Your proposal defines the scope and fee. Timing is determined after reviewing the work and the access needed to complete it.