Should Law Firm Systems integrate to QuickBooks Online or Xero
There are FOUR significant reasons why this is a really good idea.
1 – Payroll
Payroll is constantly changing. By using a practice management system that interfaces with QuickBooks or Xero you can stay compliant with payroll without needing to take you eyes of the business of law.
2 – Cash or Accrual Accounting
Wise Owl Legal provides you compliant invoicing and Receipting, which QuickBooks and Xero do not.
By then feeding those compliant invoices ** and receipts ## through to QuickBooks or Xero, you can harness much more powerful reporting. You have the benefit of being able to use cash accounting for tax reporting and then have the option to use accrual accounting for management reporting.
Accrual accounting for management reporting can be really useful as you grow, particularly if you are handing long-running matters or matters that don’t convert to cash as quickly as some others.
Therefore, by using the legal practice management features in Wise Owl Legal you can say compliant and then still have your accountant use all the power of QuickBooks for your year-end reporting and federal and state tax reporting.
3 – Familiarity for your external accountants
Your external can use a system they are familiar with and save you time and money. They external accountants don’t have to learn a new system for a few clients.
Your external accountant is only touching your work a few times a year, so it’s really cost-effective for them NOT to have to learn your practice management software. But by having your practice management software talk to QuickBooks Online or Xero, it allows you to use all the power of QuickBooks Online or Xero. This saves the law firm time and money!
Wise Owl doesn’t reinvent that wheel. What Wise Owl Legal does is all the accounting that QuickBooks Online doesn’t do that requires specific compliance because it’s coming out of a law firm.
4 – Efficient Tax Lodgement
QuickBooks Online and Xero are also used by many accountants to interface with their tax lodgement systems – again saving your time and money.
Notes
** Invoicing Clients: which has to be of a standard dictated by your local Law Society.
## Receiving invoice payments from Clients: as a lawyer, you cannot receipt money for work you haven’t done; by receiving to QuickBooks Online, you can easily create overpayments and prepayments.
About me
Hi, My name is Karen McDonald, I am a business analyst and accountant with a passion and strong focus on efficient business systems to empower business owners to focus more on delivering great value to their clients.
In 2011, I founded Wise Owl Legal Practice Management as a response to seeing so many lawyers caught up with the struggle of old out of date inefficient software. I believe software should lighten your load and empower you to focus on your core mission. As a qualified accountant and tax agent, many of you will know me from my consulting business commenced in 1997, Cascade Consulting Services Pty Ltd (Cascade).
Cascade has helped many businesses, including many law firms, over the last 20+ years, some in the software applications consulting space, others in the accounting and tax practice space as well. Fundamentally in our accounting business, we aim to empower our clients to better run their administration more efficiently; eliminate redundant processes, and understand their finances and lighten the load of compliance.
If you would like to learn more about how I could help your law firm become more efficient, please book a discovery call with me at https://wiseowllegal.com.au/
Mostly I am in GMT +10 time zone.
