Specialist solicitor accountants
Solicitor accountants for UK law firms, partners and locum solicitors
We work with solicitors only. Every client is a law firm, an LLP, a partnership, a sole practitioner, or a locum solicitor. The narrow focus is the point. The SRA Accounts Rules, the FA 2014 salaried-member tests and the LLP profit-allocation methodology are everyday work for us, not something looked up on your account.
Why a specialist solicitor accountant, not a generalist
Generalist accountants handle a handful of solicitor clients between their main book. The compliance gets done; the sector-specific decisions get missed because the accountant has no pattern to compare against.
A specialist solicitor accountant sees the same questions weekly. The five-weekly client account reconciliation rhythm (Rule 8.3, not the monthly that most generalists default to). The de minimis exemption for the SRA Accountant's Report (an average client-account balance not exceeding £10,000 AND a maximum not exceeding £250,000 across the period, not a single turnover threshold). The FA 2014 Salaried Member Rules with Conditions A + B + C. The 6.5% goodwill amortisation rate for post-April-2019 acquisitions, with no relief for the 8 July 2015 to 31 March 2019 window.
These are not advanced techniques. They are baseline competence. A generalist who can't quote Rule 8.3 from memory is learning on your account.
What the work actually covers across a year
Compliance is the floor. The work is the decisions that compliance reveals.
- Annual SRA Accountant's Report inside the 6-month deadline, with a clean working file the SRA inspector can read
- Five-weekly client account reconciliations supported by an evidence file that holds at audit
- SA800 partnership / LLP tax return plus each partner's personal self-assessment
- FA 2014 Salaried Member Rules audit quarterly so the position never drifts
- Partner drawings reconciliation and capital account tracking
- Personal pension contribution timing for partners, including the tapered annual allowance interaction
- Goodwill amortisation tracking on post-April-2019 acquisitions, AIA on equipment, SBA on post-October-2018 premises spend
- Pre-sale planning 18-24 months before exit, with BADR rate-change (14% → 18% on 6 April 2026) scenario modelling
How we differ from corporate legal-sector accountants
Some legal-sector accountancy firms have grown into corporate operations that allocate junior staff to client work and only escalate up when something goes wrong. The named partner is rarely on the call.
We work the opposite way. The senior accountant working on your account is the senior accountant. The same person who reviews your year-end is the person you email when a buyer wants due diligence by Friday or a new COFA needs onboarding.
That is a deliberate choice about how we staff the firm, not a sales line.
Worked example
Typical engagement: 6-partner LLP, conveyancing-heavy
A 6-partner LLP in the South East, residential conveyancing volume around £2.4m gross fees. Annual SRA Accountant's Report due within 6 months of the period end, 5 fee-earner FA 2014 audits required (3 fixed-share, 2 salaried).
The work: monthly management accounts split by department (conveyancing / family / commercial), five-weekly client account reconciliations with the bookkeeper's evidence file reviewed quarterly, annual statutory accounts + SA800, FA 2014 audit each quarter, partner-by-partner SA filings in January.
Specialist work (sale planning, partner exit, ABS conversion) priced separately as a one-off engagement.
Note: Example figures displayed
Frequently asked
- Who delivers the SRA Accountant's Report?
- We do. Our reporting accountants hold a practising certificate with a recognised body and are independent of your firm, as the SRA requires. We also help you get your client account records, reconciliations and breach log into a state the report can be built from. The report must be obtained within 6 months of your firm's accounting period end.
- Do you only work with solicitors?
- Yes. Every client is in the legal sector: solicitors, LLPs, partnerships, sole practitioners, conveyancers and locum solicitors. We do not take landlords, dentists or general businesses, so the whole firm's experience is legal-sector work.
- Can you handle our existing software (Leap, Clio, ProClaim)?
- Yes. Most firms we work with run Xero or QuickBooks as the financial system, integrated with a practice management system (Leap, Clio, ProClaim, ALB, SOS Connect). We are software-agnostic; whatever you use, we will work with it. Moving from desktop-only to cloud-based systems is worth doing where you are still on Sage 50 or older Iris.
- How much do you charge?
- Scope is agreed before any work starts, and ongoing work is a fixed monthly fee with no hourly billing. We quote after a free first conversation, once we know your partner count, client account activity and software. Specialist work (sale, acquisition, ABS conversion) is priced separately as a one-off engagement.
Free scoping call
Talk to a specialist solicitor accountant
30-minute scoping call. We tell you what would change if you moved, what the fee would be, and whether it's worth the disruption.
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