If you hate numbers, this episode is exactly for you. Sarah Prevost and Steven Libhart make the case that the attorneys and firm owners who avoid their financial reports are the ones who end up in the biggest messes, and that understanding your numbers does not require loving them.

The conversation covers KPIs, AI as a financial tool and its very real limitations, partner compensation planning, labor costs, and why your firm administrator is probably making you more money than you realize.

00:31 Why Numbers Matter
01:45 Entrepreneur Mindset Shift
02:28 AI Needs Context
05:14 Garbage In Garbage Out
07:39 KPI Case Study
10:04 Finding the Real Issues
12:55 Hidden Admin Money Leaks

Accountants Law Pod is hosted by Lynda Artesani, Sarah Prevost, and Steve Libhart and directed/produced by Teaira Burge and The Proper Trust. Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay - Edited by audiovideo_uk

Disclaimer: The content presented in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as legal, financial, or professional advice.

Evergreen retainers are one of the most powerful tools a law firm can use to protect cash flow and reduce accounts receivable headaches — but only when they are set up and monitored correctly.

In this episode, Sarah Prevost and Steven Libhart break down exactly what evergreen retainers are, how they work, and the nuances that attorneys, bookkeepers, and accountants need to understand before putting them in place. From engagement letter requirements and bar rules to dispute management, milestone billing, and the tickler system trick.

If you work with law firm clients or are an attorney managing your own billing, this one is worth a listen.

00:39 Episode Topic Evergreen Retainers
01:30 Why Evergreens Help Cashflow
04:00 Definition and Simple Example
06:07 Tracking and Tickler Systems
06:49 Client Communication and Budgets
08:46 Disputes and Reconciliation Risks
11:11 Complex Cases and Outside Costs
13:44 Tools Payments and Transparency
15:31 Wrap Up and Call to Action

🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes covering law firm bookkeeping, legal tech, and accounting practice tips.

📩 Have a question or topic idea? Email us at info@accountantslawpod.com

🧑‍💼 Join the Accountants Law Lab Mastermind: accountantslawlab.com

🌐 Visit us at accountantslawpod.com

Accountants Law Pod is hosted by Lynda Artesani, Sarah Prevost, and Steve Libhart and directed/produced by Teaira Burge and The Proper Trust. Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay - Edited by audiovideo_uk

Disclaimer: The content presented in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as legal, financial, or professional advice.

Why do law firms still rely on side spreadsheets?

In this episode, Lynda Artesani, Sarah Prevost, and Steven Libhart dig into the real reasons attorneys lean on manual spreadsheets for trust accounting, compensation tracking, and client costs, and what can go wrong when those spreadsheets are riddled with broken formulas, missing data, and no audit trail.

The team also gets into data migrations gone wrong, the power of Google Sheets over Excel, MyFirmData as a reporting game-changer, and why asking the right questions at onboarding can save you weeks of cleanup work.

00:52 Why Spreadsheets Persist
02:15 Common Spreadsheet Uses
04:06 Empathy and Client Habits
09:44 Audit Trails and Google Sheets
12:40 When Spreadsheets Help
13:42 Parsing Costs and MyFirmData
17:06 Setup Data and Migration Risks
22:35 Banks Security and Vulnerabilities
25:37 Grid Paper Throwback
26:36 AI Restaurant Story

🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes covering law firm bookkeeping, legal tech, and accounting practice tips.

📩 Have a question or topic idea? Email us at info@accountantslawpod.com

🧑‍💼 Join the Accountants Law Lab Mastermind: accountantslawlab.com

🌐 Visit us at accountantslawpod.com

Have a spreadsheet story of your own? Drop it in the comments. We would love to hear it.

Accountants Law Pod is hosted by Lynda Artesani, Sarah Prevost, and Steve Libhart and directed/produced by Teaira Burge and The Proper Trust. Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay - Edited by audiovideo_uk

Disclaimer: The content presented in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as legal, financial, or professional advice.

It's our three-year anniversary and we're kicking off Season 4!

In this episode, Lynda, Sarah, and Steve celebrate the milestone and dive into one of the most important things every law firm and accounting practice should be doing right now: the mid-year business review.

From checking payroll and 1099s to evaluating your tech stack, forecasting cash flow, and setting financial priorities for the second half of the year, this conversation is packed with practical, timely advice. Plus the team gets into AI, the new QuickBooks interface, and why the human touch still matters more than ever.

00:00 Podcast Anniversary Shoutout
00:35 Meet the Producer Teaira
01:22 Season Four Milestones
03:06 Midyear Review Kickoff
03:42 Client Check-Ins and Cleanup
05:38 Payroll and Tax Estimates
06:15 Software Costs and Tool Audit
07:47 AI Hype and Human Touch
11:28 AI Pitfalls and Verification
17:40 Planning Priorities and Vision
20:07 Hiring Interns and Apprentices
21:10 Cash Flow and Economic Risks
22:46 AR Review and Key Takeaways
23:42 Subscribe and Community Links

🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes covering law firm bookkeeping, legal tech, and accounting practice tips.

📩 Have a question or topic idea? Email us at info@accountantslawpod.com

🧑‍💼 Join the Accountants Law Lab Mastermind: accountantslawlab.com

🌐 Visit us at accountantslawpod.com

Accountants Law Pod is hosted by Lynda Artesani, Sarah Prevost, and Steve Libhart and directed/produced by Teaira Burge and The Proper Trust. Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay - Edited by audiovideo_uk

Disclaimer: The content presented in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as legal, financial, or professional advice.

Sarah is back, and she has a story to tell!

Fresh off an unexpected keynote at the Kudo Digital Accounting Conference in Kosovo, Sarah shares what it was like to present to a sold-out crowd on working with US-based accounting firms, complete with surprise keynote status, a massive curved screen, live translators, and an audience that was fully present and phone-free.

Lynda and Steve dig into the cultural differences, the energy of a young and engaged crowd, and why going global is more relevant than ever for accounting professionals.

A fun, candid episode you won't want to miss.

00:24 Sarah Returns and Kosovo Trip
00:52 Keynote Surprise and Tech Hiccups
02:37 Conference Highlights and Leaders
04:00 Cultural Differences and Translation
05:31 Audience Reactions and Etiquette
08:01 Sold Out Crowd and Media Coverage
09:53 Travel Notes and Local Impressions
10:46 Next Year Plans and Sign Off

🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes covering law firm bookkeeping, legal tech, and accounting practice tips.

📩 Have a question or topic idea? Email us at info@accountantslawpod.com

🧑‍💼 Join the Accountants Law Lab Mastermind: accountantslawlab.com

🌐 Visit us at accountantslawpod.com

Accountants Law Pod is hosted by Lynda Artesani, Sarah Prevost, and Steve Libhart and directed/produced by Teaira Burge and The Proper Trust. Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay - Edited by audiovideo_uk D

Disclaimer: The content presented in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as legal, financial, or professional advice.

Here are the updated versions without em dashes: Spotify Description Trust accounting is one of the most compliance-heavy areas in legal bookkeeping, and post-tax season is exactly the right time to audit where things stand. In this episode, Lynda and Steve dig into the common traps law firms fall into with their IOLTA and trust accounts: timing issues with Clio Pay and e-checks, commingling funds (intentional or not), the danger of moving money before it clears, and why switching bank accounts doesn't fix underlying reconciliation problems.

They cover the three-way reconciliation that every firm should be doing (bank, billing software, accounting system), how to structure your chart of accounts with proper sub-accounts and a trust suspense account, and what to expect and do if the bar's attorney regulation counsel comes knocking for an audit.

Whether you're new to legal accounting or doing a post-tax-season cleanup, this episode is packed with practical guidance on protecting both your clients and your license.

Topics covered: IOLTA trust accounting, Clio Pay timing, three-way reconciliation, chart of accounts setup, QuickBooks Online, bar compliance, trust audits, personal injury disbursements, and more.

00:53 Trust Accounting Reset
01:28 Tax Return Reporting
02:27 One File vs Two
03:46 Bar Rules First
05:15 Clio Pay Timing Risks
07:31 PI Checks and Disbursements
11:21 Client Loans and Compliance
13:14 Choosing Legal Software
15:20 Clio vs LeanLaw Workflows
16:09 Spotting Date Errors
16:35 Retainers and Payments
17:30 Three Way Reconciliation
17:59 Account Bucketing Setup
19:06 QuickBooks Lock Feature
20:41 Trust Suspense Accounts
21:53 Reconciliation Misconceptions
22:59 Avoiding Commingling
24:43 Handling Trust Audits
25:53 Cleanup and Opening Balances
28:06 Outsourced Help and Notes

🌐 Website: accountantslawpod.com
💬 Community: accountantslawlab.com
📩 Contact: info@accountantslawpod.com

Disclaimer: The content presented in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as legal, financial, or professional advice.

Your paralegal is great at their job. That is exactly why they should not be doing your books.

In this episode of Accountants Law Pod, Lynda and Steve make the case for why assigning bookkeeping to your paralegal is one of the costliest mistakes a law firm can make. From trust account disasters and reconciliation nightmares to payroll privacy risks and bar audit exposure, they break down the real consequences of this all-too-common decision and what to do instead. If you are a paralegal currently doing the books, maybe share this one with your boss...

02:20 Why Paralegals Shouldn't Bookkeep
03:15 Real World Bookkeeping Horror
05:22 Reconciliation and Cleanup Risks
08:24 Payroll Privacy Pitfalls
11:30 Software Integrations Gone Wrong
14:26 Segregation of Duties Matters
18:28 Trust Accounting Audit Readiness
21:11 War Stories From Law Firms
24:51 Key Takeaways and Next Steps

🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes on legal accounting, trust accounting, law firm bookkeeping, and growing a compliant and profitable law practice.

👉 Join the Accountants Law Lab Mastermind: accountantslawlab.com

🌐 Visit us at: accountantslawpod.com

📧 Submit a topic or question: info@accountantslawpod.com

Accountants Law Pod is hosted by Lynda Artesani, Sarah Prevost, and Steve Libhart and directed/produced by Teaira Burge and The Proper Trust. Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay - Edited by audiovideo_uk

Disclaimer: The content presented in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as legal, financial, or professional advice.

The future of legal accounting is moving fast and AI is at the center of it.

In this episode of Accountants Law Pod, we take an honest and sometimes hilarious look at where AI is actually delivering in legal and accounting workflows, where it is falling short, and what it means for the future of the profession.

From trust accounting and docketing to bank feeds, client billing, and the very real risk of skill atrophy, this is a grounded and candid conversation about what is coming and how to stay ahead of it.

🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes on legal accounting, trust accounting, AI in legal tech, law firm bookkeeping, and growing a legal accounting practice.

👉 Join the Accountants Law Lab Mastermind: accountantslawlab.com

🌐 Visit us at: accountantslawpod.com

📧 Submit a topic or question: info@accountantslawpod.com

01:02 AI Takes Center Stage
02:06 Tesla AI Reality Check
03:18 Automation Myths and Trust Recs
04:35 Prompting and App Ecosystems
06:03 QuickBooks AI Skepticism
07:18 Reconciliation Limits and Nuance
09:04 Banks Security and Shifting
10:13 AI in Attorney Billing
12:58 Tool Skills and Hiring Future
15:37 Advisors to Validators
16:18 Multi Business Valuation
17:11 Real Time Accounting
17:31 Legal Data Complexity
18:49 Compliance and Cyber Risk
20:05 Keeping Human Skills
21:40 AI for Firm Operations
23:12 Meeting Analysis Insights
24:42 Curiosity and Marketing
26:20 Frontier With Foundations
28:37 Industry and Banking Shifts

Accountants Law Pod is hosted by Lynda Artesani, Sarah Prevost, and Steve Libhart and directed/produced by Teaira Burge and The Proper Trust. Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay - Edited by audiovideo_uk

Disclaimer: The content presented in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as legal, financial, or professional advice.