Unallocated client money

Unallocated client money

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This question is really for people who are familiar with the Solicitor's Accounts Rules.

I work as a Legal Cashier for a firm of Solicitors. Last year we received some money on account from a client who paid by credit card. Unfortunately the accounts copy of the card receipt ended up on the file before it could be put on our accounts system. The miscellaneous funds are now sitting on our suspense account.

In terms of the Solicitors Accounts Rules, I would like to know what the correct account procedure is for dealing with these funds?

Thanks

Replies (10)

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By johngroganjga
24th Jul 2014 16:25

So you mean you don't know which client paid it?  And your "suspense" account is a client account presumably?

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By thwaites88
24th Jul 2014 16:39

Unallocated client money

Yes that is correct. It is obviously client money and some advice would be greatly appreciated.

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By johngroganjga
24th Jul 2014 16:48

Well do you not have an old apparently unpaid debit balance on office account of the same amount?

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By thwaites88
24th Jul 2014 17:12

Unallocated client money

I wish it was that simple. We have hundreds of files whereby payments on a/c of costs are a common occurrence so it could relate to anything.

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Stepurhan
By stepurhan
24th Jul 2014 17:19

Someone else's money

Am I missing something here? This is someone else's money we are talking about here, right?

So you have hundreds of files. Then someone has to look through those hundreds of files to match the receipt. This is not your money and you need to make sure that it gets allocated to the right person.

I also cannot help thinking that this would have been a lot easier to deal with if it had been addressed at the time. Why has an amount related to last year only come to light now?

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By Marion Hayes
24th Jul 2014 21:09

Ask the bank?

Surely the bank will be able to look back at the credit to see which name was on the card account. 

 

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By thwaites88
24th Jul 2014 22:39

Unallocated client money
Yes this is someone else's money. The situation has been going on since last year and yes I agree that it would have been best to deal with it at the time.

All I am after is whether anybody has been in this situation before and how they dealt with it.

Basically I am in this situation because despite the fact there is a procedure in place for dealing with debit/credit card payments, this one has slipped the net. I have made it abundantly clear to people who take the payments that they must be passed to me first. 7/8 months down the line, although it hasn't been dealt with yet, it has been picked up but people with lack of accounting knowledge either don't know what they are looking for or don't understand the importance of missing client funds.

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By RFL H
25th Jul 2014 09:18

No harm done, surely

When you eventually bill / request funds from the payer they will remind you that it has already been paid on the relevant date..

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By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
25th Jul 2014 10:38

.

I would do as Marion suggests - ask the bank and solve the historical issue.

Then think about systems for the future that involve insertion of hard things into soft tissue if not kept to. 

 

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By thwaites88
26th Jul 2014 17:57

Unallocated client money

Thanks for the info. Contacting the bank or payment provider for info seems to be my only option. I will give that a go.

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