Sage Line 50 and Solicitors

Sage Line 50 and Solicitors

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Client has recently set himself up as sole practitioner (solicitor) and is considering Sage Line 50 - what is the best way of managing client accounts etc. Can the accounts be run on a single company?
Catriona Cripps

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By jacp400
13th Jan 2006 18:02

Proper Package
I'll add my vote for the solicitor specific package. If it was that easy in Line 50 there wouldnt be such a big market for specific software.

Regards

John Clough
BDO Stoy Hayward LLP
http://www.bdo.co.uk

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By adam.arca
10th Jan 2006 13:02

Don't use off the shelf software
Personally, I would agree with Graham and disagree with Nicholas.

It's not an issue of Sage vs QB (which is a separate question entirely), but an issue of neither being fit for the purpose.

As David pointed out, solicitors' accounting is very specific and there are potentially severe penalties for even innocent errors. You could theoretically do this with QB etc but imagine all the hassle of constantly having to create new office and client bank accounts for every client and then properly manage the transfers etc etc.

I can understand the need to minimise start-up expenditure but I think using Sage would be a false economy: you would have to set up some very specific and time-consuming workarounds and then trust your bookkeeper to get them right every time. You'd probably be better off doing it manually to begin with!

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By carnmores
10th Jan 2006 16:29

well i am not sure about that Adam
the point is that opening office and client acs is a piece of sinch rather than a chore as you are suggesting. it provides an excellent low cost solution have you checked it out ?

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By jacp400
09th Jan 2006 22:25

The Law Society
Hi Catriona

You can download a recommended softwar guide from The Law Society by following this link:

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk//documents/downloads/softwaresolutions05.pdf

Not sure what criteria authors need to satisfy to get on the list though but it should be a good starting place.

Hope this helps.

Regards

John Clough
BDO Stoy Hayward LLP
http://www.bdo.co.uk

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By David Carter
09th Jan 2006 17:17

20 years is a long time
All right. Maybe things have moved along a bit in 20 years. Go with QuickBooks.

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By carnmores
09th Jan 2006 17:03

DC
see my answer below it works fine for a lost cost entry solution its perfect, you have a QB block again today!

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By User deleted
09th Jan 2006 13:50

Why Sage?
I am not confident that Sage is ideal for you or when accounting for firms that act as 'middlemen' in the transfer of funds. I wouldn't recommend Sage for insurance brokers or law firms.

Incidentally I have been told by a solicitor client that Sage is not even on the recommended list published by The Law Society.

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By carnmores
09th Jan 2006 14:57

Quickbooks is ideal`
for client account usage and control of income and expense by class / client

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By David Carter
09th Jan 2006 15:18

separate Office and Client account needed
I sold accounting systems to solicitors 20 years ago. Can't remember the exact details, except that they are very specific - for example there has to be an Office account and a Client account for each case.

Forget standard accounting packages and look for a specialist package. Suppliers will advertise in the legal press.

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By adam.arca
10th Jan 2006 17:45

Nicholas, rather you than me
Even a start-up solicitor will soon have clients running into hundreds.

If you want to create and manage individual office and client accounts for every one of these, and then painstakingly have to post every transfer for every client (I doubt that QB has a routine to batch these because it is not designed for this sort of acounting), then be my guest...

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By Chris Smail
11th Jan 2006 14:12

Don't even think of it
You must use a proper dedicated piece of software with time recording etc if the solicitor is doing anything on client accounts.

No exceptons.

We have three different Law Soc approved packages in use at our clients, all hve their good and bad points but all do the fourlegged entry thing properly.

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By Mikerichards
12th Jan 2006 13:56

Solicitors software
Not mentioned by previous replies, but accounting is only part of the software requirement. The packages reviewed on the link shown earlier all do practise management (if you like they are ERP tools for lawyers)and you would miss all this if you opted for accounts only packages. see pages 44-47 of the review which is very well done.
The interest calculations and rules on accounting reports can only be complied with using sepcific software please go to www.lawsociety.org.uk/documents/downloads/Profethics_SAR.pdf and have an in depth read

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By User deleted
12th Jan 2006 15:30

Sage could work...What about Excel linked to Sage?
As mentioned - Sage could work but would require add on software or a workaround to do the job required.

A firm called Liber8 Ltd produce a Line 50 add-on called "Liber8 for Brokers" which is primarily aimed at insurance brokers but may be worth reviewing - I've not seen it myself.

To avoid the additional costs of add-on packages Sage could be used alone but set up and training of the user would be required to ensure it operated as needed.

Maybe use of Excel and importing to Sage for the accounts functions would be cheapest/easiest - particularly at first.

[email protected]

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By stephen.smith.ramesys
12th Jan 2006 19:09

Go for a proper package
A standard accounts package could be made to account for almost any business but is often a false economy for a specialist area such as law. I would certainly not consider trying to use Excel in conjunction. A one-man-band needs things as straightforward as possible. I think Chris Smail hit the nail on the head with his comment about the "four legged entry thingy". I think he was referring to the situation where you transfer money from the client account to the office account resulting in the following entries:

Dr Office Bank A/c
Cr Sales Ledger
Dr Client Ledger
Cr Client Bank A/c

I'd be surprised if Sage handles this without convolution and the risk of imbalances.

Sorry I can't recommend a package. It would be worth asking for a few demos to see what they can do.

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By carnmores
11th Jan 2006 14:42

OK i give up
though QB has an integral time recording sysytem.

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