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BlackpeakCFO Fractional Controller & CFO
Built for Law Firms

Your Law Firm's P&L Says You're Profitable.
So Why Is the Bank Account Empty?

IOLTA trust accounts don't reconcile themselves. Partner distributions happen on vibes, not models. Your bookkeeper enters time entries — but nobody's watching realization rates, matter profitability, or cash conversion. We fix that.

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No contracts · From $3,995/mo · ACMA CGMA · 24 years in professional finance

The 5 Finance Problems Every Growing Law Firm Has

1. IOLTA Trust Accounting Is a Compliance Minefield

Every state bar requires trust accounts to be reconciled monthly. Commingling client funds with operating funds is a disbarment offence. Your bookkeeper knows how to enter transactions — but can they produce a three-way trust reconciliation that passes a bar audit?

2. You Don't Know Which Practice Areas Are Actually Profitable

You bill $500/hr for litigation and $300/hr for estate planning. But after write-downs, realization rates, and overhead allocation — which one actually makes money? Most law firms can't answer this. We build matter-level profitability models so you can.

3. Partner Distributions Are Based on Gut Feel

Equity partners argue about draws. Compensation is based on origination credits that haven't been updated since 2019. Nobody has modelled what the firm can actually afford to distribute while maintaining 90 days operating cash. We build the models that end the arguments.

4. Collections Are Slow and Nobody Tracks Them

Your realization rate is 85% but your collection rate is 72%. That 13% gap on $3M in billings is $390,000 left on the table. We set up aging reports, automated follow-up workflows, and track realization → collection → cash conversion weekly.

5. You Want to Add Partners or Open a New Office — But Can't Model It

Growth decisions need financial models: what's the break-even on a new associate? What's the cash impact of opening in Austin vs. Miami? How long until a lateral hire generates positive ROI? We build these models. Your bookkeeper doesn't.

What Your Law Firm Gets Each Month

Everything a full-time controller delivers — tuned for law firm economics.

IOLTA 3-Way Trust Reconciliation

Monthly trust account reconciliation: bank balance ↔ book balance ↔ client ledger cards. Bar-audit ready. Flagged exceptions within 48 hours.

Matter-Level Profitability

Revenue, realization, and margin by practice area, partner, and individual matter. Know which clients and case types drive profit vs. drain it.

Partner Distribution Model

Data-driven comp model based on origination, collection, hours billed, and firm profitability. Updated quarterly. Ends the annual argument.

Management Accounts by the 5th

Full P&L, balance sheet, cash flow. KPIs: revenue per lawyer, utilization rate, realization rate, collection rate, AR aging. Board-ready.

13-Week Cash Flow Forecast

Rolling weekly forecast factoring in billing cycles, seasonal dips (courts closed = lower collections), and planned distributions. Never get cash-surprised again.

Tax & Compliance Oversight

Quarterly estimated tax calculations. Multi-state nexus tracking if you have clients in multiple jurisdictions. Partner K-1 prep coordination with your CPA.

We Cut Our Teeth on Scotland's Trust Accounting — Yours Is Easy

Under Scotland's Law Society Rule B6, a single client can have 15 separate bank accounts — deposit accounts, conveyancing accounts, interest-bearing trust accounts — each needing individual matter-level reconciliation every five weeks, with 10 years of records retained. Our principal, Stuart, is ACMA CGMA-qualified and has reconciled exactly these books: every penny tracing from bank statement → firm cashbook → individual client matter card, across multiple accounts per client.

IOLTA is structurally simpler — one pooled trust account, client ledger cards, monthly reconciliation. The three-way reconciliation mechanics are identical, but with far fewer moving parts. If you can survive a Scottish Law Society inspection, an American bar audit is a walk in the park.

ACMA CGMA Qualified 24 Years Professional Finance Matter-Level Trust Accounting Three-Way Reconciliation

Further Reading for Law Firms

Get Your Free Law Firm Management Pack

30-minute call. We'll review your trust accounting setup, identify your realization-to-collection gap, and show you what your management accounts should look like. No pitch — just proof.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How does a fractional CFO handle IOLTA trust accounting for law firms? +

We perform monthly three-way trust reconciliations: bank balance ↔ book balance ↔ individual client ledger cards. Every dollar is traced. Exceptions are flagged within 48 hours. This is bar-audit ready, every month — not something assembled in a panic when the state bar sends a notice. Our principal trained on Scotland's Rule B6 trust accounting, which is structurally more complex than IOLTA. Your trust accounts are in experienced hands.

How do you calculate realization rates and why do they matter? +

Realization rate measures what percentage of your billed time actually gets collected as revenue. If you bill $500/hr but write down 15% and collect 85% of what's left, your effective rate is $361/hr — not $500. We track realization by partner, practice area, and client so you can see where discounting and write-offs are concentrated. A 5-point improvement in realization on $3M in billings is $150K in recovered revenue.

Can you build a partner compensation model that actually works? +

Yes. We build data-driven models based on origination credits, working attorney credits, collection rates, billable hours, and firm profitability — updated quarterly. The model shows what the firm can actually afford to distribute while maintaining 90 days of operating cash reserves. It replaces the annual argument about draws with transparent, defensible math.

How do you track matter-level and practice area profitability? +

We allocate revenue, direct costs, and overhead to each practice area and — where your billing system supports it — to individual matters. You'll see which practice areas and client types drive profit after accounting for write-downs, realization rates, and fully loaded attorney costs. Most firms discover that their highest-rate practice area isn't necessarily their most profitable one.

What financial KPIs should a law firm be tracking each month? +

Revenue per lawyer, utilization rate (billable hours ÷ available hours), realization rate, collection rate, AR aging, WIP aging, profit per partner, and cash conversion cycle. We deliver all of these in your monthly management accounts by the 5th — plus a 13-week cash flow forecast that accounts for billing cycles, seasonal court schedule dips, and planned partner distributions.

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