For independent solicitor firms · £200k–£5m turnover

Bookkeeping for Solicitors

A CIMA-supervised bookkeeping practice for independent solicitor firms. SRA Accounts Rules-compliant client account reconciliation, monthly Xero coding, WIP and lock-up tracking, quarterly Controls Assurance statement. Fixed monthly fee from £500.

Book a 30-minute initial review →
Regulated byCIMA
Member in Practice
Companies HouseNo. 16943160
Insight Professional Partners Ltd
CoverProfessional
Indemnity Insured
ServingCambridgeshire
Northants & Rutland
The gap most solicitor firms get stuck in

SRA Accounts Rules don't wait for your year-end accountant

Most independent solicitor firms have an accountant who signs the books off in March, ten months after the year being described. That's bad enough for any business — but for a regulated solicitor firm it's actively risky.

SRA Accounts Rules — particularly Rule 8 on client account reconciliation — require monthly accuracy, not annual catch-up. Your COFA is personally accountable. A material breach at SRA inspection isn't a finance problem; it's a regulatory one. And the rest of the picture — WIP and lock-up creeping past 90 days, partner profit share drifting from forecast, professional indemnity premium variance, time recording vs billed value gaps — none of it gets surfaced until year-end, by which point the practice has already taken the cash impact.

We close the gap. Continuous bookkeeping with a quarterly assurance check tied to published standards — every issue we surface is cited to a specific FRS 102 section, HMRC rule, or SRA Accounts Rules paragraph. You see what's happening monthly, your COFA has the audit trail, and year-end becomes a confirmation rather than a reckoning.

What you actually get

The bookkeeping service, delivered every month

Every month, like clockwork. Every issue we raise is tied to a published accounting standard (FRS 102, FRS 105) or HMRC rule. Nothing is a black box.

Coding

Monthly transaction coding

Every transaction in Xero coded correctly. Office vs client account discipline maintained. Disbursements categorised. PI premiums and practising certificate fees correctly recorded. Bank feeds connected once, monthly cycle runs automatically.

SRA

Client account reconciliation

Monthly reconciliation of office and client accounts to SRA Accounts Rules standard — particularly Rule 8 monthly reconciliation. Your COFA gets a clean, dated, signed-off statement every month, audit-ready. Errors caught before the SRA inspection finds them.

VAT

8-point VAT inspection

Before every VAT return, we run the eight checks HMRC's own inspectors run. Disbursements vs invoices vs recharges done correctly. Time-recorded value vs billed value reconciled. Errors caught before submission, not after.

Assurance

Quarterly Controls Assurance

A one-page client-facing assurance statement every quarter — “your books are sound, with the evidence.” Show it to your bank, your accountant, your auditor. Most solicitor firms have never seen anything like it — and your COFA will appreciate the audit trail.

Reconciliation

Monthly reconciliation pack

WIP, debtors (billed vs WIP-only), creditors, payroll, VAT, client account, office account — all reconciled and packaged. Plus an issue log: every flag we raised, every standard we cited, every fix applied or recommended. Audit-trail ready.

Standards

Cited, not opaque

Every issue we raise carries a citation: FRS 102 Section 21 for accruals and prepayments, Section 23 for revenue recognition, SRA Accounts Rules Rule 8 for client account reconciliation, HMRC's published VAT inspection criteria. Nothing is “our opinion” — it's the standard.

Runs entirely on your existing Xero connection. Nothing for you to set up. We connect once, the monthly cycle runs automatically, and you get the deliverables without lifting a finger. Year-end accounts can be prepared by your existing accountant — or we'll refer you to a UK Chartered Accountancy firm we work with if you'd rather have one finance team end-to-end.
When you outgrow bookkeeping

Two natural upgrades, on the same continuous-assurance foundation

Tier 2 · from £750/mo

Management Accounts

Bookkeeping plus monthly P&L commentary, 13-week cash flow forecast (essential when lock-up is creeping), tax calendar with exact HMRC dates, and balance sheet health readout.

Tier 3 · from £1,500/mo

Virtual Finance Director

Full VFD service. Board pack monthly, strategic forecasting, partner profit-share modelling, lock-up reduction planning, PI premium scenario analysis, monthly review call with Peter directly. Same engine, more depth.

Who this is for

Independent solicitor firms ready for proper monthly discipline

Size
£200k–£5m turnover, 2–15 fee earners
Structure
Independent firms — sole practitioners, small partnerships, LLPs
SIC code
69102 — Solicitor activities
Current state
Year-end-only accountant, books done by office manager, bookkeeper or COFA without proper systems
Geography
Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Northamptonshire, Rutland — CB, PE, NN, LE postcodes
Not a fit
Top-50 firms with established in-house finance teams — we work with smaller independents
Why IPP for a solicitor firm

A regulated practice, run by one person who's accountable

I'm Peter Edwards. CIMA-qualified Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA CGMA) with twenty years of senior finance experience across pharmaceutical distribution, manufacturing, and professional services.

I keep my client list deliberately focused so every engagement gets proper senior attention. No junior delegation. No offshored bookkeeping. No black-box software making decisions on your behalf.

Tax matters that fall outside CIMA's remit — Corporation Tax, personal Self-Assessment, R&D claims — are referred out to a UK Chartered Accountancy firm we work with. A regulated practice with significant solicitor-firm tax expertise — partnership tax, LLP structures, partner retirement planning.

  • Peter Edwards ACMA CGMAChartered Management Accountant, CIMA Member in Practice (regulated practising certificate)
  • 20 years senior finance experiencePharmaceutical distribution, manufacturing, professional services
  • Companies House No. 16943160Insight Professional Partners Ltd
  • Professional Indemnity InsuredFull PI cover, AML-supervised
  • Tax ReferralsIncome tax and Corporation Tax work referred out to a UK Chartered Accountancy firm we work with
How it works

Three steps to monthly clarity

01

Initial review

30 minutes on Calendly. Free, no obligation. We talk about your practice, the gaps you feel, and what monthly visibility would actually mean for you.

02

Financial Health Check

Free. We connect to your Xero, run our checks, and tell you honestly what we'd do differently — whether you engage with us or not.

03

Monthly engagement

If it's a fit, we go live. Fixed £500/month, GoCardless mandate, no surprises. Monthly cycle starts from the first complete month.

Ready to close the gap?

Bookkeeping for solicitor firms from £500/month, fixed fee. CIMA-supervised. Free 30-minute initial review — no obligation.

Book your initial review → Currently accepting enquiries