Solutions · Family law
AI accounting for family law firms
suss. is AI accounting software for family law firms. It keeps every client retainer in trust reconciled every day, flags retainers that fall below the firm's minimum before they run out, moves earned fees from trust to operating only after an invoice is approved, and produces client statements that show exactly what was billed, paid and held. It connects read-only to the firm's bank and practice management system and records everything in a close record a state bar reviewer can read.
Schedule a demoWhat changes for a family law firm
Retainers are watched every day, not at billing time.
Every client's trust balance is checked against the firm's retainer minimum daily. When one falls below, the matter is flagged for a person, with the amount, before the next invoice goes out, so the replenishment conversation happens early.
Fee transfers are earned, approved, then moved.
suss. drafts the transfer from trust to operating from the approved invoice, matched to the client's ledger. The managing partner or the person you name approves it. Nothing moves on an unapproved bill.
Client statements clients can read.
Each client's statement shows deposits, invoices, transfers and the balance held, in plain language, so billing questions are answered by the record rather than a phone call.
How a family law firm uses suss.
Each morning the office manager sees the short list: two retainers below minimum, one invoice approved and ready to transfer, one client payment that arrived overnight and matched to its ledger. Everything else is already tied.
At billing, the attorney approves invoices in the practice management system as usual. suss. reads the approval, checks the client's trust balance covers it, and drafts the transfer. The person who moves money approves the batch once.
When a client disputes a charge, the ledger shows every deposit, invoice and transfer on that matter, with dates and the person who approved each one.
At month end, the three-way reconciliation is already done, and the retainer report shows every client's balance against their minimum.
What you keep
Your practice management system, your bank, your approvals and your accountant. suss. works alongside all of them.
Definitions
- Retainer
- funds a client deposits in the firm's trust account in advance, against which fees are billed as they are earned.
- Evergreen retainer
- a retainer the client agrees to replenish whenever it falls below a set minimum.
- Fee transfer
- moving earned fees from the trust account to the firm's operating account after the client has been billed.
- Commingling
- holding firm money and client money in the same account, which trust accounting rules prohibit.
- Client statement
- a summary for one client showing deposits, invoices, transfers and the balance held in trust.
FAQ
We only let one person move money. Does suss. change that?
No. suss. prepares transfers and records them; the person you name approves and moves them. It works with one approver or several.
Does suss. bill our clients?
No. Billing stays in your practice management system. suss. reads approved invoices and handles the trust side: coverage, transfer, ledger and statement.
What happens when a retainer runs low?
The matter is flagged with the amount below minimum, and the people you choose are notified. The flag stays until the retainer is replenished or a person clears it.
Can clients see their own statements?
Firms can share client statements from suss. as PDFs or through a read-only client view. What clients see is the record, not a live account.
Is suss. compliant with our state's trust accounting rules?
suss. runs the checks the selected state bar rules require and keeps the required records. The firm remains responsible for its compliance; suss. makes the record.