ApplicationTrustAccounting — User Manual

Audience: Legal clerks, attorneys, finance staff, and auditors
Version: 1.0 — April 2026
Jurisdiction: South Africa (LPC / Law Society compliance)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Getting Started
3. Understanding Trust vs Firm Funds
4. Daily Operations
   • Trust Management Centre
   • Receive Trust Funds from a Client
   • Pay a Creditor from Trust
   • Refund a Client from Trust
   • Transfer Between Trust Bank Accounts
   • Pay an Invoice from Trust
   • Record a Business Expense (Firm)
   • Manual Journal Entry
5. Money Flows
   • Trust Investment — Section 86(4)
   • Disinvestment (Withdrawing from an Investment)
   • Recording Trust Interest — The 95/5 Rule
6. Invoice Lifecycle
   • Creating a Draft Invoice
   • Adding Line Items
   • Finalising and Sending an Invoice
   • Recording Invoice Payment
   • Credit Notes
   • Voiding / Reversing an Invoice
7. Reconciliation Workflow
   • Monthly Trust Reconciliation
   • Bank Statement Import and Clearing
   • Submitting the Reconciliation
   • Closing an Accounting Period
8. Reporting
   • Trust Integrity Report
   • Balance Sheet
   • Income Statement
   • Trial Balance
   • Account Statement
9. Compliance Rules — LPC / IOLTA
10. Troubleshooting

1. Introduction

ApplicationTrustAccounting is a legal accounting system designed specifically for law firms operating under South African Legal Practice Council (LPC) and IOLTA regulations. It maintains three separate but linked financial records simultaneously:

Every financial transaction you enter results in all three records being written simultaneously. You cannot have a trust ledger entry without a corresponding general ledger entry.

2. Getting Started

Launching the Application

Open the ApplicationTrustAccounting application from your desktop shortcut or Start Menu. You will be presented with the main workspace. Your username is recorded automatically on every transaction for audit purposes.

Main Navigation

The main menu bar contains an Accounting menu. The primary windows you will use are:

The Accounting Period

All transactions must fall within an open accounting period. Accounting periods correspond to calendar months (e.g., April 2026). If no open period exists for the date you are entering, the system will refuse the transaction and display an error. Contact your finance administrator to open the relevant period.

3. Understanding Trust vs Firm Funds

This is the most important concept in legal trust accounting. Failure to keep these funds separate is a serious regulatory violation.

Trust Funds

Trust funds are money that belongs to a client, held temporarily by the firm. Common examples:

• Funds paid upfront to cover expected costs (e.g., conveyancing deposits, litigation disbursements)
• Settlement proceeds awaiting distribution
• Retainers held against future work not yet invoiced

Trust funds must never be used for firm expenses. They must be held in a dedicated trust bank account, separately from the firm's own money.

The system enforces this by maintaining a Trust Liability in the General Ledger (representing the firm's obligation to return the money) and a corresponding Trust Bank Asset (the money itself sitting in the bank).

Firm Funds

Firm funds are money that belongs to the firm:

• Fees earned and invoiced to clients
• Investment income
• The firm's operating bank account balance

The Golden Rule

Trust Assets must always equal Trust Liabilities.
If they do not match, the firm is in violation of IOLTA rules and must investigate immediately.

The system's Trust Integrity Report checks this balance automatically (see Section 8.1).

4. Daily Operations

4.1 Trust Management Centre

The Trust Management window (open via Accounting → Trust Management) is the starting point for all trust operations. It displays:

• Total Trust Assets — the total balance held across all trust bank accounts
• Total Trust Liabilities — the sum of all client balances held in trust
• Firm Receivables — unpaid invoices owed to the firm
• Pending Drafts — transactions that have been staged but not yet committed to the ledger

You can also select an Active Matter from the dropdown at the top right to see that matter's current trust balance.

The two action sections are:

Quick Capture — Essential Operations

Banking & Other Operations

4.2 Receive Trust Funds from a Client

Use this when a client pays money into the firm's trust bank account.

Steps:

1. Open Trust Management.
2. Select the relevant Matter from the dropdown.
3. Click Receive Trust Funds.
4. A dialog will appear. Complete the following fields:
   • Matter — pre-selected; confirm it is correct
   • Client — displayed automatically
   • Trust Bank Account — select the trust account the money is going into
   • Amount — the rand amount received
   • Date — the date the funds were received (must be within an open accounting period)
   • Reference — the EFT reference, cheque number, or deposit slip number (must be unique)
   • Description — a brief narrative (e.g., "Retainer payment — transfer of property")
5. Click Confirm / Process Receipt.

What the system does:

• Creates a General Ledger journal entry: Debit Trust Bank Account / Credit Trust Liability
• Creates a Trust Ledger entry for the matter showing a credit (increase in balance)
• Records a file note on the matter
• Both records are linked by a journal entry ID for audit trail purposes

Accounting impact:

Failure conditions:

4.3 Pay a Creditor from Trust

Use this when you need to pay a third party (conveyancer, expert witness, court, municipality) from a client's trust funds.

Steps:

1. Open Trust Management.
2. Select the relevant Matter.
3. Click Pay from Trust.
4. Complete the fields:
   • Matter — confirm the correct matter
   • Trust Bank Account — the account funds will be drawn from
   • Payee / Creditor — who is being paid
   • Amount — the amount to pay
   • Date — payment date
   • Reference — cheque number, EFT reference, or payment batch number
   • Description — who is being paid and why
5. Click Confirm.

What the system does:

• Validates that the matter has sufficient funds in trust (the system will reject the payment if the matter balance is insufficient)
• Creates a General Ledger journal entry: Debit Trust Liability / Credit Trust Bank Account
• Creates a Trust Ledger entry for the matter showing a debit (decrease in balance)

Accounting impact:

Failure conditions:

4.4 Refund a Client from Trust

Use this when a matter concludes with a surplus, or the client requests the return of unused trust funds.

Steps:

1. Open Trust Management.
2. Select the relevant Matter.
3. Click Refund to Client.
4. Complete the fields:
   • Amount — amount to refund (cannot exceed the matter's trust balance)
   • Date — refund date
   • Reference — EFT reference or cheque number
5. Click Confirm.

What the system does:

The accounting treatment is identical to paying a creditor: the firm's liability decreases and the trust bank decreases. The Trust Ledger records this as a REFUND transaction.

Failure conditions: Same as paying a creditor — insufficient funds will block the transaction.

4.5 Transfer Between Trust Bank Accounts

Use this to move trust funds from one trust bank account to another (e.g., from a General Trust account to a Conveyancing Trust account) for the same or a different matter.

Important: The destination account must also be a trust account. The system will reject transfers to non-trust accounts.

Steps:

1. Open Trust Management.
2. Click Inter-Bank Transfer.
3. Complete:
   • From Account — source trust bank account
   • To Account — destination trust bank account (must be a different account)
   • Matter — the matter the funds belong to
   • Target Matter — if transferring to a different matter (inter-matter transfer)
   • Amount, Date, Reference
4. Click Confirm.

What the system does:

• Creates two Trust Ledger entries: one debit on the source account, one credit on the destination account
• Creates the corresponding General Ledger entries
• Both legs are linked to their own journal entry IDs

Accounting impact: No net change in total trust liabilities. The balance simply moves between accounts.

4.6 Pay an Invoice from Trust

Use this when a client has instructed the firm to pay an outstanding invoice from the client's trust funds.

Steps:

1. Open Trust Management.
2. Select the relevant Matter.
3. Click Pay Invoice from Trust.
4. Select the outstanding invoice from the list.
5. Confirm the amount and reference.
6. Click Confirm.

What the system does:

• Checks that the matter has sufficient trust funds
• Marks the invoice as paid (or partially paid)
• Records a Trust Ledger debit (reducing the client's trust balance)
• Creates General Ledger entries to transfer the funds from Trust Liability to the firm's income accounts

Failure conditions:

4.7 Record a Business Expense (Firm)

Use this for firm-level operating expenses (rent, salaries, stationery) — not for client costs.

Steps:

1. Open Trust Management.
2. Click Business Expense.
3. Enter the expense details:
   • Supplier — who was paid
   • Amount (ex-VAT)
   • VAT Amount — if the expense is VAT-inclusive, the system can calculate this
   • Account — the expense account to debit (e.g., Rent, Salaries)
   • Date, Reference, Description
4. Click Confirm.

Accounting impact: Debit Expense Account / Credit Bank (Operating Account) or Creditor Liability.

4.8 Manual Journal Entry

For adjustments, opening balances, or corrections that do not fit any standard transaction type. Requires finance manager authorisation.

Steps:

1. Open Trust Management.
2. Click General Journal.
3. Add at least one debit line and one credit line.
4. The total debits must equal total credits — the system will not allow an unbalanced journal.
5. Enter a description and reference.
6. Click Post.

Compliance note: Manual journals must balance. The system enforces this automatically. Trust accounts should not appear in manual journals unless specifically authorised.

5. Money Flows

5.1 Trust Investment — Section 86(4)

Under the Legal Practice Act Section 86(4), firms may invest client trust funds in separate interest-bearing accounts for the benefit of the client. This is only permitted with the client's written consent.

Steps:

1. Open Trust Management.
2. Select the Matter.
3. Click Trust Investment.
4. The dialog shows the matter's available trust balance.
5. Complete the fields:
   • Investment Type — Money Market, Fixed Deposit, Notice Account, or Call Account
   • Account Name — descriptive name (e.g., "Call Account — Smith Matter")
   • Bank/Institution — name of the bank holding the investment
   • Investment Amount — must not exceed the available trust balance
   • Interest Rate (%) — the agreed rate (for record-keeping)
   • Maturity Date — optional; for fixed-term investments
   • Reference — pre-filled automatically
6. Click Process Investment.

What the system does:

• Creates a new investment account in the Chart of Accounts (sub-category: INVESTMENT, under Current Assets)
• Transfers funds from the general trust bank account to the investment account
• Creates two Trust Ledger entries: one debit (out of general trust), one credit (into the investment account)
• The initial transaction is staged as a Draft pending final confirmation

Accounting impact:

Failure conditions:

5.2 Disinvestment (Withdrawing from an Investment)

When an investment matures or the client instructs withdrawal, funds are transferred back to the general trust account.

Steps:

1. Open Trust Management.
2. Select the Matter.
3. Click Trust Investment (same screen — choose Disinvest/Withdraw).
4. Select the investment account to withdraw from.
5. Enter the Amount, Date, and Reference.
6. Click Confirm.

What the system does: The reverse of an investment — the investment account decreases and the general trust account increases. Two Trust Ledger entries are written, each linked to their own journal entry.

5.3 Recording Trust Interest — The 95/5 Rule

Interest earned on trust investments is subject to the Law Society's 95/5 Rule:

95% of trust interest must be paid to the Legal Practitioners' Fidelity Fund (LPFF).
5% of trust interest may be retained by the firm to cover administration costs.

This split is enforced automatically by the system when recording trust interest.

Steps:

1. Open Trust Management.
2. Navigate to the matter with the investment account.
3. Use Record Interest (available via the transaction wizard or General Journal screen).
4. Enter:
   • Matter
   • Investment/Trust Bank Account
   • Total Interest Amount — the gross interest credited by the bank
   • Date and Reference (e.g., bank statement reference)
5. Click Confirm.

What the system does:

• Calculates 95% of the total interest → this portion is treated as a liability payable to the LPFF
• Calculates 5% of the total interest → this portion is treated as income retained by the firm
• Creates the appropriate General Ledger postings for both portions
• Creates a Trust Ledger credit entry on the matter (the client's balance increases by the full interest amount until the LPFF portion is remitted)

Example:
Interest earned: R 1,000.00
LPFF portion (95%): R 950.00 → payable to the LPFF
Firm retention (5%): R 50.00 → firm income

Compliance note: The 95% LPFF portion is posted to a dedicated Fidelity Fund Interest liability account in the General Ledger. The firm is responsible for periodically paying out this liability balance to the Legal Practitioners' Fidelity Fund by processing a payment from the firm's operating account. The system records the accumulation; the actual bank payment to the LPFF is a separate firm-level transaction that must be performed manually in accordance with LPC requirements.

6. Invoice Lifecycle

6.1 Creating a Draft Invoice

Invoices start as drafts and can be edited freely until they are finalised.

Steps:

1. Open Invoice Explorer (via the main menu or from within a matter).
2. Click New Invoice.
3. Select the Matter from the dropdown.
4. Set the Invoice Date and Due Date.
5. Select Fee Type: Fixed Fee, Hourly, or Contingency.
6. The system automatically assigns the next sequential Invoice Number (e.g., INV-2026-000001).
7. Click Save as Draft.

The invoice is now in DRAFT status. No accounting entries are created yet.

6.2 Adding Line Items

While the invoice is in DRAFT, you can add three types of line items:

Professional Fees

• Click Add Fee Line.
• Enter a Description (e.g., "Drafting of agreement of sale") and Amount.
• Indicate whether the line is VAT-able (for VAT-registered firms, 15% VAT is calculated automatically).

Time Entries (Hourly Billing)

• Click Add Time Entry.
• Select from the list of unbilled time entries logged against the matter.
• The system pre-fills the description, hours, and rate. Adjust if necessary.
• On adding, the time entry is marked as "billed" and cannot be added to another invoice.

Disbursements (Recoverable Costs)

• Click Add Disbursement.
• Select from the list of unbilled disbursements (costs paid on the client's behalf).
• The system pre-fills the amount. Indicate whether the disbursement is VAT-able.

The invoice totals recalculate automatically each time a line is added or removed:

• Subtotal Fees + Subtotal Disbursements = Subtotal (ex-VAT)
• + VAT Amount = Total Amount

6.3 Finalising and Sending an Invoice

When the invoice is complete, it must be finalised (also called "sent" or "posted") to create the accounting entries.

Steps:

1. Open the invoice in Invoice Explorer.
2. Review all line items, dates, and the total amount.
3. Click Finalise / Send Invoice.
4. Confirm the action.

What the system does:

• Changes the invoice status from DRAFT to SENT
• Creates a General Ledger journal entry: Debit Accounts Receivable / Credit Income (and VAT Liability if VAT-registered)
• The invoice is now locked — line items can no longer be changed

Accounting impact:

Failure conditions:

6.4 Recording Invoice Payment

When the client pays the invoice (by EFT, cheque, or from trust funds).

Steps (direct payment — not from trust):

1. Open the invoice in Invoice Explorer.
2. Click Record Payment.
3. Enter:
   • Amount Paid
   • Payment Date
   • Reference (EFT reference or cheque number)
   • Bank Account (the firm's operating account receiving the payment)
4. Click Confirm.

What the system does:

• Records a General Ledger entry: Debit Bank (Operating) / Credit Accounts Receivable
• Updates the invoice status:
  • Full payment → PAID
  • Partial payment → PARTIALLY_PAID (balance due is updated)

For trust-funded payment: Use Pay Invoice from Trust (Section 4.6) instead of this process.

6.5 Credit Notes

A credit note reduces the amount owed on an existing invoice — for example, if a fee was charged in error or a discount was agreed after finalisation.

Steps:

1. Open the invoice in Invoice Explorer.
2. Click Credit Note.
3. Enter:
   • Credit Amount — the amount to reduce (must be positive)
   • Reason — brief explanation
   • Reference to the original invoice (pre-filled)
4. Click Confirm.

What the system does:

• Validates that the original invoice exists and the credit amount is positive
• Creates reverse General Ledger entries: Debit Income / Credit Accounts Receivable
• Reduces the invoice balance due

Compliance note: Credit notes must reference the original invoice. The system enforces this — a credit note without a valid original invoice reference will be rejected.

6.6 Voiding / Reversing an Invoice

A DRAFT invoice can be cancelled (voided) without creating any accounting entries. A SENT invoice must be reversed — this creates a contra journal entry.

Voiding a Draft:

1. Open the draft invoice.
2. Click Cancel / Void.
3. All linked time entries and disbursements are released (marked as unbilled).

Reversing a Sent Invoice:

1. Open the invoice in Invoice Explorer.
2. Click Reverse.
3. Enter a Date (must be in an open period) and a Reason.
4. Confirm.

What the system does: Creates a contra journal entry that exactly reverses the original invoice posting. The invoice status changes to VOID.

7. Reconciliation Workflow

7.1 Monthly Trust Reconciliation

The monthly trust reconciliation is a legally required process to confirm that:

1. The trust bank balance per the bank statement equals
2. The trust ledger balance per the accounting system, which in turn equals
3. The sum of all individual matter trust balances

This must be completed for each trust bank account every month before the accounting period can be closed.

The Reconciliation Formula:

Bank Statement Balance
+ Outstanding Deposits (in ledger but not yet on statement)
- Outstanding Payments (in ledger but not yet on statement)
= Expected Ledger Balance

If Expected Ledger Balance = Trust Ledger Balance → BALANCED ✓

Steps to prepare a reconciliation:

1. Open Bank Reconciliation (via the Accounting menu or Trust Management → Account Reconciliation).
2. Select the Trust Bank Account to reconcile.
3. Select the Accounting Period (month and year).
4. Enter the Closing Balance per Bank Statement.
5. Click Prepare Reconciliation.

The system calculates the ledger balance, outstanding deposits, and outstanding payments. A reconciliation record is created in DRAFT status.

7.2 Bank Statement Import and Clearing

To identify which transactions have cleared the bank, you can import a bank statement.

Importing a CSV statement:

1. In the Bank Reconciliation screen, click Import Bank Statement.
2. Select your bank's CSV format (FNB and standard CSV are supported).
3. Browse to the CSV file and click Import.
4. The system loads the bank transactions alongside the system's ledger transactions.

Matching / Clearing items:

• Review the two lists: Bank Transactions (left) and System Transactions (right).
• For each item that appears on the bank statement and matches a system entry, tick/select both and click Clear Selected.
• Items that have been cleared are marked reconciled and excluded from the outstanding balances.
• Continue until all matching items are cleared.

Unmatched items:

• Items on the bank statement but not in the system → the transaction needs to be entered
• Items in the system but not on the statement → outstanding items (normal, e.g., a cheque not yet presented)

7.3 Submitting the Reconciliation

Once all matching items are cleared and the reconciliation is balanced:

1. Confirm the variance shown is R 0.00.
2. Click Submit Reconciliation.

What the system does:

• Changes the reconciliation status from DRAFT to SUBMITTED
• Marks all relevant trust ledger entries as reconciled (up to the snapshot taken when the reconciliation was prepared)
• The reconciliation cannot be re-submitted once it has been submitted

Failure conditions:

7.4 Closing an Accounting Period

Accounting periods are closed at month-end after all transactions have been entered and reconciliations are complete.

Pre-conditions for closing:

• All trust reconciliations for the period must be in SUBMITTED status (not DRAFT)
• All required transactions for the period must be posted

Steps:

1. Contact your finance administrator.
2. The administrator opens Period Management and selects the period to close.
3. Click Close Period.

What the system does:

• Locks the period (preventing new transactions)
• Closes the period (the status changes from OPEN → LOCKED → CLOSED)

After closing: No transactions can be posted to a closed period. Backdated entries will be rejected.

8. Reporting

8.1 Trust Integrity Report

Who uses it: Finance managers, auditors, compliance officers
Frequency: Monthly (or whenever a discrepancy is suspected)

The Trust Integrity Report verifies that:

• Total Trust Bank Assets = Total Trust Liabilities
• The sum of all individual matter balances = the total trust ledger balance

Any variance indicates a potential compliance issue and must be investigated immediately.

How to run it:

1. Open Reports → Trust Integrity.
2. Select the Trust Bank Account and Date Range.
3. Click Run Report.

The report flags any matters where the General Ledger balance and the Trust Ledger balance do not agree. It also identifies any matters with a negative trust balance (which should never occur).

8.2 Balance Sheet

Shows the firm's financial position at a point in time: Assets, Liabilities, and Equity.

• Trust Bank Accounts appear as assets
• Trust Liabilities (amounts owed to clients) appear as liabilities
• For a compliant firm, these two items should be equal

How to run it:

1. Open Reports → Balance Sheet.
2. Select the As-At Date.
3. Click Generate.

8.3 Income Statement

Shows the firm's revenues and expenses over a period, resulting in net profit or loss.

• Fee Income — invoiced professional fees
• Disbursement Recovery — costs recovered from clients
• Operating Expenses — rent, salaries, and other firm costs
• Trust Interest Retention — the 5% interest the firm is permitted to retain

How to run it:

1. Open Reports → Income Statement.
2. Select the Period (from date to date).
3. Click Generate.

8.4 Trial Balance

A list of all account balances (debit and credit) at a point in time. Used by auditors to verify that the books balance.

How to run it:

1. Open Reports → Trial Balance.
2. Select the Period.
3. Click Generate.

Total debits must equal total credits. If they do not, the system has an error that requires investigation.

8.5 Account Statement

Shows the full transaction history of any single account (trust bank account, income account, expense account, or client receivable account).

How to view it:

1. Open Account Statement.
2. Select the Account from the list.
3. Select the Date Range.
4. The statement shows each posting with its date, description, debit/credit amounts, and running balance.

This is useful for reviewing the history of a specific trust bank account before a reconciliation, or for checking a client's invoice payment history.

9. Compliance Rules — LPC / IOLTA

This section summarises the key regulatory rules that the system enforces automatically. Understanding these rules helps you understand why the system may reject certain actions.

Rule 1: No Co-Mingling of Funds

Trust funds must never be mixed with firm funds. The system enforces this by:

• Maintaining separate trust bank accounts (account type TRUST_GENERAL, TRUST_INVESTMENT, etc.)
• Preventing trust accounts from being used in non-trust transaction types
• Preventing firm bank accounts from appearing in trust transactions

Violation: Any attempt to transfer trust funds directly to the firm's operating account will be blocked.

Rule 2: Every Trust Transaction Must Reference a Matter

All trust fund movements must be linked to a specific client matter. The system will reject any trust transaction where no matter has been selected.

This ensures that the per-matter trust ledger (the legally prescribed format) is always accurate.

Rule 3: Every Transaction Must Have a Unique Reference

All trust transactions require a unique reference number (EFT reference, cheque number, deposit slip). Duplicate references are rejected to prevent accidental double-posting and to maintain a clean audit trail.

Rule 4: Transactions Cannot Be Posted to Closed Periods

All journal entries must fall within an open accounting period. Backdated entries to closed periods are blocked. This ensures that finalised months cannot be altered.

Rule 5: Trust Balances Cannot Go Negative

The system checks the available trust balance for a matter before every payment, refund, or investment. If the payment would result in a negative balance, the transaction is blocked with an error.

Rule 6: The 95/5 Interest Rule

Interest earned on trust investments is subject to the Legal Practitioners' Fidelity Fund (LPFF) distribution requirement. The system splits interest automatically:

• 95% → LPFF (payable to the Legal Practitioners' Fidelity Fund)
• 5% → Firm (retained as administration income)

This split is calculated using the amount rules TRUST_INTEREST_95 and TRUST_INTEREST_05 in the posting engine.

Rule 7: Credit Notes Must Reference an Existing Invoice

A credit note can only be raised against an invoice that exists in the system. Standalone credit notes (not linked to an original invoice) are rejected.

Rule 8: Manual Journals Must Balance

Manual journal entries must have equal debits and credits. An unbalanced manual journal is rejected before it can be saved.

Rule 9: Trust Reconciliation Before Period Close

An accounting period cannot be closed while there are unsubmitted (DRAFT) trust reconciliations for that period. All trust reconciliations must reach SUBMITTED status before period close.

Rule 10: All Transactions Require an Authenticated User

Every transaction records the user who created it. If the user session is not valid, the transaction is blocked. This ensures a complete, tamper-proof audit trail for every financial event.

10. Troubleshooting

"No open accounting period for date [date]"

Cause: The transaction date falls in a month that has not been opened as an accounting period, or the period for that month has been closed.
Resolution: Contact your finance administrator to open the relevant period.

"Insufficient trust funds for matter [X]"

Cause: The matter's trust ledger balance is lower than the amount you are trying to pay or transfer.
Resolution:

1. Open Trust Management and select the matter to check the current trust balance.
2. If the balance appears lower than expected, run the Trust Integrity Report to check for discrepancies.
3. If the balance is genuinely insufficient, arrange for the client to deposit additional funds before proceeding.

"Reference [X] is not unique"

Cause: A transaction with the same reference number already exists in the system.
Resolution: Use a different reference. Consider appending the date or a sequential number (e.g., EFT-20260415-001).

"Invoice not in DRAFT status. Cannot finalise."

Cause: The invoice was previously finalised (sent), or it was voided.
Resolution: If the invoice requires correction after finalisation, use a Credit Note to reverse the incorrect amounts, then raise a new corrected invoice.

"Cannot close period: there are unsubmitted trust reconciliations"

Cause: One or more trust reconciliations for this period are still in DRAFT status.
Resolution: Complete and submit all pending reconciliations (Section 7.3) before attempting to close the period.

"Compliance violation: Trust transactions must be linked to a specific matter"

Cause: A trust transaction was submitted without selecting a matter.
Resolution: Return to the transaction form and select the correct matter before confirming.

"Trust transfer requires different source and target"

Cause: You are attempting to transfer funds between the same account and matter.
Resolution: Ensure that either the source and destination bank accounts are different, or the source and destination matters are different.

Reconciliation will not balance

Possible causes and resolutions:

A transaction appears in the ledger but should not be there

If a transaction was posted in error, a reversal must be created. You cannot delete or edit posted transactions.

• For trust transactions: contact your finance administrator to initiate a reversal
• For invoices: use the Reverse function in Invoice Explorer
• The reversal creates a contra journal entry that exactly offsets the original posting, and both remain in the audit log

End of User Manual

Disclaimer: This manual reflects the behaviour of the ApplicationTrustAccounting system as implemented. Compliance requirements described herein are based on South African LPC / IOLTA regulations as understood at the time of writing. Always consult a qualified legal accounts professional or the Legal Practice Council for authoritative compliance guidance. Where system behaviour has been inferred from available code and configuration, this is noted as "system behaviour requires verification."