Xero: Trust/Client Accounting

We've said it before - Trust Account management in Clio is easy! For specific guidance on managing your Trust funds in Clio, please view this article.

If you follow these steps appropriately, the pooled Trust account will have an aggregate balance and all funds will be linked to the Client or Matter. You can then use Clio’s Trust Ledger and Trust Listing reports to give you a snapshot of current Trust transactions and balances. Users are able to report on a per-Client and per-Matter basis the total of the client’s funds being held in the pooled account:

By integrating Clio with Xero, all invoices and payments will be syncing over from Clio to Xero on your behalf, saving you a ton of time! In order to complete your trust account reconciliation within Xero, there are a few additional steps, as outlined below.

Receiving Funds in Trust in Xero

When you receive funds in Trust, you need to create a Manual Journal Entry in Xero to increase your Trust Bank Account and Trust Liability Account. This information does not sync from Clio due to limitations on how the two programs can communicate.

Paying Invoices from Trust Funds in Xero

In Clio, when you apply Trust funds to an invoice, Clio will move the funds from the Trust account to the designated Operating Account:

When the payment syncs over to Xero, you will need to create a Manual Journal Entry to adjust the balance of your Trust Liability Account and Trust Bank Account in Xero to accurately reflect your Trust Balance. If you have received multiple payments from Trust in a period, Clio’s Trust Ledger report can help you reconcile these transactions in Xero.

Returning Funds in Trust in Xero

When you return Trust funds back to your clients, you need to create a Manual Journal Entry to decrease your Trust Liability Account and your Trust Bank Account accordingly.

Trust Reconciliation

For additional information about reconciling your Trust accounts each period, see this article.