Mana Accounting & Advisory

Family Law Practices

Accounting built for family law practices. We manage retainer compliance, hourly billing tracking, WIP reporting, and the detailed financial records that long-running matters demand.

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Family Law Financial Challenges

Family law matters are long, emotionally intensive, and financially complex — for both the client and the firm. Retainer replenishment, unpredictable matter length, court-required financial documentation, and hourly billing that spans months or years all create accounting demands that generic systems can't handle.

Retainer Replenishment Tracking

Family law clients often replenish their retainer multiple times over the life of a matter. We track every deposit, earned amount, and replenishment request — so you always know each client's current trust balance and where they stand against their retainer agreement.

Unpredictable Matter Length & Billing

A simple uncontested divorce and a high-conflict custody case can both start the same way — and end in very different places. We track WIP (work in progress) by matter so you can see billing exposure and cash flow across your entire active caseload.

Court-Required Financial Documentation

Divorce proceedings often require detailed financial statements, asset listings, and income documentation. We keep your firm's financial records organized and court-ready — so producing required documentation doesn't disrupt operations.

Realization Rate Management

The gap between billed and collected hours is significant in family law. We track realization rate by attorney, matter type, and time period — identifying where the firm is leaking revenue before it becomes a cash flow problem.

Family Law Financial Solutions

Financial systems built for long-running, hourly-billed matters with ongoing retainer management.

Retainer & IOLTA Management

Retainers held in trust must be tracked meticulously across the life of each matter — from initial deposit through every replenishment and earning event. We build the sub-ledger system that keeps you compliant regardless of how long or complex a case runs.

Multi-Replenishment Tracking

Each deposit, earned amount, and replenishment tracked in the client sub-ledger — a complete history of every dollar in trust.

Low-Balance Alerts

We flag retainer balances approaching zero so replenishment requests go out before the account runs dry — not after.

WIP & Billing Reporting

Work in progress tracking gives family law practices a real-time view of unbilled hours and billing exposure across the active caseload — a critical signal for cash flow planning.

WIP by Matter & Attorney

See unbilled time value by matter — so you know your billing exposure and can forecast collections accurately.

Realization Rate Reporting

Billed vs. collected by attorney and matter type — identify where revenue is being lost in the billing cycle.

Financial Reporting Built for Long-Running Matters

Family law matters can span months or years. We build the financial reporting infrastructure that gives you visibility into the firm's health across a caseload with highly variable timelines and billing patterns.

  • Matter Profitability Analysis
  • Attorney-Level Revenue & Cost Reports
  • Operating Cash Runway by Month
  • Partner Distribution Management

How the Retainer Billing Cycle Works

Family law retainer billing follows a specific cycle — from initial deposit through ongoing hourly work and replenishment requests. Here's how a compliant, well-managed billing flow operates.

1

Initial Retainer Deposited into IOLTA

The client's initial retainer is deposited into your IOLTA trust account. The full amount is unearned at deposit — it stays in trust until services are rendered.

A client sub-ledger is opened: beginning balance = full retainer received. This is the compliance baseline.
2

Work Performed & Fees Earned

As the attorney works — drafting, court appearances, negotiations, discovery — hours are billed and fees are earned against the retainer. Time records must support the earning event.

Earned amounts should be transferred to operating promptly. Leaving earned fees in trust past the billing cycle creates an inflated trust balance.
3

Earned Fees Transferred to Operating

Earned fees are transferred from IOLTA to the firm's operating account and recorded as income. The client sub-ledger is updated to reflect the reduced trust balance.

The trust balance after transfer = original retainer minus all earned amounts transferred to date. This should always equal the client's remaining retainer.
4

Retainer Replenishment Request

When the trust balance falls below the minimum retainer threshold, a replenishment invoice is sent. New funds are deposited into IOLTA and added to the sub-ledger.

For long-running matters, this cycle may repeat multiple times. Each replenishment is tracked separately to give you a full picture of total fees collected by matter.
5

Matter Concludes — Final Accounting

At matter close, any earned balance is transferred to operating. Any unused retainer is refunded to the client. The trust sub-ledger closes at $0.

A final statement is issued to the client showing total hours, fees earned, and retainer used vs. refunded. This is your documentation for any future dispute.

Family Law Performance Metrics

The numbers family law practices need to manage billing, cash flow, and profitability across long, variable matters.

100%
Retainer Compliance Rate

Every unearned retainer in trust. Every earned fee transferred on schedule. Sub-ledgers current.

85%+
Target Realization Rate

Billed vs. collected — tracking this by attorney and matter type shows you where revenue is leaking.

3×
Better WIP Visibility

Unbilled hour value by matter gives you a forward-looking revenue picture most family law firms lack.

40%
Less Time on Month-End

Systemized retainer and billing tracking makes month-end close faster and more reliable.

Key Metrics We Track

WIP Value by Attorney
Unbilled hours × billing rate — your forward-looking revenue signal across all active matters.
Realization Rate
Collected divided by billed — the core measure of billing efficiency in hourly practices.
Average Matter Duration
How long matters run on average — by case type, complexity, or contentiousness level.
Retainer Replenishment Frequency
How often clients are topping up their retainers — a proxy for matter intensity and cash flow timing.
Collections Cycle Time
Days from invoice to payment — a key driver of operating cash flow in hourly billing practices.
Operating Cash Runway
Months of overhead covered by current operating cash — tells you how much buffer you have.

Questions from Family Law Attorneys

What family law attorneys ask us most before getting started.