Prescribed Financial Records - Law Society of Alberta

Last updated: March 2022

This resource is meant to assist lawyers to understand their obligations in relation to prescribed financial records. A law firm must maintain all prescribed financial records in a safe and secure location, retrievable on demand for a minimum of ten full years (Rule 119.35(1)). On a monthly basis, lawyers must print or digitally capture prescribed financial records (Rule 119.34(4)).

This resource provides lawyers with a listing of prescribed financial records and cross references the naming conventions/navigation used by the four most common and approved software vendors (Rule 119.35). It may be helpful for lawyers to use this as a checklist.

A law firm using an approved software vendor must maintain an electronic backup of the prescribed financial records, update the electronic backup monthly, and restore/test the electronic backup semi-annually (Rule 119.35(5)).

Click the plus button beside each prescribed financial record to cross reference the naming conventions/navigation used by the four most common and approved software vendors.

Record	Description	Rule	PC Law	EsiLaw	Cosmolex	Clio	Leap Legal
Bank Reconciliation	A reconciliation summary for each trust and general account.	119.36(2)(a) and (b) 119.37(2)(a) and (b) 119.35(4)(a)	Bank Reconciliation Report	Bank Reconciliation	Reconciliation Report	Reconciliation Report (from QuickBooks)	Trust Bank Reconciliation Report
Client Trust Listing	A listing of the trust balance for each client and matter noted on each trust ledger including the date of the last transaction.	119.37(2)(c)	Client Trust Listing	Trust Listing	Trust Listing Report	Trust Listing Report	Trust Trial Balance
General Journal	A record for each general account of the law firm, that lists all financial transactions for the account, chronologically including all receipts, deposits, payments, withdrawals or transfers of money.	119.36(2)(c)	General Bank Journal	General Bank Journal Listing	Bank Activity Report	Bank Activity Report	-
Trust Journal	A record for each trust account of the law firm, that lists all financial transactions for the account, chronologically including all receipts, deposits, payments, withdrawals or transfers of money.	119.37(2)(d)	Trust Bank Journal	Bank Journal Listing	Trust Journal	Bank Activity Report	Bank Account Register
Trust Transfer Report	A report showing all transfers of trust money between client trust ledgers.	119.37(2)(e)	Trust Bank Matter-to-Matter Transfer Journal	Client Trust Transfers	Trust Transfer Record	None	Trust Account Journals
Client Trust Ledger	A separate record for each client matter listing all transactions for that matter including all receipts, deposits, payments, withdrawals, or transfers of trust money.	119.35(4)(b)	Client Trust Ledger	Trust Ledger by Client	Client's Trust Ledger	Trust Ledger Report	Trust Ledger
Billing Journal	A report that shows all fees, disbursements and expenses charged to clients; the dates of the statements of account for those fees, disbursements and expense; and the names of the clients.	119.35(2)(a)	Billing (fees) Journal	Invoice Journal	Fees Book or Invoice Journal	Billing History Report	-
Accounts Receivable Ledger & Aging Report	A ledger that shows a continual running balance of amounts owed by the client for legal services provided and billed including payments on account and the date of each transaction.	119.35(2)(b)	Receivables by Client	A/R Ledger Accounts Receivable Aging Report	Main Menu > Reports > Accounting (Matters) > Accounts Receivable Main Menu > Reports > Billing > Client Balance	Accounts Receivable Aging Report	-
Receipts	A record of cash payments and book of duplicate receipts for cash transactions required under Rule 119.58.	119.35(2)(c)(vii)	Data Entry > Main Screen	Clients and matter > Select New Transactions	Main Menu > Matters > Select the Matter >Trust Transaction Deposit	Receipts are recorded in QuickBooks	-

Financial Institutions

The following chart lists additional prescribed financial records that must be obtained from financial institutions.

Record	Instruction	Rule
Bank Statement	Keep copies of your monthly bank statements for each general and trust bank account in your prescribed financial records.	119.35(2)I(I) 119.36(2)(d) 119.37(2)(g)
Cheques	Keep negotiated cheques or images of negotiated cheques.	119.35(2)(c)(ii) 119.36(2)(e) 119.37(2)(h)
Deposit Slips	Keep detailed duplicate deposit slips for all transactions within trust accounts and general accounts.	119.35(2)(c)(iii)
Credit and Debit Card Slips	Keep copies of your credit and debit card slips.	119.24(1)(c) 119.25(c) and (d) 119.35(2)(c)(iv)
Electronic Banking Transaction Confirmations and Records	For Deposits: Obtain a confirmation from the bank or remitter of the money within two banking days of receiving the money; including the name of the client, the file number, or both. For Withdrawals: Complete an Electronic Banking Withdrawal Form and obtain a confirmation from the bank, produced within two banking days of a withdrawal, showing all applicable details.	119.23(b) 119.31(3)(a) and (b) 119.35(2)(c)(v) 119.37(2)(a)

Other Considerations

The following chart details additional prescribed financial records which must be maintained by the law firm outside the approved software.

Record	Instruction	Rule	How to Maintain
Trust Property	Maintain a central record of all non-monetary client trust property including applicable details received from and returned to the client by the law firm.	119.26 119.35(4)(c)	This is not saved in the software. Use an electronic document or a paper-based register/binder.
Review of Inactive Files	Maintain a monthly record of the review of trust ledgers for any client matters that have been inactive for more than two years. See Disbursing the Undisbursable: What to Do with Unclaimed Trust Funds.	119.37(3) 119.43(4)	This is a list of all efforts performed to locate clients that have been inactive for two or more years, as well as the evidence of such efforts (e.g. emails, copies of letters, or returned letters).