Professional services firms operate under financial and compliance obligations that require precision and discretion. Trust accounting, disbursement management, and the layered compliance requirements of a regulated practice are not areas where you can afford mistakes, or hand the work to a bookkeeper who does not understand what they are looking at.
At East Coast BBS, we work with law firms, conveyancers, consultants, and other professional services businesses across the South Coast and Illawarra. We bring the rigour, accuracy, and confidentiality that professional practice demands, and we understand the financial complexity that sits behind the services you provide to your own clients.
What we do
Trust account reconciliation and compliance support
We manage the reconciliation of trust accounts with accuracy and care, ensuring your trust accounting records are always compliant and ready for audit or regulatory review.
Disbursement management
We record and reconcile client disbursements accurately, keeping your billing records clean and ensuring disbursement recovery is correctly tracked against each matter.
Payroll for professional services teams
We manage payroll for solicitors, associates, paralegals, and support staff, with correct treatment of contractor and employee arrangements and accurate superannuation management.
BAS preparation and lodgement
As registered BAS agents, we prepare and lodge your Business Activity Statements on time. We receive a four-week extension on lodgements and payments, giving your practice additional time each quarter.
Bank reconciliation and financial reporting
We keep your practice accounts reconciled and up to date, and prepare financial reports that give principals and partners a clear picture of firm performance.
Management reporting for firm principals
We prepare regular management reports that translate your financial data into clear, practical information for decision-making, covering revenue by practice area, debtor performance, and key financial benchmarks.
Cash flow and billing cycle management
Professional services firms often carry significant work-in-progress and face gaps between billing and collection. We help you understand and manage your billing cycle so cash flow reflects the work your team is actually doing.
Who this is for
- Law firms and sole practitioner solicitors
- Conveyancing practices
- Accounting and financial advisory firms
- Consulting and advisory businesses
- Other licensed professional services practices across the Shoalhaven, Wollongong, Illawarra, and South Coast NSW
Why choose East Coast BBS
- Genuine understanding of trust accounting obligations and reconciliation requirements
- Experience with the financial and compliance complexity that professional services firms carry
- Discretion and confidentiality as standard across all client work
- Registered BAS agents ensuring accurate compliance and on-time lodgement
- Clear management reporting that gives firm principals a reliable picture of financial performance
- Based in South Nowra, serving professional services clients across the region and remotely
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have experience with trust account reconciliation?
Yes. Trust account reconciliation is a specific area of expertise for us, and we understand the compliance obligations that come with it. We manage the reconciliation process with the accuracy and attention to detail that regulated practices require, and we ensure your trust accounting records are always current and ready for audit or review.
How do you protect the confidentiality of our firm’s financial records?
Confidentiality is fundamental to how we operate across all client work, and it is particularly important in the professional services context. We handle your firm’s financial records with the same discretion you extend to your own clients. Our team operates under strict confidentiality obligations, and we use secure cloud platforms for all data management.
We already work with an accountant, do we still need a bookkeeper?
For most professional services firms, yes. Your accountant works with your end-of-year financial data and handles tax compliance, but the ongoing work of keeping your records accurate, reconciling trust accounts, managing payroll, and lodging your BAS requires consistent attention throughout the year. A bookkeeper handles that ongoing work so your accountant always has clean, accurate records to work from, which typically reduces your accounting fees as well.
Can you help us understand our billing performance and work-in-progress position?
Yes. Work-in-progress and billing cycle management are common pain points for professional services firms. We can set up reporting that gives you a clear view of your WIP balance, billing performance by month, debtor ageing, and cash conversion, so you always know how much work has been done, how much has been billed, and how much has been collected. That visibility makes a real difference to cash flow management.
