Client/Trust Account Statements: Configuration and Scheduling Guide

Nicola Bootes

Overview

The Client / Trust Account Statement feature allows firms to automatically generate and send trust account statements to clients or produce them manually on an ad-hoc basis.

Statements can be configured to:

Run automatically on a scheduled basis
Be generated manually when required
Be controlled at the firm level, client level, or matter level

This flexibility allows firms to maintain regular financial reporting for trust activity while also responding to specific client requests for statements when needed.

Automated statements rely on correct email addresses being configured on the relevant client or contact entity records. If email details are missing, the statement may not be delivered.

How Client/Trust Account Statements Work

Client / Trust Account Statements provide clients with a summary of client/trust account activity, including:

Funds received
Funds paid
Current trust balance
Transaction history

These statements are commonly used to:

Provide regular financial updates to clients
Meet regulatory or compliance requirements
Maintain transparency in client/trust accounting

Many firms schedule monthly Client/Trust statements to ensure clients receive regular updates on their balances and transactions.

Firm Statements Preferences

Firm statement preferences allow administrators to apply default scheduling behaviour across all client and matter records.

This ensures consistent statement delivery across the firm.

Resetting Firm Default Statement Settings

Navigate to Settings
Select Firm Settings
Open the Reports section
Select Firm Statement Preferences
Click Apply to reset the default firm statement settings
Click Save

If the firm schedule has already been overridden, those customised settings will not be replaced by the firm reset.

Automatic Client/Trust Statement Distribution

Client / Trust Account Statements can be scheduled to run automatically at regular intervals.

Recipients may include:

Client
Person Acting
Person Responsible
Billing Contact
Specific email address

Always ensure email addresses are correctly configured on the relevant client or contact entity records before enabling automation.

Setting Up Automatic Client/Trust Statements

Step 1 – Access Report Settings

Navigate to Settings
Select Firm Settings
Open the Reports section from the left-hand menu

Step 2 – Select Client / Trust Statement

Locate Client / Trust Account Statement
Open the Automated Reporting configuration screen

Step 3 – Configure the Email Subject

In the Report Subject field:

Enter the email subject line that recipients will see
The default subject can be modified if required

Step 4 – Configure Delivery Options

Within Delivery Options, select the recipients for the statement:

Recipient options include:

Person Acting
Person Responsible
Client
Billing Contact
Specific Email Address

Statements will only send successfully if the selected recipients have valid email addresses recorded in the system.

Scheduling Options

To define when the Client / Trust Statement should run:

Click the clock icon in the Scheduling Options section
Select the Frequency

Available scheduling frequencies include:

Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Yearly

Select the Time of Day
Choose the specific day(s) based on the frequency selected
Click Apply
Click Save

Best Practice: Many firms configure monthly Client/Trust statements to ensure clients receive regular updates on Client/Trust activity.

Client-Level Scheduling Options

Statement scheduling can also be customised for individual clients.

This allows firms to override the firm-wide schedule where required.

Steps to Configure Client-Level Scheduling

Navigate to the Client
Open the Statement of Account dropdown
Select Edit Schedule

You will see the following options:

One Statement for All Matters
Sends one combined statement covering all matters
One Statement per Matter
Sends separate statements for each matter
Do Not Generate Automatic Statements
Disables automated statements for the client

Override the Firm Schedule

To apply a custom schedule for this client:

Tick Override Firm Schedule

Additional configuration options will appear.

These include:

Report Template
Report Subject
Include Closed Invoices
Include Matter Summaries

Set the Client Schedule

Click the clock icon
Select the frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly)
Configure the relevant schedule options
Click Apply
Click Save

Client-level scheduling ensures special reporting arrangements can be applied without affecting other clients.

Matter-Level Statement Automation

Statements can also be configured for an individual matter.

This option is useful where a specific matter requires automatic statement delivery.

Steps

Navigate to the Matter
Select Update from Matter Actions
Choose Update Details

Within the Rates & Estimates section:

Tick Automatically generate client account statement of the matter and email it to the client

Once enabled, the system will automatically generate and send the statement for that matter.

Matter-level automation applies only to that matter, and does not affect other matters for the same client.

Manual (Ad-Hoc) Statements

Client / Trust Statements can also be generated manually whenever required.

Ad-hoc statements are commonly used when:

A client requests an immediate update
A trust balance needs to be confirmed
A statement is required outside the scheduled cycle

Running a manual statement does not change or interrupt the existing automation schedule.

Best Practices

To ensure reliable statement delivery:

Confirm client email addresses are correct
Use firm-level schedules for consistency
Apply client overrides only when necessary
Use matter-level automation for specific reporting needs
Test the schedule before applying it widely

Monthly scheduling is the most common approach for Client/Trust reporting and helps maintain consistent communication with clients.