Before You Start

This guide assumes you have administrator access to both Clio and QuickBooks Online. A foundational understanding of legal trust accounting rules (like IOLTA) is essential.

Overview

45 min
Setup Time
Advanced
Difficulty
Weekly
Maintenance

What You’ll Learn

  • How to prepare your QuickBooks accounts for law firm accounting
  • Configuring the Clio-QuickBooks integration for seamless data flow
  • Mapping operating and trust accounts accurately
  • Best practices for IOLTA and operating account reconciliation

1. Preparation Steps

Before connecting Clio, ensure these accounts are properly set up in QuickBooks Online:

Required Accounts for Law Firms

  • Client Trust Liability (Other Current Liability)
  • Operating Checking (Bank)
  • IOLTA Checking (Bank)
  • Legal Fees Income (Income)
  • Hard Costs/Disbursements (Other Current Asset or Expense)

Optional (but recommended)

  • Retainer Deposits (Other Current Liability)
  • Client Expense Reimbursements (Income)
  • Soft Costs/Overhead (Expense)

2. Choosing Your Sync Method

You have a few options for connecting Clio with QuickBooks, each with implications for trust accounting.

Method A: The Native Clio-QuickBooks Online Integration

This is the built-in connection available directly within Clio.

Pros:
  • Direct and often included with Clio.
  • Good for syncing operating invoices/payments.
  • Automates basic data transfer.
Cons:
  • Limited trust accounting support.
  • Can complicate IOLTA reconciliation.
  • Requires careful manual oversight for trust.

Method B: Third-Party Integrators or Custom Solutions

Apps like LeanLaw or custom API scripts can offer more robust legal accounting features.

Expert Tip: For firms with significant trust accounting activity, we strongly recommend either a specialized third-party legal accounting integration or a meticulously managed manual process. The native Clio integration might not provide the granular control needed for strict IOLTA compliance without additional steps.

3. Step-by-Step: Syncing with Native Clio Integration

This section outlines the workflow for connecting Clio directly to QuickBooks Online.

Here is a sample code block to illustrate how Clio might represent an invoice structure via API.

{
  "invoice_id": 98765,
  "client_name": "Smith & Associates",
  "total_amount": 2500.00,
  "line_items": [
    { "description": "Legal Consultation", "amount": 1000.00 },
    { "description": "Court Filing Fees", "amount": 500.00, "category": "hard_cost" }
  ],
  "trust_applied": 0.00
}

4. Setting Up the Integration

  1. 1

    Activate Clio-QuickBooks Sync

    In Clio, navigate to ‘Settings’ > ‘Integrations’ and select ‘QuickBooks Online’. Follow the prompts to authorize the connection to your QBO account.

  2. 2

    Map Your Operating Accounts

    Carefully map Clio’s income categories, expense types, and operating bank accounts to their corresponding accounts in QuickBooks Online. This ensures operating invoices and payments sync correctly.

  3. 3

    Configure Trust Account Handling

    This is critical. Ensure that trust deposits and withdrawals in Clio are mapped to your ‘Client Trust Liability’ account in QBO, and the IOLTA bank account. Trust fund movements should never hit an income account directly.

Common Error: Misclassifying Trust Funds

A frequent mistake is allowing trust fund deposits to be recorded as income. Trust funds are client money held in trust, making them a liability to the firm, not revenue. Ensure this is mapped to a liability account.

5. Testing Your Setup

Test Sync Checklist

  • Sync a test operating invoice and payment
  • Record a test client trust deposit in Clio and sync
  • Verify the trust deposit increases the ‘Client Trust Liability’ account
  • Confirm IOLTA bank balance matches Clio’s trust ledger
  • Apply a trust payment to an operating invoice and review QBO entries

Need Help?

Get Specialized Support

Navigating legal accounting integrations can be complex. Our team specializes in law firm bookkeeping and can help ensure your Clio and QuickBooks integration is compliant and efficient.

Contact Us