Your monthly guide to completing a three-way trust account reconciliation — every step, every check, every sign-off.
The monthly three-way reconciliation is your most important compliance task — and the one most likely to expose you to risk if done wrong. This checklist walks you through every step: bank statement reconciliation, book balance verification, client ledger totals, discrepancy resolution, and final sign-off. Use it every month.
The three-way trust reconciliation is the most important thing you do each month.
THE PROBLEM:
Trust account reconciliation isn't just a bookkeeping task — it's a professional obligation with real consequences if it's missed or done incorrectly. But most bookkeepers learned it on the job, which means there are gaps. A missed step, an unresolved discrepancy, or a reconciliation that never got attorney sign-off can expose both you and your client to serious risk.
OUR SOLUTION:
This checklist walks you through every step of the monthly three-way reconciliation process — bank statement, book balance, and individual client ledgers — with clear instructions, compliance reminders, and a built-in discrepancy log. It's designed to be completed every month, filed with your work papers, and signed off by both you and the supervising attorney.
WHAT'S INSIDE:
- A preparation checklist so you gather everything you need before you start
- Step-by-step bank statement reconciliation with guidance on deposits in transit and outstanding checks
- Trust journal and ledger balance verification with source document guidance for deposits, disbursements, transfers, and adjustments
- The three-way comparison framework — and exactly what to do when the numbers don't match
- Additional monthly checks covering commingling, old outstanding items, authorization trails, and record retention
- A discrepancy log and resolution record for your audit trail
- Final sign-off fields for both preparer and supervising attorney
- A plain-language "why this matters" section you can share with attorney clients who push back on the process
