Trust Accounting in QuickBooks Desktop: Pro, Premier and Enterprise

Desktop uses Customers and Vendors too. A personal injury client should remain a Customer when the firm receives a settlement and when it pays the client's share. The payee at the top of Write Checks is not a substitute for Customer:Job on the distribution line.

Pro and Premier share a 14,500 combined-name limit across Customers, Vendors, Employees and Other Names, with individual-list limits also applying. A firm closing 100 cases a month adds at least 1,200 client names a year if each case brings a new client, before doctors, lien holders and other payees are counted.

Enterprise has higher capacity. Intuit's list table shows more than 100,000 names, and Enterprise 17.0 and later can support up to one million names. Large files still require performance and maintenance planning. A capacity figure is not a guarantee that every file will remain fast.

New US Pro Plus and Premier Plus subscriptions stopped selling on September 30, 2024. Existing subscribers can continue to renew under Intuit's current policy. Enterprise is still sold to new subscribers.

Intuit's September 2026 update says Desktop 2024, including Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Enterprise Solutions, will receive continuous support and product maintenance. Do not rely on an older September 30, 2027 cutoff. Check Intuit's current lifecycle notice before planning an upgrade or renewal.

1. Create the real IOLTA bank account in the chart of accounts. In QuickBooks Online, choose Bank and the Trust account detail type where available. Use a clear name such as IOLTA - Main. Keep operating funds in a separate bank account.
2. Create Client Trust Liability as Other Current Liabilities. In Online, choose Trust Accounts - Liabilities where available. Desktop uses account types rather than the same Online detail-type menus. The total trust liability must equal the corresponding trust book bank balance.
3. Create one Customer per client. Use a sub-customer, Project or Customer:Job for each matter when a client has multiple matters. Use the same client and matter identifier throughout the settlement.
4. Create doctors, lien holders, referral attorneys and other third-party payees as Vendors. Pay the client's own share to the existing Customer on a Check or supported Expense form. Do not create a second Vendor record just to pay that client.
5. Use Client Trust Liability on every trust deposit and payout line, with the correct Customer or matter on the line. Enable the Customer column where needed. The payment's header payee identifies the recipient; the line's Customer identifies whose money is being used.
6. Load opening client balances from verified ledgers. Confirm that their sum equals the trust bank book balance. Do not invent an income deposit to make an opening difference disappear.
7. Test one settlement before relying on the report. Record its deposit, doctor payment, client payment and earned-fee transfer. Confirm every trust line appears under the right client and that no client ledger goes below zero.

1. Create the trust bank as a Bank account and Client Trust Liability as Other Current Liability in Lists, Chart of Accounts. Desktop does not use the same detail-type menus as Online.
2. Create a Customer for the client and a Job for a separate matter. Use that same Customer:Job in Make Deposits and on trust disbursements.
3. On Banking, Write Checks, select the IOLTA bank account. Choose the actual payee in Pay to the order of. Use the Customer for the client's own share.
4. In the Expenses distribution area, choose Client Trust Liability and fill in Customer:Job for that line. The Expenses tab name does not mean the account must be an expense account.
5. If columns are hidden or the report groups names unexpectedly, test a sample deposit and check in the actual file. Confirm the client ledger before releasing real funds.

Record the settlement deposit and confirm the funds are collected and available before writing any check against it. A bank feed entry or provisional bank credit is not proof that the deposit has cleared. Follow applicable trust rules and bank confirmation requirements.

The example trust deposit is $100,000. The $15,000 doctor payment, $50,000 client share and $35,000 earned fee total $100,000. The separate $500 operating case cost does not reduce that trust ledger. If the settlement authorizes reimbursement of a prior case-cost advance, record that separately with accountant-approved treatment.

An earned-fee payment reduces trust liability. The operating-side receipt then recognizes earned income or settles an existing receivable. Do not use a bare bank-to-bank Transfer as the whole entry: it does not by itself reduce the client's liability or explain the fee. Do not recognize the fee twice.

The Customer column is an allocation field, not a second payee. Use the client or matter on each category line, including a check payable to a Vendor. Use a Check or supported Expense form for the client's payout if a bill-payment workflow requires a Vendor. Check the report after posting.

Run Transaction Detail by Account. Filter Account or Distribution Account to Client Trust Liability, including its sub-accounts if used. Group by Customer, show the Customer or Customer:Job column, and include the matter identifier. Report menus vary by version and reporting view.

Use all dates through the reporting cutoff, or include a verified opening balance. A subtotal over only this month's activity is a change in balance, not necessarily the amount still held. On a liability report, credits increase the amount held and debits reduce it; check the report's sign convention with your accountant.

Each client's ending subtotal is what the firm still holds for that client. Separate matters when required. Review blank or Not specified groups, investigate negative balances, and confirm the sum equals Client Trust Liability and the trust bank book balance. Save the report with its filters and date basis.

Set a closing date with a password after the monthly review. Restrict who can change a closed period. Keep a verified backup and the bank reconciliation, client ledgers and outstanding-check report together.

When a check is cancelled in a later period, preserve the original issue history. Do not simply use an original-date void that rewrites an already reconciled month. Have the accountant record the cancellation or correcting entry in the period cancelled and show the restored client liability. Handle a replacement check separately so the payout is not counted twice.

Do not delete historical client names or merge different clients to avoid a list limit. Check available file capacity and migration options while the file still has room.