- US median pay$50,670 a year[2]All industries, BLS May 2025
- One-time fee$2,500–3,000[1]On the start day, only if you hire
- Free replacementWithin 180 days[1]One per placement, fee paid, role, hours and pay unchanged, no refund
What the week looks like at a law firm
A small firm's week is shaped by the court calendar and by billable hours. Hearings and filing deadlines are fixed; everything else moves around them. New enquiries arrive by phone and web form and need a conflict check and a quick reply before they go to another firm. Attorneys draft during the day and catch up on email at night, while time entries, invoices and client document requests slip until someone chases them on Friday.
What a bookkeeper does for law firms
- Post invoices and payments from your practice system to the accounting software
- Reconcile operating and card accounts every week and prepare the month-end close for your accountant
- Send reminders on overdue client invoices and report receivables by attorney
- Prepare a monthly list of trust balances for the responsible attorney to review, if you allow them read access
A bookkeeper records transactions, reconciles bank and card accounts, chases invoices, prepares bills for payment and closes the month. A bookkeeper does not sign tax returns or give tax advice: that stays with your accountant, who should agree the setup and review the close.
Tools law firms commonly use
- Clio
- MyCase
- PracticePanther
- Microsoft 365
- Google Workspace
- Calendly
- QuickBooks
- Excel
Common in this kind of business, not a checklist: name your own stack in the brief.
How to test a candidate for a law firm
Give a short sample with an operating account, a client retainer and a refund. Ask the candidate to post the entries and explain which money belongs to the client. Anyone who treats a retainer as income on day one needs more training before touching your books.
What to keep in-house or check first
Legal advice, signing, court appearances and client-money decisions stay with your attorneys, and trust account access stays with whoever is responsible for it. Professional conduct rules usually make the lawyer answerable for anyone working on a file, including outside staff, so check your bar's guidance on outsourcing and client confidentiality before sharing matter files, and ask for a written confidentiality agreement.
General caution, not legal advice: check the rules that apply to you with a qualified adviser.
Available now
No published bookkeeper profile on Stafka today. Send the brief, we reply within one business day with a yes or a no.
Choose a country: shared hours
Bookkeeping has deadlines rather than shifts. A weekly rhythm and a fixed month-end date matter more than shared hours, apart from a short regular call with whoever approves payments.
Against a 9–17 client day in winter[3][4][5][6]; for New York, on a 9–18 local day or a 13–22 shift. Check your own office.
What it costs
We do not publish a pay band for bookkeepers yet: where a profile lists a monthly rate, that is what the person asks for. The BLS figure of $50,670 a year is for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks[2] across all industries: we have no separate figure for this niche. Paying through Deel adds $49 a month[7]; Wise and Payoneer also work.
See also: bookkeeper pay in the US, by state · pricing and replacement terms.
How hiring through Stafka works
- Send the brief or post the job free. Name your accounting software, your country's tax setup, monthly transaction volume, and the accountant who reviews the books.
- Within 5 business days of a confirmed brief you get 3 matching profiles, or a plain no. Most apply through our Telegram bot with a written and a voice English task; each profile shows the English level (B1–C2); Silkstaff checks English on a live call before any client interview.
- You interview, choose and contract the person directly through Deel, Wise or Payoneer. Candidates never pay.
Questions
Can a remote bookkeeper handle a law firm's trust account?
Treat it as a separate decision. Many firms give read-only access for reconciliation and keep payment rights with an attorney, because the attorney stays responsible for that money. Ask your accountant and check your bar's trust accounting rules first.
Can a remote assistant see client files at a law firm?
It depends on your bar's guidance on confidentiality and supervision of non-lawyers. Many firms start the person on scheduling and billing admin, then open matter folders one at a time, using individual logins, a confidentiality agreement and no local copies. This is general information, not legal advice.
Where can a law firm hire an affordable bookkeeper?
The usual routes are a freelance marketplace, an agency with a monthly margin, or a direct hire in a lower-cost country. On Stafka it is a direct hire: you pay the person the monthly pay you agree with them, plus $2,500–3,000[1] once if you hire, with no monthly margin.
General information for small employers, not legal or tax advice: check contracts, tax and data rules for your country with a qualified adviser. Tool names belong to their owners; we are not affiliated with them. Spotted a mistake? Write to hello@silkstaff.com.