Client trust ledger card
Type the trust entries for one client or matter, or import them from a .csv or .xlsx list. The card puts them in date order, carries the balance after every line, totals the receipts and the disbursements, and lists every line after which the balance is below zero. It reports arithmetic only.
Everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing typed or imported here is uploaded; a draft is kept in this browser's own storage until you clear the form.
Entries
One row per receipt or disbursement, with the amount as a positive number in one of the two amount columns. The card puts rows in date order; rows with the same date keep the order they are typed in.
| Date | Check number or reference | Payee, source, or purpose | Received | Disbursed |
|---|
These are matched from the header words. Check them and change any that are wrong. Use either one amount column or the money-in and money-out columns.
Using the file replaces the rows typed above. The file is read in this browser and is not uploaded.
The ledger card
This page keeps one client's card. The receipts and disbursements journal lists every client's entries for the whole account, and the three-way reconciliation report compares the bank, the journal, and the ledger balances for one date.
What gets checked
- Every balance on the card re-adds from the opening balance on a second pass, line by line.
- Opening balance plus receipts minus disbursements equals the closing balance, and the closing balance is the balance after the last line.
- Amounts received and amounts disbursed are each added a second time, in the opposite order, and equal the totals shown.
- Every entry typed is on the card exactly once, with its own date and amount, in date order.
- The balance never goes below zero. Every line after which it is below zero is listed, the list is confirmed by a second walk of the card, and the check fails.
- The lowest balance shown matches the second pass.
How it works
- Name the card. Type the client or matter, the firm or account name if it goes on the printed card, and the opening balance carried onto the card. A blank opening balance is zero.
- Enter the lines. Add one row per receipt or disbursement with its date, check number or reference, payee or source, and the amount in the Received or the Disbursed column. Or import a .csv or .xlsx list and confirm the column mapping; when the file names several clients, pick the one this card is for.
- Read the card. The page shows every line in date order with the balance after it, the receipts and disbursements totals, the closing balance, the lowest balance, and any line below zero, with the verification certificate.
- Print or export. Print the card or save it as a PDF, or download Excel or CSV with the certificate.
Worked example
A made-up card for Cedar closing in March 2026, starting from an opening balance of $0.00.
| Line | Date | Reference | Description | Received | Disbursed | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-03-17 | Wire in - closing funds | $7,500.00 | $7,500.00 | ||
| 2 | 2026-03-26 | 1043 | Recording fees | $3,149.25 | $4,350.75 | |
| 3 | 2026-03-30 | 1045 | Example Title Company | $350.75 | $4,000.00 | |
| 4 | 2026-03-31 | Deposit - closing funds | $2,500.00 | $6,500.00 |
Receipts are 7,500.00 + 2,500.00 = $10,000.00 and disbursements are 3,149.25 + 350.75 = $3,500.00, so the closing balance is 0.00 + 10,000.00 − 3,500.00 = $6,500.00, the same as the balance after line 4. The lowest balance is the $0.00 opening balance and no line is below zero. If the wire were dated April 1 instead of March 17, check 1043 would come first: the balance would be -$3,149.25 after it, -$3,500.00 after check 1045, and -$1,000.00 after the March 31 deposit. Those three lines would be listed and the below-zero check would fail, though the closing balance would still be $6,500.00.
The example uses made-up names and numbers.
Questions
Why is the balance checked after every line and not at the end of each day?
A card is typed by the person who keeps it, so the order of its lines is known. Lines are put in date order, and lines with the same date stay in the order they were typed. A check typed before a same-day deposit is listed if it takes the balance below zero. The negative-balance scanner on this site reads a whole file, where the order within a day is not known, and takes each balance at the end of the date instead.
Why does a line below zero mark the card as not verified when the arithmetic is right?
The totals can be right while the balance was below zero part of the way down the card, and a closing balance alone hides that. The page lists every such line and marks the card as not verified, the same way the three-way reconciliation report treats a client ledger below zero. It makes no statement about what any rule requires.
Can entries be imported instead of typed?
Yes. Any .csv or .xlsx with a header row, a date column, and either one signed amount column or separate money-in and money-out columns. Header words are matched, the choices are shown, and every column can be changed. If the file has a client or matter column with more than one name in it, the page asks whose rows to use. Rows that cannot be read are listed with the reason and are not added.
How are amounts entered?
As positive numbers: in the Received column for money into trust for this client, and in the Disbursed column for money out. A row has a date and exactly one of the two amounts.
Does the card say whether the ledger follows a rule?
No. It carries a balance and compares totals. It makes no statement about what any rule, regulation, or agreement requires.
Where is what I type kept?
In this browser only. Nothing is uploaded. A draft is saved in this browser's own storage so the card survives a reload; the Clear the form button removes it.
This tool calculates and checks numbers. It is not legal, tax, or medical advice.