Trust accounting
also known as client account accounting · IOLTA accounting
Keeping money held on behalf of clients separate from the firm's own money, and recording every movement of it. Law firms and some other professional firms must do this under their regulator's rules.
For example, when a client pays a law firm money to hold for a property purchase, it goes into a separate client or trust account, not the firm's business account. Each payment in and out is recorded against that client's matter and reconciled regularly.
Why it matters to your firm: the rules are strict and the reconciliation is detailed, careful work. Done by hand across several apps, it takes a lot of your people's time and is easy to get wrong. Specialist accounting software does the core job; the hours are often lost in moving data around it. Start with an ops audit to see where.