Overview

Trust accounting refers to the accounting records and practices required under legislation to enable real estate agents and solicitors/lawyers to properly account for trust money in their possession. This involves keeping full and accurate accounting records that:

• Show the true position of all trust money received
• Enable your trust accounts to be properly audited
• Detail who is entitled to the trust money
• Include details of each trust money transaction
• Record the dates on which, or the period during which, each transaction took place
• Using estate agent trust accounting software can simplify compliance with these requirements

When taking deposits into a trust account, real estate agencies and solicitors holding the monies in trust are required by law to adhere to formal guidelines set forth by state consumer laws. Trust accounting involves bookkeeping, auditing, and reporting to keep your trust account compliant with all laws and regulations.

Who is it for?

• Real estate agencies
• Project marketers
• Solicitors working on property projects

Trust accounting is keeping track of client funds that are held in trust. A trust account is used exclusively for money received or held by a real estate agent or vendor's solicitor for or on behalf of another person in relation to a real estate transaction and is not to be used to hold sums of money for any other purpose.

Trust Accounting Components

Property Shell's trust accounting components comprise of the following key parts:

• Transaction Entries: insert and manage individual transactions
• Receipt Generation and Issue: Generate receipts and send them to payees
• Bank Feed: Import bank feed entries
• Bank Reconciliation: Perform monthly reconciliations
• ABA File Generation: Generate ABA files for automatic bank transaction generation
• Reporting and Compliance: generate monthly reporting for compliance purposes