Trust Accounting Reporting and Compliance

Modified on Mon, 16 Sep at 10:10 AM

Overview

At the end of each reporting period (generally monthly), there are often compliance measures to generate trust accounting reports and statements which will then be ordered by external auditors. Property Shell supports in this process by generating the reports and a history of all transactions within that reporting period.

Setting Up A Report

Your Property Shell account manager will help you to set up your trust accounting report statement template. This is generally a once off process and doesn't need to be repeated nor modified.

You can access this under the User Templates section within Reporting.

Generating A Report

Click on the Trust Accounting Report template you have set up
Filter by the desired date period from the top right section of the reporting
Ensure everything balances
Click the Print icon and generate the PDF for saving.

Explanation Of Each Report Section

Reconciliation Report	This is the cover page that summarises the transactions. All transactions should balance at month end if the reconciliation process has been completed correctly.
Trial Balance	In the context of trust account reporting, a trial balance is a financial report that lists all the general ledger accounts related to a trust account along with their debit and credit balances. The primary purpose of a trial balance in this setting is to ensure that the total debits and credits are equal, confirming the accuracy of the bookkeeping records. For trust accounts—often used by real estate agents, property developers, and solicitors to hold funds on behalf of clients—a trial balance is crucial for verifying compliance with legal and financial regulations. It helps in: Verifying accuracy: Ensures that all transactions have been recorded correctly and that there are no discrepancies in the trust ledger. Compliance reporting: Demonstrates that trust funds are being managed appropriately, and all client monies are accounted for. Auditing: Supports audits by showing a clear, balanced snapshot of all trust-related transactions for a given period. It helps ensure that the trust account is properly reconciled and ready for review by regulatory bodies.
Trust Bank Cash Book Receipts	Represents a list of all inbound payments for the reporting period
Trust Bank Cash Book Payments	Represents a list of all outbound payments for the reporting period
Non Bank Trust Transaction Summary	Represents movements of funds between accounts that may not have necessarily been movements of money from or to the trust bank account ledger.
Trust Account Statement	This represents A summary of each individual translator that has had a transaction for the period or that doesn't hold a zero balance.