Management accounts for accounting and law firms

From the trial balance, every month and the same way: fee income and its growth on last month and last year, staff cost as a share of fees, debtor days, profit, cash and the board's runway lens. Lock-up, WIP days and profit per partner aren't among its figures: the WIP and partners' balances sit in the ledgers behind the balance sheet, one click from any figure, and the formulas above take minutes. Realisation needs recorded time, which no trial balance holds.

• Client money is not the firm's money. A client account bank ledger must not be placed in the firm's cash, or runway is badly overstated.
• Unbilled WIP is often one month-end journal. If it is missed one month, lock-up looks brilliant and then collapses; check the WIP ledger moves every month.
• Recharged disbursements aren't fees. Keep them apart from fee income, or staff cost as a share of fees is flattered.
• Members' drawings in an LLP sit with members' capital and current accounts, in equity, not in salaries.
• Fees billed in advance for fixed-fee work are deferred income, not debtors.

From the firm's trial balance over the six months to September 2026, worked by hand:

The days are worked on the last three months, as the board works debtor days; that revenue includes disbursements recharged, £18,640 over the six months, which is why the board's year to date is £1,356,090 against fee income of £1,337,450. Debtors are taken as booked, VAT included. Billed debtors are more than twice unbilled WIP, so collections, not billing, are holding cash back.

In Magic MIS, the same books loaded a month at a time give this board for September 2026:

Enlarge:

Harrow & Pell LLP's board for September 2026, from six months of its books. Example company; figures invented.Close

Magic MIS wrote this commentary for September 2026, word for word. The AI wrote the sentences; the engine filled every figure, and each one opens to its ledgers on the board:

Performance

Revenue from operations for Sep 2026 was £253,649.01, up £45,884.93 (22.1%) on last month.

Employee cost was £166,155.77, an increase of £37,791.78 (29.4%), which is a faster rate of growth than revenue.

EBITDA was £43,282.35, up £7,375.89 (20.5%). Profit before tax was £40,191.54, up £7,392.61 (22.5%). Profit after tax was the same as profit before tax at £40,191.54.

Margins

Direct costs were £3,466.42, up £642.89 (22.8%), broadly in line with the growth in revenue.

Gross profit was £250,182.59, up £45,242.04 (22.1%) on last month. Direct costs are small relative to revenue, so most of the cost base sits in employee cost and other operating costs.

Working capital

Trade receivables were £412,860.00, up £56,829.77 (16.0%). Trade payables were £38,620.00, up £4,951.16 (14.7%).

Cash and bank stood at £186,420.00, a change of £(14,718.90) (-7.3%). Receivables grew while cash fell, so more of the month's revenue remains to be collected.

Working capital was £602,330.00, up £41,508.21 (7.4%) on last month.

Enlarge:

The commentary for September 2026 in the product. Example company; figures invented.Close

1. Export the trial balance from your accounting system as Excel, CSV or PDF. There is no live connection.
2. Upload it. Each ledger is placed once on a line of the report, by rules first and the AI only for what the rules can't place; check client money, WIP, disbursements and members' accounts on the ledger map.
3. Get a checked Excel workbook with live formulas, a board you change by chatting, and the month written up.
4. Next month, upload the new trial balance: the placing is remembered, so it is a refresh, not a rebuild.

Click any figure on the board to see its working, the month and the ledgers behind it. It is prepaid credits with no subscription, and every action shows its price before it runs; see the credit packs.