Law firm payroll software prepares each pay run, records earnings and deductions for every person, produces payslips and posts the cost to the firm's accounts. Most payroll systems also calculate income tax and social contributions and file them with the tax authority; that part is specific to each country.
LawAOS handles the recording side. Pay runs are weekly, fortnightly, monthly or custom, pre-filled from each member's standing pay. Pay components are defined by the firm as Earning, Deduction or Contribution, each linked to a ledger account. An approved run cannot be edited; once marked paid it posts to the general ledger.
LawAOS does not calculate tax for any country, does not pay people by direct deposit and does not connect to a payroll provider. Many firms will still need a payroll bureau or provider to calculate and file tax, and can use LawAOS to keep the pay record, payslips and ledger postings with the rest of the firm's books.
- Recording
- Who was paid, how much, under which components, and which ledger accounts carry the cost. LawAOS does this.
- Calculating tax
- Applying PAYE, federal and state withholding, FICA, provident fund, CPP or EI tables. LawAOS does not; the firm enters tax as a deduction amount.
- Paying
- Moving money to employees' bank accounts. LawAOS does not; the firm pays through its bank and then marks the run paid.
- Filing
- Submitting returns to the tax authority. LawAOS does not; a bureau, provider or accountant does this.
A firm whose accountant or payroll bureau calculates tax and sends back the figures can enter those amounts as deductions, approve the run and keep payslips and ledger postings inside LawAOS. A firm that wants one product to calculate and file payroll tax should use a payroll provider for that job.
Keeping pay in the same system as time, billing and the ledger means salary cost is posted where matter profitability and the profit and loss report can see it.
Members see only their own payslips. Only people who hold the payroll.view_all permission see everyone's pay. Payslips and the pay sheet export as CSV.
Most firms start with a small set: salary as an Earning, income tax and employee social contributions as Deductions, and employer pension or social contributions as a Contribution with employer and employee sides. Link each to the ledger account your accountant uses, so the profit and loss report and balance sheet show salary cost and amounts owed to the tax authority in the right places.
Define pay components
Create Earning, Deduction and Contribution components, with employer and employee sides for contributions, each linked to a ledger account.
See the moduleSet standing pay
Record each member's standing pay so new runs are pre-filled.
See the modulePrepare and approve the run
Open a weekly, fortnightly, monthly or custom run, adjust amounts including tax deductions from your provider, then approve. An approved run is locked.
See the moduleMark paid and post
After paying through your bank, mark the run paid. It posts to the general ledger with the components' accounts.
See the module
Stated plainly, so you can decide before you sign up rather than after.
- LawAOS calculates no tax of any kind: no PAYE, FICA, federal or state withholding, PF/ESI, or CPP/EI tables.
- There is no direct deposit or bank payout; the firm pays staff through its own bank.
- There is no integration with a payroll provider or bureau.
- Payslips are produced as CSV, not PDF.
Anything the list leaves open, our team answers directly.