Lori Aveni, CPA, PLLC

Lori Aveni, CPA, PLLC ⚖️ Lori Aveni, CPA | Helping law firm owners stay on top of their books, taxes, and IOLTA compliance.

With 15+ years of experience, I make the numbers easier to understand so you can focus on running your firm.

A profitable year is great. Getting hit with a 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹 and realizing you don’t have enough cash set aside for it ...
10/09/2026

A profitable year is great. Getting hit with a 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹 and realizing you don’t have enough cash set aside for it is not.

For law firm owners, 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, not something you think about only when a payment is due.

Setting aside money for 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀, maintaining a 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲, and keeping 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 can help you avoid an uncomfortable cash crunch later.

Your firm may be 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿, but that does not always mean the cash in your bank account is available to spend.

A little planning throughout the year can make 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁?

Your law firm can have a 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 and still have areas of the business that are 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.That’s wh...
10/08/2026

Your law firm can have a 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 and still have areas of the business that are 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.

That’s why looking only at 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 can leave out an important part of the picture.

Which 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? Which matters take more time than they’re worth? How does 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆𝘀?

These numbers can help you see 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 and where there may be opportunities to improve.

𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗸𝗲𝗽𝘁.

For law firm owners, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

10/06/2026

IOLTA compliance is about more than knowing how much money is sitting in the trust account.

The bigger question is: 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼?

If your IOLTA has $75,000 in it, your records should show exactly how that $75,000 is allocated among your clients. Your client ledger balances should ultimately agree with your reconciled trust account bank balance.

That’s why a regular bank reconciliation isn’t enough. North Carolina law firms also need to keep track of the individual client ledgers and make sure all three pieces agree:

𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 = 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 = 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀

Think of it as a three way reconciliation. All three need to tell the same story.

Two out of three matching isn’t close enough when you’re dealing with client funds.

In this video, I explain why three way reconciliation matters, what law firms should be checking, and why keeping these records current can make a big difference when it comes to IOLTA compliance.

🎥 Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/llpVpx1PIms?si=rYPHL_wqKMPRherW

You don’t need to spend hours going through every number in your accounting reports to understand how your law firm is d...
10/06/2026

You don’t need to spend hours going through every number in your accounting reports to understand how your law firm is doing.

Start with a few key numbers each month, like revenue, cash, net profit, accounts receivable, and expenses.

The right numbers can give you a quick picture of what’s happening in your firm and help you make better decisions.

What financial number do you pay the most attention to each month?

October is here and for attorneys and law firm owners Q4 is one of the most financially complex periods of the year. Bil...
10/05/2026

October is here and for attorneys and law firm owners Q4 is one of the most financially complex periods of the year. Billing cycles are at their highest, year-end tax planning decisions are approaching, and trust account compliance requirements are as critical as ever. Make sure your firm finances are in order and your IOLTA accounts are fully reconciled heading into the final stretch of 2026. ⚖️

More revenue doesn’t always mean more cash.As your law firm grows, you may spend more on attorneys, staff, advertising, ...
10/02/2026

More revenue doesn’t always mean more cash.

As your law firm grows, you may spend more on attorneys, staff, advertising, technology, and new cases before that additional revenue reaches your bank account.

Growth is exciting, but it’s important to make sure your cash flow can keep up.

Are you looking at cash flow when planning your firm’s growth?

09/29/2026

Your QuickBooks bank feed is a tool. It’s not your bookkeeper.

One of the most common bookkeeping mistakes I see with law firms is assuming that if the transactions are downloaded into QuickBooks, the books are done.

They’re not.

Transactions still need to be properly categorized, matched, reviewed, and reconciled. And when that doesn’t happen consistently, small errors can turn into a much bigger cleanup project later.

Good bookkeeping isn’t just about getting transactions into QuickBooks. It’s about making sure the numbers are accurate and actually useful when you need them.

This is Mistake #1 from my recent Facebook Live: 𝟱 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗜 𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲.

Want to hear the other mistakes? Watch the full video here:
https://youtu.be/k0a8TN6xd6Q?si=IMK5798zy91USzLH

What bookkeeping mistake have you seen cause problems for a law firm?

Running a law firm is about more than serving clients. You also need to understand what’s happening with your numbers.If...
09/29/2026

Running a law firm is about more than serving clients. You also need to understand what’s happening with your numbers.

If you’re a law firm owner looking for practical conversations about bookkeeping, cash flow, taxes, and the financial side of running a firm, I’d love to have you join the 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗺.

This is a space to ask questions, learn from others, and get helpful financial insights without the overwhelm.

Join the group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1845337836636820

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀

How much should you actually pay yourself as a law firm owner?It can be tempting to look at what’s in the bank and take ...
09/29/2026

How much should you actually pay yourself as a law firm owner?

It can be tempting to look at what’s in the bank and take what’s left. But that doesn’t always leave enough for taxes, expenses, or the cash your firm needs to keep running.

Your salary, draws, distributions, and cash reserves should all be considered when deciding how much to take from your business.

The goal is to pay yourself while still keeping your firm financially healthy.

What do you use to decide how much you pay yourself?

September is almost done and Q4 is here. For attorneys and law firm owners the final quarter of 2026 is the most importa...
09/28/2026

September is almost done and Q4 is here. For attorneys and law firm owners the final quarter of 2026 is the most important financial stretch of the year. Make sure your trust accounting is airtight, your year-end tax strategy is in place, and your firm is financially positioned to close 2026 as strongly as the cases you win. 🌟

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Vilas, NC
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