Accountant for lawyers and legal practices in Sydney
SMA Business Advisory provides accounting, tax and advisory support for lawyers, barristers and legal practices in Sydney, covering the business side of running a firm. If you’re searching for a tax lawyer and accountant in Sydney, we’re the accountant side of that search. We handle your firm’s accounting and tax, not legal advice or legal services.
Understanding legal practice finances
Law firms carry financial pressures that are distinct from most small businesses. Cash flow gets tied up in unbilled work in progress and client disbursements, partner profit distributions need to be worked out fairly and tax-effectively, and there are ongoing compliance obligations that come with holding client trust money.
Legal practices run on a billing cycle that doesn’t match cash flow in the way retail or service businesses do. Work in progress can sit unbilled for months, disbursements need to be tracked and recovered, and partner drawings need to be planned against genuinely available profit rather than headline revenue. Financial statements and business tax returns need to be built around that actual billing cycle, not a simplified version of it.
Partnership structures raise their own tax questions, particularly around how profit is distributed between equity partners, salaried partners and, for barristers operating as sole practitioners, how personal services income rules apply. Payroll processing and payroll tax obligations for legal support staff and associates also need correct contractor classification, and BAS and IAS management has to account for fee income, disbursements and any GST-free or GST-inclusive supplies specific to legal services.
Cash flow and partnership structuring, worked through with your firm's actual billing cycle in mind
Getting cash flow visibility right matters more in a legal practice than most businesses, given how much revenue sits in work in progress and disbursements at any one time. Partner drawings and firm decisions need to be based on realistic, not headline, revenue.
Manraj and his team work through your firm’s actual billing cycle and partnership structure rather than applying a generic small business approach, backed by 15+ years of accounting and advisory experience. To be clear on scope, this is accounting, tax and business advisory support for your firm, not legal advice or legal services.
- Forecasting that factors in unbilled work in progress and disbursements, not just headline revenue
- Tax planning for how profit is distributed and taxed across equity and salaried partners
- Clear advice for partner retirements, buy-outs and new partner admissions
- Payroll and contractor arrangements for support staff and associates classified correctly
Clear, practical advice across every stage
Our services are structured around the way business owners actually make decisions, at every stage of growth.
Business Accounting & Tax Compliance
The foundation of good compliance, handled accurately and reported on time, every time.
- Financial Statements
- Income Tax Returns
- Personal & HNW Tax
- BAS & IAS
- Payroll Tax
- FBT
- ATO Correspondence & Audit
Business Advisory
Guidance that looks well beyond this quarter, toward where your business is headed next.
Learn more about Business AdvisoryTax Advisory
Structure your business, plan your tax position and protect what you've built with confidence.
- Business Tax
- Personal and Family Groups
- Tax Planning
- Structuring & Asset Protection
- Family Group Structuring
- Trust & Estate Planning
- Wealth & Succession
Business Support Services
Dependable bookkeeping, payroll and systems support working quietly behind the scenes.
- Bookkeeping
- Payroll Processing
- Business Structure and Company Setup
- ASIC Compliance and Management
- Xero Setup and Support
- Cloud Accounting Solutions
Not sure which service you need?
Book an obligation-free consultation and we'll help you find the right starting point for your business.
Book a consultationFrequently asked questions
Answers to the questions we hear most often. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.
Do you provide legal advice or represent clients?
No. SMA Business Advisory is an accounting and business advisory firm. We work on your firm’s own accounting, tax and business structuring, not on legal matters or client representation.
Can you help with our law firm's trust account reporting obligations?
Trust account audits for client money are a separate regulatory requirement typically handled by an approved external examiner. We can support the broader financial reporting and structuring around your firm, and work alongside your trust account auditor where needed, but the audit itself sits outside our accounting engagement.
How do you handle accounting for work in progress that hasn't been billed yet?
We factor unbilled work in progress and disbursements into cash flow forecasting and financial reporting, so partner drawings and firm decisions are based on realistic, not headline, revenue.
We're a partnership with a mix of equity and salaried partners. Can you help structure profit distributions?
Yes, working through how profit is distributed and taxed across different partner types is a common piece of tax planning work we do for legal practices.
I'm a barrister operating as a sole practitioner. Do personal services income rules apply to me?
Personal services income rules can affect how a barrister’s income is taxed and what deductions are available, depending on how the practice is structured. It’s worth having this reviewed specifically for your situation.
A partner is retiring and we need to work out the buy-out. Can you help?
Yes, partner retirements and buy-outs involve real tax and structuring decisions, including how the outgoing partner’s interest is valued and paid out, and we work through these as part of succession planning.
News, guides and practical advice
Considered guidance on the issues that matter most to business owners and family groups.
Fringe Benefits: Guide & How to Calculate
A clear, plain-English explanation of fringe benefits tax and how it is actually calculated for your business.
Read articleATO Audits: What You Need to Know
An overview of what prompts an ATO audit in the first place, and the practical steps to take if you are contacted.
Read articleSmall Business Structuring: An Accountant’s Guide
Considered guidance on choosing the right business structure from day one, before costly problems set in.
Read articleRequest a consultation
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