Paying counsel and correspondent attorneys' accounts
How a law practice records, approves and pays accounts from advocates, correspondents and other providers in Achekam without paying one twice.
By Achekam · · 5 min read · For Legal businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
Counsel's fee note for the opinion arrives by e-mail. A week later, the clerk sends it again with "second request" in the subject line. The correspondent attorney in another city posts a statement listing three accounts, one of which you think was paid last month. The sheriff's office sends its account twice, once to the attorney and once to accounts. By the end of the month, the bookkeeper has a pile of documents that overlap, and the real question is simple: which of these do we still owe?
Paying the same account twice is one of the most common and least noticed losses in a busy practice. This article explains how a law practice in South Africa, Nigeria or Kenya can record, approve and pay outside providers' accounts in Achekam so that each is paid once, in full or in agreed parts, and no more.
Who sends a practice accounts
Apart from the landlord and the stationery supplier, a law practice deals with providers who bill per matter:
- Counsel, for opinions, drafting and appearances;
- Correspondent attorneys, for work done in another jurisdiction or court;
- Sheriffs and messengers, for service and execution;
- Experts, for reports and evidence;
- Tracing agents, translators and transcription services.
Each account usually relates to a specific matter, and many are later recovered from the client as disbursements. That makes accurate recording doubly important: an account recorded twice is paid twice and may be billed to the client twice. How recoveries go on the fee note is covered in disbursements on a fee note.
One supplier list, checked for duplicates
A business keeps one supplier list with duplicate checks by name or VAT number, and quotations, orders and bills pick suppliers from it. For a practice, the danger is the same advocate appearing three times: once under their name, once as "Adv." and their surname, once under their chambers' name.
Set a naming rule and keep to it, such as surname, first name, then the title. When a new provider sends a first account, search the list before adding them. Nigerian and Kenyan practices should note a current limit: a supplier's VAT number must be in the South African format, so Nigerian and Kenyan VAT numbers are refused, and the duplicate check falls back on the name.
Recording the account line by line and the approval it waits for
A business records supplier bills line by line with VAT. Put the matter reference and counsel's or the correspondent's own account number in the description of each bill, so anyone can see which matter it belongs to and which account it is.
A bill without a purchase order waits for approval before it posts. For a practice, that approval is the attorney on the matter confirming the work was done and the amount is what was agreed. Make it a rule that the person approving is not the person who captured the bill.
Where a practice briefs counsel through a purchase order, a supplier invoice recorded against an order is matched with what was ordered, and if the price differs it is held until someone writes a resolution note. Posting a matched supplier invoice puts it in the ledger as expense, input VAT and trade payables, and the supplier's invoice number stops it being posted twice.
On VAT, South African practices set each bill line to 15% or 0%. Nigerian and Kenyan practices should check every line: supplier bills offer 15% or 0% and default to 15%, rather than the country's own rate.
Paying in full or in parts, and recording what the bank paid
A bill can be paid in full or in parts from a chosen bank account. Counsel's account is sometimes paid in instalments as the client pays the practice, and part payments keep the remaining balance visible on the bill.
Paying a supplier in Achekam only records the payment; no bank payment file is produced. The money moves on your bank's own platform. That separation means two things must agree: what you released at the bank, and what you recorded in Achekam. Record the payment from the bank's confirmation, with the date and amount the bank actually paid, not the amount you intended.
Uploaded accounts become suggestions that a person approves
Accounts that arrive by e-mail can be uploaded to Financial Intake, where they become suggested postings. AI can suggest, but only a person approves and posts, and AI is refused both steps. Low-confidence fields and possible duplicates wait in the Intake Review Queue for a person.
There is one trap. An uploaded supplier invoice becomes a journal suggestion, not a bill on the Bills list to pay. If the same counsel's account is uploaded to Financial Intake and also captured as a bill, approving both records the expense twice. Choose one route for provider accounts and use it consistently: for accounts you will pay in parts or track on the Bills list, capture a bill and file the uploaded copy as a document, not as a posting.
Guarding against settling the same account twice
A short set of checks before each payment run:
- Search for the provider's account number in existing bills before capturing a new one.
- Treat "second request" and "reminder" e-mails as reminders, not new accounts.
- Reconcile each correspondent's and chambers' statement to your bills monthly.
- Pay only bills that have been approved by the attorney on the matter.
- Record each payment from the bank's confirmation on the day it is made.
The ACCA's article on supplier statement reconciliations explains why a separate record of each credit supplier must be kept and how reconciling their statements to it finds errors, which is exactly how a double payment comes to light. The same discipline in a restaurant kitchen is described in paying food and beverage suppliers.
Clean up the supplier list first, then choose your capture route, and start the next payment run with the five checks above.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
