Law firms and advocates
Inventory software for a law office
A chamber sells advice, not goods, so most never open the stock screens. If you want to track paper, toner and file covers, or keep the law library on the books, here is how much to set up.
In short
SimpleERP is ERP software that a law office can run without stock. Services never touch inventory; a chamber that wants it can track stationery and file covers with reorder levels, and keep its law library as fixed assets.
Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.
An inventory day at Rangan and Iyer Advocates
Nobody at Rangan and Iyer Advocates thinks of the chamber as having stock. Yet the clerk buys legal-size paper by the carton, green and white file covers by the hundred, printer toner every few weeks and a pile of vakalatnama forms from the bar association, and twice this year the office ran out of paper the evening before a filing.
The other thing on the shelves is the library: AIR and SCC volumes, the Madras Law Journal and a set of commentaries worth several lakh rupees. Those are not consumed, they are kept for years, and the partners' CA wants them on the balance sheet with depreciation.
SimpleERP handles both without forcing either. Consumables can be products with a reorder level, the library is a fixed asset, and if the chamber decides stock is not worth the effort, the stock screens simply stay out of the way.
Do you need it
Does a law firm need inventory at all?
Usually not. Your fee lines are services, and services never appear in stock screens or move stock when a fee note posts. A chamber that buys paper and toner can just record those as expenses and stop there; tracking them as stock is only worth it when running out costs you a filing.
- Services and goods kept apart: a legal opinion never touches a warehouse.
- Stationery as an expense in one step, with the bill photo attached.
- One location by default, with branches and warehouses hidden until you add them.
Consumables
How would we track paper, file covers and toner?
Add each consumable as a product with a unit and a reorder level. A purchase bill from the stationer adds to stock at its cost, a monthly stock count records what the office used, and anything at or below its level shows on the low-stock list with the supplier you last bought from.
- Units that match how you buy: ream, box, carton, piece.
- Purchase order drafts from the low-stock list, one per supplier.
- Weighted average cost on every item, so the value on hand is right.
| Item | Unit | Reorder level | Bought from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal-size paper, 75 gsm | Ream | 20 | The stationer near the High Court |
| File covers, green and white | Piece | 100 | The same stationer |
| Printer toner cartridge | Piece | 2 | The printer dealer |
| Vakalatnama forms | Piece | 50 | The bar association counter |
Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.
Stamp paper
What about stamp papers bought for clients?
Stamp paper is normally bought for one client's deed and billed back to that client, so it is an out-of-pocket cost, not stock. Record the purchase as an expense and add it to the client's fee note at cost; keeping it as inventory only adds a step.
- Expense with the stamp vendor's receipt recorded the day it is bought.
- Billed back at cost as a line on the client's fee note.
- Notary charges and court fee stamps handled the same way.
Fixed assets
Can the law library go on the books?
Yes, as fixed assets rather than stock. Each set of law reports or commentaries is an asset with a cost, a purchase date and a depreciation method, and one click each month posts the depreciation journal for all of them.
- Asset register with the library, computers, furniture and the chamber's car.
- Custodian on each asset, such as the partner who keeps a laptop.
- Disposal with the gain or loss worked out when an old set is sold.
Illustration of a fixed asset card with a monthly straight-line depreciation schedule.
One system
Where stock and assets connect
Stationery bills add to stock or go straight to expenses, and the library's depreciation posts to the same ledger as your fee income.
Law firms and advocates
Fee notes under SAC 9982, client advances on account, court fees at cost and payroll for clerks.
See howGST billing for advocates
Fee notes with SAC 9982 codes, a reverse charge or exempt note, and court fees recovered at cost.
See howAccounting for law firms
Fee income, client advances on account, TDS deducted by clients, chamber expenses and a month-end your CA can close.
See howInventory
Stock on hand by warehouse at weighted average cost, with a movement ledger and a low-stock list.
See howFixed assets
An asset register with monthly depreciation, custodians, maintenance and disposal.
See how
Honest limits
Limits for a law office
- No batch, lot, serial or expiry tracking, and no barcode scanning
- Weighted average cost only; there is no FIFO
- No automatic reorder suggestions: the reorder level shows what is low, you decide what to buy
- No library lending register for who has borrowed which volume
- No document or file tracking for case files moving between chamber and court
Getting started
Start with inventory
Sign up with your phone
Name, phone number and a password. No card for the seven-day trial, and email is optional.
Tell us about the business
Type your GSTIN and the state fills itself. Accounts, GST rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for you.
Add products and opening stock
Most chambers can skip this. If you track consumables, add paper, file covers and toner with units and reorder levels, and the count you have today.
Post a bill and an invoice
Stock rises on the purchase bill and falls on the invoice, at weighted average cost, with nothing to count by hand.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Will the stock screens get in the way if we never use them?
No. A chamber that only bills services never sees stock moving, and inventory stays a menu you do not open. Nothing about fee notes or payroll depends on it.
Should law books be stock or assets?
Assets, in most cases, because they are kept and used for years rather than sold or used up. Your CA can confirm the depreciation rate you should apply to the library.
Can I charge a client for the stationery used on their matter?
Add it as a line on the fee note. If the item is a product in stock, the line also issues it from stock; if it is a cost you recorded as an expense, use a free-text line at cost.
We have two offices, one near the High Court and one in Egmore. Can stock be kept separately?
Yes. Add a second warehouse and move paper or toner between them with a transfer. Until you add it, the second location stays hidden.
Related
Keep reading
Law firms and advocates
Fee notes under SAC 9982, client advances on account, court fees at cost and payroll for clerks.
Read moreGST billing for advocates
Fee notes with SAC 9982 codes, a reverse charge or exempt note, and court fees recovered at cost.
Read moreAccounting for law firms
Fee income, client advances on account, TDS deducted by clients, chamber expenses and a month-end your CA can close.
Read more
See how inventory works in SimpleERP for law firms and advocates
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