Transferring Trust Balances to a New Trust Bank Account in LEAP

Oct 1, 2026
Knowledge

How To

When a firm closes an existing trust bank account and opens a new one, the trust funds held in LEAP on each matter need to be moved to the new account. LEAP does not do this automatically. The transfer must be completed in two places: between the physical bank accounts, and then in LEAP.

This article walks through the steps to complete the LEAP side of the process.

Before you begin

Confirm that the bank has completed the physical transfer and that you have the closing statement for the old trust account and the opening statement for the new one. Make a note of the date the transfer was made, as you will use it when recording the transactions in LEAP.

Before you start, reconcile the old trust account in LEAP up to the transfer date. Any trust cheques drawn on the old account that have not yet cleared the bank should be voided and reissued from the new account after the transfer. Otherwise the balances in LEAP will not match the amount the bank moved.

If you are unsure of any obligations around closing a trust account, check with your Law Society or regulator first.

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Note: You will need permission to edit accounting settings in LEAP (typically a Firm Administrator or a user with accounting access) to complete Steps 1, 4 and 5.

Step 1: Create the New Trust Bank Account in LEAP

Click LEAP Menu > Settings > Application Settings.

The Application Settings opens in a new window.
Select Accounting > Bank Accounts > Trust.

The Trust Accounts screen will open in a new window.
Click New Account.
Enter the details of the new trust bank account, including the institution, transit number, account number and province, then click Save.
Create a card for the new trust account so it can be selected as the payee in Step 3.

Go to Menu > Home > New Card, select Business/Partnership as the card type, enter the account details on the Notes & Other tab and save.

Step 2: Identify the Trust Balances to Transfer

Click LEAP Menu > Accounting > Reports > Trust > Trust Trial Balance.
Select the old trust account.
Set the report date to the date the old trust account was closed and set the filter of ‘Clients with’ to ‘With balances only’.
Click View.

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Keep a copy of the report (use Export to save it), as you will work from it in the next step and it forms part of your audit trail.

The Trust Trial Balance lists every matter that still holds funds in the old trust account and the amount on each. Check two things before continuing: the Total Client Ledger Accounts figure should equal the Reconciled Cash Book figure (in this example, $98,654.04), and the total should match the amount the bank transferred to the new account. If either does not agree, investigate the difference first.

Step 3: Transfer the Trust Balances in LEAP

The transfer is recorded as a trust payment out of the old trust account and a matching trust receipt into the new trust account.

There are two ways to do this:

In bulk (recommended): one trust payment listing every matter on a separate line, and one trust receipt listing the same matters. This is quicker and keeps the transfer together on the ledger.
Per matter: a separate payment and receipt pair for each matter. The result is the same; some firms prefer it for their records.

The steps below describe the bulk method.

Click Menu > Accounting > Trust Accounting > Bank Account Register.
Record a Trust Payment:
1. Select the old trust account in Bank Account.
2. In Pay To select the card you created for the new trust account.
3. Set the Payment Type to EFT and leave the Reference No. on Auto.
4. Set the Transaction Date to the transfer date.
5. Enter the first matter from the Trust Trial Balance on the first line with its full balance and a reason such as “Transfer to new trust account”. Add the second matter on the second line, the third on the third line, and so on until every matter is listed.
6. Confirm the Total matches the Trust Trial Balance total, then click Save & Close.

Record a Trust Receipt:
1. Select the new trust account in Bank Account.
2. Set the Transaction Date to the same transfer date.
3. Enter the same matters and amounts, one per line, with a matching reason such as “Transfer from old trust account”.
4. Confirm the Total matches the payment, then click Save & Close.

Run the Trust Trial Balance again for the old trust account.

It should now show a zero balance on every matter. Then run it for the new trust account and confirm the total matches the amount the bank transferred.

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Use the same date and the same reason wording on the payment and the receipt. This makes the transfer easy to follow on the trust ledger and simplifies your next trust reconciliation.

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Transferring per matter instead: follow the same steps but record a payment for a single matter and then the matching receipt for that matter, and repeat the pair until every matter on the Trust Trial Balance has been processed.

Step 4: Set the New Trust Account as the Default

Click Menu > Settings > Application Settings.

The Application Settings opens in a new window.
Select Accounting > Bank Accounts > Trust.

The Trust Accounts screen will open in a new window.
Click Default Accounts in the top right-hand corner.
Select the new trust account as the Default Trust Account and click Save.

Step 5: Archive the Old Trust Account

To prevent the old account from being selected by mistake on future transactions:

In the same Bank Accounts > Trust list, open the old trust account.
Change its Name to something unmistakable, such as Old Trust Account – DO NOT USE.
Click Archive, then Save. The account is removed from the list of trust accounts available when recording transactions, but its history remains available for reporting and audit.

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Do not click Delete. The old trust account’s transaction history must be retained for reporting and audit purposes. Archive hides the account without removing anything.

After the Transfer

Complete a trust reconciliation for both the old account (to its closing balance of zero) and the new account (to its opening statement) as at the transfer date. Keep the bank’s closing and opening statements together with your before-and-after Trust Trial Balance reports as supporting documentation.

If any matter balances do not agree after the transfer, contact LEAP Support.

Last Modified Date

1/10/2026 1:20 AM

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Transferring Trust Balances to a New Trust Bank Account in LEAP

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Transferring-Trust-Balances-to-a-New-Trust-Bank-Account-in-LEAP-CA

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