Question 1

What does TrustWatch actually do?

Accepted Answer

You import a statement from your attorney trust (IOLTA) and operating accounts — a CSV or OFX/QFX exported from your bank or your existing software — and TrustWatch runs automated detection rules against your transactions. It surfaces potential issues — like possible commingling, vendor disbursements with no linked client matter, fee withdrawals without an invoice, unreconciled balances, or oversized transfers — and shows them as alerts with the relevant bar-rule citation for your review. It's a monitoring and notification layer, not a system of record. (Direct read-only bank feeds are rolling out next.)

Question 2

Who is it for?

Accepted Answer

Law firms and legal professionals who hold client funds in trust — solo practitioners, small and mid-size firms, and anyone responsible for IOLTA compliance. It's built to sit alongside whatever you already use (Clio, QuickBooks Online, or even a spreadsheet) rather than replace it.

Question 3

Is it a substitute for my trust accounting or my bar obligations?

Accepted Answer

No. TrustWatch is an informational monitoring tool, not accounting, legal, financial, tax, or fiduciary advice, and it is not a bank. It doesn't reconcile your books for you, doesn't file anything with any bar or regulator, and doesn't decide whether a transaction is a violation. Your firm remains solely responsible for its trust-accounting records, reconciliations, and all bar and compliance obligations. We help you catch things early — the attorney reviews and acts.

Question 4

How is my bank data accessed and secured?

Accepted Answer

Today you stay in control: you export a statement (CSV or OFX/QFX) from your own bank and upload it to TrustWatch. We never receive your banking login or password and have no ability to move funds. Data is encrypted in transit, and your firm's data is scoped so you only ever see your own. Direct read-only bank feeds — via a regulated connectivity provider, where you authorize the provider and not TrustWatch — are rolling out next.

Question 5

Can TrustWatch move money or change my books?

Accepted Answer

No. TrustWatch only reads the statement data you import to monitor it. It cannot initiate transfers, pay vendors, or post journal entries, and it writes nothing back to your bank or your accounting system.

Question 6

What do the detection rules check?

Accepted Answer

At launch there are rules for commingling (operating or personal expenses paid from trust), vendor pulls from trust with no linked client matter, fee withdrawals without a corresponding invoice, unreconciled balances past your state's reconciliation period, oversized transfers above a threshold you configure, and balances below a floor you set. Admins can tune the thresholds, and new settings apply on your next analysis run.

Question 7

Which states' rules does it cover?

Accepted Answer

TrustWatch ships with a bar-rule library covering a set of states — including reconciliation periods, commingling rules, and reporting requirements — and shows the matching citation on each alert based on your firm's jurisdiction. We add and update jurisdictions over time; set your state in your firm profile and the relevant rules apply.

Question 8

How do alerts reach me?

Accepted Answer

By email. You can choose immediate emails for critical alerts and a periodic digest for warnings in your notification settings. Everything is also visible in the app, where you can expand an alert to see what was detected, the affected transaction, the recommended action, the rule citation, and the full review history.

Question 9

Can I try it before importing my real statement?

Accepted Answer

Yes. There's a demo mode that loads realistic sample transactions — including intentional violations — so you can see exactly how detection, alerts, and reconciliation work before using real data. When you're ready, you import a statement (CSV or OFX/QFX) from your own trust and operating accounts and run the same analysis on your real numbers.

Question 10

What does it cost, and is there a trial?

Accepted Answer

The base plan is $49/month and includes up to 3 attorneys, with each additional attorney at $19/month. It starts with a 14-day free trial, and no credit card is required to begin the trial. You can compare that to full practice-management suites that charge per user and require a full migration — TrustWatch adds just the monitoring layer alongside your existing stack.

Question 11

How do I cancel, and what happens to my data?

Accepted Answer

You can cancel anytime from your billing settings (managed through Stripe) or by emailing support@trustwatch.app; cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. You can disconnect any linked account at any time, after which we stop pulling new data from it. You can export your audit trail before you go, and we retain or delete data as described in our Privacy Policy.

Blog

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What Triggers a Trust Account Audit and How to Be Ready

Attorney Trust Accounting Rules: Complete Compliance Guide

How to Do a Three-Way Trust Reconciliation (Step-by-Step)

IOLTA Compliance Guide: What Every Law Firm Must Know