This article goes hand in hand with your Transaction records.
Tax & Accounting Records
This page overviews Goodlawyer transaction documentation to help lawyers reconcile their accounting and tax requirements.
NOTE: Any transactions completed outside the platform or refunded are not factored into a lawyer’s transaction history.
Disclaimer
Neither Goodlawyer nor any Goodlawyer Representative has made or makes any express or implied representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any harmonized sales tax (HST), provincial sales tax (PST), goods and services tax (GST), value-added tax, use and excise taxes, and any other similar taxes, duties, and charges of any kind imposed by any governmental authority (collectively, "indirect Taxes") in connection with the delivery of Legal Services pursuant to a Legal Service Contract. Lawyer shall be responsible to remit all Indirect Taxes to the appropriate governmental authority in a timely manner. Lawyer acknowledges that it has not relied on any representation or warranty from Goodlawyer nor any Goodlawyer Representative in determining its liability for Indirect Taxes and neither Goodlawyer nor any Goodlawyer Representative shall have liability to Lawyer or any other Person with respect to any Indirect Taxes. [Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meaning given to such term in the Terms of Service]
Downloading Your Transactions Records
Lawyers can download individual PDF records or a complete record of all their Goodlawyer transactions in a specified date range from their Billings page: https://lawyer.goodlawyer.ca/invoices
After selecting a date range, lawyers can download a .xlsx file that contains:
- A spreadsheet that shows a breakdown of every transaction the lawyer completed over the Goodlawyer platform for a specified date range.
- A spreadsheet that shows key totals for tax and accounting purposes.
Key Terms
Terms on individual transaction records are defined below.
- Client and Lawyer Columns
- The left column shows the Client for the service, and their representative.
- The right column shows the lawyer and their respective tax account numbers.
- Taxable Service
- The taxable line items associated with the service, including the Legal Fee and Goodlawyer’s service fee.
- Non-taxable Service
- Any line items the lawyer has indicated are non-taxable government fees or disbursements.
- Client Records
- A detailed transaction breakdown for the client’s record-keeping purposes. Lawyers should not use this information for their record keeping.
- ❗ NOTE: Any pro discounts, coupons, credits, or discounts shown in this section are at Goodlawyer’s expense and not the lawyer’s.
- Lawyer Records
- A detailed transaction breakdown for the lawyer’s record-keeping purposes.
- Gross Legal Subtotal
- The sum of the Legal Fees and Non-taxable Fees associated with the service.
- Tax Rate
- The rate of sales tax paid by the client. This tax rate is determined by the client’s location and may vary depending on whether the lawyer has a sales tax account set up in that province.
- Legal Fee GST / HST / PST
- The respective amount of each sales tax transferred to the lawyer for the service.
- Gross Legal Total
- The sum of the amounts received from the service (i.e., Legal Fees + Legal Fee GST / HST / PST + Non-taxable Fees).
- Administration Fee
- A 3% fee on Legal Fees and Legal Fee GST / HST / PST
- ❗ NOTES:
- Clients pay for a 3% payment processing fee associated with Non-taxable Fees, which is added to the service fee line item under the Client Records section.
- The Administration Fee paid by lawyers does not impact their revenue — lawyers should account for the Administration Fee as a business expense.
- Administration Fee Tax
- We are required to charge lawyers the appropriate jurisdictional sales tax on Administration Fees.
- Net Transfer to [Lawyer’s Name]
- The total amount transferred to the lawyer. This amount includes the Gross Legal Subtotal and the associated sales tax (which the lawyer must remit to the corresponding government), less the Administration Fee and Administration Fee Tax.
Terms that show up on the summary download file are defined below.
- Reference Number
- A randomly generated string of numbers and letters that Goodlawyer uses to identify services on the platform.
- Client
- The name of the Client associated with a service (could be a business or individual).
- Client ID
- A randomly generated string of numbers and letters that Goodlawyer uses to identify Clients on the platform.
- Representative
- The name of the individual representing the Client.
- Representative ID
- A randomly generated string of numbers and letters that Goodlawyer uses to identify Users on the platform.
- Province
- The province of the Client. This province determines the service's tax rate, which can vary depending on whether the lawyer has a tax account set up in that province.
- Legal Fee
- The taxable lawyer’s fee on a service.
- Legal Fee Tax
- The total amount of sales tax paid on a service.
- Non-taxable Fee
- The non-taxable government fee or disbursement on a service.
- Administration Fee
- See above.
- Administration Fee Tax
- See above.
- Net Transferred to Lawyer
- The total amount transferred to the lawyer. Includes the total Legal Fees, Non-taxable Fees and the sales tax associated with the service, less the Administration Fee and Administration Fee Tax.
- Legal Fee GST
- The amount of GST paid on the Legal Fee.
- Legal Fee HST
- The amount of HST paid on the Legal Fee.
- Legal Fee PST
- The amount of PST paid on the Legal Fee.
- Bill Date
- The date that the service was billed.
- ❗ NOTE:
- The payment provider (Stripe) holds funds for 3-7 business days before paying them out to lawyers. Payouts may include multiple services billed in succession or close proximity.
If you have any questions, please contact accounting@goodlawyer.ca.