Practice Management Software for Singapore Lawyers (2026)

The Legal Profession (Solicitors' Accounts) Rules require every Singapore law practice that receives client money to hold those funds in a designated client account at an approved bank, completely separate from the firm's office account.

Core obligations:

• Client money must be paid into the client account without delay
• Withdrawals require a clear authorisation trail and proper purpose
• Rule 8(5): no withdrawal exceeding S$5,000 by digital/online payment unless authorised by two solicitors in accordance with Law Society Practice Directions
• Monthly reconciliation between client ledger, cash book, and bank statement
• Annual Accountant's Report filed with the Law Society — a mandatory verification of compliance
• The solicitor (not the bookkeeper or accountant) bears personal disciplinary responsibility for any breach

EZ@Work's client account ledger enforces the two-solicitor approval flow on every digital payment over S$5,000, captures both approvers' digital signatures, and produces the monthly three-way reconciliation report your external accountant needs for the annual Accountant's Report.

Legal services in Singapore have been subject to 9% GST since 1 January 2024, and Budget 2026 confirmed the rate stays at 9%. If your firm's taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million in any 12-month period, GST registration with IRAS is mandatory.

A compliant Singapore tax invoice for legal services must contain:

• The words "Tax Invoice" prominently
• Sequential invoice number
• Date of issue
• Your firm's name, address, and GST registration number
• Client's name and address
• Description of legal services rendered
• Time entries (hours × rate) or fixed-fee description
• Amount before GST
• 9% GST shown as a separate line
• Total including GST in S$ (if foreign currency used, S$ equivalent and exchange rate)

For cross-border legal services exported to clients outside Singapore, zero-rating at 0% GST usually applies — but you must retain evidence (engagement letter, residency proof) that the services are consumed outside Singapore. EZ@Work auto-zero-rates exported services when the client's billing address is outside Singapore.

The Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE) administers Continuing Professional Development under the Legal Profession (Continuing Professional Development) Rules 2012.

CPD Year 2026 requirements:

• Group 1 (under 5 years' standing): 16 CPD points, with at least 8 Public CPD points
• Group 2 (5–15 years' standing): 13 CPD points, with at least 6.5 Public CPD points
• Group 3 (over 15 years' standing): 10 CPD points, with at least 5 Public CPD points
• Mandatory category — Ethics & Professional Standards activities per the 2024 Guidelines
• Self-declaration during annual Practising Certificate renewal with the Law Society

The groups are converging to a harmonised 16-point standard via a multi-year phase-in. Falling short delays Practising Certificate renewal.

EZ@Work's CPD tracker stores each event's SILE code, points, Public/Private classification, and Ethics category, and produces a one-page summary you submit at PC renewal.

Every practising solicitor in Singapore needs a current Practising Certificate (PC) issued annually by the Supreme Court on the Law Society's recommendation. Renewal opens each year and requires:

• Confirmation that CPD requirements for the preceding year were met
• Up-to-date professional indemnity insurance (PII) — minimum cover under the Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme
• Payment of Law Society subscription and Bar Association levies
• Declaration of any disciplinary or bankruptcy events
• Annual Accountant's Report filed if you handle client money
• Confirmation of registration on any specialist accreditation schemes (e.g. SIArb, mediation panels)

Failure to renew on time means immediate loss of authority to practise — and any work signed off in the intervening period is unauthorised practice of law. EZ@Work tracks PC expiry, PII renewal, and Accountant's Report deadlines per fee-earner with escalating reminders at 60, 30, 14, and 7 days.

Singapore law practices are AML-regulated when handling specified transactions: conveyancing, formation/management of corporate vehicles, trust services, asset transfers, and any movement of client funds. The Law Society's Practice Directions on Anti-Money Laundering sit alongside the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes Act (CDSA) and the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act.

Before acting, you must:

• Conduct Customer Due Diligence (CDD) — verify identity from official documents (NRIC, passport)
• For corporate clients, identify and verify beneficial owners (≥25% threshold)
• Screen against UN, MAS, and other sanctions lists
• Apply Enhanced Due Diligence for PEPs, high-risk jurisdictions, or complex structures
• File a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) with the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) when red flags arise
• Retain CDD documentation for 5 years after the relationship ends

EZ@Work's matter onboarding workflow guides each new engagement through the CDD checklist, attaches scanned IDs to the matter file, and blocks invoice issuance until verification is complete.

Singapore firms most commonly switch to EZ@Work from a mix of LawNet for legal research, Clio for matters, and Excel for time and trust. Migration sources we support:

• Clio Manage export → matters, contacts, time entries, trust ledger CSV
• LawNet practice modules → matter and document indexes
• Tessaract / Practical Legal Cloud → SQL or CSV ledger import
• iManage / NetDocuments → DMS reference links preserved per matter
• Excel timesheets → drag-and-drop with column mapping
• MYOB / Xero integration for office account synchronisation

We preserve client account ledger entries with original posting dates so the annual Accountant's Report remains continuous across the cutover. Migration support is included on every paid plan; the average Singapore firm moves over in two to three business days.