SQE1 Solicitors’ Accounts – Rules, Exceptions & Key Distinctions Cheat Sheet

olicitors’ Accounts becomes much easier once you stop starting with debit and credit and start with the first question that controls everything: whose money is it?

This 55-page SQE1 Solicitors’ Accounts revision guide is designed to take you through the journey of money step by step — from receipt and classification to the correct account, ledger entries, movement of funds, billing, interest and compliance.

The guide follows one consistent process:

receive → classify → choose the account → record → hold → move or withdraw → bill, costs and VAT → interest → compliance

For each transaction, the guide helps you answer:

whose money is it → client money or business money → which bank account → which ledger → DR or CR → may the money be moved → what happens if the rule is breached

Classification comes first because if that step is wrong, the bank account, ledger section and entries that follow will usually be wrong too.

Built for SQE1 Accounts questions

The guide is structured to help you:

• Distinguish client money from business money

• Apply the client-money rules before deciding where funds go

• Identify the correct bank account

• Work out which client ledger section is affected

• Understand DR and CR rather than guessing the entry

• Follow double-entry transactions step by step

• Distinguish paid and unpaid disbursements

• Apply exceptions and exemptions to the general rules

• Determine whether money may be transferred or withdrawn

• Understand when a bill or notification is required

• Correct breaches and identify the compliance consequence

The guide also teaches the double-entry method, including how to identify the two aspects of a transaction first and then place each entry on the correct DR or CR side.

It includes decision methods, worked entries, MCQ traps, “Do Not Confuse” distinctions, exceptions, ledger logic and quick chapter checks so you can understand why an entry is correct rather than trying to memorise isolated bookkeeping patterns.

The aim is simple:

classify the money correctly first — then let the account, ledger and entries follow from that decision.

Use the guide alongside Accounts MCQs to practise classification, double entry and movement of funds, review common errors and prepare for mocks and final-stage revision.

Please note: This is an independently prepared educational revision resource. It is not affiliated with, approved by or endorsed by the SRA or any university, education provider or SQE preparation provider. Candidates should use the applicable SRA SQE1 Assessment Specification and their main study materials alongside this resource.

Accuracy and liability notice:

This resource has been prepared with reasonable care for educational and revision purposes. However, legal rules, regulatory requirements, figures and assessment specifications may change, and errors or omissions may occasionally occur. Candidates should check the applicable SRA SQE1 Assessment Specification and relevant official sources for the version that applies to their assessment date.

This resource is not legal or financial advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for professional advice or official assessment materials. Nothing in this notice affects any rights you may have under applicable consumer law.