NOTE:  In the UK, trust accounts are called client accounts. Throughout this article, any reference to a trust account also means a client account.

You can calculate the interest accrued throughout the lifecycle of a client’s trust account. The calculation is performed based on balances in the trust account and interest rates you’ve identified for the different rate periods the account is active.

This article covers setting up your interest rate periods, including setting up rate tiers within each period. Tiered rates allow you to assign different interest rates to different balance ranges, like this:

It also covers how to use the Interest Calculator.

Reviewing and Recording Interest Rate Periods and Tiers (Admin)

An admin user can add or adjust interest rate periods for specific trust accounts. They can also create rate tiers that adjust interest accrual based on account balances.

To do this: 

1. In Actionstep Practice Management, go to Admin > Trust accounting.
2. Under Bank Accounts, find the account you want to adjust interest rates for.
3. Click the ellipses icon and choose Configure interest rates.
   If rate periods have already been set up, the page lists those existing rate periods on the left side of the page with details for the selected rate period in the main area of the page. Proceed to Step 4. 
   
   If no rate periods have been set up, the page displays a New Rate section in the main area of the page so you can add your new rate details. Skip to Step 5.
    
4. If there are existing rate periods listed in the Interest rates panel on the left side, click New Rate. 
5. In the main area of the page, enter an Effective from date.
6. Click the edit icon for the row in the Rate Tiers table you want to edit and enter the interest rate. (Click Update to close the window.)
7. Optionally, add another rate tier by clicking Add rate tier and providing the required upper balance and interest rate. (Click Create when you're finished.)
8. Once your rate tiers are set up, click Create to save your updates and close the window.

Editing an Existing Interest Rate Period

You can edit the current interest rate period, perhaps because you need to add a new rate tier or adjust existing tier rates/amounts. 

To do this: 

1. In Practice Management, go to Admin > Trust accounting.
2. Under Bank Accounts, find the account you want to adjust interest rates for.
3. Click the ellipses icon and choose Configure interest rates.
   The page is updated to show rate periods on the left of the page with details for the selected rate period in the main area of the page.
4. Click on the Current rate period you want to edit in the Interest rates column on the left to select it.
5. Click Edit.
   The fields on the page become editable.
6. Make any of the following changes:
   • Edit the date in the Effective from field. 
   • Click the edit icon for a specific rate tier to edit its details.
   • Click Add rate tier to add a new rate tier.
7. Click Save to save your changes. 

Using the Interest Rate Calculator

You can use the Interest Rate Calculator to determine how much interest a particular trust account has earned over a specific period.

To do this: 

1. In Practice Management, open the matter associated with the trust account. (See Editing a Matter for help.)
2. Click the Trust Account menu icon. The Trust page appears.
3. In the list of options on the left, click Interest calculator. The Interest Calculator appears.
4. Click the Trust account drop-down list and choose the account you want to calculate interest for.
5. Click the Period drop-down list and choose the timeframe you want to use for the calculation.
   Based on your selection, beginning and ending dates may be suggested but you can change them, if needed. Choosing Custom range allows you to enter your own beginning and ending dates.
6. Click Calculate Interest. Actionstep generates a table displaying the details of the calculation.
7. Optionally, click Download to save a copy of the table in an Excel file. Or, if you need to make adjustments to the parameters of the calculation, click Change Calculation.

Understanding How Interest is Calculated 

The following formula is used to calculate the interest amount for a transaction:

Interest Amount = Balance × Daily Interest × Applicable Days 

The following example shows how this formula is used to calculate interest for a group of trust account transactions: 

One thing to note: In this example, Transaction ID 09 represents a split-rate interest transaction. To calculate the individual rates, the same interest calculation is performed, but it must be done for each interest period of the transaction: 

Updated May 29, 2026 20:14