SHORT ANSWER · FUND TRACING
How do you trace funds through bank accounts?
You trace funds through bank accounts by collecting every account’s statements, proving each one, matching every transfer out to a deposit in, naming the payee on each check, and building a schedule of where the money went. In Matter 25-117 that meant 18 statements proven and 212 checks paired to their statement lines before any tracing began.
STEP BY STEP
What are the steps, in order?
The first two steps make the rest trustworthy. Choosing a tool? See the best asset tracing software.
- 1
Collect every account
Get statements for each account the money could have touched, for the whole period, including the ones a transfer points to.
- 2
Prove each statement
Each one should tie to its printed closing balance and open on the prior month’s close. ZeraBooks does both and flags any month that breaks the chain.
- 3
Match transfers out to deposits in
Pair each transfer leaving one account with the deposit it became in another, by date and amount. A transfer with no other side points to an account nobody produced.
- 4
Name the payees
Check images show who the money went to. In Matter 25-117, check 3285 on 03/14/2025 shows Harbor Marine Supply for $2,450.00, a name the statement line alone wouldn’t give you.
- 5
Build the schedule
List each movement from source to destination and apply the tracing rule your matter uses, such as what is the lowest intermediate balance rule?
ZeraBooks builds the workflow around your matters and your template for free. No development charge, whether it’s a forensic department or one person.
AFTER THE TRACE
What do you do with the finished trace?
The schedule becomes the working paper behind a report or testimony, which is the expert’s work. ZeraBooks builds your tracing schedule around the matter for free, in your firm’s own layout. This isn’t legal advice.
For the whole picture rather than one sum, see what is a flow of funds analysis?
How do you find an account nobody produced?
Look for transfers that leave a produced account and land nowhere in the production. The description or the account ending on the transfer is the lead to follow.
Can you trace cash withdrawals?
Only so far. The statement shows the cash leaving; where it went needs other evidence, such as receipts or deposits elsewhere.
Does ZeraBooks pair transfers between accounts automatically?
ZeraBooks proves the statements and pairs check images to their lines. Pairing transfers is part of the tracing schedule built around your matter with you.
FREE CUSTOM BUILD
Follow the money from proven rows.
Every month, every account.
ZeraBooks ties every statement before the trace and builds your tracing schedule around the matter for free.