For accounting firms that audit NSW real estate trust accounts
About four hours of trust account checking, done unattended in about ten minutes.
Mushin runs the mechanical pass of a real estate agent trust account audit: twelve months of balance figures, each read twice and reconciled, and a receipt sample traced to the bank statement. You receive three CSVs of working papers per trust account. Your firm remains the auditor.
One number decides what this is worth to your firm: how many trust account audits you do a year. Put yours in the calculator.
What we check
Six figures a month, twelve months, and a receipt sample traced to the bank.
The balance table
For every month of the audit year, six figures are read off the agent's reconciliation and trial balance reports. Each money figure is read twice, by two independent methods, and a disagreement is flagged rather than resolved.
- opening_balance
- the balance brought forward, as printed on the reconciliation
- closing_balance
- the balance at month end, as printed on the reconciliation
- bank_rec
- the reconciled bank balance after unpresented items
- trial_balance
- the total of the trust trial balance
- discrepancy
- the difference the report itself prints, never computed
- date_prepared
- when the reconciliation was prepared, as evidence of promptness
Two identities are then checked on every row: the printed discrepancy against the reconciled bank balance less the trial balance, and each month's opening balance against the prior month's closing. A missing report is left as an empty cell with the reason, never written as zero.
Supporting documents and the receipt sample
The period printed inside each report is checked against the month it was filed under, because a cash book run for the wrong dates looks correct on a folder listing. Every cash book is enumerated and tied to the platform's own printed total before anything is sampled from it.
Receipts are then drawn from each month's cash book and traced to a credit on the bank statement: the right amount, within three days of the receipt date, with the payer's name confirmed against the bank narration. On a rent account that is five receipts a month; on a sale account, where receipts are few and large, every receipt is tested.
Alongside the sample, every bank credit for the month is compared against the cash book's own receipts total, so money that never made it into the sample is still accounted for at the month level.
“This test verifies that recorded receipts were banked; it does not test whether all funds received were recorded.”Printed at the top of every receipt sample file
What you get
Three CSV files per trust account, with these columns.
File 1
<Client> - rent.csv
The audit table. Twelve monthly rows, one per month of the audit year.
Columns
- month
- opening_balance
- closing_balance
- bank_rec
- trial_balance
- date_prepared
- discrepancy
- comments
- sources
comments carries every machine flag, prefixed ⚠ so it sorts first. sources records how each row was read: llm+scrape means two independent reads agreed.
File 2
<Client> - rent - receipt sample.csv
The working paper. Every sampled receipt, traced to the bank statement, with the denominator per month and the scope limitation printed at the top.
Columns
- receipt no
- date of receipt
- bank date
- amount
- banking total
- received from
- bank narration
- verified to banking summary
received from, bank narration and bank date are there so a reviewer can re-perform the check from the file without reopening the PDFs.
File 3
<Client> - rent - receipt sample - review queue.csv
Only the rows that need a human: amber matches and months that could not be tested. The OK rows stay in the full working paper.
Columns
- receipt no
- date of receipt
- bank date
- amount
- banking total
- received from
- bank narration
- verified to banking summary
Amber is the review queue, not failure: a bank credit at the right amount and date that the narration could not confirm by name.
What the files look like
Sample dataThe audit table is generated from the tool's own synthetic test fixture, a made-up agency called Sunnyside Realty whose reports plant known faults so the flags are real ones. The fixture produces balance reports only, so the receipt sample and review queue below are made-up rows in the tool's real format, at the rate a real rent account returns: nine of fifty-five tested receipts needing a look, not a token one or two. No firm, agency, tenant, receipt number, account number or balance from any client engagement appears here. Amber rows are shaded.
Sunnyside Realty - rent.csv
Twelve rows. Read the sources column: two independent reads on every figure, and the retry named when they disagreed.
| month | opening_balance | closing_balance | bank_rec | trial_balance | date_prepared | discrepancy | comments | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07 | 12400.00 | 13640.50 | 13640.50 | 13640.50 | 2025-08-02 | 0.00 | llm+scrape | |
| 2025-08 | 13640.50 | 12810.25 | 12810.25 | 12810.25 | 2025-09-01 | 0.00 | llm+scrape | |
| 2025-09 | 12810.25 | 14960.25 | 14960.25 | 14960.25 | 2025-10-03 | 0.00 | llm+scrape | |
| 2025-10 | 14960.25 | 15406.00 | 15406.00 | 2025-11-02 | 0.00 | ⚠ trial_balance: Trial Balance was not produced for this month; ⚠ identity not checked — trial_balance missing | llm+scrape | |
| 2025-11 | 15406.00 | 14096.00 | 14096.00 | 14096.00 | 2025-12-01 | 0.00 | llm+scrape | |
| 2025-12 | 14096.00 | 17116.40 | 17116.40 | 16803.90 | 2026-01-02 | 0.00 | ⚠ computed disc $312.50 vs extracted $0.00 — check | llm+scrape |
| 2026-01 | 17201.40 | 16541.25 | 16541.25 | 16541.25 | 2026-02-02 | 0.00 | ⚠ opening $17,201.40 ≠ prior closing $17,116.40 (out by $85.00) — check | llm+scrape |
| 2026-02 | 16541.25 | 18416.85 | 18416.85 | 18416.85 | 2026-03-02 | 0.00 | llm+scrape | |
| 2026-03 | 18416.85 | 16176.55 | 16176.55 | 17417.05 | 2026-04-01 | -1240.50 | ⚠ discrepancy -$1,240.50 is not zero — check | llm+scrape; discrepancy amber (sonnet matched scrape) |
| 2026-04 | 16176.55 | 17166.60 | 17166.60 | 17166.60 | 2026-05-03 | 0.00 | llm+scrape | |
| 2026-05 | 18587.45 | 2026-06-02 | ⚠ opening_balance, closing_balance, bank_rec and discrepancy: Reconciliation Report is a scanned image with no text layer — flagged and skipped, not OCR'd; ⚠ identity not checked — bank_rec and discrepancy missing; ⚠ chain not checked — opening_balance missing | llm+scrape | ||||
| 2026-06 | 18587.45 | 18012.00 | 18012.00 | 18012.00 | 2026-07-02 | 0.00 | ⚠ chain not checked — 2026-05 closing_balance missing | llm+scrape |
Sunnyside Realty - rent - receipt sample.csv
First ten rows of fifty-five. The header lines are part of the file.
# Sunnyside Realty - rent - receipt sample traced to bank statement # This test verifies that recorded receipts were banked; it does not test whether all funds received were recorded. # Completeness (026) is tested separately below, month by month, by comparing every bank credit against the cash book's own receipts total. It closes the gross case only: teeming and lading, where receipts are recorded late against a later tenant's payment, still ties and is not caught by anything in this file. # ⚠ Coverage: 11 of 12 rent months sampled. 2025-10 not tested - the Cash Book Report in the folder covers a different period than the month it was filed under, so its receipts are not this month's population # Match parameters: bank date within +/-3 days of the receipt's own date; name overlap at or above 50%. The anchor is the receipt date, not Date Processed. # Result: 46 matched, 9 for review (a bank line at the right amount and date that the narration could not confirm by name), 0 with no bank credit at all, of 55 tested. # 2025-07: 5 of 412 EFT receipts / population $318,420.15 / frame reconciled to the Cash Book and Reconciliation Report totals # 2025-08: 5 of 398 EFT receipts / population $301,884.60 / frame reconciled to the Cash Book and Reconciliation Report totals
| receipt no | date of receipt | bank date | amount | banking total | received from | bank narration | verified to banking summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100227 | 2025-07-03 | 2025-07-03 | 620.00 | 620.00 | J CITIZEN | TRANSFER FROM J CITIZEN 12 SAMPLE ST | OK 2025-07-03 $620.00 TRANSFER FROM J CITIZEN 12 SAMPLE ST |
| 100288 | 2025-07-09 | 2025-07-10 | 1450.00 | 1450.00 | A & B EXAMPLE | DIRECT CREDIT EXAMPLE A RENT 4/8 DEMO RD | OK 2025-07-10 $1,450.00 DIRECT CREDIT EXAMPLE A RENT 4/8 DEMO RD |
| 100341 | 2025-07-16 | 780.00 | M SAMPLE | ⚠ 2 candidates at $780.00 within +/-3 days pass the name test - not uniquely identified | |||
| 100402 | 2025-07-23 | 2025-07-23 | 2180.00 | 2180.00 | SPECIMEN HOLDINGS PTY LTD | BPAY SPECIMEN HOLDINGS 55 PLACEHOLDER AVE | OK 2025-07-23 $2,180.00 BPAY SPECIMEN HOLDINGS 55 PLACEHOLDER AVE |
| 100455 | 2025-07-30 | 2025-07-31 | 990.00 | 990.00 | R EXAMPLE | OSKO R EXAMPLE UNIT 3 SAMPLE CT | OK 2025-07-31 $990.00 OSKO R EXAMPLE UNIT 3 SAMPLE CT |
| 100512 | 2025-08-04 | 2025-08-04 | 1120.00 | 1120.00 | K SAMPLE | TRANSFER FROM K SAMPLE 9 DEMO PL | OK 2025-08-04 $1,120.00 TRANSFER FROM K SAMPLE 9 DEMO PL |
| 100560 | 2025-08-11 | 2025-08-12 | 560.00 | 560.00 | T & L EXAMPLE | DIRECT CREDIT EXAMPLE T 2/14 SPECIMEN ST | OK 2025-08-12 $560.00 DIRECT CREDIT EXAMPLE T 2/14 SPECIMEN ST |
| 100617 | 2025-08-18 | 2025-08-18 | 1300.00 | 1300.00 | PLACEHOLDER CONVEYANCING | PLACEHOLDER CONVEYANCING TRUST | ⚠ 1 candidate(s) at $1,300.00 within +/-3 days - name below threshold (best 33%) |
| 100673 | 2025-08-25 | 2025-08-25 | 840.00 | 840.00 | D CITIZEN | OSKO D CITIZEN 7 SAMPLE CRES | OK 2025-08-25 $840.00 OSKO D CITIZEN 7 SAMPLE CRES |
| 100738 | 2025-08-29 | 2025-09-01 | 1675.00 | 1675.00 | EXAMPLE FAMILY TRUST | BPAY EXAMPLE FAMILY TRUST 21 DEMO ST | OK 2025-09-01 $1,675.00 BPAY EXAMPLE FAMILY TRUST 21 DEMO ST |
Sunnyside Realty - rent - receipt sample - review queue.csv
The whole file, ten rows. Only what needs a human.
# REVIEW QUEUE - only rows needing a check (NOT TESTED + amber). 9 amber + 1 not-tested. The 46 OK rows are in the full working paper, not here.
| receipt no | date of receipt | bank date | amount | banking total | received from | bank narration | verified to banking summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 2025-10 | ⚠ NOT TESTED - the Cash Book Report in the folder covers a different period than the month it was filed under, so its receipts are not this month's population | |||||
| 100341 | 2025-07-16 | 780.00 | M SAMPLE | ⚠ 2 candidates at $780.00 within +/-3 days pass the name test - not uniquely identified | |||
| 100617 | 2025-08-18 | 2025-08-18 | 1300.00 | 1300.00 | PLACEHOLDER CONVEYANCING | PLACEHOLDER CONVEYANCING TRUST | ⚠ 1 candidate(s) at $1,300.00 within +/-3 days - name below threshold (best 33%) |
| 100845 | 2025-09-10 | 2025-09-10 | 505.00 | 505.00 | P SPECIMEN | DIRECT CREDIT P S 6 EXAMPLE WAY | ⚠ 1 candidate(s) at $505.00 within +/-3 days - name below threshold (best 25%) |
| 101288 | 2025-11-06 | 1180.00 | S & N SAMPLE | ⚠ 2 candidates at $1,180.00 within +/-3 days pass the name test - not uniquely identified | |||
| 101637 | 2025-12-17 | 2025-12-18 | 2450.00 | 2450.00 | DEMO PROPERTY GROUP PTY LTD | BPAY D P GROUP 44 SPECIMEN PDE | ⚠ 1 candidate(s) at $2,450.00 within +/-3 days - name below threshold (best 20%) |
| 101958 | 2026-02-12 | 1450.00 | A & B EXAMPLE | ⚠ 2 candidates at $1,450.00 within +/-3 days pass the name test - not uniquely identified | |||
| 102087 | 2026-03-05 | 2026-03-06 | 690.00 | 690.00 | W CITIZEN | OSKO W C UNIT 11 DEMO ST | ⚠ 1 candidate(s) at $690.00 within +/-3 days - name below threshold (best 40%) |
| 102310 | 2026-04-22 | 875.00 | EXAMPLE NOMINEES PTY LTD | ⚠ 3 candidates at $875.00 within +/-3 days pass the name test - not uniquely identified | |||
| 102566 | 2026-06-09 | 2026-06-09 | 1560.00 | 1560.00 | H DEMO | TRANSFER FROM H DEMO 18 PLACEHOLDER ST | ⚠ 1 candidate(s) at $1,560.00 within +/-3 days - name below threshold (best 29%) |
Where the line is
You are the auditor. Mushin is a supplier.
Your firm
- Hold the appointment and sign the report.
- Form the opinion. Every judgement in the audit is yours.
- Decide every amber. We surface it with the evidence; we never resolve it.
- Keep the working papers. Every row you edit is frozen against re-runs.
Mushin
- Read the balance figures twice and reconcile the two reads.
- Draw a reproducible receipt sample and trace it to the bank statement.
- Check the accounting identities and the period on every document.
- Deliver working papers as CSV, with provenance on every figure.
How the checks work, what leaves Australia and what does not, and how long we keep your files: How it works.
Proof
Built for a Sydney firm's real estate trust audits, then made repeatable.
- Before
- ~4 hrs
- of checking per audit, by a senior
- After
- ~10 min
- unattended, then review the queue
- On a live audit
- Twenty-four monthly reconciliations. Every cash book tied to the platform's own printed total. Receipts traced to the bank statement with none missing a bank credit. The months the tool could not test were named as not tested rather than left out.
Price
The price, published.
$250
per trust account, per audit year.
An agency with a rent account and a sale account is two trust accounts. There is no setup fee, no subscription, and no charge for a re-run on the same engagement.
Larger audit books pay less per trust account. Tell us how many you do a year and your rate is confirmed in writing before anything starts.
Trust audits are usually fixed-fee. Four hours of a senior is close to break-even before the job starts. Run the numbers for your audit book — it is the next section down.
First audit free
One trust account, one audit year, no charge.
Taking 5 firms this October. The cap is real: each first audit is checked by hand against the firm's own working papers before anything else is taken on.
Start with one auditIncluded
- Twelve months of balance figures, double-read, with the two identity checks on every row
- A reproducible receipt sample traced to the bank statement, with the denominator per month
- The review queue: only the rows that need your judgement
- Three CSV files per trust account, delivered through a per-audit secure upload link
- A confidentiality agreement before the first upload, if your firm wants one
Audit-book calculator
How many trust account audits do you do a year?
Your audit book
- Hours returned per year
- 140
- 3.5 of 4 hours per audit, across 40 audits. 20 hours a year stay with you for review.
- Charge-out capacity recovered
- $28,000
- Returned hours only, at $200 an hour. The review hours are never counted.
- Mushin cost
- $10,000
- 40 × $250 per trust account per audit year, at list price. Larger audit books pay less per trust account.
- Net position
- $18,000
- Mushin costs 36% of the capacity it returns, after review.
The margin, not the hours
Trust audits are usually fixed-fee, so the checking is a cost you carry before the job starts. At 4 hours of a senior at $200 an hour that is $800 an audit, which on most trust audit fees is close to break-even. Afterwards the same audit costs $350 — $250 of Mushin plus the 30 minutes of review you keep. That gap is what changes the margin on every audit in the book, and the hours come back in the quarter you need them most.
Your 40 audits a year carry through to the start form.
Open the calculator on its own page if you want to send it to a partner.
Start with one audit
Tell us about the firm. A secure upload link follows within one business day.
- What happens next
- You receive a per-audit secure upload link. One trust account and one audit year go through it: the agent's monthly reconciliation, trial balance and cash book reports, and the bank statements. The three CSVs come back through the same link.
- Prefer email?
- info@mushin.com.au
Mushin also builds websites for accounting firms, and Vigil, a review of offshore bookkeeping in Xero.
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