Lynda ArtesaniLegal Accountant and Data Migration Specialist at The Proper Trust

The Shocking Truth About “Eat What You Kill” Spreadsheets #legalaccounting #lawfirms

3 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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0:40

In this brief discussion, the speakers expose common flaws in law‑firm bookkeeping when using the “eat what you kill” compensation model. They explain that firms often rely on ad‑hoc spreadsheets that are not linked to the official accounting system or practice‑management software (e.g., Clio). These spreadsheets contain incorrect or broken formulas, leading to payouts that do not match the books. When discrepancies are discovered, retroactive corrections must be made, which is where the speaker’s consulting value lies. Additionally, firms may implement new compensation programs without updating the underlying spreadsheets, perpetuating the misalignment.

Chapters

So if you're a bookkeeper listening, you ask about what type they use and then they'll say, oh, I just use the basic eat what you kill model. And then you say, can I see that spreadsheet or however you're calculating it? Yes. And if you get that, it's eye-opening because a lot of times it does not tie back to the books at all. So where are they getting their numbers from? Or it's not tying to Clio. And then when you look into the actual spreadsheet, you'll see that some of the formulas are wrong or broken. So it needs to be corrected. We have to make corrections on money that was already paid out. Because it doesn't align with the books and it should align with the books. And that's where our value goes up.
They'll launch that program and have it in place and then they'll make a change, but they won't change the spreadsheet.