Learn how to set up specific users to approve trust payments in Smokeball. This feature is beneficial for firms that have an approval workflow in place, for example having a supervisor or bookkeeper review trust payments before they’re finalised.
Set up trust payment requests
Before you begin: Only users with Firm Owner permissions can set up trust payment requests.
- Select the cog wheel icon on the bottom-left corner of Smokeball, then select Firm Settings.
- Select Staff & Users and then select the Approvers tab.
- Toggle Activate Approvals for Trust Account Payment Requests on.
You can also toggle on Enable Notifications in the Native App. Notifications are sent via the Notification Centre of the Native (Desktop) App under the following situations:- You are an approver and a new trust payment has been sent to you for approval.
- You sent a new trust payment for approval and it has been sent back to you by the approver.
- Use the checkboxes in the Approver column of the table to designate who can approve trust payment requests.
- You can also use the drop-down menu to select a default approver. If you opt for a default approver, all trust payment requests will go to that user, however this can be overwritten on each request.
Notes:
- If a Firm Owner user is not selected as an approver, they will not be able to approve trust payment requests. However, they have the option to bypass the approval process entirely.
Make a trust payment request
To create a trust payment request for approval:
- Navigate to the Transactions tab on a matter in the Smokeball Web App.
- Select the relevant trust account, if there are multiple.
- Select the Request Payment button (formerly the Trust Payment button).
- Any Firm Owner user has the option to bypass the request process by selecting Bypass Approvals.
- Any Firm Owner user has the option to bypass the request process by selecting Bypass Approvals.
- The Request Trust Payment window will appear. Enter the details of the payment.
- Under the Approver section, use the drop-down menu to choose up to 10 approvers. Requests are sent to approvers in the displayed order on the Request Trust Payment window.
- You can rearrange this order by hovering over the name of an approver and dragging it up or down the list.
- You can rearrange this order by hovering over the name of an approver and dragging it up or down the list.
- Select Submit. Submitting a trust payment request will automatically protect the funds.
A note on Trust payment requests and overdrawn trust balances
If you are submitting a trust payment request on a matter that will be overdrawn upon submitting the request, the following logic applies in Smokeball:
- Protect the funds where the whole amount can be protected; otherwise, create the payment request without protected funds.
- Upon approval of the request:
- If there are no protected funds, the overdrawn funds warning will appear, however the payment can still go through.
- If there are protected funds, allow the payment to go through if enough funds are available. If not, the overdrawn funds warning will appear and approval will be blocked.
The balance available figure is based on the date of the final approval and when processing of payment occurs (Date Processed).
Review and approve a trust payment request
As an approver, any incoming trust payment requests will appear in the following areas of Smokeball:
- Desktop App Notification Centre
- Web App Accounts Section
The Pending Payments screen in the Web App shows a list of all trust payment requests. Select Review on the right-hand side of the request to review it.
On the Review screen, there are a few actions you can take:
- Enter the Date Processed.
- If the request needs to be amended, select Edit and make changes. All edits require you to enter notes under the Requester Note section.
- Enter an Approver Note.
- Select Save to approve or reject the request later.
- Select Approve & Process to release the protected funds and process payment. If there's another approver listed on the request, the request will go to the next approver instead.
- Select Reject & Delete to delete the payment request and unprotect the funds.
- Select Reject & Return to Requester to send it back for further editing. Funds remain protected and pending.
View trust payment requests
To view a list of trust payment requests across all matters, or assigned to you, navigate to the Accounts section of the Smokeball Web App and select Pending Payments from the left menu.
When you open the Pending Payments screen for the first time, the filter is set to show payment requests that have been sent to you for approval or where you're the next approver in the approval chain.
To change your default view to instead show all payment requests across all matters and approvers, navigate to the Show section on the left menu and click All. To show payment requests you have created, click on Created by me.
Frequently Asked Questions
One or more of our approvers are away. How can we approve the payment?
In situations where one or more approvers cannot approve the payment, approvers that are Firm Owners can bypass the approval process. They can also process the payment immediately at that point.
To do this:
- Navigate to the Pending Payments page and select the All filter to view all payments for approval.
- Select Review next to the payment you wish to approve.
- Select the Process payment immediately (skip additional approvers) checkbox.
- Select Save to save without processing, or Approve & Process.