Learn how to enable interest for specific matters and display interest amounts to client invoices in Smokeball.
Set the interest rate and grace period
Interest settings are enabled on a per-matter basis. To set this up:
- Open a matter in the Smokeball Web App, then select Edit Matter.
- Select Late Payment on the left menu.
- Select the % p.a. field and enter an interest rate per annum amount.
- Select if you wish to provide a grace period, and if so, enter the number of days.
- If you have entered a grace period, select whether you want interest to calculate from the invoice due date or from right after the grace period.
- If you have entered a grace period, select whether you want interest to calculate from the invoice due date or from right after the grace period.
After enabling interest on the matter, you can choose to apply interest to past-due balances. The following prompt will only appear if there are Overdue invoices on the matter.
Important Note
Once interest is applied to an invoice, it cannot be removed.
Displaying Interest on Invoices
- Select the Settings icon in the Smokeball Web App, then select Firm Settings.
- Navigate to Invoice Settings, then to the PDF Invoices tab.
- Scroll down to find the Interest section, then select Custom Text and enter the heading of your choice.
On the invoice, interest is shown as a separate sub-total on both the current invoice and the prior balances section:
These lines only show up if interest has been enabled on the matter.
How interest is calculated
Recurring interest will be based on the current unpaid amount on the invoice (excluding previous interest added on the invoice).
The interest is excluded from balances throughout Smokeball unless otherwise stated. This also applies to reports.