Even if your fees are earned on a contingent basis, as opposed to an hourly basis, Smokeball will still play a crucial role in your practice. Smokeball can be used to send out invoices for firm costs (expenses), as well as to print checks for disbursement of settlement funds. In addition, invoicing for your portion of the settlement will allow you to generate accurate Profitability Reports.
How to Handle Settlement Disbursement
You can easily track the settlements received and disburse the funds right from Smokeball. Follow these steps:
- Deposit funds into the matter's trust account in Smokeball. Review how to deposit funds into a trust account for more information.
- Once funds are available, you can then cut checks to your client, medical providers, and lien holders. See here for more information on Trust Payments and Check Printing.
- When you are ready to take your portion of a settlement, it is important to make an invoice for any remaining advanced costs (expenses) and your portion of the settlement. The invoice is for internal use only. It will mark expenses as paid and the income data will let Smokeball create meaningful Profitability Reports for your firm. See below for a sample invoice.
Set up Hourly Billing
If your bill hourly, you can choose this billing type in Smokeball by going to the billing tab in the Info section of the matter:
You can also access this setting in the web app by selecting the Edit Matter button:
Did You Know
Smokeball also supports LEDES billing. Learn more about LEDES billing in Smokeball.