Smokeball Bill makes it easy to manage funds in Trust and Operating Retainer Accounts. Smokeball Bill offers the ability to utilize Trust accounting, where a client's funds are deposited into the firm's Trust account until the fee is earned, and Operating Retainer accounting, where a client's funds are deposited into the firm's operating account and not held separately.
This article will walk through the various ways to make deposits into Trust and Operating Retainer.
How to Make a Deposit to a Trust Account or Operating Retainer
- The best practice is to deposit funds from a matter.
- From the transactions tab, select Trust or Operating Retainer tab, and select Deposit funds.
- From the transactions tab, select Trust or Operating Retainer tab, and select Deposit funds.
- Whether you are depositing into a Trust or Operating Retainer, work through the
- (1) Date: Date will default to the current date
- (2) Account: The account will default to trust if selecting from the trust tab or operating retainer if selecting from the operating retainer tab
- (3) Matter: If you are depositing funds from within a matter, this field will default to that matter
- (4) Contact: This will default to the debtor on the matter if depositing funds from that matter
- If changing the contact, select the 'x' to remove the contact. If choosing an existing contact, type the contact's name and select from the drop-down. If you have a new contact, select '+' and add the contact.
- (5) Enter the Amount and Type
- (6) Process to complete the transaction
- Note: There is an option to print a PDF receipt of the deposit. Learn more about Trust Deposit and Payment Receipts.
- You can add a trust deposit from the Quick Add button as well. This will not auto-populate the matter and contact.
- The Trust and Operating Retainer Accounts for all Matters can be managed in the Accounts View on the left side of Smokeball Bill.
Did You Know
- You can protect funds in a client's trust account to ensure money earmarked for a specific purpose does not get applied to invoices.
- Learn more about Protected Trust Funds.
- Smokeball Bill can accept credit card deposits using Smokeball Payments or LawPay. In addition, you can use the Smokeball Payments or LawPay integration to request a credit card deposit directly into the matter.