A
disbursement is an expense incurred by
the practice that is on-charged to the
client in relation to the
file to which it pertains.
In
ContactsLaw, disbursements can be recorded in two different ways:
- Disbursement payment - for recording 'cash' disbursements where the expense is incurred and paid simultaneously.
- Disbursement journal - for recording non-cash disbursements where incurring the expense is separate from paying for it; this may be due to credit terms, a running balance arrangement or where a lump sum expense is divided into smaller disbursements.
Disbursements form an important component of the
billing features in ContactsLaw. If never billed, they can be
written off.
Line items
A disbursement transaction may include multiple line items with different file numbers. You can bill line items separately and, if two or more line items relate to the same file, any items you do not include in the current bill will be available in subsequent bills. When recording a
debtor receipt or
trust transfer, you can allocate funds to individual line items.
Cancelling or writing off a disbursement transaction inherently affects all line items; these cannot be manipulated individually.
See also