Table of Contents

Introduction

Client Setup

Addr-Phone Tab

Preferences, additional screen

Misc Info

Preferences

Open case prefs

Remit/Pay/Cost prefs

Paycard

Consumer’s Pay card detail

View Acct (trans table)

Cost

Case Trust (btrucase)

Pay card menu

Bookkeeping Menu

Ledgers (btrust)

Remittance/Billings

Types of Remittance Processes

Processing Remittances

Disbursements

Print Check Menu

Special Handling

Viewing Prior Remittances

Undoing Remittances

Before Fee Transfer

After Fee Transfer

Remit Print check menu (Comm)

Reprint Checks

Introduction

Remitting is the process of generating Retail and Commercial remit statements, billing invoices, and checks. There are various settings that affect remittances and screens/processes to be used for the processing of remittances. Those settings and screens/processes are covered below.

Client Setup

Client settings that affect remittances and billings are in the Client Setup. From the main menu click [Work Case] then [Clients]. Once in the Client menu screen, click [Client list]. Each Client has separate settings. The settings and reports can be located on various tabs of the Client Setup: Addr-Phone, Preferences, additional, Misc info, Preferences, Open case prefs and Remit/Pay/Cost prefs.

Addr-Phone Tab

Basic Client contact and access to the additional preferences are located on the screen shown above.

1. Custid – Client’s custid. Can be up to six characters long when creating. (It is best to not use any special characters within the custid).
2. Client address block – This is the main client contact name and address. Remits, Invoices, Statements, and Checks will be addressed to this address block unless Misc Info tab or Pay/Cost/Remit prefs tab have the address blocks populated.
3. Preferences, additional – Available only in Q-LawE. The screen will contain additional settings related to the Client Remits.

Preferences, additional screen

There are a few financial settings that affect the Remits on the Financial, Holds tab.

1. Hold writing cost checks paid by Client – On-demand court cost checks written in the work screen and Cost batch court cost checks written in the bookkeeping menu that is billed to the client on remittance statements will be blocked by a message: “This client has put a hold on writing client cost checks”.
2. Remittance, this client uses EFT not checks – This is not yet implemented. It is still in development.
3. Do not allow option to Never Remit Reversals – When a reversal of a cost or payment transaction is done in the work screen and this setting is checked, the option to “Never remit” is not available and the reversal transaction will be included in the client remittance.
4. Do not allow default PayApp order change at posting – When a payment is posted using on-demand posting in the work screen, the option to change the payment application order (PayApp) is not available to the poster.
5. Ledes billing – selected format – Hourly billing clients who use the LEDES billing format. The required formats supported are BASE, GEFORMAT and SERENGATI. This selection is implemented when the user in the work screen billing tab selects to prepare the LEDES billing data file.
6. Ledes billing – Servicer ID – Hourly billing clients who use the LEDES billing format require an ID. This selection is implemented when the user in the work screen billing tab selects to prepare the LEDES billing data file.
7. Hourly billing statement due days – The hourly billing statement invoice due date for payment may be changed to a desired number of days. The due date is reflected by adding the number of days indicated here from the date the invoice is created and appears on the statement.
8. Timekeeper rates – Edit/add customized hourly billing rates by timekeeper classification (SP = Senior partner; PT = Partner; AS = Associate; OC = Outside counsel; LA = Legal Assistant; OT = Other)
9. Task billing rates – This button enables you to review or add new task billing options.
10. Add new Task billing – Part of the process of adding and editing task billing options in workflow automation. Along with the following:
    1. Task code – [Select task] choose a task code from the list.
    2. Bill Type – From the dropdown, select either Hourly or Remit.
11. Court cost spend budget – This section is designed to setup and maintain customized client cost spending. If the Court cost remaining is 0.00, the system will not allow the cost check to be posted.

Misc Info

This tab contains settings for information to be displayed on hourly billing statements or lien letters, EDI settings needed for the Client setup, and special trust account handling.

1. Client address block – If this address block is populated, all Hourly Billing and Lien Letters will be addressed to this block rather than the address block in the Addr-Phone tab.

2. Special Trust Account Handling:

• Trust account code – When a client requires a separate trust account, add the code for the bank account here. Bank accounts must be set up first in Bookkeeping. All additional trust account codes must start with T-.
• Cost trust account code – If a client requires a separate trust account for costs, it is assigned here. All additional cost account codes must start with CT- and again must be set up in the Bank Account function.

3. EDI/DTP Interface Client Setup:

• Fair Isaac Partner.net – Client ID assigned – client’s ID is entered.
• YouveGotClaims.com – Client ID assigned – the firm’s client’s YGC code is entered.
• Custom EDI System Code – Select the Custom EDI from the dropdown.
• Custom EDI client code – Enter the code assigned to the firm’s client.
• Custom EDI Firm code – Enter the code that was given to the firm.
• Forwarder list – If there is a default forwarder for the firm, add it here and it will be added when opening new files. This is a System Code “FL” and this list can be customized.
• YGC Load creditor as Current/Original – Enter C for Current creditor or O for Original creditor. If left blank, current creditor will be the default.
• YGC load current creditor from YGC data field – Populate the Current Creditor field (debt.creditor) with the Current Creditor (C), Original Creditor (O), or Plaintiff (P) from the YGC data. Leave this field blank if the firm does not want to change the field.
• Import fee rate from EDI file – don’t use open case prefs – Check this box to import new files with the fee rate from the EDI file. Leave blank to use the case prefs fee rate.
• NonEDI status – Clicking [Status] allows the user to edit the list of status codes for the client. Click [Load Status] to navigate to the location of the CSV file of the list of status codes to import; click [Matrix] to edit the matrix linking Q-LawE codes for a NonEDI system.

Preferences

The Preferences tab provides additional client-specific options.

1. Reports Requested – By placing an M in this box; the Status, Acknowledgement, and Close reports will process for this client. S, A, or C can also be used separately.

• Report Set button – Used to assign a custom created report set to be used in monthly batch processing for the client.

2. Report formats for this client – These fields would be populated only if custom formats were created for the client. It is custom programming, and the new formats would be set here.

3. Task complete options – This section deals with tasks, specifically Task Complete Options. These tasks are related to accounting functions that must be activated within the client for them to work when the task is executed on a file. When set, each item can be added to the billings for a file or added to the paycard balance.

4. Create PDF file for reports and email to client – You can have a PDF document of the listed reports emailed to your clients via [Report Distribution] located in the Reports query screen. Enter the email address for the client and a password if the reports are to be password protected. Then check the reports to be sent to the client, specifically Remittance statement and fee/cost bills. More than one email can be entered, but they must be comma-separated.

Open case prefs

These are the preferences to be chosen at the time a file is opened under the client. Changes made in this screen will affect only future opened files; changes made here are not retroactive.

1. Attorney1/Timekeeper – You can choose a primary attorney to be assigned to cases for the client as well as a secondary attorney (Atty2) and a third attorney (Atty3) assigned.
2. Standard fee code – If your firm has a standard contingency fee rate with the client, that percentage can be entered in this field.
3. Contingent suit fee % – If your firm receives an additional fee rate once suit has been filed, that percentage is entered here and firm fees on payments will include the additional rate once the dlegal.suitdate data field is populated.
4. Free demand period, do not work for days – If the client requires a free demand period, enter the number of days for free demand. For example, enter 10 in the box for no fee to be charged on payments received from 1 to 10 days after the placement date.
5. Bill Client as TRX 08 – To bill a flat fee (not hourly or contingent) complete the description and amount. then the system will automatically bill a TRX 8 every time a file is opened under this custid.
6. Bill amount – Enter the flat fee amount to be billed when a file is opened for client.
7. Hourly billing rate Set – Hourly billing rates for the timekeepers can be assigned at the client level. This allows for unique billing rates to be set per user on a client-by-client basis.
8. Hourly billing statement type – Allows for different billing format options.

Remit/Pay/Cost prefs

The Remit/Pay/Cost prefs tab is where the user will set the client remittance settings. A few of the options on this screen will have been set at a firm level but can be changed per client in this tab of the Client screen.

Note: Client settings will override firm settings.

1. Remittance options – Client remit settings.

• Retail or Commercial setting – Is the client a Retail client or a Commercial client? Enter R for retail or C for commercial. The difference between the two is retail is batch or group remitted; one check will be created for all client remits. A Commercial client is single remitting. It is going to create one check either per item, per file.
• Net or Gross remit statement – Is the client net or gross remit? Enter N for net or G for gross. Net will net out your fees and remit the remainder to the client. Gross will remit the entire collection amount and then bill the client for your fees.
• Bill court cost (17) on separate statement – Enter Y to bill expended costs on a separate statement. This is required for Commercial and Gross Retail remit clients. Leave this field blank if you can net all costs spent in the remit period from all collections. (It is not required to be the same file.)
• Write check for court cost – Enter a Y if the client is set to bill reversals on a separate statement; when set to Y, a check will be issued from the designated cost account to refund the cost amount in the remit process. If the field is left blank, a check will not be cut, and the reversal needs to be manually dealt with when set to bill reversals on a separate statement.
• Bill Misc fee #08 on separate statement – Enter a Y to bill miscellaneous fees and costs on a separate statement. This is required for Commercial and Gross Retail. If left blank, you can net all manual fees and costs in the remit period from all collections (not required to be the same files).
• Bill direct pays (02) on separate statement – This applies to payments that were sent directly to the client. Enter a Y if you can bill for your fees on payments made directly to the client on a separate statement. This is required for Commercial and Gross Retail remit clients. Leave blank if you can net all fees on the payments paid to client in the remit period from all collections (this is not required to be the same files).
• Bill NSF & reversals on separate statement – Y – Bill NSF and Reversals on a separate statement. Required for Commercial Remittance. You can net all reversals and NSF from the appropriate portion of the remit.
• Comm [Commercial] bill format – Set the choice for the format type when set to Commercial.
• Hold net remit – If an amount is entered, the remittance will not finalize if the net remit check is less than the amount entered; it will remain on hold until the amount is surpassed. Leave as 0 for normal remit and billing.
• Hold funds for checks – On payment types of CHECK or starting with CHECK if a specific number of days is entered here, the payments will not remit until after the number of days has passed. There are several ways this can be set. This is the client setting. There is also a firm default, DBRPAYHOLD. This will hold all payment types the number of days set in the Value field. The firm preference PAYMNTHOLD utilizes System Code “PT.” For each payment type, add number of days to hold in the Group column. Leave blank for no hold days. This can also be changed on the file as you are posting the payment. The client setting will override the firm setting. If the setting is changed at the file level, it will override both the client and firm preference.
• Put a Hold on remittance and bills – If Y, the client will not complete the remit process in any way until released.
• Default remit process – You can define groups of clients that are remitted on the same day. This setting assists in the remit process to easily segment a group of clients to remit. The dropdown is populated by entering it in on the first client.
• Remit as Master Client – You can define a group of client codes that are separate for statistical purposes but that can all be remitted with one check and invoiced in one invoice. The dropdown is populated by entering it in on the first client. The earliest code must be for the Master Client. If unsure, sort the codes in Excel, and the top code is the earliest or lowest code that must be used. All remit settings and bank accounts must be the same.
• When remitting funds use pay type – This is a work in progress feature and should be left blank for now; eventually it will record client preferences for remittance via check, ACH, or EFT.

2. Name, address to appear on Remits and Invoices – ***The Remittance side (left) and the Invoice side (right) work together. If you are entering a name and address into fields for either side, a name and address must also be populated in the fields on the other side, even if it is the same as the main tab.***If an address is entered in the “Remittance Stmt, checks” fields, it will direct the remits and checks (and invoice for fees if gross) to an address other than the Main contact address for the client. If an address is entered in the “Remit bills” fields, it will direct all invoices to this address. If entering an address for bills, the address for remit must be completed even if it is the same as the main address.

3. When posting payments apply this order – Allows for setting a default-specific payment application order when payments are applied for this client. This is for the consumer paycard only. It does not affect refunding costs out of first or last collections. Default Payment application orders can be a firm-wide default or a client default (overrides firm).Application order can be changed at the case level when posting. There are also defaults that can be set post judgment by state in the State rules, and a firm preference, JPAYAPPLY, for firm-wide different application on judgment files.

4. When rec payments use paycodes – This allows an assignment of payment codes to be sent if a client requires unique codes (usually an EDI).

5. Client cost options:

• Refund costs out of First/Last collection – This has to do with client cost options. If you want Refunding of costs from first collections, enter F. Enter L to have cost refunded from the last collections. No fees will be taken on cost incurred. Leave this field blank if the client allows fees to be charged on all collections and no refunding.
• When disburse costs use costcodes – Allows for an assignment of Cost Codes to be set up and sent if a client requires unique codes for EDIs.
• Bill Client or Firm when disbursing cost checks – Are you going to be billing your client for any cost? If yes, leave this field blank or enter C if firm costs are collectable from the client. If your client does not advance or allow billing on cost but does allow the firm to recover the cost from first collections, enter F here for firm cost.

6. Hourly billing options – Hold batch hourly billing – If Y is entered, the client will not process in the Hourly Batch billing until released.

7. Report formats for this client:

• Remittance format type – This pertains to the balance shown on the remittance statement. Enter P or leave blank to include only the principal balance of the file or enter I to show the total balance of the file after payment.
• Remittance statement (fees) – This allows your firm to assign customized layouts for this client.
• Remit Billing – This allows your firm to assign customized layouts for this client.

8. Split fee sharing on consumer payments – This allows different fees to be charged on each bucket and customized by status of the file. If any field is completed in split fee sharing, then all must be completed. Otherwise, the fee will only be taken on the one instance entered. Split fee sharing will also require judgments to be posted as split.

Paycard

The paycard on an account contains and tracks the consumer balance information and Client cost information. Details about all financial transactions associated to the ourfile are shown in detail in this Case Work screen.

To access the paycard, enter the ourfile and click on the “Paycard/Cost–3” tab at the top of the screen.

Consumer’s Pay card detail

This section contains all financial transaction information credited or charged to the consumer’s balance. In this section, you can click an item in the grid. If there is a trans record associated, the information is visible when you click [View acct].

View Acct (trans table)

This screen maintains various details pertaining to the allocation of the transaction, related to remittance/billing.

1. Initial record details – Custid, Ourfile, Trx#, and TrustRecid.
2. Transaction detail (internal use) – inputted/imported transaction details and allocation.
3. Statement – details that affect the remit statements for client/receivers. This includes amount received, cost refunding, fees, and due client/receiver.
4. Client/Receiver Remit status – details on status of the remit. Will also include remit details such as remit date, type, and source.
5. Misc details that include Cost/Firm cost recovery.
6. Other details that include Misc Cost, Bank Acct, Reversal info, EDI, and Invoice details.

Cost

The Cost table is the bottom half of the Paycard/Cost tab and shows information related to any costs or cost advances posted on the file.

Cost advances will increase the balance of the table, and costs posted against those advanced monies decrease the balance. Costs being billed to the client in either a remit or hourly statement or costs the firm is incurring will generate two lines – one decreasing the balance in the amount of the cost and then another reversing line item indicating the account the cost was cut out of (TRF FUNDS FROM GENERAL) as well as how the cost is to be billed, either with the remit (BILL REMIT) or with the hourly statement (BILL HOURLY).

Case Trust (btrucase)

Btrucase contains trust information on a case level but only records transactions where money has either come into or left a bank account, so not every transaction that occurs on a file will have a btrucase record.

1. The Trust Status buckets are a great indicator of any open trust amounts. The Collection bucket increases as payments are received and decreases as remittances and fee transfers are finalized; the Retainer bucket shows the unused retainer amount on the file; and the Clt cost balance bucket shows the amount available in client advanced costs. These three sub buckets should add up to equal the Trust Balance bucket. If it does not, there is a discrepancy that should be researched.
2. The buttons to the right (2) provide additional functions.
   1. View Bank Account Item – opens the btrust record.
   2. View Remittance/Billing Item – opens the trans record (only applicable to remit items).
   3. View Hourly Billing Item – opens the bitem record.
   4. View Accounting Statement – do not use.
   5. Delete Transaction or Void check – this option is used when the transaction should be deleted without a record. This option cannot be used on remitted or billed items.
   6. Reverse – this option should be used when the transaction requires a reversing line item for tracking purposes.
   7. Transfer – opens a What’s New article advising items entered on the wrong ourfile should be reversed and reposted on the correct one.
   8. View all Bank Account Transactions – opens the same grid in a big list that can be exported to an Excel spreadsheet.

Pay card menu

[Pay card menu] Provides additional information regarding the items on the paycard related to remittance items.

1. The grid provides a quick view of each remittance item on the file as well as its remittance status and date, if applicable, and can be filtered to only show non-remitted items. In the upper left corner, the amount open to be remitted is shown. To the right of that shows client remit preferences, such as net or gross, if costs are refunded out of first or last collections or if costs are billed on a separate statement. To the right of those fields are additional functions.
2. Bill client for misc fees/cost – this screen is how misc fees (TRX 08) or costs (TRX 17) can be billed to the client.
3. Remit on this case – this button will bring you to the correct remit screen for the client setup and be filtered to only this ourfile. See Processing Remittances for additional information.
4. Refund client advance – this is only used for State Farm clients.
5. Add #16 EDI Adjustment – creates a TRX 16 adjustment for the chosen bucket; this is only used for specific EDIs.
6. Print remit history – generates a remittance statement of all remitted transactions on the file. Note: The remit layout may not match the original remit layout.
7. Add history pmts to paycard – used to add transactions that occurred prior to the file being opened in Q-LawE.

Bookkeeping Menu

Then Bookkeeping menu is where you will manage your ledgers, perform Remittance/Billing, use EDI and Payment auto post processes, run and view various bookkeeping reports, pay invoice, print checks, and use auto post of costs processes and other tools to manage bookkeeping.

Ledgers (btrust)

Btrust contains all bank account information (deposits, withdrawals, and balances). This table is viewed by clicking on either Trust or General on the Bookkeeping Menu. By default, the screen will open filtered to transactions in the chosen bank account, Trust or General, based on the button chosen, but any bank account can be accessed from the dropdown in the upper left corner.

1. The grid provides a list of every transaction in this account and can be searched on a variety of fields using the Find dropdown and input field. Click [Go] to move to the first record in the list and [Next] to cycle through the subsequent records.

After selecting an item from the grid, you can click [Edit] in the upper right corner to edit that item. Note: There are a limited number of items that can be edited here.

A. [Edit] at the bottom of this screen can be used to make edits to the record, but it is important to note these changes will only affect the btrust record.

Note: Very limited changes should be made here.

B. When items need to be added to the bank account, [Add] should NOT be used; instead, depending on the transaction type, select [Other Receipts] or [Other Adjustment] from the Ledgers Screen.

2. [Other Receipt] is used to record a non-case-related deposit into a bank account.

A. Select the appropriate bank account from the dropdown at the top.

B. Next, enter the rest of the information. The required fields are:

• Date, Amount, Account #, Desc, Pay to Name.
• Account # is the book account associated to the transaction.
• The Your ref# field is an internal reference field which does not appear on the check itself.

C. If the Pay To is a vendor, use [Select Vendor] to auto-populate the fields based on user selection.

D. When ready, click [Calculate]

E. To complete click [Post Item].

3. [Other Adjustment] is used to record non-case-related disbursements from the account. Other than the top menu bar, this screen is the same as the Other Receipt screen.

Remittance/Billings

After costs have been disbursed and consumer payments have been posted, they must be remitted on so the firm, clients, and receivers can receive what is owed to them. This process will generate any checks or invoices needed for the selected clients.

All batch remittances and billings occur in the Bookkeeping Menu under the Remittance/Billing header. The remittance process is always the same, but each remittance type has a specific button to use.

Remittance types are set up in the Client Setup screen on the Remit/Pay/Cost prefs tab, and it is important to understand each setting prior to running remittances.

Types of Remittance Processes

1. Commercial remit by Item – Clients are set up with a C in the first field and an I in the last field. This means that every payment received will generate a separate check, and every cost billed will generate a separate invoice. These are processed under [Comm Remittance statements].

2. New Retail remit statements – Retail remit clients are set up with R in the first field. This means all transactions for the remit period are included in a single invoice/check. These are processed under [NEW Retail remit statements] included in a single invoice/check. These are processed under [NEW Retail remit statements].

3. New Receiver Remit statements – When TRX 03 or 05 payments are received, there is a portion that must be remitted to the receiving attorney assigned to the file. These payments must first be remitted to the client before they can be remitted to the receiver. These are processed under [NEW Receiver Remit statements].

4. Spec commercial remit by file – Commercial remit by File clients are set up with a C in the first field and an F in the last field. This means the remittance checks and invoices are grouped together on the ourfile. These are processed under [Spec commercial remit by file].

Processing Remittances

Once the correct remittance process screen is selected, click on the indicated button to begin processing. The example below is of the Retail Batch screen but, any time a remittance is run, the screens will look the same and the process will remain also remain the same. Note: Master Clients MUST be processed first.

1. The first step is to select the client(s) to process. The system will already know to only pick up active clients that match the remittance type chosen, but users can choose specific clients to process in case a client has a different remittance schedule than the rest or for a one-off remit.

• If processing a remit for all clients, nothing further needs to be done.
• If remitting on one client only, check the [This client will process:] checkbox and then enter the custid in the field to the right. The field may auto-populate with the custid of the most recent ourfile accessed but can be overwritten. When the user tabs out, a prompt will confirm the chosen client. Once a client has been selected, the user can filter to a specific ourfile, if desired.

• If selecting multiple clients, check the [Select clients to process] checkbox and the corresponding button will become active. Now click [Select clients to process] to open a selection grid. The screen will remember the clients marked during the last remittance, so it is good practice to start by selecting [UnCheck all]. Use the search box at the top to locate individual clients by fileas name and mark the box under the Incl column to select them. The [Count #] button will advise the user of the number of clients are currently marked. Click [Show Incl] at any time to filter the grid to only selected clients and [Show all] to return to the normal view.If a firm utilizes remit groups in their client setup, the group name can be chosen from the Group dropdown then [Check Grp] can be clicked to mark the items in the group.When finished, click [Exit] to return to the previous screen; all marked clients will be included in the remittance process.

2. The next step is to select the date range for which to process. In the Transactions dated from ___ to ___ fields, choose the period to remit on. The system will auto generate dates based on the last remit date until today’s date, but these can easily be changed. Client Success recommends backdating remits to ensure all open transactions are always picked up.

3. Before you begin your preview, select Remit processing options. The Remit setting is determined by the remittance screen being used and should never be manually changed. The Bills setting by default picks up all bill types but can be restricted by using the radio buttons.

4. Now you are ready to preview the remittance/billing. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS RUN A PREVIEW BEFORE FINALIZING! The screen will default to the necessary settings for a preview – [Print a preview Remit/Bill summary report] and [Print a preview statement] checkboxes are checked. Users can choose to preview the other items as well. Note: These checkboxes are only used during the preview and cannot be generated when finalizing.

• Incl Client remit holds – will include clients that are on hold in Client Setup.
• Incl future hold date items – will include items that are put on hold until a specific date on View Acct.
• Incl items done – will include items from the chosen period that are already remitted on.
• Create Excel Statement – will generate the remit statement as an Excel spreadsheet instead of a PDF.
• Incl invoice summary + unpaid invoice reprint – will generate a statement of unpaid invoices as well as reprint copies of them.

5. [1 – Start processing now]. The first prompt asks if the user wants to see a remit Excel file using report 216 for items in the remit. Choose [Yes] to view the included items in the remit or [No] to continue. This report can be saved to an Excel spreadsheet if desired, but it is not necessary. Click [Exit] to continue.

• The next grid will group each client together into a separate line. Check the status column for any clients returning “H=NEG-BILL-“. This means the client is in a negative status and will not process. This grid will also include the bank account; the EDI system, if applicable; and the remit settings for each client. Double-click on a line item to see the transactions included in this remit for just that client. Click [Exit] to continue.
• A final prompt will appear noting the number of clients that are ready to process and which clients are on hold due to negative remits. Click [Yes] to continue. The system will generate a PDF preview of the remit statements and invoices. Review all pages and confirm the data reported is correct. The preview is temporarily stored in the .qlawetemp folder called “USERNAME-PREVIEW REMIT-YYYYMMDD” with username and YYYYMMDD being replaced by the username who processed it and the date it was processed, respectively. This file will be overwritten if another remit is previewed on the same day. When finished, close the PDF, and return to Q-Law. There should be a small alert box indicating the time the process finished. Click [OK] to close and return to the Bookkeeping Menu.

6. Finalizing the remittance/billing. If everything in the remit preview looks correct, it is time to finalize. The finalization process will generate the same remit statements and invoices that were just previewed, but this time it will also cut remit checks to the client as well as assign invoices numbers to the invoices.

• The steps to run the finalize remit process is identical to the preview process with only one change. Return to the same remit screen that was just used. The same clients to process, Bills setting, and date range previously selected in the preview process. Next, check [Finalize remittance/billing for period (Print final summary report). Note: The system will automatically uncheck the preview settings and will check the necessary finalize settings.
• There are two additional optional checkboxes that can be selected as well.
  • Print final client invoice summary report – will generate a summary report of all unpaid invoices.
  • Print past invoices detail – will regenerate any unpaid invoices.
• Next, click [1 – Start processing now] to begin. The screens and prompts will match the preview process. When the final prompt indicating the number of clients to process appears, this is the final chance to leave the remit process before it completes. Choose [Yes] to continue. The final remit statements and invoices will be saved in the .docsremit folder under the folder for the year and month it was processed. The system will generate and save a PDF for each client as well as a master PDF of all clients. Back in Q‑Law, a prompt appears to open directly to the remit folder for this period if [Yes] is chosen.
• The statements and invoices should be printed and mailed to the clients. Any checks that were generated will be ready to print in the Print Check Menu and should be sent to the clients with their statements.

7. Fee Transfers – Most payments received on a contingent file are subject to fees owed to the firm at a rate agreed upon with the client. For net clients, these fees are automatically deducted from payments received when they are remitted to the client, while gross clients would receive the full payment along with an invoice for fees owed. When invoicing for fees, the payment from the client is deposited into the firm’s operating account and the invoice is marked as paid. With net clients, the fees are sitting in the client’s trust account and need to be transferred into the operating account. The fee transfer process will generate a check from the trust account(s) to be deposited in the firm’s account.

• To process a fee transfer, the remit must already be finalized.
• Although the remit can be processed from any of the remittance screens, it is recommended to run the fee transfer from the Retail Remit screen.
• The fee transfer should also be processed after any remits because a fee transfer will pick up all non-transferred fees across all remittance types.
• Return to the remit screen with the same remit settings and just like the remit process, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS PREVIEW BEFORE FINALIZING!!
• With fee transfers, it is even more important to run the preview first because once it has been finalized, there is no undoing a fee transfer. And if the fee transfer cannot be undone, the remit cannot be undone.
• To run the preview, check the [Preview fee transfer from trust accounts(s) – Does not finalize or create checks] and set the date range to match the remit period used. Click [1 – Start processing now].
• A PDF preview will generate. The first page shows the total that will transfer out of each bank account. The second page lists out each item included in the fee transfer and indicates the client trust account the fees will be transferred from. If the total amount to transfer from an account is negative, the transfer will not finalize. The only option is to wait until the next time remits are finalized to see if the transfer is now a positive number.
• Close the PDF, return to Q-Law, and click [OK] on the prompt indicting the process completed.
• If everything looked good on the preview, the transfer can be finalized. Return to the remit screen, but this time check [Prepare fee transfer check(s) from trust account(s) – Finalizes and creates checks] and set the date range one last time. Click [1 – Start processing now]. Note once this is selected, there is no backing out.
• The user will receive a prompt asking if an auto deposit line should be created in the GENERAL bank account. This is a firm decision. If the transfer check will be printed and deposited into the general operating account that same day, choose [Yes]. The system will create receipt lines in the GENERAL account ledger for each transfer check with today’s date. If the check will not be deposited until the next day or later, choose [No] but remember the deposit will need to be manually recorded in the operating account using book account FEETRANS. Note: If the GENERAL account in Q-LawE is not the same account that fees will be deposited into in real life, do not choose this option and manually record it in the correct bank account if the account is set up in Q-LawE.
• A PDF will generate that looks almost identical to the preview with a couple changes. The first page will contain the same information, but this time a TRX RecID and check number will be populated for any positive transfers. The second page of the report will only contain the items included in the finalized transfers; any items related to the negative fee transfer will now show. The second page will also have the transfer check number for each item as well as the transfer date populated. This report is saved in the .docsremit folder under the year and month it was processed.
• Close the PDF and return to Q-Law to see an alert that the fee transfer check(s) are now ready to print in the Print Check Menu.
• Notes:
  • A fee transfer can be restricted to a specific client using the same Select clients to process options as the remit, but it is recommended to run it across all clients.
  • A fee transfer by default uses the transaction date of the payment to determine if it fits in the date range. The [Use remit date] checkbox can be checked to use the date the remit was processed instead. It gives the user a bit more control over what fees get transferred, not just by transaction date.

8. Run Cost recovery/Run Firm Cost recovery – If firms charge firm costs on a file, it means the cost is paid by the firm and only recoverable when the consumer makes a payment. When a payment is posted, a blue screen appears where the user can choose how much of the payment should go to firm cost recovery; it is normally the full amount of the payment until the cost is paid off, but it does not have to be. The amount allocated to firm cost recovery is deducted from the payment prior to fee being calculated on it, and the client will not see that portion on their remit. The money received in firm costs recovered will remain in the client’s trust account until the Firm Cost Recovery process is run.

• To begin, click [NEW Retail remit statements]; all firm cost recoveries are run from this screen. Like the fee transfer, only remitted items are eligible for the firm cost recovery process.
• Click [Firm Cost Recovery].
• There is a prompt asking if the user wants to see a history of firm cost recoveries from the last 12 months. This is a user choice. If [Yes] is chosen, a grid will appear that can be reviewed. Click [Exit] to continue the recovery process. If [No] is chosen, it will move to the next grid which lists out each bank account with a firm cost to be recovered. Each bank account should only appear once; contact Client Success if any account appears more than once. Click [Exit] to continue.
• The next grid will list the bank account, the total of the transfer, and the check the system will use. Click [Exit]. A new grid will list out each item included in the recovery along with the same check number(s) from the previous grid. Click [Exit]. There is a final confirmation prompt before the recovery finalizes indicating the total amount across all accounts. Choose [Yes] to continue or [No] if the process should be cancelled. Again, like the fee transfer, a prompt asks if an auto deposit line should be created in the GENERAL bank account and, again, this is up to the firm. Note: A manual deposit would use the FCOSTRECO book account as indicated in the prompt.
• The final grid shows the totals for each account, the check number used, and the trustrecid assigned. Upon exiting, an alert will provide the file path location for the detail and check report CSVs that were created. It is best to copy these to a new location as they can be hard to find in the temp folder if they need to be reviewed later. The check(s) will generate and be ready to print in the Print Check Menu.

Disbursements

The processes discussed in the Remittance/Billing section may have generated checks: Remit Checks, Fee Transfer checks, and cost recovery checks. Use [Print Check Menu] to print most of these generated checks.

Print Check Menu

The Print Check Menu holds all unprinted checks, separated by bank account, to be printed either individually or in batch.

1. When entering the screen, first choose the bank account from the dropdown or select the All bank accounts checkbox to view all unprinted checks. Note: Using the “All bank accounts” option may cause slowness in the screen.
2. If a check should not be printed yet, it can be put on hold to remove it from the batch. To put a check on hold, check the box under the Hold column next to the specific record. Held checks can be viewed or hidden using the filter options at the top of the grid.
3. Use the “sort” dropdown, then click [Sort] to change the order the checks appear in the grid but, as the prompt will advise, do not print using a custom sort.
4. To print one check, highlight the record and click [Print One]. Checks on hold can be manually printed with this option.
5. To print all unheld checks in batch, click [Print Batch]. A prompt will ask if the check(s) should be sent to the printer; choose [Yes] to continue. A PDF will open where the user can select printing options. When finished, Q-LawE will ask if the checks printed ok; choose [Yes] to mark the checks as printed and remove them from the grid.
6. If a check is a split check, use [Split list] to generate a PDF of the details.
7. To view the complete check printing history, click [Checkrpt].

Special Handling

Below are instructions on how to view prior remittances and undoing a remit. We will revisit the Bookkeeping Menu – [New Retail remit statements].

Viewing Prior Remittances

After a remit has been finalized, there is a high-level overview available from the remit screen. To view this, start at the New Retail Remit screen. If the client or date range is known, enter the custid and/or choose the starting and ending date and then click [View prior remittance]. The grid will populate with the remits that match the conditions set. From the list of results, you can select client remits to undo by checking the box in the “Mark” column.

Undoing Remittances

There are a variety of reasons why a remit may need to be undone, like the payment being posted incorrectly due to clerical error, for example. If the remit can be undone, the payment can then be deleted and reposted correctly. But they should only be undone if the remit check was not already sent to the client and the fee transfer was not finalized.

• The first step is to determine if the fees have been transferred for the payment yet. The easiest way to find this out is on the View Acct screen. Check in the upper right corner to see if the fee transfer check and date were populated.

If the indicated fields are blank, this means the fees have not yet been transferred and the remit can be undone. Follow the “Before Fee Transfer” steps below.

If they are populated, the follow the “After Fee Transfer” steps below.

If it is only an invoice that needs to be undone, the Before Fee Transfer steps can be followed since there is not a fee transfer associated with an invoice.

Note: The invoice cannot have been paid.

Before Fee Transfer

1. To undo the remit, start from the View Prior Remittance screen; filter it by custid and date range to make it easier to find.
2. Find the record in the grid. It is easiest to look for the check number in the Batch column; it will start with “CHK-“. When the record is found, check the box in the Mark column. More than one record can be selected at a time.
3. A prompt will confirm that you have marked a number of remits to be undone; click [Yes] to continue.
4. Another prompt will ask if the user would like to see the detail of the items being undone; this is the user’s choice. If so, a grid will appear that can be reviewed. Click [Exit] to continue.
5. A new prompt appears with the details of the first remit to undo. Click [Yes] to continue and repeat for each item that was marked.
6. Click [OK] through the remaining prompts until the batch was successfully undone.

After Fee Transfer

When there is an issue with a remitted payment and the fee transfer was finalized, the only option is to reverse the transaction.

1. If the payment needs to be reposted to the file, post it as normal. Both items need to be remitted on, but the process can vary depending on the situation.
   • If there is ever confusion on how to manage a specific situation, contact our Client Success department.

Remit Print check menu (Comm)

For Commercial remittance by item and receiver remit by item you will use the [Remit Print check menu (Comm)] in the Bookkeeping menu to print your remittance checks. This is in lieu of the [Print Check Menu] under the Disbursements section.

1. When entering the screen, first choose the bank account from the dropdown.
2. To print one check, highlight the record and click [Print One].
   • Checks on hold can be manually printed with this option.
3. To print all unheld checks in batch, click [Print Batch].
   • A prompt will ask if the check(s) should be sent to the printer; choose [Yes] to continue.
   • A PDF will open where the user can select printing options.
   • When finished, Q-Law will ask if the checks printed ok; choose [Yes] to mark the checks as printed and remove them from the grid.

Reprint Checks

Sometimes things happen, such as paper jams, which create a need to reprint a check. If you are using blank check stock, reprinting a check is simple. In the Bookkeeping menu click on [Trust] to go to your Ledger screen.

1. Select the correct Trust account from which the check was cut.

2. Then locate the actual check from the grid or use one of the find options (Check number is usually recommended).

3. Click [Edit].

4. The check print/void/reconcile information is stored here. If a check has been printed, there will be a date in the field next to printed. To reprint the check, click [Printed] and the system will display a prompt.

5. Click [Yes] to confirm to reprint the check and the system will remove the printed date and add an X in the box to the right of where the date was displayed. This adds the check back to the print check menu, so it is ready to be reprinted.