For our Asia-Pacific customers, the term "Trust Account" is used, while European customers refer to it as "Client Account". It's important to mention that the Client/Trust Accounting functionality does not apply to customers in North America. For further information on regional terms, check out our Glossary of Regional Terminology.
This article provides a guide on disbursing funds from a Client/Trust Account, emailing owner statements and remittance advices and reversing an incorrect Disbursement. Following these steps not only aligns with financial management best practices but also assists in keeping your account reconciled and audit-ready.
Preparation for a Disbursement
- Enter all expense invoices you wish to pay out or hold funds for.
- Make sure payment and contact details are up to date for new owners or creditors.
- Run the Disbursement Preview Report or download Draft Owner Statements for a snapshot of the upcoming disbursement.
- Set up Owner Statement and Remittance Advice email templates, particularly, if it's your first disbursement.
- Reconcile your account—is recommended for accuracy, though not mandatory.
To start a disbursement, click Client/Trust Accounts on the navigation bar and then go to Disburse Funds.
Selecting a Disbursement Profile
- Choose the appropriate disbursement profile from the dropdown menu.
- Decide whether to include all expenses due or select a specific date range.
- Pick the statement date for the disbursement period.
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Click Save & Continue to proceed.
Processing Disbursements
Selecting Owners for Disbursement
Here you'll choose which owners will be included in the disbursement. If owners have no activity since the last statement, and the option to exclude them is selected, they won’t receive a statement unless certain criteria are met, such as funds received or credited, transactions reversed, or ownership changes. This step ensures only relevant statements are sent.
Disbursing to Creditors
Review invoices tied to the selected owners and adjust payment amounts or withhold payments as necessary. Insufficient funds will prevent certain invoices from being automatically selected for payment.
Disbursing Fees
Fees associated with the included owners appear here. Like creditor invoices, fees will not be auto-selected for payment if funds are insufficient. You have control to adjust fee payments, add manual fees, or permanently remove fees not applicable to the disbursement.
Disbursing to Owners
Finally, manage the distribution of funds to owners. Here you can adjust withhold amounts one final time before proceeding to the disbursement summary.
Disbursement Summary and Completion
The summary page offers a final opportunity to review and make changes before downloading the bank file. Once downloaded, the disbursement cannot be cancelled—it's essential to ensure all details are correct up to this point.
Download Bank File and Reporting
The bank file should correspond with your Trust Account settings. After downloading, follow the link to either email reports and statements directly or preview them first. Remember, the reporting suite includes various audit and management reports which may prove invaluable to your accountant or auditor.