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.
Reversing a disbursement will undo all payments associated with that disbursement. This action is visible in your financial records and reports, and it's essential for maintaining accurate accounting.
Understanding Disbursement Reversal
Reversing a disbursement is a process that nullifies all payments linked to the disbursement. This impacts your financial reports, as it alters historical data. In such an event:
- Fee invoices involved revert to a Raised status for any necessary adjustments.
- Owner statements generated become invalid and are hence removed from all accessible files to maintain accuracy in later records.
It's recommended to carefully review the Disbursement Preview Report or the Draft Owner Statements Report before issuing any disbursements to minimize the likelihood of errors. Reversal is not recommended for disbursements that have already been completed at the bank, or for those reconciled with bank statements. Should it be imperative to reverse a post-reconciliation disbursement, you'll first need to unreconcile the withdrawal then process and reconcile the disbursement once more.
How to Properly Reverse a Disbursement
For the instances that require a disbursement reversal, follow these steps carefully:
- Locate the disbursement record either via the Latest Disbursement tile on the Client/Trust Account's home screen or by navigating to the Disbursement History tab.
- Click on Reverse this Disbursement and affirm your decision when prompted.
- If there are cheques involved in the disbursement, choose to either reverse or cancel them. Note that reversing them keeps them viable for future use, while cancelling renders them unusable.
- Conduct a thorough review of the details and reports found on the Disbursement History page to ensure the reversal has been documented correctly.
Preventative Measures for Disbursement Accuracy
Reducing the chances of disbursement blunders is essential for seamless financial management. Apply these preventive measures for accuracy:
- Scrutinize the Disbursement Preview Report prior to finalization.
- Verify the completeness and correctness of all payment details.
- Ensure the owner statements are precise and represent transactions appropriately.
Now that you understand the process of reversing a disbursement and the proactive steps you can take to avoid errors, managing your Trust Account should be more efficient and error-free.