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 guide assists users who wish to retain Outgoings funds within their Client/Trust Account, rather than disbursing all collected funds to the property owner. We will detail a practical way to manage these funds without the need to create separate owner contacts, offering a streamlined approach that works effectively with your existing software setup.
Ledger Disbursement Setting
Unlike a property ledger that is usually fully disbursed, an Outgoings ledger can be set to withhold funds from being transferred to the property owner.
Setting up Additional Ledgers for Retention of Funds
Creating an additional ledger in your Client/Trust Account is the key to holding Outgoings funds:
- Navigate to the property in question and select the Ledgers tab.
- Click on Create New Owner Ledger for a brand new ledger, or Add/Remove Ledger if the Outgoings ledger already exists.
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To ensure that funds are not disbursed to the owner, make sure the Owner Disbursable field is set to 'No'.
Directing Fees and Expenses to the Outgoings Ledger
Set the default ledger for account codes, including any Management Fee codes, by clicking the Edit button next to each ledger and selecting all expenses that are to be deducted from this ledger.
Budget Reconciliation and Fund Allocation
For budget verses actual reporting, the software will reference:
- The default ledger connected to the property.
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Any additional ledgers set up with specific Accounts for Outgoings.
This ensures accurate reflection of actual expenses against the projected budget for each property.