Frequently Asked Questions - LexisNexis

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oth. You use this function to perform these functions in one step. Use the Trust-to-General Transfer function in the following situations: • You have just created a bill and want to transfer trust funds to your general account to pay off the bill. • You are about to create a bill and you want a transfer of trust funds to the general account to appear on the bill. • You want to transfer trust funds to the general account to pay off an Accounts Receivable balance. • The last retainer the client gave you has been used up and you need more funds for the general account. Warning: Consult your local bar association or law society to determine the regulations you must follow regarding trust funds and general retainers. For more information about Trust-to-General Transfers, see "Trust-to-General Transfer" on page 214 of your user manual. When should I use the Receive Payment function as opposed to the General Retainer function when entering a receipt from a client? The Receive Payment function should be used if the payment from a client should be applied to an invoice that has already been created. The General Retainer function should be used if the payment should be applied to items that will be billed in the future. In general, determine if the items for which you want to pay have been billed. If they have, use the Receive Payment function. If they have not, use the General Retainer function. Example 1: You discuss a case with a client and agree to take on the case. The client gives you a check for $500 toward the work you will do. Since no bills have been created for this client, you should use the General Retainer function to receive the funds. When you eventually bill the client, the $500 general retainer will be automatically applied to the bill to reduce the amount owing. Example 2: You have worked on a case for a client and have entered time and expense recovery entries. A bill is created and mailed to the client. A week later, you receive a check for $650.00, the total amount of the bill. In this scenario, the items being paid have already been billed; therefore, the funds should be entered with the Receive Payment function. If the amount entered with the Receive Payment function exceeds the amount owing on a bill, the excess amount will be treated as a general retainer. For more information about the Receive Payment function, refer to "Receiving a Payment From a Client" on page 254 and "Exercise 8: Processing a payment from a client" on page 120. Pages 91 and 258 contain more information about General Retainers. How do I record that a receipt I entered came back to the bank as an NSF check? If a check you received did not clear the bank, use the following procedure to correct the problem:
1. Reverse the original receipt by running the appropriate function again, type the original amount with a minus sign (-) in front. 2. For a Receive Payment transaction only, select Pay Invoices Manually. (If you do not, the system deducts the amount beginning with the first billed invoice. This may not be the invoice you are trying to correct.) 3. You may also have to record a bank service charge. Enter a General Check transaction for the amount of the charge, specifying a check number of DM, and allocating it to the matter. (If you are doing so before receiving your bank statement, remember not to include the charge again when you reconcile your bank accounts.) Important: You must use the same function that was used for the transaction. In other words, a Receive Payment cannot be corrected using a General Retainer or a Firm Receipt. If you attempt to do so, the amount will not be deducted from your accounts receivable and the bill will still show as having been paid. Note: To correct a receipt using the original date, that date must be in a month that is not yet closed. If it is closed, reverse the receipt and enter the bank charges using a date in the current month. How do I record an overpayment from a client? If you receive a payment from a client that is higher than the amount owing, PCLaw handles it automatically. Use the Receive Payment function to enter the full amount of the receipt. PCLaw records the amount that is applied towards Accounts Receivable as a Receive Payment. When it detects that there is still an amount being received for which there is no Accounts Receivable to apply it, PCLaw records the overpayment as a General Retainer. If you leave the general retainer on the client’s account, the overpayment will be applied to the next bill that is created for this matter. Some jurisdictions do not allow General Retainers. To refund the overpayment to the client, follow these steps: 1. Write a refund check to the client using the General Check function. This transaction appears as an unbilled disbursement on the Client Ledger. At this point, the Client Ledger shows an unbilled disbursement and a general retainer of the same amount. Create a bill using the Create Bill function to cancel out the General Retainer with the Unbilled
Page 1 and 2: Frequently Asked Questions Below ar
Page 3 and 4: 4. Run the SETUP program on the new
Page 5 and 6: How can I use PCLaw for time and bi
Page 7 and 8: I prefer to use the keyboard instea
Page 9 and 10: Data Entry Features When I am enter
Page 11 and 12: In this example, the bank balance o
Page 13: When the check is saved, two debit/
Page 17 and 18: I need to write a check to pay for
Page 19 and 20: How do I show a discount on a clien
Page 21 and 22: System Settings that Affect the Edi
Page 23 and 24: For firms using GST or VAT. - I rec
Page 25 and 26: 8. Accept the amount of 10.70 in th
Page 27 and 28: To prevent interest being charged b
Page 29 and 30: I charge interest of 10% but I'd li
Page 31 and 32: Set up an interest rate table: 1. O
Page 33 and 34: Select a compounding frequency: 1.
Page 35 and 36: PCLaw will not charge interest on t
Page 37 and 38: 2. Type the matter nickname in the
Page 39 and 40: 3/1/01 7.75 6/1/01 8..25 Assume the
Page 41 and 42: How can I quickly look up the balan
Page 43 and 44: 2. Deselect the Disbs check box. 3.
Page 45 and 46: Reconciliation Tips If the differen
Page 47 and 48: I just closed a payroll period and
Page 49 and 50: If the Add button is gray, you are
Page 51 and 52: General Ledger Accounts Debit Enter
Page 53 and 54: Notice how the Contributions per pe
Page 55 and 56: What & where are my Timeslips®? In
Page 57 and 58: 6. Click OK. The bill will include
Page 59 and 60: For more information about backups,

Frequently Asked Questions - LexisNexis

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