Following along in MyCase is recommended as you read the steps in the article.
Overview
Non-trust retainers or Credits are used when a firm receives funds in its operating account that have not been earned or billed for yet. In MyCase, these funds can be deposited as Credits, which can be used for record-keeping or to apply to future invoices.
Enable Setting
Note: You must be an Admin on your account to enable this function.
Click the Settings button.
Select All Settings in the dropdown menu.
Click on Client Billing & Invoice Settings
Select Edit Preferences, where you can Enable" Non-Trust Retainers and Credit Accounts.
Once enabled, you will see a Deposit into Credit button on your Billing Dashboard.
From this page, you can also Deposit into Credit, Withdraw from Credit, refund credit deposits and export the Credit History as a PDF.
To see the Contacts Financial information:
You can access the Client's Case Detail page by clicking their name in the Billing Dashboard or selecting their Contact from the Contacts sub-tab.
Click the Billing subtab to see a contact's full Credit History.
Non-Trust Retainer Requests
Within MyCase, you can request non-trust retainer funds online through the Client Portal. This feature is designed to be quick and easy for any billing user to request them.
Click the Request Funds icon on the Billing dashboard.
Your client will receive a customized email to pay their retainer.
After you create and send the Request for Funds to your client, they will receive the request in their email and can click the orange button to Deposit Funds.
When your client clicks the Deposit Funds button in their email and are also logged into their Client Portal, a new tab will open in their web browser.
They will be taken directly to a form to pay via credit card or eCheck.
If the client is enabled but not logged into their Client Portal when they click the Deposit Funds button in their email, a new tab will open in their web browser. They will be able to pay the request via credit card, or they can pay via eCheck if they click the Pay with eCheck hyperlink and log in to their Client Portal.
If your client has not enabled the Client Portal, clicking the email link will take them to a payment page where they may pay by credit card.
You can also send reminders on all outstanding Requests for Funds outside the Client Portal.
Receiving Payments from Non-Trust Credit
If your contact has available funds in their credit account, you can apply their credit funds to an invoice. You can also show the credit summary or full credit history on the invoice to show your client where their money was applied and how much they have left.
You can apply their non-trust retainer or credit to an already-created invoice.
Open the invoice by going to the Billing tab and selecting Invoices.
Click the Record Payment button.
Select From Credit Account.
Select your client's name from the Select User Account dropdown, which shows their available balance.
Type in the Amount you would like to apply to the invoice.
Click the Make Payment button.