Trust Accounting Overview and Setup

Trust Accounting Setup

To setup your Trust Account you can follow the instructions below:

1. Click Clients from your gray menu bar and select any client
2. Go to their Trust Account tab to the right
3.  Click the list icon to the right of the Bank Account drop down (Note: Account Name, Bank Name, and Account Number are required but do not link up to your actual bank account)
4. Once you click to add the bank account go ahead and select this account from your drop down.
5. Once this is completed, you can click Add Deposit to add funds into your account.

Once the funds are available in your Trust you can Add Disbursements for a third party vendor or pull funds from your Trust to your Operating. To learn how to do this, click here.

Trust Accounting Options

When under the Trust Accounting you have options to choose from. See below for details:

Add Deposit: When you receive a payment from the client. Note, you can change the date of the deposit to reflect when you receive it or the date of the check, etc.

Add Disbursement: When you need to take money out of the trust account and pay someone that is NOT from your company. This way, the trust account balance is reduced without affecting your company’s accounting balance.

Transfer In: when you are in one projects trust account and you want to transfer money from another projects trust account and put it in this one.

Transfer out: when you are in one projects trust account and you want to transfer money out to another projects trust account.

General Project Trust:  Trust funds within the general project trust instead of each individual case.**

All Project Trust: Totals each and every trust (if funds are under each individual project instead of in the general one).

Helpful Tip! General Project Trust: When adding funds into the Trust you have the option to place them either in the General Project Trust or in a specific Project under your client. It's easier to put the funds under the General Project Trust if funds do not specifically need to be separated per Project so when you pull funds to deduct from Invoices the funds can go towards any Projects invoices.

If you have multiple Projects under a client and the client gives a certain amount for Project A and a certain amount for Project B, that is when you would want to place the funds in the Projects directly instead of the General Project Trust.

Either way, when you receive payments to pull from Trust you can apply the funds from either the General Project Trust or the individual Trusts at any point.

Delete Trust Accounting Entry

As long as you have Admin privileges you can edit and delete Trust activity but keep in mind, there is not a way to bring them back.

1. Select Clients from the main menu
2. Click on the desired client
3. Go to their Trust Account tab to the right
4. Click on the desired lined item you wish to Edit (if it's not shown, pull down the Project option to choose General Project Trust + All Project Trusts to pull any transaction)
5. Click the Delete button
6. Click the Ok button

Delete Bank Account from Trust

Bill4Time allows multiple Bank Accounts to be added to your Trust. If you need to delete one, follow the steps below:

1. Select the Clients from the main menu
2. Search for the desired client and click on their name
3. Select the Trust Account tab, next to the drop-down menu for Bank Account, click the bullet point list icon
4. Click the pencil and paper of the listed bank account that you want to delete
5. Click the Delete button

Pay An Outside Party From Trust Funds

1. Go to Clients from the main menu
2. Click on the desired client
3. Click on the Trust Account tab to the right
4. Click the Add Disbursement button
5. Put in all of the necessary information
6. Click the Save button

Note* If you do not have access to "Trust Accounting" you may have signed up for a plan which does not include Trust Accounting. Please contact Support at 877-245-5484 x2 or email Support@bill4time.com to assist you with switching to Legal Pro.