Setting Up General Retainers

In this article:

• Enabling System-wide General Retainers
• Enabling a General Retainer for a Specific Matter

Many firms require the ability to receive client funds prior to starting work (in the operating account in addition to the Trust Account). Actionstep’s General Retainer functionality makes receiving funds, paying invoices, transferring funds between matters, and refunding retainers simple yet customizable to suit the specific needs of your firm. 

Enabling System-wide General Retainers

To use general retainers, an admin must first enable them in your Actionstep system. This is done in both Admin settings and for the individual matter. 

To enable the general retainer in Admin settings:

1. In Actionstep, go to Admin > Billing. The Billing page appears.
2. In the General retainer section, toggle Enable to on.
3. Review the following fields:
   • Liability account: Shows the account in your general ledger that Actionstep will use to process your general retainers. The default chart of accounts in Actionstep will come with a General Retainer Liability account for you to map to.
   • To pay: If you have funds in a general retainer for a matter, they will be applied to any New Charges that you create (i.e., new bills) for that matter.
4. Click the Payment automation drop-down list and choose how you want to pay invoices: Automatic (invoices are paid automatically as you create them from any available funds in the general retainer) or Manual (manually enter payment information from the retainer as you produce a bill).
5. Click Save to save your changes.

See Configuring Your Billing Settings (Admin) for additional instructions on setting up your billing strategy.

Enabling a General Retainer for a Specific Matter

You also need to enable the general retainer for the specific matter.

To do this:

1. In Actionstep, view the matter you want to enable the general retainer for. (See Editing a Matter for help.)
2. Click the Billing menu icon. The Billing page appears.
3. Click Matter billing options on the left-side menu.  
4. In the General retainers section, toggle Enable to on. 
5. Choose your options from the To pay and Payment automation fields.

Related Articles:

• Receiving Funds in a General Retainer
• Paying Bills Using General Retainer Funds
• Transferring Funds Between General Retainers
• Refunding a General Retainer
• Replenishing a General Retainer