Post Trust Receipts

Return to the Trust Routines Menu

The Post Trust Receipts routine allows the user to enter Trust Receipts into the system. For example, if a Client comes into the Firm with a Trust payment, the user records the payment through this routine. When the information has been entered, the General Ledger is automatically updated with the payment information.

When the Post Trust Receipts routine is accessed from the eQuinox main menu, the screen shown below will be displayed.
 
Field Definition

Posting Trust Receipts

 The first two fields on this screen display the Journal Type (TR) and the Journal Number.
Posting Date
The date on which the Trust Receipts are being entered into the system. The default is the current Date, but this may be changed by making a selection from the Calendar provided.

Acct Period
The Month (in number format) and Year of the Firm's current Accounting Period. This field automatically defaults to the current Accounting Period. Note: Depending on the Firm's preferences (as indicated in the Firm Parameters routine), the user may be alerted with a message when Posting the Trust Receipts, and asked to verify the Accounting Period; this is used to ensure that all transactions occur within the correct Accounting Period.

Batch
The first of these two fields is the unique identifier for the current batch of receipts. This number is automatically assigned by the system and cannot be edited by the user. The second field is the description of the current batch of receipts. The user may manually enter their own description, or allow the system to generate a default description. When the user tabs through this field without entering a description, it defaults to "Trust Receipt Batch -- UNIQUE IDENTIFIER -- DATE AND TIME".

Trust Bank
The General Ledger Account that will be debited during Trust Transaction. A selection may be made from the List of Values provided.

Posting Trust Receipts
Batch Amt
The total amount (in dollars) of Trust Receipts to be entered in the current Journal. If known, this number may be entered when the Journal is started, or when posting the Journal. The Batch total must equal the Receipt total, otherwise the Receipts cannot be posted to the General Ledger.

Proof
The amount of the 'Batch' that has been applied (i.e. the actual dollar amount of Trust Receipts currently in the Journal). The Proof amount must be zero before the Receipts can be posted to the General Ledger.

Trust Receipts
The section of the screen seen below allows the user to enter the general information about the Trust Receipt. Once this section has been completed, the user must continue to the Trust Receipt Details section to enter specifics (i.e. Client/Matter, how long to be held, etc) about the receipt.

Posting Trust Receipts
Receipt ID
A unique identifier that E-Quinox automatically assigns to each record. This field is not updateable by the user.

Receipt No
The Receipt number. This number is not automatically assigned, and must be manually entered. If the Receipt number entered already exists in the system, the user will be alerted with a message.

Rcpt Description
A description of the Trust Transaction (i.e. the reason the Client has given trust money to the Firm).

Rcpt Date
The date on which the Trust Receipt was entered into the system. This field defaults to the current system date, but may be changed by making a selection from the Calendar provided.

Pay Type
The form of payment (i.e. Cash, Cheque, Visa, etc.). A selection may be made from the List of Values provided.

Rcpt Amount
The amount for which the Receipt is being written (the amount of the payment). The total (i.e. sum of the) Rcpt Amount must equal the Batch Amount, otherwise the Receipts cannot be posted to the General Ledger. See below for more information.

Trust Receipt Proof
The amount of the Rcpt Amount that has yet to be applied to Cheque Distribution records. The Trust Receipt cannot be posted until the Trust Receipt Proof amount has reached zero.

Trust Receipt Details
The section of the screen shown below houses Trust Receipt Details. The information displayed in this section is specific to the record selected in the Receipts section.

Posting Trust Receipts
Client Name, Client
The name and unique identifier of the Client to whom the Receipt is being written. A selection may be made from the Look-Up form provided in the Matter field. Note: One Receipt may cover payments for more than one Client. If a payment is to be divided between multiple Clients, the user may enter multiple Receipt Detail records for the same Receipt.

Matter Name, Matter
The name and unique identifier of the Matter associated with the current Trust Receipt Detail record. A selection may be made from the Look-Up form provided in the Matter field. The Look-Up form will display all Clients and all Matters associated with each Client. Note: One Receipt may cover payments on more than one Matter for the same Client. If a payment is to be divided between multiple Matters, the user may enter multiple Receipt Detail records for the same Receipt.

Ret/All
The Receipt type is further broken down into Receipt Subtype; Retainer or Allocated. A selection may be made from the List of Values provided. Note: One Receipt may have more than one Subtype. If a payment consists partly of a Retainer amount and partly of an Allocated amount, the user may enter two (or more) Receipt Detail records, one for each Subtype.

Trust Amount
The dollar amount for the current Receipt Detail record. If the current Receipt has only one Receipt Detail record, the dollar amount entered in this field must equal the dollar amount entered in the Rcpt Amount field. If the current Receipt has more than one Receipt Detail record, the sum of the Trust Amount fields must equal the Rcpt Amount.

Hold Days
The number of days to hold the payment before processing the transaction. This field automatically defaults to 10 days, but this may be changed by simply entering a different number. To process the transaction immediately, the number of hold days must be zero.

Release Date
This value in this field is displayed automatically. Based on the number of days entered in the previous field, this is the date on which the Trust Amount is released from hold. If Hold Days is set to zero, this field will be left blank. To modify the date that is displayed, the user may make a selection from the Calendar provided. Once the date has been changed, the Hold Days will automatically change accordingly.

Description
A description of the Trust Transaction. By default, the Rcpt Description entered in the first section of the screen is automatically displayed in this field, but this may be changed by manually entering a different description.

Trust Balances
Funds Available in this Bank
The total amount of Trust Funds the current Client has available in the named Bank (i.e. City Savings and Trust).

Total Funds Balance of this Matter
The total amount of Trust Funds for the current Matter (i.e. the total for all Banks).

Retainer
The amount of the total Trust Funds (for either the Bank or the Matter) that was acquired through Retainer Fee payments.

Allocated
The amount of the total Trust Funds (for either the Bank or the Matter) that was acquired through Allocated Fee payments.

Total
The total amount of Trust Funds in the named Bank or for the Matter (i.e. the sum of the Retainer and Allocated amounts).
Balancing Batch and Receipt Amounts

Post Trust Receipts

 When the user has finished entering the the information, they must click the Save button on the menu bar or press F10 to complete the Receipt process. If the total Receipt Amount and the Batch Amount do not match, the user will be alerted with a message, as seen here. The Proof Amount indicates the difference between the two amounts; the process cannot be completed until the Proof amount equals zero.
Once the Batch and Receipt Amounts are balanced and the Trust Receipt information has been saved, the message seen below will be displayed to the user.

A Successful Transaction

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