Share a matter's bills among payers

Some matters are paid by more than one party: an insurer pays 80% and the client the rest, co-owners pay half each, an employer pays the fees and the client the disbursements. Sharing the matter's bills gives each payer its own bill for its own part.

Name the payers

1. Add every payer to the matter under Parties first, in whatever role they hold.

2. On the matter's Overview, under Who pays, choose Share the bills.

3. Choose the day the split applies from. A pre-bill dated on or after that day is shared this way.

4. For each payer, choose:

   • Who pays: a party on the matter.
   • Share: a percentage, a fixed amount on each bill, or the remainder. Exactly one payer takes the remainder.
   • Pays for: fees and disbursements, fees only, or disbursements only.
   • Cap on each bill and Cap across the matter: an insurer's limit of indemnity, measured on the bills before tax. What passes a cap goes to the payer who takes the remainder.
   • Their reference: a claim number or a purchase order, printed on their bill.
   • Bill layout: their own, where it differs from the matter's.

   Each payer's bill goes to its Billing address where its record has one, otherwise to its latest current address. Add a billing address on the payer's page under Addresses.

5. Put the payers in order. Earlier payers take their share first; the remainder payer takes what is left, including any rounding.

6. Choose Save payers.

Who pays then shows each payer's share, what it has been billed, what it still owes and, where it has a cap across the matter, how much of it is used.

Change the split

Choose Change under Who pays to start a new split from a later day, set up from the one in force. The earlier split keeps its days and stays listed below. A split no bill has been made under yet can still be changed in place or deleted from its menu; once a bill uses it, it stays as it was.

On the pre-bill

A pre-bill on a shared matter shows Payers, each payer's own bill as it would post (before tax, the tax and the total), and Shares by line, every charging line with each payer's part. A payer held below its share by a cap is marked Capped.

To charge a line to one payer alone (a disbursement the insurer does not cover), choose Give to one payer in the line's menu and give the reason. Share it as the split does puts it back.

Posting

Posting makes one bill per payer, each numbered in the bill sequence, with its own VAT as a separate invoice to that payer, its own balance, reminders, receipts and credit notes. The bills always add up to the pre-bill. Each bill names the others in its set.

A credit note or a write-off acts on one bill of the set; the others stand. Because the other bills still charge for it, crediting one bill of a set does not put its time back into work in progress.

Where the matter's bills go for review first, each payer gets its own fee note showing its share. See Send a bill to the client for review.