Tabs3 Trust Accounting (Trust) maintains detailed accounting of trust funds, escrow funds and retainers. Trust maintains detailed activity by bank account and trust account. The trust account balance (i.e., retainer) can be included on Tabs3 Billing statements as well as detailed trust account activity. Tabs3 Billing also allows you to automatically bill clients for a trust account retainer. You can include a message on the Tabs3 Billing statement requesting that the client remit funds (i.e., retainer) to replenish the trust account when the trust account balance is below a minimum balance. A fixed amount can be specified; or, if a target balance is specified, the difference needed to reach the target balance will be shown in the message. Trust account balances are included on the Tabs3 Billing Detail and Summary Work-in-Process Reports.

Retainer funds maintained in Trust are typically not realized as income for the firm until the client is billed and the firm transfers funds from the retainer account to the client's accounts receivable in Tabs3 Billing. Therefore, even though you can show trust account retainer activity on a statement and bill retainers on the statement, the retainer funds remain in a separate Trust account until the funds are transferred. When a check or electronic funds transfer with the This is a payment to our firm check box selected is entered in Trust for the client, Trust will automatically create and post a payment transaction for the client in Tabs3 Billing.

Trust includes several features that are not available with Tabs3 Billing's built-in client funds feature. Trust includes check writing capabilities, the ability to track 1099 amounts, print 1099 forms, a Check # field for each check transaction, comprehensive reporting and a Bank Account Reconciliation program.

See also:   Trust Integration