Lesson 2 of 6 · 6 min

Tracking disbursements

Recording third-party costs paid on a client's behalf and billing them back.

Lesson 2 of 6

Disbursements are costs your firm pays on a client's behalf — search fees, filing fees, couriers. MatterFirst tracks them per matter and pulls the billable ones onto invoices.

What a disbursement record holds

Each disbursement carries a description, amount, date, a category (search fees, filing, courier, travel, photocopying, postage, other), a billable/non-billable flag, an optional linked receipt document, and an optional expense code. Billable disbursements flow onto invoices alongside unbilled time.

Where disbursements live

Each matter's Money tab lists its disbursements: switch its list to Disbursements. Add one from the tab's ⋯ menu with Add disbursement, and the billable ones roll onto invoices with the matter's unbilled time.

  1. 1

    Add a disbursement

    On a matter, open the Money tab and choose ⋯ › Add disbursement. Say what it was for, set the date, amount and kind (search fees, filing, courier and so on), and leave Bill it to the client ticked if the client pays it back. Save, and it appears in the tab's Disbursements list.

  2. 2

    Billable disbursements flow onto invoices

    You do not add disbursements to an invoice by hand. When you choose Create invoice on the Money tab and keep 'Include unbilled time and disbursements' ticked, billable disbursements are pulled in automatically alongside unbilled time.

Tips & pitfalls

  • Untick Bill it to the client to keep a cost off invoices while still tracking it.
  • Billable disbursements are pulled onto an invoice automatically when 'Include unbilled time and disbursements' stays ticked.
  • The Money tab's Disbursements list shows each one's date, category, status and amount.

Key takeaways

  • Disbursements are per-matter costs with a category, amount, and billable flag.
  • Add them from the matter's Money tab (⋯ › Add disbursement).
  • Billable ones flow onto invoices with the matter's unbilled time.
Recording time entries Creating invoices

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