This article explains how disbursements are entered into Actionstep and how these are added to invoices - these are soft disbursements. This means that they are directly entered into Actionstep, not through a firm withdrawal or supplier invoice.
Entering Disbursements
Disbursements can be entered into Actionstep in a myriad of ways, either through the global create button, the timesheet, or the disbursement list view.
Global create button
Timesheet
Disbursement list view
Matter Create invoice screen
Whichever way you choose to enter a disbursement you will be presented with this screen.
You can enter the details of the disbursement manually or you can use the dropdown next to the templates to choose pre-configured disbursement templates.
When creating disbursements, you must specify the 'Quantity', 'Unit of measure', and 'Unit price'. If you don't specify a different 'Income account', the system default will be used. The system default is determined via the Billing Settings.
When you are happy with your settings, click on 'Save' to create your disbursement. As with tasks and time entries, you can check the 'Create another' box to create another disbursement immediately afterward.
Displaying Disbursements
Regardless of how the disbursement is entered, all disbursement records appear in the Matter in the billing menu (calculator) and by clicking on Disbursements on the left-hand side of the menu.
You can see the following information in the table in relation to the fee entries.
| Heading | Description |
| Date | The date of the disbursement (the date the disbursement was paid for, not the date it was entered into the system) |
| Timekeeper | The timekeeper who recorded the disbursement |
| Description | A description of the disbursement |
| Type | The type of disbursement (i.e. soft or hard) - soft disbursement is entered manually whilst a hard disbursement has been billed from a supplier invoice directly to the matter. |
| Quantity | How many disbursements |
| Unit Price | The price of the disbursement per unit |
| Bill Amount | The amount to be billed in total |
| Tax | Tax associated with the disbursement |
| Bill Status | Bill Status - Billed or Unbilled |
| Inv No. | The invoice that this disbursement is allocated to |
Any disbursements entered will be added to the total invoice amount to be billed in the green Invoice button.
When you click on the invoice button you will see the Create Bill screen which outlines the time entries and on a separate tab the disbursements that are ready to be billed.
You can also view all your disbursements in one custom list view.
Go to Timesheet > Disbursements > Disbursement List to see a list of all disbursements.
FAQ's
Q. What is the difference between "soft" and "hard" disbursements?
A. A hard disbursement is created from an accounting transaction, for example, a supplier invoice or a firm withdrawal. A soft disbursement is entered directly from the create disbursement screen.
Q. What sales tax is applied to soft disbursements?
A. If a sales tax is hardcoded to a disbursement, for example below, then the tax applied to the disbursement will be exactly that. Even if the matter does not have sales tax enabled in matter billing options - this disbursement will still have sales tax - it cannot be overwritten.
However, if the sales tax on a disbursement is not hardcoded (i.e. it is set to default), then it will inherit the tax status that has been set for the matter in the matter billing settings. If you change the tax status in the matter billing options, then this will change the tax code allocated to the disbursement.
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