Trust Cheque Requisitions
The Trust Cheque Requisitions routine allows the user to submit a Trust Cheque proposal for approval. This routine is mainly used by Firm Secretaries; the Secretaries submit the Trust Cheque Requisitions, and the Accounting Department (or Administration) approves and processes the Trust Cheque, or deletes the Trust Cheque Requisition if it is not approved. This routine allows Administration to supervise and control the flow of Client's Trust money within the Firm.
When the Trust Cheque Requisitions routine is accessed from the eQuinox main menu, the screen shown below will be displayed.
Field Definition
To enter new Trust Cheque Requisitions, the user may simply start entering the information upon entering the screen. To view existing Trust Cheque Requisitions, the user may execute a query based on the criteria of their choice.
Entered By - The unique identifier and name of the Timekeeper that is entering or viewing Trust Cheque Requisitions. This field automatically defaults to the current user, as determined by the logon information (i.e. users can only view information associated with their Timekeeper name and id).
Client Name, Matter Name - The names of the Client and Matter associated with the current requisition (i.e. these fields update as the user scrolls through records in the next block). The corresponding unique identifiers are displayed below in the Client No and Matter No fields.
Requested By - The name of the Timekeeper who requested the Trust Cheque associated with the current requisition (i.e. this field updates as the user scrolls through records in the next block). The corresponding unique identifier is displayed below in the Req Tmkp field.
Tran Ref ID - The Transaction Reference Identification number. This number is automatically assigned, and is used to identify the Transaction, not the Cheque.
Stat - The status of the Requisition. This field cannot be edited by the user. When entering a new Trust Cheque Requisition, the Status automatically defaults to 'R', meaning Requisitioned. Once a Requisition has been approved and posted, the Status will be displayed as 'P', meaning Posted, and if a Requisition has been Cancelled, the Status will be displayed as 'C'.
Note: If a record is displayed in grey, that record has been processed (i.e. either Posted or Cancelled); if the record is displayed in white, that record has not been processed.
Payee - The name of the person or company to whom the cheque is being written (i.e. Payable to).
Client No - The unique identifier for the Client to whom the Trust Cheque Requisition is attributed (i.e. The Trust Cheque is being written on behalf of the selected Client, using Trust money that Client has paid to the Firm). The Client may be selected from the Look-Up form provided. The Look-Up form will display all Clients, and all Matters for each Client. A selection must be based on both the Client and the Matter. Once a selection has been made, both the Client number and the Matter number will be displayed.
Matter No - The Matter number, based on the selection made in the previous field. If the Matter number is incorrect, a new selection may be made from the Look-Up form provided for this field. The Look-Up form will display all Matters associated with the Client displayed in the Client field. To select a Matter for a different Client, the user must first return to the Client field and select a different Client.
Req Tmkp - The name and unique identifier for the Timekeeper who is requesting the Trust Cheque. When entering new records, a selection may be made from the List of Values provided.
Needed Date - The Date by which the requested Trust Cheque is needed. When entering new Trust Cheque Requisitions, this field automatically defaults to the current system date. If necessary, the Date may be changed by making a selection from the Calendar provided.
Bank - The Bank Account from which the Trust Cheque will be drawn when it is processed. A selection may be made from the List of Values provided. The Bank Account may be left blank here and then later entered by the Accounting Department when the Requisition is Posted.
Retainer - The amount to be drawn from the Client's Retainer funds (i.e. This amount will be taken from the amount of Retainer funds the Client has paid the Firm in Trust money).
Allocated - The amount to be drawn from the Client's Allocated funds (i.e. This amount will be taken from the amount of Allocated funds the Client has paid the Firm in Trust money).
Print? - To print a copy of the current requisition, the user must "check" this field. The requisition will be printed when the user Saves/Posts the changes.
Cheque Description - A description of the current Trust Cheque. as will appear on the Cheque Stub.
Requisition Reason - The reason for the Trust Cheque Requisition (i.e. What the Trust money is to be used for). This field defaults to the same info as entered for the Cheque Description.
Total Requisitioned Amount - The total amount of the current Trust Cheque Requisition (i.e. The sum of the Retainer and Allocated amounts).
Funds Available in this Bank - The total amount of Trust Funds the current Client has available in the named Bank (i.e. Trust Chequing #2).
Bank Name - The name of the Trust Bank Account from which the Trust Cheque will be drawn when it is processed. This field is automatically displayed, based on the selection made in the Trust Bank field.
Total Regular, Special, and Trust Funds Balance of this Matter - The amount of Trust Funds for the current Matter (i.e. the total for"Regular" Trust Funds, the total for "Special" Trust Funds, and then the total for both types in all Trust Bank Accounts).
Retainer - The amount of the total Trust Funds (for either the Bank Account or the Matter) that was acquired through Retainer Fee payments.
Allocated - The amount of the total Trust Funds (for either the Bank Account or the Matter) that was acquired through Allocated Fee payments.
Total - The total amount of Trust Funds in the named Bank Account or for the Matter (i.e. the sum of the Retainer and Allocated amounts).
Overdrawing Trust Accounts
If the Requisitioned Retainer or Allocated Amounts are greater than the amount of Retainer or Allocated Funds available AND the Firm allows Trust Accounts to be overdrawn, the user must acknowledge the overdraft amount before the Requisition can be processed.
If the Firm does not allow Trust Accounts to be overdrawn, a Trust Requisition that would overdraw an account cannot be processed. Whether or not the Firm allows Trust Accounts to become overdrawn depends on a parameter that is set in the Maintain Firm Parameters routine.