*********NOTE* - Due to changes in labeling, all references to Bills have been changed to Invoices, and all references to Billings have been changed to Time Entries in the Guide below. At some point, the Video above may also be updated. *************

Overage Operating Accounts, or simply Operating Accounts are accounts from which you can track extra funds on Matters. There are a few ways to get Funds into Operating Accounts, and a few things that you can do with Funds once they’re in Operating.

To begin, you can see the current total of an Operating Account on the Matter’s General Tab, or Default view. Find it here, on the right side, under Account Details.

*NOTE* - If you don’t see these values in your version of Curo365, you may need to switch to the Curo365 Admin App (shown below) or update your own App with these new fields. There’s a broader conversation to be had regarding adding Fields to existing Forms, so feel free to reach out in the chat for assistance!

There are two ways to move Funds into your Operating Overage Account, either by Allocating Funds to it like you would any other Invoice or Account, or by Transferring Funds into it from another one of your Transferable Accounts.

We already have Guides for both of those methods, so we’ll simply link them here.

For Allocating Funds to your Overage Operating Account, check this Guide for Payments and Allocations.

And for Transferring Funds into your Overage Operating Account, check this Guide for Transfers.

There are two major things that can be done with your Overage Operating Account (besides simply holding Overage Funds):

You can create Disbursals and send them out like you would any other Disbursal from an Account, or you can create a Credit for later Applying to an Invoice. For a Guide on Disbursals, click here, and for creating a Credit, read on!

To create a Credit from your Operating Overage Account, start in a Matter with a Balance in the Overage Operating Account, as you see below.

Now find the small Ellipses on the top right, in your Ribbon. Click it and choose Create Operating Credit.

Note a few things in the picture below. First, the Total Operating Balance must be higher than the Amount for which you’re creating the Balance. This may seem rather obvious, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to miss something small like this and then wonder why it won’t take the Amount.

Lastly, notice the Total of Credits Applied Field. This IS NOT a ‘total of credits created’ Field. Just because we created this $250 Credit, that Field will remain empty until someone actually uses one of the created Credits.

Once finished, click Save at the top of the screen, and this Credit is now available to apply to future Invoices!

As well as Manual Application of the Funds in your Operating Account, you can also configure the system to Automatically withdraw Funds from the Operating Account to cover Matter Invoices when the necessary Retainers or Credits are not present.

For example, if a Matter has a Balance of $5,000, a Retainer Balance of $2,000 and an Operating Balance of $4,000, then clicking the Apply Retainer button will cause:

1 – The Retainer of $2,000 be applied to the Balance of $5,000, leaving a new Balance of $3,000.

2 – The Operating Account to be deducted (down to $0) the necessary Funds to cover the remaining Matter Balance. In this case, $3,000 of its total $4,000.

3 – $3,000 will be deducted from Operating, converted into a Credit and then applied to the Invoice/Invoices comprising the Matter Balance.

4 – Once everything is complete, the Matter’s Balance is $0, the Retainer’s Balance is $0, and the Operating Account Balance is $1,000.

Obviously, this is not a feature that you would want on automatically, so by default, it is off. If, however, you decide that your Firm would like to include the Operating Account in any Automatic Allocation Calculations, you must first go to the Configuration and turn it On. Click here for the Configuration Guide and find the Field info for Auto Convert Operating Balance to Credits.

Then, for information on including the Operating Balance in your Auto Allocations, click here for our Guide on Configuring your Auto Allocations.

And that’s it! Use this new Account Type to keep your extra Matter Funds, and come to me in the chat for anything else!