Practice Pro - Setting Up and Managing Split Billing
This Training Video will walk you through the set up and management of Split Billing in Practice Pro.
Video Transcript:
In this video, we’ll walk through how to set up split billing, a feature that allows a single matter bill to be divided among multiple parties for payment.
To get started, navigate to the matter, select the Settings tab, then choose Billing Arrangements from the menu. This is where you can review existing arrangements or create a new one. Select Add Billing Arrangement and enter a name.
Next, choose your arrangement type. There are four options:
Total percentage – Each party pays a percentage of the total bill. All percentages must add up to 100%. For example, Party A pays 75% and Party B pays 25%.
Total amount – Each party pays a fixed dollar amount. All amounts must cover 100% of the total bill. For example, Party A covers the first $1,000, Party B covers the next $500, and Party C covers the remainder.
Fee/expense percentage – Each party pays a percentage applied specifically to fees and/or expenses. For example, Party A pays 50% of fees, and Party B pays the remaining 50% of fees plus 100% of expenses.
Fee/expense amount – Each party pays a fixed dollar amount applied specifically to fees and/or expenses. For example, Party A covers the first $500 in fees, Party B covers the next $500 in fees and $250 in expenses, and Party C covers the remainder.
In our first example, let’s set up a total percentage arrangement type. There are two optional settings to configure before adding your billing parties:
Apply to pre-bills by default – Enable this if you want this arrangement to automatically apply when generating pre-bills for the matter.
Show notes on invoice – Enable this to display your split billing notes in the split billing summary section on the pre-bill and final invoice.
Next, designate your first billing party using the billing party dropdown. The options available here are pulled directly from the matter’s connections, specifically any connection marked as a billing contact. If a party isn’t appearing in the dropdown, they haven’t been designated as a billing contact yet.
To add them, navigate to the Connections tab. Locate the connection, select the pencil icon on their line item, check Billing Contact, and save. When you return to billing arrangements, reopen the split billing arrangement and select Add a Billing Party. That contact will now be available in the dropdown.
Next, select each party’s billing address from the dropdown. These options are pulled from the addresses associated with that connection and will automatically populate on their printed copy of the invoice. Then set the percentage for each party. In this example, the first billing contact is responsible for 75% and the second for 25%. Additional parties can be added—just ensure all percentages add up to 100%.
Check the Remainder box on the billing party who should absorb any leftover pennies from rounding.
Now let’s say you need to switch arrangement types. Change the Arrangement Type dropdown to Total Amount. The setup works similarly. Set the Amount up to for each party. In this example, the first party covers up to $1,000, the second party covers up to $500, and a third party will cover the remainder.
Optionally, use the Note field to document the agreement. For the party covering the remainder, leave the Amount up to set to zero, add a note such as “Agreed to pay remainder,” and check the Remainder box.
You can also control the priority order of billing parties. This determines which party’s amount is applied first. To reorder, hover over a billing party’s row and drag it using the two-line icon on the right. The first party in the list is assigned their amount first, and any remaining balance flows to the next party.
When everything looks correct, select Save.
Pre-bills with split billing arrangements are generated the same way as any other pre-bill, and the arrangement is applied automatically. To view the split billing details on a generated pre-bill, navigate to the Pre-Bill List page from the left sidebar. In the Pre-Bill Number column, any pre-bill with a split arrangement will show the word “Split” beneath the invoice number.
Click Split to open a right-side panel displaying the arrangement details. Alternatively, open the pre-bill directly and select the Split Billing Arrangement button at the top of the page.
Invoices can then be delivered electronically to each billing party or printed and mailed. Keep in mind that a split billing arrangement produces a single invoice for the matter, not one per billing party. The bottom of the invoice will include a split billing summary showing the amount due from each party.
Once the invoice has been generated, navigate to the Invoices List page from the left sidebar to manage it. Just as on the Pre-Bills page, any invoice with a split arrangement will show the word “Split” beneath the invoice number.
Click Split to view the arrangement details or print the invoice directly from this page. Keep in mind that each printed copy will include the corresponding billing address.
After delivering the invoice to the billing parties and receiving payment, select the Receive Payment link to apply each party’s payment individually. The process is identical to applying any other payment, with two additional options on the right side of the page:
Pay split amount – A quick apply link for the exact amount that billing party owes for their portion of the bill.
View arrangement – Displays the full split billing arrangement details for all billing parties.
That concludes our walkthrough of split billing, from setting up the arrangement on the matter through generating pre-bills and applying payment from each billing party.