Retainer & Credits Ledger

How To

The Retainer & Credits Ledger enables you to create payments received, journals, expenses paid and apply retainers & credits to your Operating Account. If a client has overpaid an invoice, a retainer replenishment can be entered against the payment received.

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Web

Access the Retainer & Credits Ledger

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Operating Accounting > Retainer & Credits tabs.

Click to edit heading

The Retainer & Credits Ledger can be popped out by clicking in the top-right corner.

Create a New Retainer & Credits Payment Received

To create a New Retainer & Credits Payment Received (or credit memo):

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Operating Accounting > Retainer & Credits tabs.
Click Receive Payment.

The New Operating Payment window will open.
Enter the Total amount.
Enter or select the client in the Mailing Address. Type directly into the textbox or click to choose the person the Card List, then click Select.
Choose a Payment Type by clicking and choosing an option from the list, then click Select.

Once you have chosen the Payment Type and depending on your selection, you may want to enter the Payment Type Details which may automatically display for you to complete. If not, click and complete the bank account details fields. Click OK.

Click to edit heading

If you have selected either Wire or Credit Card as your payment type and you have multiple bank accounts in LEAP, you can change the bank account to be used for the payment.

(Optional) Edit the Memo.
Enter a Reference No. if you are not using automatic sequential numbering.
Enter or select a Date.
Click into the Apply field on the Retainer row (under the Memo column) then enter an amount. The total applied amount must equal the amount entered in Total.
Click Save & Close.

The payment will be recorded in the matter under the Operating Accounting > Expenses & Receivables tabs and Operating Accounting > Retainers & Credits tabs.

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Click Save & New Bank Deposit to save & close the payment and automatically open a new bank deposit. For more information on operating account bank deposits, click here.

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A credit receipt can be created when a refund is received from a supplier. The first step is to create a New Operating Payment (click the Receive Payment button). This step is needed to accurately record funds being re-introduced into the Operating Accounting. The available funds created from this receipt are then either Apply Credit to Invoices or New Replenishment directly to the client's personal bank account.

Reverse a Retainer & Credits Payment Received

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Operating Accounting > Retainer & Credits tabs.
Open the payment.
Click on the toolbar.
(Optional) Edit the Memo.
Enter or select a Date.
Click Save & Close.

The reversal will be recorded in the matter under the Operating Accounting > Expenses & Receivables tabs and Operating Accounting > Retainer & Credits tabs.

Click to edit heading

If the error message "Not enough credit to complete this transaction" appears when reversing a payment, you will first need to reverse any associated invoices, then try reversing the payment again.

Create a New Retainer/Credit Journal to Another Matter

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Operating Accounting > Retainer & Credits tabs.
Click New Journal.

The New Retainer/Credit Journal window will open.
Enter a Journal No. if you are not using automatic sequential numbering.
Enter or select a Date.
In the top row of the table, click the Matter No. (the current matter you're in will be input by default), the Debtor, the Reason and the Amount of the journal as a negative figure i.e. -250.
In the following row of the table, enter the Matter No. (the matter you want to transfer to), the Debtor, the Reason and the Amount of the journal as a positive figure i.e. 250.

Click to edit heading

The Out of Balance must be 0.00.

Click Save & Close.

Reverse a Retainer/Credit Journal

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Operating Accounting > Retainer & Credits tabs.
Open the journal.
Click on the toolbar.
(Optional) Edit the Reason for each matter.
Click Save & Close.

Create a New Retainer/Credit Expense Paid

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Operating Accounting > Retainer & Credits tabs.
Click Pay Expense.

The New Pay Expense window will open.
Enter the Amount.
The default Bank Account is used. If you want to use a different account, click and select one from the list, then click Select.
Enter or click to select a card for Pay To and Address fields.
Enter or click to select a Payment Type.

Once you have chosen the Payment Type and depending on your selection, you may want to enter the Payment Type Details which may automatically display for you to complete. If not, click and complete the fields and click OK.
Enter a Reference No. if you are not using automatic sequential numbering.
Enter or select a Date.
Enter a Reason.
Click Save & Close.

The expense (refund) will be recorded in the matter under the Operating Accounting > Expenses & Receivables tabs and Operating Accounting > Retainers & Credits tabs.

Click to edit heading

If you need to move funds from the Operating Account into the Trust Account, you can record this in LEAP by first creating a new Expense and selecting a card with your Trust Account details, then creating a Trust Receipt for the associated Trust Account. This ensures that the funds are properly recorded as moving from the Operating Account into the Trust Account.

Reverse a Retainer/Credit Expense Paid

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Operating Accounting > Retainer & Credits tabs.
Open the expense.
Click on the toolbar.
Enter or select a Date.
(Optional) Edit the Reason.
Click Save & Close.

Apply Retainer/Credit to Invoices - Single Matter

Click to edit heading

You must have a retainer/credit balance in order to apply retainers/credits to an invoice.

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Operating Accounting > Retainer & Credits tabs.
Click Apply to Invoices.

The Apply Credit to Invoices window will open.
Enter a Memo.
Enter a Transaction No. if you are not using automatic sequential numbering.
Enter or select a Date.
Enter the Total amount.
In the table of invoices, enter the amount of retainer/credit balance to an invoice in the Apply column.

Click to edit heading

The Out of Balance must be 0.00.

Click Save & Close.

Apply Retainer/Credit to Invoices - Multiple Matters

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You must have a retainer/credit balance in order to apply retainers/credits to an invoice.

From LEAP Matter List, click the LEAP Menu > Accounting > under Operating Accounting > Apply Retainers/Credits to Invoices.

The Apply Retainers/Credits to Invoices will open in a new window.
(Optional) Click to Select Batch No.
Edit the Memo.
Enter or click to select a Transaction Date.
Tick the Print checkbox if you wish to print the transaction after saving.
Enter the retainer/credit balance of an invoice in the Apply column.

You can also click Apply All to apply all available retainer/credit balances to the invoices (starting from top to bottom if there are more than one invoices per matter).

Otherwise, click the drop-down arrow of Apply All and select Clear Applied to clear all of Apply column.
Click Save & Close.

Reverse a Retainer/Credit Applied Transaction

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Operating Accounting > Retainer & Credits tabs.
Open the transaction.
Click on the toolbar.
(Optional) Edit the Memo.
Enter or select a Date.
Click Save & Close.

Click to edit heading

new (1).png If you enter a transaction that would cause the matter to fall below the set Minimum Operating Retainer Balance, you will be notified via LEAP Notifications that the minimum retainer balance has been exceeded. Click on the notification to open the matter and view the associated transaction.

Minimum operating retainer balance notification.png

Access the Retainer & Credits Ledger

Open the matter.
Hover over the Operating Account tab then click Retainer & Credits Ledger.

Create a New Retainer & Credits Payment Received

Open the matter.
Hover over the Operating Account tab then click Retainer & Credits Ledger.
Click Receive Payment to open the Operating Account - Receive Payment window.
By default, the Debtor's Mailing Address field displays the current matter client's name and address. Click to change it from the window. You can also directly type a name and address into the Debtor's Mailing Address textbox by deleting the existing information then entering the new details.
Enter the Total amount.
Select a Payment Type from the drop-down list. Once a payment type is selected, the Payment Type Details window displays.

Complete the relevant information in the window and click Add. If you need to change any of the payment type details at any stage, click .

Click to edit heading

If you have selected either Wire or Credit Card as your payment type and you have multiple bank accounts in LEAP, you can change the bank account to be used for the payment.

Enter a Reference No. if you are not using automatic sequential numbering.
Enter or select a Transaction Date.
(Optional) Edit the Memo.
Click New Line.

A new line will be created with Retainer/Credit under the Memo column.
(Optional) Edit the Memo.
Click into the Apply field on the Retainer/Credit line and enter an amount. The amount must be equal to the amount entered in Total.
Click Save.

The payment will be recorded in the matter under the Operating Account > Expenses & Receivables tabs and Operating Account > Retainers & Credits tabs.

Reverse a Retainer & Credits Payment Received

Open the matter.
Hover over the Operating Account tab then click Retainer & Credits Ledger.
Open the payment.
Click Reverse.
Enter or select a Transaction Date.
(Optional) Edit the Memo.
Click Save.

Create a New Retainer/Credit Journal to Another Matter

Open the matter.
Hover over the Operating Account tab then click Retainer & Credits Ledger.
Click New Journal to open the New Retainer/Credit Journal window.
Enter a Journal No. if you are not using automatic sequential numbering.
Enter or select a Transaction Date.
In the top row of the table:
- By default, the Matter No. cell is auto-filled with the matter you're in. Click into the Matter No. cell to select a different matter from a drop-down list, if required.
- Type a description in the Reason cell.
- Enter the amount you're transferring from the current matter in the Credit cell.
In the following row of the table:
- Click into the Matter No. cell to select the matter from a drop-down list.
- Type a description in the Reason cell.
- Enter the amount you're transferring to the other matter in the Debit cell.

Click to edit heading

The Out of Balance must be 0.00.

Click Save.

Reverse a Retainer/Credit Journal

Open the matter.
Hover over the Operating Account tab then click Retainer & Credits Ledger.
Open the journal.
Click Reverse.
Enter or select a Transaction Date.
Click Save.

Create a New Retainer/Credit Expense Paid

Open the matter.
Hover over the Operating Account tab then click Retainer & Credits Ledger.
Click Pay Expense to open the Pay Expense window.
The default Bank Account is used. If you want to use a different account, select one from the drop-down list.
Enter the Amount.
Click to select a card for Pay To and Address fields.
Select a Payment Type from the drop-down list. Once a payment type is selected, the Payment Type Details window displays.

Complete the relevant information in the window and click Add. If you need to change any of the payment type details at any stage, click .
Enter a Reference No. if you are not using automatic sequential numbering.
Enter or select a Transaction Date.
Enter a Reason.
Click Save.

Reverse a Retainer/Credit Expense Paid

Open the matter.
Hover over the Operating Account tab then click Retainer & Credits Ledger.
Open the expense.
Click Reverse.
Enter or select a Transaction Date.
(Optional) Edit the Reason.
Click Save.

Applying Retainers/Credits to Invoices on a Matter

Click to edit heading

You must have a retainer/credit balance in order to apply retainers/credits to an invoice.

Open the matter.
Hover over the Operating Account tab then click Retainer & Credits Ledger.
Click Apply to Invoices to open the New Apply Credit to Invoices window.
Enter the Total Amount.
Enter a Transaction No. if you are not using automatic sequential numbering.
Enter or select a Transaction Date.
Click the Apply field of an invoice and enter the amount of retainer/credit you wish to apply to the invoice.

Click to edit heading

The Out of Balance must be 0.00.

(Optional) Enter a Memo.
Click Save.

Reverse a Retainer/Credit Applied Transaction

Open the matter.
Hover over the Operating Account tab then click Retainer & Credits Ledger.
Open the transaction.
Click Reverse.
Enter or select a Transaction Date.
(Optional) Edit the Memo.
Click Save.

Last Modified Date

1/14/2026 1:48 AM

Title

Retainer & Credits Ledger

URL Name

Add-a-credit-note