Retained Trust Funds

Jan 14, 2026
Knowledge

How To

Retained Trust Funds in LEAP allows you to lock in specific trust fund amounts for future use, safeguarding funds for disbursements or invoices. Funds can be protected once client monies have been receipted for a matter and banked. Learn how to retain trust funds and manage these allocations.

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Create a Retained Trust Fund from Trust Funds

Click to edit heading

The retained trust funds ledger can be popped out and maximized to fill the entire screen by clicking User-added image in the top right of the ledger.

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Trust Funds > Retained Trust Funds tabs.
Click Retain Funds on the toolbar to open the New Retained Trust Fund window.
Select the Account and change the Date if required.
By default, the Matter field is automatically filled with the matter number of the matter you opened.
Select the reason the money is being Retained For. If you select the Invoice option, click to choose the invoice from the list, then click Select.

Once you've selected the invoice, you can double-check if it's the correct one by clicking .

Click to edit heading

You can retain trust funds for:

Matter Retainer - Can be released for any transactions for the matter.
Invoice - Can only be released for the selected invoice.
Expenses & Third Party Payments - Can only be released by removing this retained trust funds first.

Enter the Amount to be retained and the Reason for retaining the funds.
Click Save & Close.

The retained amount displays on the matter's Trust Funds Ledger as Retained Funds.

If you have retained the funds for an invoice, you will have the ability to display this on an already generated invoice to show the total of the invoice less the amount held in retained funds. Once you have retained the funds for the invoice, re-open the invoice and re-print it.

Retained funds can also be modified and deleted. To modify retained funds, open the transaction from the Retained Trust Funds tab of the matter and make the necessary changes.

Create a Retained Trust Fund for an Invoice

Open the invoice.

The invoice must have a status of Final - Printed/Sent.
Click Save & Retain Trust Funds.
Check the details displayed in the New Retained Trust Fund window.
Click Save & Close.

A new retained trust fund item is created and the funds are held for the payment of the invoice.

When the invoice is printed, the retained amount is displayed.

Retained funds can also be modified and deleted. To modify retained funds, open the transaction from the Retained Trust Funds tab of the matter and make the necessary changes.

Release Retained Trust Funds

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Trust Funds > Retained Trust Funds tabs.
Select the Account from the drop-down list.
Right-click the retained trust fund entry and select New Payment & Release Retained Funds.

Click to edit heading

If the funds were retained for Matter Retainer or Invoice, then the Trust to Receivables Transfer window will open for you to complete the transaction. See Trust to Receivables Transfer for more info.
If the funds were retained for Expenses & Third Party Payments, the Make Payment window will open for you to complete the transaction. See Creating a Trust Payment Paid for more info.

Delete Retained Trust Funds

Open the matter.
Click LEAP Accounting.

LEAP Accounting will open in a new window.
Click the Trust Funds > Retained Trust Funds tabs.
Select the Account from the drop-down list.
Right-click the retained trust fund entry and select Delete.
Confirm the deletion.

Click to edit heading

Only retained trust fund entries can be deleted. All other trust transactions must be reversed; they cannot be deleted.

Create a Retained Trust Fund from Trust Funds

Open the matter.
Hover over the Trust Funds tab and click Retained Trust Funds.
Click New Transaction.
Select the Bank Account and change the Date if required.
By default, the Matter field is automatically filled with the matter number of the matter you opened.
Select the reason the money is being Retained For. If you select the Invoice No. option, click to choose the invoice from the list.

Click to edit heading

You can retain trust funds for:

Matter Retainers - Can be released for any transactions for the matter.
Invoice No. - Can only be released for the selected invoice.
Expenses & Third Party Payments - Can only be released by removing this retained trust funds first.

Enter the Amount to be retained and the Reason for retaining the funds.
Click Save.

The retained amount displays on the matter's Trust Funds Ledger as Retained Funds.

If you have retained the funds for an invoice, you will have the ability to display this on an already generated invoice to show the total of the invoice less the amount held in retained funds. Once you have retained the funds for the invoice, re-open the invoice and re-print it.

Retained funds can also be modified and deleted. To modify retained funds, open the transaction from the Retained Trust Funds tab of the matter and make the necessary changes.

Create a Retained Trust Fund for an Invoice

Open the invoice.

The invoice must have a status of Final - Printed/Sent.
Click Save & Retain Trust Funds.
Check the details displayed in the New Retained Trust Fund window.
Click Save.

A new retained trust fund item is created and the funds are held for the payment of the invoice.

When the invoice is printed, the retained amount is displayed.

Retained funds can also be modified and deleted. To modify retained funds, open the transaction from the Retained Trust Funds tab of the matter and make the necessary changes.

Release Retained Trust Funds

Open the matter.
Hover over the Trust Funds tab and click Retained Trust Funds.
Select the Account from the drop-down list.
Right-click the retained trust fund entry and select New Payment & Release Retained Fund.

Click to edit heading

If the funds were retained for Matter Retainer or Invoice, then the Trust to Receivables Transfer window will open for you to complete the transaction. See Trust to Receivables Transfer for more info.
If the funds were retained for Expenses & Third Party Payments, the Make Payment window will open for you to complete the transaction. See Creating a Trust Payment Paid for more info.

Delete Retained Trust Funds

Open the matter.
Hover over the Trust Funds tab and click Retained Trust Funds.
Select the Account from the drop-down list.
Right-click the retained trust fund entry and select Delete.
Confirm the deletion.

Last Modified Date

1/14/2026 1:20 AM

Title

Retained Trust Funds

URL Name

Protected-Trust-Funds-US