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Adding Costs and Expenses to Retain

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Overview

This help document provides a comprehensive guide on how to utilize the Expenses to Retain feature within CMPOnline.

Efficiently managing firm-paid costs is essential for accurate financial reporting. This guide explains how to flag and track specific costs so that they are reimbursed directly to your firm from collected funds during the remittance process. By following these steps, you ensure that internal reimbursements are prioritized over external vendor payouts, keeping your firm’s cash flow organized and accurate.

System-Wide Configuration (Admin Setup)

Before using this feature, the global accounting settings must be configured to recognize which transaction codes represent firm-retained expenses.

  • Navigate to Administration > Setup > Company > Accounting tab.
  • Check the Show Expenses to Retain box to enable the visibility of retained expenses in your financial modules.
  • Under Firm Expenses Check Transaction, select the default code (e.g., AF:FE / Attorney Fees, Firm Expenses Retained). This tells the system which code to use when “cutting a check” back to the firm for these costs. (Please see below for assistance in setting up the Firm Expenses Retained transaction code.)

Note: If your firm requires the ability to track internal costs that do not involve a physical check (e.g., automated postage or copy fees), please reach out to a CMPOnline Support Specialist. They will need to enable the “Allow Costs Entries” setting within the Administrative Company Settings to activate this functionality for you.

CMPOnline Legal Costs and Expenses to Retain

Transaction Code Setup

You must designate specific codes that trigger the “Retain” logic.

CMPOnline Legal Costs and Expenses to Retain
  • Navigate to Administration > Lookups > Financial > Trans Types / Codes.
  • Configure the Code by opening or creating the specific cost code (e.g., AF:FE).
  • Ensure the Affects Expenses to Retain checkbox is selected.
  • Set the Check Payee to Firm to ensure the system knows the firm is the entity being reimbursed.

Adding Expenses to Retain

Below are two primary ways to record an expense that the firm intends to retain. To get started, navigate to Case File > Financial > Checks/Costs and follow the below steps.

Via Physical Check

When the firm pays for a cost up front but wants to be reimbursed from the client’s trust/funds:

  • Click Add New under the Checks tab.
  • Select the Court Costs Transaction Type and the applicable Transaction Code (specifically, the code where “Affects Expenses to Retain” is enabled).
  • Confirm the Payee Type is set to the Firm.

Via Cost Entry

For internal costs (like copy fees or long-distance charges) that don’t require a physical check:
Note: If your firm requires the non-check cost tracking and the option is not visible, please reach out to a CMPOnline Support Specialist to enable the “Allow Costs Entries” setting for you.

  • Click Add New under the Costs tab.
  • Select the applicable costs Transaction Code and enter the amount.

Client Remittance Settings

To ensure these expenses appear on your reports to the client, you must select the appropriate report format.

  • Navigate to Contacts > Clients > [Select Client] > Settings > Remittance tab.
  • Ensure the Remit Type is set to Net if you are subtracting these expenses from the client’s gross recovery.
  • Remit Report Options: Choose one of the three specific reports designed for this workflow.
    • Expenses Retained – Net / No Bill (most common)
    • Expenses Retained – Net / No Bill, with Payment Dates
    • Expenses Retained – Gross
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