Disbo is the disbursements & IOLTA compliance layer for Smokeball firms
Keep Smokeball for matter management, document automation, and time tracking. Add Disbo on top for client and vendor disbursements, 50-state IOLTA enforcement, and bar-ready audit packages in under 60 seconds — with extra muscle for personal injury workflows like settlements and medical lien negotiation. Native Smokeball integration coming soon.
We don't compete with Smokeball — we add the disbursements and compliance layer it doesn't have.
Smokeball is excellent at what it's built for: matter management, automatic time capture, document automation, and Microsoft Office workflows. For most of a firm's day-to-day, that's the right tool. We don't try to replace it.
Where Smokeball stops short — for any firm that holds client funds — is the trust side: enforcing state-bar IOLTA rules at the transaction level and running real disbursements to clients, vendors, co-counsel, and other payees. Disbo plugs that work in as a layer on top, with deeper personal-injury-specific workflows like multi-recipient settlement disbursements and medical lien negotiation built in for firms that need them. Smokeball stays the system of record for the matter. A native Smokeball integration is on the roadmap.
What Smokeball does — and where it stops.
Smokeball is a practice management platform built around document automation, automatic time tracking, and Microsoft Office workflows. Trust accounting is bundled into the higher-tier Smokeball Bill and Boost plans and covers per-matter ledgers, deposits, disbursements, and bank reconciliation. It is not designed to enforce state-specific IOLTA rules at the transaction level or to run real disbursement workflows — and personal injury practices, where settlement disbursements and medical lien negotiation come into play, hit those limits hardest. Disbo is built for that work and complements Smokeball rather than replacing it.
Feature comparison: Disbo vs. Smokeball
Defaults out of the box — not maximum capability after custom configuration.
| Feature | Smokeball | Disbo |
|---|---|---|
Disbursement workflow (clients, vendors, payees) | Manual disbursement entries — one ledger line at a time | Full disbursement workflow with multi-recipient breakdown and audit-ready records |
PI workflows: settlements & medical lien negotiation | Not supported — tracked in documents and matter notes | Settlement disbursements, lien intake, negotiation, and lienholder payments built in |
Negative balance prevention | No automatic block — surfaced during reconciliation | Blocked automatically before the transaction processes |
50-state IOLTA rules engine | Generic trust workflow — no jurisdiction logic | 50+ jurisdiction rules applied automatically per matter |
Three-way reconciliation | Manual workflow — typically monthly | Continuous and automated — runs in real time |
Audit package generation | Standard reports; bar-ready package assembled manually | Complete audit package generated in under 60 seconds |
Native Smokeball integration | — | Coming soon — sync matters, parties, and disbursement events |
Best used as | System of record for matters, documents, and time | Layer on top for trust, disbursements, liens, and IOLTA compliance |
Smokeball runs the matter. Disbo is the disbursements, lien negotiation, and IOLTA compliance layer that sits on top.
Disbursements are a manual lift in Smokeball
Smokeball can record trust ledger entries, but real disbursement work — paying clients, vendors, co-counsel, or (for PI firms) splitting a settlement across multiple recipients — is a manual sequence. Disbo runs the whole disbursement in one workflow with audit-ready breakdown.
No native settlement or lien negotiation workflow
Personal injury firms hit this hardest: medical lien tracking, negotiation, and payment aren't part of Smokeball. Most firms bridge it with spreadsheets and email. Disbo runs settlements, lien intake, negotiation, and lienholder payments in one place.
Trust compliance still sits on the firm
Smokeball's trust module supports bookkeeping but doesn't enforce state-bar IOLTA rules at the transaction level. Disbo adds that enforcement layer for any firm holding client funds: jurisdiction-aware rules, real-time prevention, and one-click bar audit packages.
IOLTA compliance as a system — not a feature checkbox.
Prevention, not detection
Disbo blocks negative balances before the transaction processes. Discovery at month-end is already a violation.
50-state IOLTA rules engine
Every matter carries a governing jurisdiction. Disbo applies that state's IOLTA reconciliation, retention, and notification rules automatically.
Audit-ready in 60 seconds
A complete audit package — client ledgers, three-way reconciliation, disbursement histories — generates from an immutable trail in under a minute.
Choosing between Disbo and Smokeball
Smokeball is best for
Smokeball is best for firms that want strong document automation, automatic time capture, and Microsoft Office-centric matter management — and intend to keep using it as their primary practice management system.
Disbo is best for
Disbo is best for any firm running on Smokeball that holds client funds and wants a real disbursements engine plus automated IOLTA compliance on top — with extra workflows like settlement disbursements and medical lien negotiation for personal injury practices. Added as a layer on top, not as a replacement. Native Smokeball integration is coming soon.
Disbo vs. Smokeball FAQ
Do I have to leave Smokeball to use Disbo?
No. Disbo is built to sit on top of your existing practice management platform. Smokeball stays the system of record for matters, documents, and time. Disbo runs the trust, disbursement, and IOLTA compliance work that Smokeball isn't designed for — with extra settlement and lien negotiation workflows for personal injury firms. A native Smokeball integration is on the roadmap so matters and parties sync automatically.
Is Disbo only for personal injury firms?
No. Disbo's disbursements engine and 50-state IOLTA compliance layer are valuable to any firm that holds client funds — general practice, family law, real estate, estate planning, immigration, and more. Personal injury firms get additional purpose-built workflows on top, like multi-recipient settlement disbursements and medical lien negotiation, because those are the highest-volume, highest-risk disbursement scenarios.
What does Disbo add on top of Smokeball?
Three things Smokeball doesn't do natively: (1) a real disbursement workflow for paying clients, vendors, co-counsel, and other payees with audit-ready records, (2) PI-specific workflows like settlement disbursements and medical lien negotiation, and (3) a 50-state IOLTA rules engine with real-time negative balance prevention and one-click bar-ready audit packages.
Is there a Smokeball integration with Disbo?
A native Smokeball integration is on our near-term roadmap — matter sync, party sync, and disbursement events flowing back into the Smokeball matter. Until that's live, firms typically run Disbo alongside Smokeball with light manual hand-off; the value of disbursements and IOLTA compliance still significantly outweighs the friction.
Does Disbo help Smokeball stay bar-compliant?
That's exactly the goal. Smokeball's trust module is record-keeping; Disbo is the compliance enforcement layer. Negative balances are blocked at entry, the correct state's IOLTA rules apply automatically per matter, and a bar-ready audit package is one click — so firms running on Smokeball can confidently handle trust work without re-platforming.
Compare Disbo to other platforms
See how Disbo's IOLTA compliance approach stacks up against other practice management tools.
Ready to move beyond Smokeball's trust accounting to full IOLTA compliance?
See how Disbo's compliance engine prevents violations, enforces 50-state bar rules, and generates audit-ready reports automatically.
256-bit Encryption · IOLTA Ready · SOC 2 (Coming Soon)