01
Prepare against the matter
Build the disbursement from matter, recipient, amount, and trust-account context—not from an isolated payment form.
Compliance-focused disbursements
Moving money is easy. Keeping every disbursement reviewable is harder.
Disbo connects preparation, approval context, supported payment rails, status, exceptions, and reconciliation to the matter—so your team can control the process around the payment, not just send it.
Disbo supports operational controls; it does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice or replace the responsible attorney's review.
What is the difference between a payment tool and a compliance-focused disbursement platform?
A payment tool answers, “How do we send this money?” A compliance-focused platform also helps your firm answer who prepared it, what was reviewed, who approved it, which matter it belongs to, what happened after initiation, and how the record supports reconciliation.
Buyer question
Generic payment or check tool
Compliance-focused workflow
Before payment
Enter recipient and amount
Prepare against matter and trust context
Approval
Submit or send
Record role-based approval context
After initiation
View a transaction
Track status and exceptions with the matter
Accounting
Export or re-key
Map supported fields and preserve source-of-truth boundaries
Review
Search separate records
Connect payment history to reconciliation context
How does a controlled settlement disbursement workflow work?
It keeps six operational stages connected. The firm remains in control of review and approval throughout.
02
Review before money moves
The firm reviews recipient and amount details, then authorized roles provide approval context before a payment order is created.
03
Choose a supported payment rail
Initiate an approved payment through Quick Pay, Standard Pay, or a paper check via Lob.
04
See payment status in context
Keep payment progress and tracked paper-check delivery status connected to the relevant matter instead of searching a bank record alone.
05
Investigate exceptions
Return and reversal updates remain visible in the workflow so your team can investigate the payment and its matter context.
06
Support reconciliation
Use case-linked payment records and client-ledger context to support three-way reconciliation and internal review.
Does “sent” mean a disbursement is complete?
No. Initiation, processing, delivery, clearing, and reconciliation answer different questions. A status update should be read in the context of its payment rail—not treated as proof that every later step is complete.
Initiated
The firm approved the instruction and a payment order was created.
Processing
The external payment provider is handling the instruction. Timing depends on the selected rail.
Delivered
An electronic or paper payment reached a delivery milestone. Delivery alone does not establish clearing.
Cleared or unresolved
Bank and check activity determines whether funds cleared. An outstanding paper check remains unresolved until its status changes or the firm investigates it.
Returned or reversed
A return or reversal requires review; it is not a completed disbursement merely because the original instruction was sent.
Reconciled
The firm confirms the bank, trust-account books, and client-ledger context agree. Payment status is an input to reconciliation, not a substitute for it.
Does Disbo automatically synchronize every connected system?
No. Connections are implementation-scoped. Supported behavior depends on the integration, permissions, configuration, and the systems your firm chooses to own each record.
Review available integrationsField mapping
Confirm which matter, recipient, amount, status, and accounting fields the selected integration supports.
Source of truth
Decide whether the case-management, accounting, or disbursement system owns each type of record.
Direction and timing
Define which supported updates move in each direction and when they occur.
Configuration boundaries
Account permissions, identifiers, field quality, and vendor availability can affect implementation.
What does implementation require?
Your firm identifies the systems in scope, record owners, required fields, user roles, and available permissions.
What gets configured?
The firm and Disbo confirm supported mappings, update direction, approval boundaries, and exception ownership before relying on a connected workflow.
What happens when attention is needed?
Your team reviews the status and matter context, follows the applicable firm procedure, and raises connection or payment questions through the Disbo Help Center. Payment recipients can also email support@disbo.com. Resolution may depend on the external system or payment provider involved.
Credential handling depends on the connection. For Plaid bank connections, credentials are entered through Plaid's tokenized flow; Disbo does not receive or store the bank login credentials entered there. Other systems use their supported authorization method and permissions confirmed during implementation.
What controls are live in Disbo?
- Role and permission controls for payout initiation
- Recorded approval context before payment-order creation
- Tracked changes to payment records
- Verified provider webhook signatures for return and reversal updates
- Case-linked records, tracked paper checks, and reconciliation support
Frequently asked questions
What is a compliance-focused settlement disbursement platform?
It is a system that keeps payment preparation, approval context, payment status, exceptions, and reconciliation records connected to the relevant matter. A generic payment or check tool may move money, but it may not preserve the matter and trust-account context your firm needs for review.
Does Disbo guarantee IOLTA or bar compliance?
No. Disbo provides workflow controls and records that can support a firm's trust-accounting processes, but it does not guarantee compliance or provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. The responsible attorney must determine and follow the rules that apply in each jurisdiction.
Does every Disbo integration sync automatically?
No. Available data exchange depends on the supported integration, the fields mapped during implementation, permissions, configuration, and which system the firm chooses as its source of truth. Disbo confirms those boundaries during implementation.
What payment options does Disbo support?
Disbo supports Quick Pay, Standard Pay, and paper checks via Lob. Payment timing and status depend on the selected rail and external processing.
How does Disbo help prevent disbursement errors?
Disbo reduces handoffs by keeping matter data, recipient details, approval context, payment records, and reconciliation context in one controlled workflow. These controls can reduce opportunities for manual error, but they do not prevent every error or replace attorney review.
Which system remains the source of truth?
That is an implementation decision. A case-management system may remain the source of truth for matters, while an accounting system remains the source of truth for the books. The supported field map and update direction should be agreed during configuration.
See where your current disbursement process loses context.
Book a walkthrough focused on your preparation, approval, payment, exception, integration, and reconciliation requirements.