Disbursing a settled case in Clio
How the disbursement runs in Clio today, and what changes when Disbo is connected · October 2026 · Disbo connects to Clio (Live)
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How it runs in Clio today
The case is in Clio. The money is not. Once the client signs the settlement statement, the amounts leave the case system and are re-typed somewhere else: a spreadsheet, the accounting system, check stock. Six hand-offs, each one a place where a number can change.
| Step | By hand | With Disbo connected to Clio |
|---|---|---|
| The statement is signed | The client signs the settlement statement; the signed copy goes in the case before anything else happens. | Same. Disbo reads the signed statement from the matter; it never generates one. |
| Amounts move to accounting | Someone re-types payees and amounts from the statement into the accounting system or a spreadsheet, and checks the trust balance for the case. | Nothing is retyped. Payees and amounts come from the matter; the case's trust balance is on the screen. |
| Checks are written | Each check is printed or handwritten, signed by a partner, and matched to its enclosure (lien release, settlement letter). | Staff prepare the payouts in one list; the signer approves once; checks print on the firm's own account. |
| Envelopes are stuffed and mailed | Documents are copied, folded and mailed; ACH payees are called for bank details. | Printed and mailed with the documents attached per recipient; ACH payees link a bank once. |
| Tracking | Staff answer "did the doctor get paid?" by checking the bank, the mail log and the case. | Status per recipient on the matter in Clio: queued, sent, delivered, cashed. |
| Posting and reconciliation | Each payment is posted to the client ledger and the books; the trust account is reconciled at month end. | Posted to the case and the books as each payment is issued; reconciliation export in beta. |
Anonymized client results: a seven-payee disbursement took a firm about 2 hours by hand and about 30 minutes in Disbo; a firm found $200,000 sitting in trust once balances were shown by case.
With Disbo connected: what moves, and which way
Clio stays the case system. Disbo is the payment record. Each item below is stated for Clio specifically; the connection is live today.
Clio → Disbo · what comes in · Live
- The matter: name, number, practice area
- The client and contacts
- Settlement amount and fee from the matter's custom fields
- Case costs (disbursements recorded in Clio)
- Documents
Disbo → Clio · what goes back · Live
- Payment status per recipient on the matter
- Check number, cleared date and check image to the matter's documents
- Case costs paid
- Undisbursed funds
Write-back scope is per system. This list is Clio's; the key between Clio, Disbo and your books is the matter number.
The field map
| In Clio | In Disbo | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Matter name and number | Case | Links every payment, document and status; the key into your books |
| Client / plaintiff | Payee (client) | Net proceeds by check or ACH |
| Settlement amount | Deposit to balance | Pay stays off until the statement and the payments match to $0.00 |
| Attorney fee | Payee (firm, operating) | The fee payment from trust to operating |
| Referral / co-counsel fee | Payee | Paid from the fee with the client's consent on file |
| Case costs | Reimbursement to operating | Costs advanced come back to operating; never paid from trust directly |
| Providers and lienholders | Payees with amounts | Checks with the release enclosed, or ACH after a one-time bank link |
| Documents | Enclosures per recipient | Lien release, settlement letter, mailed in the envelope |
Connected in four steps, on one call
Our implementation team does this with your Clio admin on the implementation call. An hour or two; most firms send their first payment within two weeks.
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Connect with your Clio login Settings → Integrations → Clio → Connect. OAuth; about a minute.
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Map the fields Settlement and fee custom fields, costs.
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Payment status on the matter Status per recipient appears on the matter.
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Pull one matter and send $1 Check every field landed, then a one-dollar check from operating. Then the first real disbursement, with our team on the call.
Bring to the call
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A Clio admin
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Matter numbers in your accounting system
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Settlement and fee in custom fields
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An email per payee
What stays where
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Clio Manage, not Clio Grow.
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Clio tracks trust balances; Disbo pays every payee from the IOLTA on one approval, prints and mails the checks, tracks them to cashed and posts to your books. Most Clio firms keep both.
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Clio Payments stays for client billing; Disbo handles what leaves IOLTA at settlement.
Ask on the call
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Which custom fields hold the settlement amount and the fee, per practice area?
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Are case costs recorded as Clio disbursements, or only in accounting?
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Is the Clio matter number also the client or job key in our books?
Before you disburse: the checklist
Works with or without Disbo. Run it after the client signs and before the first payment leaves trust.
- The settlement funds have cleared in the trust account (deposited is not cleared).
- The client has signed the settlement statement and the signed copy is saved to the case.
- Every lien amount on the statement is confirmed in writing; the letters are in the file.
- Medicare uses the final demand, not the conditional payment estimate.
- The attorney fee follows the basis in the signed fee agreement; any referral fee is disclosed and paid from the fee.
- Case costs are itemized from the ledger; none are estimates.
- The statement foots: gross − fee − costs − liens − government and subrogation − other − holdback = net to client, to the penny.
- Each payee has a legal name, a mailing address or a verified bank account, and the documents to enclose.
- Any holdback has a written release condition and a date to re-check it.
- The signer who will approve the disbursement is available, with two-factor set up.
- Every payment will be posted to the case ledger and the books on the day it is issued.
What Disbo does not do
- Generate the settlement statement. The firm prepares it in Clio or from our template; Disbo reads the signed one.
- Negotiate liens or track bills. Amounts come from the statement as signed.
- Hold the money. Checks are drawn on the firm's own account; electronic payments pass through a bank partner for seconds.
- Take fees from trust. Disbo bills the firm's operating account.
Disbo connects to Clio today. See the connection in a 30-minute demo: disbo.com/book-demo · Integration page: disbo.com/integrations/clio · Three-way reconciliation is in beta with a small group of firms.
Disbo (disbo.com). Educational material, not legal advice. Sample firm Westbrook & Vale and all figures are illustrative.
FAQ
Does Clio already do trust accounting?
Clio tracks trust balances; Disbo pays every payee from the IOLTA on one approval, prints and mails the checks, tracks them to cashed and posts to your books. Most Clio firms keep both.
Clio Manage or Clio Grow?
Clio Manage.
Case numbers?
The Filevine case number is the key in Disbo and, through Disbo, in your accounting system. No case number, no sync.
What about Clio Payments?
It stays for client billing; Disbo handles what leaves IOLTA at settlement.