Disbursing a settled case in Filevine
How the disbursement runs in Filevine today, and what changes when Disbo is connected · October 2026 · Disbo connects to Filevine (Live)
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How it runs in Filevine today
The case is in Filevine. 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 Filevine |
|---|---|---|
| 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 case; 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 case; 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 Disbo Payments tab on the project: 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
Filevine stays the case system. Disbo is the payment record. Each item below is stated for Filevine specifically; the connection is live today.
Filevine → Disbo · what comes in · Live
- The case: name, case number, project type, date of loss
- The client as a contact, with address and email
- Gross settlement and the attorney fee
- Referral fee and co-counsel, where the project type has the field
- Case costs from the costs section
- Medical providers and lienholders with their final amounts
- Documents from the Settlement tab: the signed statement, lien letters, enclosure letters
Disbo → Filevine · what goes back · Live
- Payment status per recipient on the Disbo Payments tab: queued, sent, delivered, cashed
- Check number, cleared date and the check image to the case's documents
- Documents mailed with each check, named with the case and recipient
- Case costs paid, with the vendor and date
- Undisbursed funds still in trust for the case
- Settlement deposit received, for the 15-day client notice your team configures
Write-back scope is per system. This list is Filevine's; the key between Filevine, Disbo and your books is the Filevine case number.
The field map
| In Filevine | In Disbo | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Case 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 Filevine admin on the implementation call. An hour or two; most firms send their first payment within two weeks.
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Create the service account In Filevine: Advanced → Service Accounts → new "Disbo" account; Integrations → activate Disbo; Access Tokens → new token. About 10 minutes; needs a Filevine admin.
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Map the fields In Disbo: Settings → Integrations → Filevine → paste the token → Manage Field Mappings per project type: plaintiff, settlement, date of loss, fee, referral fee, costs, providers. About 15 minutes per project type.
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Install the Payments tab Download the Disbo section file; in Filevine's Customs Editor import it into each project type. The tab appears on every case. About 5 minutes.
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Pull one case and send $1 New Case → Filevine, check every field landed, then send yourself a one-dollar check from the operating account. Then the first real disbursement, with our team on the call.
Bring to the call
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A Filevine admin
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A case number that also lives in your accounting system
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Settlement, fee and provider amounts in standard fields (not the Yield tab)
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An email address per payee
What stays where
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The statement is signed in Filevine (Vinesign or however you sign today). Disbo reads the signed statement from the Settlement tab; it never generates one.
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A PI mapping and a workers' comp mapping can live in the same Disbo organization.
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If Filevine pushes to QuickBooks today, that can stay. Disbo adds the payment, the status and the check image on both sides.
Ask on the call
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Which project types will disburse, and are settlement, fee and provider amounts in standard fields for each?
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Is the Filevine case number also the customer or job number in our accounting system?
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Who is the Filevine admin who can create the service account on the call?
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 Filevine 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 Filevine today. See the connection in a 30-minute demo: disbo.com/book-demo · Integration page: disbo.com/integrations/filevine · 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 Disbo generate the settlement statement?
No. Vinesign or however you sign today; Disbo reads the signed statement from the Settlement tab.
We have two project types.
A PI mapping and a workers' comp mapping can live in the same Disbo organization.
Filevine already pushes to QuickBooks.
That can stay. Disbo adds the payment, the status and the check image on both sides.
No case numbers?
The Filevine case number is the key in Disbo and, through Disbo, in your accounting system. No case number, no sync.