Disbursing a settled case in Neos
How the disbursement runs in Neos today, and what changes when Disbo is connected · October 2026 · Disbo connects to Neos (Live)
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How it runs in Neos today
The case is in Neos. 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 Neos |
|---|---|---|
| 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 value notes and General Notes on the case: 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
Neos stays the case system. Disbo is the payment record. Each item below is stated for Neos specifically; the connection is live today.
Neos → Disbo · what comes in · Live
- The case: name, number, type
- The client and contacts
- Settlement and fee from value codes
- Providers and lienholders from value codes
- Case costs
Disbo → Neos · what goes back · Live
- Payment status per recipient as value notes and a General Notes entry (append-only; nothing in Neos is overwritten)
- Check number, cleared date and check image
- Undisbursed funds
Write-back scope is per system. This list is Neos's; the key between Neos, Disbo and your books is the case number.
The field map
| In Neos | 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 Neos admin on the implementation call. An hour or two; most firms send their first payment within two weeks.
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Connect Neos Settings → Integrations → Neos; credentials from your Neos admin.
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Map value codes Value codes to recipients, case types and note topics; choose the disbursement bank; exclude test-case owners.
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Payment status to notes Value notes and a General Notes entry per payment.
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Pull one case 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 Neos admin
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Your value-code list
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Case numbers in your accounting system
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An email per payee
What stays where
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Append-only: Disbo adds notes to the case and never edits what your team wrote.
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Value codes that differ by case type are mapped per case type on the implementation call.
Ask on the call
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Which value codes hold settlement, fee, providers and lienholders for each case type?
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Which note topic should payment entries post under?
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Which users own test cases we should exclude?
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 Neos 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 Neos today. See the connection in a 30-minute demo: disbo.com/book-demo · Integration page: disbo.com/integrations/neos · 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
What does Disbo change in Neos?
Nothing. It adds value notes and a General Notes entry per payment.
Value codes differ by case type.
Mapped per case type on the implementation call.
Case numbers?
The Filevine case number is the key in Disbo and, through Disbo, in your accounting system. No case number, no sync.
Which bank does the disbursement come from?
The one you choose in the mapping; the firm's own account.