Disbursing a settled case in SmartAdvocate
How the disbursement runs in SmartAdvocate today, and what changes when Disbo is connected · October 2026 · Disbo connects to SmartAdvocate (Live)
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How it runs in SmartAdvocate today
The case is in SmartAdvocate. 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 SmartAdvocate |
|---|---|---|
| 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 case in SmartAdvocate: 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
SmartAdvocate stays the case system. Disbo is the payment record. Each item below is stated for SmartAdvocate specifically; the connection is live today.
SmartAdvocate → Disbo · what comes in · Live
- The case: name, number, type, date of loss
- The client and contacts
- Settlement amount, attorney fee, referral fee
- Case costs
- Providers and lienholders with amounts
- Settlement documents
Disbo → SmartAdvocate · what goes back · Live
- Payment status per recipient on the case
- Check number, cleared date and check image to the case's documents
- Documents mailed
- Case costs paid
- Undisbursed funds
Write-back scope is per system. This list is SmartAdvocate's; the key between SmartAdvocate, Disbo and your books is the case number.
The field map
| In SmartAdvocate | 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 SmartAdvocate admin on the implementation call. An hour or two; most firms send their first payment within two weeks.
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API credentials from SmartAdvocate Your SmartAdvocate rep issues them; our team connects. Ask your rep what API access costs on your plan; Disbo's connection itself has no setup fee.
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Map the fields per case type Plaintiff, settlement, fee, referral, costs, providers.
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Payment status on the case Status per recipient appears on the case.
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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 SmartAdvocate admin
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API access from SmartAdvocate
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A case number also in your accounting system
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An email per payee
What stays where
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Two ways to connect: direct, or through QuickBooks customers while the direct connection is set up.
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Several entities: one IOLTA and one QuickBooks file per state is a setup our team configures, with every case tied to the right one.
Ask on the call
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Does our plan include API access, and what does SmartAdvocate charge for it?
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How many entities and trust accounts do we run, and which cases belong to each?
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Is the SmartAdvocate case number the key in our accounting system?
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 SmartAdvocate 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 SmartAdvocate today. See the connection in a 30-minute demo: disbo.com/book-demo · Integration page: disbo.com/integrations/smartadvocate · 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
SmartAdvocate charges for API access.
Ask your SmartAdvocate rep what applies to your plan; Disbo's connection itself has no setup fee.
Our firm has several entities.
One IOLTA and one QuickBooks file per state is a setup our team configures, with every case tied to the right one.
Case numbers?
The Filevine case number is the key in Disbo and, through Disbo, in your accounting system. No case number, no sync.
Can we start before the API is set up?
Yes: through QuickBooks customers while the direct connection is set up.