Payment & Purchase Requests

Michael Clarke

Overview

The Requisitions feature allows users to request approval for payments and purchases across:

Office transactions
Client / Trust transactions
CMA (Controlled Money Account) transactions
Matter-related transactions

What This Feature Is Used For

Create payment requests for approval
Process supplier disbursements
Allocate costs to matters or ledger accounts
Route transactions through approval workflows

Where It Applies

Firm level
Matter level

Important Notes

Approval is required for all requisitions
Requisition type determines available fields
Some requisitions support Disbursement Codes (Incurred only)
Certain Disbursement Codes are restricted by Office Ledger

How It Works

The system:

Captures structured payment requests
Applies rules based on requisition type
Routes requests to approvers
Enables posting to the relevant ledger once approved
Auto-populates fields where configured

Requisition Workflow (Standard)

All requisitions follow the same core workflow:

Standard Steps

Select Requisition Type
Complete required fields
Select Approver
Enter Reason
Attach documents (optional)
Save requisition

Example Workflow

Purchase > New Disbursement (reference workflow for all requisition types)

Step 1 – Open Requisition

Click Create New (+) → Requisition
OR open a Matter → Requisition +

Step 2 – Complete Details

Select Matter (if using Create New +)
Select Type → Purchase Request

If a Disbursement Code is selected, relevant fields are automatically populated.

Step 3 – Continue Completing Details

Select Pay To (if not auto-populated)
Enter Amount (If not using Disbursement Code)
Select Tax Code (if not auto-populated)

Step 4 – Approval

Select Approver
Enter Reason

Step 5 – Finalise

Attach documents (optional)
Click Save

Which Requisition Type Should I Choose?

Requisition Type	When to Use
Purchase → New Disbursement	Use when you have received a supplier invoice that needs to be recorded against a matter and no existing anticipated disbursement exists.
Purchase → Anticipated Disbursement	Use when an anticipated disbursement has already been recorded on the matter and you have now received the supplier invoice that needs to be matched against it.
Payment → New Disbursement	Use when making a new payment from the Office Account for a matter-related disbursement that has not previously been recorded.
Payment → Anticipated Disbursement	Use when paying an existing anticipated disbursement from the Office Account to the supplier or third party.
Payment → Trust	Use when making a payment directly from a Client/Trust Account.
Payment → CMA / Investment	Use when making a payment from a Controlled Money Account (CMA), Investment Account, or Deposit Account.
Payment → Office Expenses	Use for non-matter office payments, such as staff reimbursements or office expenses that are allocated directly to a General Ledger account.
Payment → General Ledger Disbursement	Use when making a payment from the Office Account that should appear on a matter but also be allocated to a specific General Ledger account.
Matter → Matter Transfer	Use when transferring funds from one matter to another.

Requisition Type Variations

Requisition Type	Key Behaviour
Purchase > New Disbursement	Standard workflow, supplier required, may support Disbursement Codes
Purchase > Anticipated Disbursement	Links to existing anticipated disbursement, auto-fills fields
Payment > New Disbursement	Matter payment, may support Disbursement Codes, payment method may auto-fill
Payment > Anticipated Disbursement	Uses existing anticipated record, auto-populated values
Payment > Trust	Trust ledger only, no Disbursement Codes
Payment > CMA / Investment	Requires deposit account selection
Payment > Office Expenses	Non-matter Office payments (not available from Matter view). Client/Trust accounts cannot be selected.
Payment > General Ledger Disbursement	Requires GL account, subject to Office Ledger restrictions. Allocation Target is not required.
Matter > Matter Transfer	Available only from Matter view, used to transfer funds between matters

Matter Context Differences

Accessing Requisitions from a Matter

When creating a requisition via Matter → Requisition (+):

Key Differences

Office Expenses are not available
Matter to Matter Transfer becomes available

Matter to Matter Transfer (Quick Steps)

Select Type → Matter Transfer
Choose Office or Client/Trust
Select Cash Account
Enter Required Date + Reason
Select Destination Matter + Approver
Click Request

Disbursement Codes in Requisitions

New Feature

Disbursement Codes automate requisition entry for Incurred Disbursements by pre-filling financial and descriptive fields. If an expected Disbursement Code is not available, refer to the Office Ledger Restriction section below.

Benefits

Faster processing
Improved data consistency
Accurate ledger coding

System Behaviour

When a Disbursement Code is selected:

The system retrieves mapped values
Fields are auto-populated
Ledger rules determine availability

Users will see:

Filtered list of valid codes
Auto-filled requisition fields

Auto-Populated Fields

Code Field	Requisition Field
Amount	Amount
Tax Code	Tax Code
Description	Reason
Supplier / Payee	Pay To
GL Account	Pay To Account

Manual entry is only required where values are not supplied by the code.

These values are retained throughout the approval and posting process and are available when creating the resulting Purchase, Payment or General Ledger transaction.

Office Ledger Restriction

Some Disbursement Codes (used in Incurred General Ledger Disbursements) are restricted by Office Ledger.

Rules:

Each Disbursement Code is assigned to a specific Office Ledger.
Only matters linked to the same Office Ledger can use the code.
Codes that do not match the matter's Office Ledger will not be displayed.

Best Practices & Key Rules

Use Disbursement Codes for recurring costs
Confirm requisition type before starting
Ensure supplier exists in Directory
Use clear, auditable reasons
Attach supporting documents where required
Disbursement Codes apply to Incurred Disbursements only
Some fields may auto-populate based on configuration