Our bank has started offering a Positive Pay service and we want to start participating. Does Trust have that capability?
Both Tabs3 Trust Accounting (Trust) and Tabs3 Accounts Payable (AP) include the ability to export a Positive Pay file which can be submitted to your bank.
To configure the Positive Pay export for the first time
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Positive Pay Export.” A First Time Configuration wizard will be displayed.
- Select the Bank Account you want to configure and then click Next.
- Specify which additional columns you want to include in the export file. If you are not sure which columns to include, contact your bank to determine their requirements.
- Specify whether to include voided checks in the export file and if so, which character to use as an indicator, then click Next.
- Specify the date range of the checks you want to export and click Next.
- Specify the location to which to save the export file and click Export.
You can now upload the export file to your bank. For future exports, any new checks added since the last export will be included by default.
For more information on using Positive Pay and steps to configure additional banks, see Knowledge Base Article R11833, “Exporting Checks Using Positive Pay.”
I need to transfer money from one trust account to another trust account. How do I record the process in Tabs3 Software?
We recommend using positive and negative EFT transactions to transfer the amount from one account to another. A positive EFT will reduce a trust balance, whereas a negative EFT will increase a trust balance.
To transfer funds from one trust account to another
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Trust Transaction Entry.”
- Enter an EFT to remove the funds from one trust.
- Select the Trust ID from which you want to remove funds.
- Select a Type of EFT.
- In the Amount field, enter a positive amount.
- Enter any other information as needed.
- Press Ctrl+S.
- Enter an EFT to deposit the funds to another trust.
- Select the Trust ID to which you want to move funds.
- Select a Type of EFT.
- In the Amount field, enter a negative amount.
- Enter any other information as needed.
- Press Ctrl+S.
How can I change the terminology used in the trust section of my statements?
The terminology for trust information on statements is stored in Tabs3 Trust Accounting, and is specific to each bank you have configured.
To change the trust account terminology
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Bank Account.”
- Select the bank you want to modify in the Bank Account field.
- Click the Integration Settings button.
- In the Tabs3 Billing Statement/WIP Terminology section, enter the text you want to use in each field.
- Click on the OK button.
- Press Ctrl+S.
We need a list of all payments to our firm from trust accounts in the last year. Which report should I run for this?
The Check Register by Payee can be used to print a list of checks written to any payee for any date range.
To print a Check Register by Payee for firm payments
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Check Register by Payee.”
- On the Transactions tab, enter the desired Date range.
- On the Options tab, select a Payee range of “FIRM” Thru “FIRM”.
- Select any additional criteria.
- Click OK.
When adding a payee, we misspelled the name. How can we change the payee’s name?
Beginning with Version 2022, Trust payees are now contacts. Therefore, in order to rename a payee, you must rename its associated contact using the Rename Contacts utility.
To rename a payee in Trust
- From the Quick Launch, search for and select “Rename Contact.”
- In the Old Contact ID field, select the contact associated with the payee you want to rename.
- In the New Contact ID field, enter the new name you want to use for that payee.
- If you want to update the individual name fields of the contact, select the Update Name fields check box and fill in the New Value fields for each name field. (Note: If you want to update the Full Name field based on these changes, select the Update Full Name based on First, Middle, and Last Name fields check box.)
- If you want to review the contact after changing it, select the Open the contact record after renaming the contact to update additional fields check box.
- Click OK.
A new employee selected the wrong bank account for a new trust account. Is there an easy way to fix this, now that trust transactions have been entered?
The Renumber Trust Account utility can be used to change the bank account associated with a trust account.
To change the bank account associated with a trust account
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Renumber Trust Account.”
- In the Old Trust ID field, select the Trust ID that you need to change.
- In the New Trust ID field, select the same Trust ID.
- In the New Bank Number field, enter the bank account number to which you need to move this trust account.
- Click the Renumber button to complete this process.
Note: You cannot renumber a trust account with reconciled or combined transactions to use a different bank account. Additionally, the Trust ID and Bank number you are renumbering the account to cannot already exist.
One of our attorneys left the firm and we need to determine which trust accounts they were responsible for so we can reassign them. Is there a report that will show this?
A Trust Account List can be run to show all trust accounts for which the attorney is responsible.
To run a Trust Account List for a specific attorney
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Trust Account List.”
- On the Trust Accounts tab, select the desired Responsible Attorney.
- On the Options tab, select the Include Zero Balance Trusts check box.
- On the Sort tab, select the desired options.
- Click OK.
Tip: When previewing the report, click on the Trust ID or Client Name to drill-down to the Trust Account Information window. The Responsible Attorney can then be edited on the Balances tab.
We recently installed Trust Accounting. We started printing checks, but noticed that they are printing in the order that we are entering them. Is it possible to print them in order based on trust account?
Checks can be printed in either Entry Order or Trust Account Order.
To print checks in Trust Account Order
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Customization.”
- On the Main tab, in the Check Printing section, select the Trust Account Order option.
- Press Ctrl+S.
Now the checks will print in trust account order. If multiple check transactions exist for the same trust account, they are additionally sorted by transaction date and then reference number to establish check order.
We use separate Trust bank accounts for the same physical bank account in order to separately track trust payments. Is there any way to link these bank accounts to make reconciliation easier?
You can link multiple bank accounts using the same Account #. This allows you to separately track payments, but to reconcile the bank account once.
To link bank accounts
- In the Quick Launch, search for and select “Bank Account.”
- Select the first bank account you want to link and note the Account #.
- Select the second bank account you want to link.
- Enter the same Account # as the first bank account.
- Press Ctrl+S.
- When prompted to link the bank account, click Yes.
When reconciling, you can select any of the bank accounts. All of the transactions from each of the bank accounts will show up in your reconciliation.
The following limitations exist for linked bank accounts:
- You cannot link accounts if both accounts being linked have a reconciliation record assigned. An error message will be displayed and you will be prevented from linking the accounts. You must undo any reconciliations performed to remove the reconciliation record before you will be able to link the accounts.
- Accounts that have been linked cannot be unlinked once a reconciliation record exists for the linked accounts. You must undo any reconciliation records before you will be able to unlink the accounts.
- Unlinked bank accounts with reconciled transactions cannot be linked to another bank account. However, an unlinked account with no reconciled transactions can be linked to these accounts.
- Changing the password used to protect PDF reconciliation reports for a linked bank account will update the password used for any other linked bank accounts.
We run the Positive Pay export process in Trust on a daily basis. Is there a way to automate this utility?
A startup option can be created for Trust to automatically export Positive Pay. The startup option is “/POSITIVEPAY #”, where # is the bank account that you want exported.
To add POSITIVEPAY as a startup option
- Right-click the Trust desktop icon and select Properties.
- In the Target field, add a space after the path and then enter “/POSITIVEPAY #” (e.g., “C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TAS.EXE” /POSITIVEPAY 1).
The export file is overwritten each time the export is run. If you want to retain a copy of the export, copy or move the export file before performing the export again.
Note: Trust will close once the export has been completed. Because of this, you may want to create a separate desktop shortcut to use this startup option.
We just ordered new Trust checks. Before we start printing checks, is there a way to make sure that everything will line up properly?
In Trust Accounting, a check test pattern can be printed that is comprised of “X’s” where the information would be printed. While the test pattern can be printed on an actual check form, we recommend using a blank sheet of paper and holding it up to the check form so as not to waste checks.
To print a check test pattern
- From the File menu, select Print Check Test Pattern.
- In the Selected Printer section, select your check printer.
- In the Output To section, select Printer and click OK.
- Select the Bank and then click OK.
If the information does not line up, adjustments can be made to the margins and printer offset adjustment via Print Setup (File | Print Setup | Page Setup).
We are changing where we bank for our trust accounts. I have already added the new bank to the Trust Accounting Software and set up each of the clients with new Trust Accounts for the new bank. How can I transfer their balances over to the new bank?
For each trust account in TAS, you must enter a transaction to remove funds from the old bank, and then enter a transaction to add funds to the new bank.
If you will be writing a check from the old bank to the new bank, you can write a single manual check that encompasses all trust accounts, and then enter the check information into TAS for each trust account showing that the funds were removed from the old bank account. Once this has been completed, you can then enter a deposit for each trust account using the new bank account.
Alternatively, if you are not writing a check from one bank to the other, you can enter EFTs instead. When entering EFTs to remove funds from the old bank, enter a positive EFT amount. When entering EFTs to add funds into the new bank account, enter a deposit.
