Q: Why wasn't the retainer applied on the bill?

A: If you want RTG Bills to apply a retainer automatically, you must tell it to do so.

Click the Matters button, enter the matter number, and click Edit.

From the Edit A Matter window, click on the Retainer tab. In the Automatic Payments frame, you can choose which retainer accounts are used to pay fees, expenses, late charges, and taxes. For example, to pay fees automatically, click the Select button on the Fees row, choose the retainer account that you want to use, and click OK.

If you want to use the same retainer account for all charges, the easiest procedure is this:

1. Set the Standard Retainer Account for the matter.  To do that, click the Select button (in the Retainer Accounts frame), choose the retainer account, and click OK.
2. In the Automatic Payments frame, click the Use Standard button.

The Standard Retainer Account is used in another way as well. When you enter a retainer transaction for this matter, RTG Bills will fill in this retainer account for you, so you don't need to choose an account every time you receive a retainer from the client.

The Retainers Applied Automatically report lists the retainer transactions that RTG Bills created for you. You can use this list to check that you have made the proper withdrawals from the retainer accounts at your bank.