This articles explores the Legal Aid Monitor Utility in Unity® Practice Management. 

• This utility records legal aid claims and receipts.
• It should be used to record claims to and payments from all legal aid matters.
• It posts claims and receipts to the ledgers concerned, automatically generating statistics for the required reports along the way.
• It can handle LSC (Legal Services Commission) related work, including payments received by BACS statements and block contract claims.

How to Access Legal Aid Monitor 

1. Open the Accounts program.
2. Click the Utilities icon. 
3. Double-click the Legal Aid Monitor option.

How to Enter a Claim

1. Click New Claim, and a new window will pop up.

2. Enter a Matter code or search for a Matter Code by clicking on the three dots in the Matter code field.
3. The Date submitted will default to the current date. You can override this by selecting a different date.

4. Enter a Claim number.

5. To enter the Profit Costs information, do the following:
   • Click on the + icon to add a new blank record.
   • By default, Profit Costs will be allocated to the fee earner who opened the matter (this information is stored in the Coredata program). You can override this by selecting a different fee earner.
   • All fields are editable.
   • Click on the + icon again if you wish to split the Profit costs between different fee earners. 

   • Click the tick to save any changes.

6. To include any Disbursements, do the following:
   • Click on the + icon in the lower window.
   • All fields are editable.
   • Click on the + icon again to include further Disbursements.

   • Click the tick to save any changes. 

7. Enter the amount of client contributions (if any).
8. Untick the Post Receipt Immediately checkbox if you do not want the system to automatically generate a receipt slip afterwards.
9. Click Save Claim.

How to Edit a Claim

The instructions differ according to the 3 situations detailed below:

1. If no Receipts have been entered against the Claim, simply select the required Claim and re-enter the new information.
2. If a Receipt has been entered against the Claim but has not been posted through to the Ledger Card, do the following:
   • Select the required Claim.
   • Delete the corresponding Receipt. To do this, click Options on the top toolbar and select Delete Claim.
   • You can now edit the Claim. To do this simply re-enter the new information.
3. If a Receipt has been entered against the Claim and they have been posted through to the Ledger Card then you must post a refund (an identical claim/receipt but this time with negative figures). Once the refund has been entered you can enter the original Claim and Receipt again - this time correctly. 

How to Delete a Claim

The instructions differ according to the 3 situations detailed below:

1. If no Receipts have been entered against the claim simply select the required Claim then click Options on the top toolbar and select Delete the Claim.
2. If a Receipt has been entered against the Claim but they have not been posted through to the Ledger Card do the following:
   • Select the required Claim.
   • Delete the corresponding Receipt. To do this, click Options on the top toolbar and select Delete Claim.  
   • You can now delete the Claim. To do this, click Options on the top toolbar and  select Delete Claim.
3. If a Receipt has been entered against the Claim and they have been posted through to the Ledger Card then you must post a refund (an identical claim/receipt but this time with negative figures).

How to Enter a Receipt

1. Select a Claim (a pointer in the left hand column indicates which record is currently selected).
2. Click New Receipt,  and a new window will pop up.
3.  The Claim field defaults to the Matter Code for the selected Claim. You can select another Matter Code by clicking on the three dots to see a list of outstanding and partly paid Claims to choose from.
4. The Receipt date will default to the current date. You can override this by selecting a different date.
5. The Bill date will default to the current date. You can override this by selecting a different date.
6. The Bill number will mirror the Claim number. You can override this by selecting a different date.
7. Select a Claim Type.
8. Select a Branch.
9. Select a Bank.
10. Any Profit Costs and Disbursements on the Claim will be displayed within the next 2 sections.
11. Amend the amount of client contributions if so required.
12. Click Save Receipt.

**All fields are editable and all records can be deleted. However such actions should only be necessary for a partly paid claim. **

How to Edit a Receipt

The instructions differ according to the 2 situations detailed below:

1. If the Receipt has not been posted through to the Ledger Card simply select the required Receipt and re-enter the new information.
2. If the Receipt has been posted through to the Ledger Card then you must post a refund (an identical claim/receipt but this time with negative figures). Once the refund has been entered you can enter the original Claim and Receipt again - this time correctly.

How to Delete a Receipt

The instructions differ according to the 2 situations detailed below:

1. If the Receipt has not been posted through to the Ledger Card simply select the required Receipt then click Options on the top toolbar and select Delete the Receipt.
2. If the Receipt has been posted through to the Ledger Card then you must post a refund (an identical claim/receipt but this time with negative figures).

How to Enter a Refund

Once a Claim/Receipt has been posted through to the Ledger Card it cannot be amended or deleted. Instead you must post a refund (an identical claim/receipt but this time with negative figures). Once the refund has been entered you can enter the original Claim and Receipt again - this time in its correct format. To enter a refund do the following:

1. Click New Refund.

1. Enter a Matter code or search for a Matter Code by clicking on the three dots in the Matter code field.
2. Enter a Bill/Credit number.
3. Enter a Claim Number.
4. The Date will default to the current date. You can override this by selecting a different date.
5. Select a Claim Type.
6. Select a Branch.
7. Select a Bank.
8. To enter the Profit Costs information do the following:
   • Click on the + icon in the upper window to add a new blank record.
   • By default Profit Costs will be allocated to the fee earner who opened the matter (this information is stored in the Coredata program). You can override this by selecting a different fee earner.
   • All fields are editable.
   • Click on the + icon again if you wish to split the Profit Costs between different fee earners. 
   • Click the tick to save any changes. 
9. To include any disbursements do the following:
   • Click on the + icon in the lower window to add a new blank record.
   • All fields are editable.
   • Click on the + icon again to include further Disbursements. 
   • Click the tick to save any changes. 
10. Enter the amount of client contributions (if any).
11. Click Save Refund.

How to Post Claims & Receipts Through to The Ledger Cards

1. Click File on the top toolbar, and select Post Bills/Receipts

2. Enter a Receipt Reference.

3. Click Post. 

4. On completion a new window will pop up. This window will inform you how many Claims/Receipts were successfully posted. Certain Claims/Receipts may be rejected  because the Utility experienced problems processing them. If necessary the window will display a reason why each Claim/Receipt was unsuccessful.
5. Click OK .

**The system will automatically post ahead any items that have a bill and receipt date in the next month (except at year end). **

How to Deal with Monies Received from the LSC

1. Open a new Nominal under the parent category Current Assets and call it 'LSC Control Account'.
2. Set up a new Office Bank Account and call it 'LSC Dummy Account'.
3. Once a payment has been received from the LSC and has been paid into the Office Bank Account, post a Nominal Credit chit for the amount received. Select the 'LSC Control Account' as the Nominal. Also select the Office Bank Account that the money has been paid into.
4. Go to the Legal Aid Monitor and enter the Receipts against the appropriate Claims. For each of the SPAN matter or SPOCC receipts select 'LSC Dummy Account' as the bank.
5. For BACS payments only you will need to agree the Receipts in the Legal Aid Monitor to the list received from the LSC. To do this print a claims received list, selecting 'Unposted Only' under the Options tab.
6. Post the claims/receipts through to the ledger cards.
7. Transfer the total amount for these Receipts from the LSC Control Account. To do this post a Nominal Debit chit, selecting the 'LSC Control Account' as the nominal. Select the 'LSC Dummy Account' as the Office Bank and also select 'O' as the VAT code.
8. The balance on the LSC Dummy Account should now be zero. The difference between the payment received from the LSC and the actual total for the Claims will be accounted for by the balance on the LSC Control Account nominal. i.e. payment received from LSC - actual total received for claims = balance on LSC Control Account nominal.

How to Deal with VAT on Block Contract Payments

You should account for VAT on either the amount received from the LSC or the amount claimed in each VAT quarter. Please note that you should always use the higher of these two figures. Just prior to running the month end, at the end of the VAT quarter it is necessary to make an adjustment for the VAT only if the amount received is greater than the amount claimed. This is based on the difference between the claims and monies received for them (i.e. this will be the balance on the LSC Control Account nominal).

• If the amount received is greater than the amount claimed - see the following steps. Please note that in this instance there will be a credit balance on the LSC Control Account nominal.
• If the amount received is less than the amount claimed then disregard the following steps - there are no procedures to follow with regard to VAT.

1. Post a nominal debit chit choosing the "LSC Control Account" as the nominal and the "LSC Dummy Account" as the Office bank. Choose VAT code "O" and the amount entered should be the balance on the LSC Control nominal.
2.  Immediately reverse the previous posting using a nominal VAT input credit chit. Choose VAT code "A" ensuring that the total posting (i.e. including VAT) is equal to the total posted on the nominal debit chit. Select the "LSC Control Account" as the nominal and the "LSC Dummy Account" as the Office bank.
3. Once the VAT quarter end has been run these entries are reversed by following steps 4 and 5.
4. Post a nominal debit chit choosing the "LSC Control Account" as the nominal and the "LSC Dummy Account" as the Office bank. Choose VAT code "A" ensuring that the total posting (i.e. including VAT) is equal to the total posted in steps 1 and 2.
5. Finally post a nominal VAT input credit chit. Select the "LSC Control Account" as the nominal. Select the "LSC Dummy Account" as the Office bank and also select "O" as the VAT code.

About the Associated Reports

1. Click "File" on the top toolbar to enable a dropdown menu. From here you can select to access the legal aid reports.
2. There are six legal aid reports which take their statistics directly from the legal aid monitor: (i) average case costs report (ii) SPOCC - CDS 6 report (iii) claims received list report (iv) list of claims report (v) recorded costs report (vi) SPAN matters report.

Troubleshooting

• If you are entering a new Claims and the Matter Code is not appearing to select, check to see if the matter has been archived. 
• When matters are not appearing on the SPAN matters and average case cost reports, check to make sure the following details have been entered into Coredata:
  • SPAN 1 code
  • SPAN 2 code
  • LA closed date
  • Contract number
• If you cannot find a Claim or Receipt. Check the Search field along the top toolbar. For example, if this is set to display only Outstanding Claims then your Claim/Receipt will not appear if it has been either partly or fully paid.

Miscellaneous Options

The Search Option:

• This option allows you to search for a specific (i) Matter Code (ii) Claim Number (iii) date submitted.
• The selection in the first field always dictates which type of information is displayed in the main window. e.g. in the above example the main window would display outstanding Claims only.

Click File on the top toolbar and select to retain the  Claim Type, Bank, Branch or Date. This may save you time when entering multiple Claims or Receipts.