# How much cash does this volume tie up?

> Set a case fee, disbursements, terms, and monthly volume. See the retainer to ask for and the cash you carry.

Source: https://imecore.com/tools/retainer-disbursement-estimator

This tool runs entirely in the browser. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.

## How to use it

1. **Enter the case fee and disbursements.** The fee is what you bill. The disbursements are what you advance and then recover.
2. **Set the payment terms.** Net 15, 30, 45, or 60. Longer terms raise the days sales outstanding.
3. **Pick the collection risk.** Low, typical, or high. Risk adds days to the real wait for payment.
4. **Add the monthly volume.** The tool shows the cash tied up at that volume and what net-60 does to it.

## Why disbursements deserve their own retainer

You pay for records, travel, and facility fees before you invoice. Until counsel pays the account, that money is yours sitting in their file. A retainer that covers disbursements means you are not lending to every file. Without it, growth hurts. More files mean more cash out the door before any comes back.

## What days sales outstanding really measures

DSO is the days between invoicing and getting paid. Net 30 does not mean paid in 30. It means due in 30, plus the time a payer takes to process, plus the extra days when a file needs a follow-up. The estimator adds a buffer that rises with collection risk so the number reflects what coordinators actually see.

## How to read the net-60 stress figure

Some payers ask for net 60 as standard. The stress row reruns the same volume on 60-day terms. Compare it to your operating cash. If net 60 doubles the float, you need a larger retainer or a lower volume with that payer. The figure does not predict any one account. It shows what the terms cost across the book.

## Questions people ask

### How is the suggested retainer set?

It covers expected disbursements plus a share of the case fee that rises with collection risk. Low risk asks for less up front, high risk asks for more.

### What is the disbursement float?

The disbursements you have advanced but not yet recovered, across all open files at the days sales outstanding for your terms and risk.

### What does net-60 stress mean?

The same volume rerun on 60-day terms, so you see how much extra cash you would carry if a payer moved you from your current terms to net 60.

### Does this store my numbers?

No. It runs in your browser. Nothing is sent or saved. Export the CSV before you close the page.