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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.
Retainer and disbursement estimator
Set a case fee, disbursements, terms, and volume. See the retainer to ask for and the cash you carry.
Per file, advanced before you bill.
Higher risk lengthens the days you wait to be paid.
Suggested retainer
$1,650
Per file · Range $1,125 to $2,175 by risk · DSO 36 days
Cash carried
- Days sales outstanding
- 36 days
- Disbursement float carried
- $14,400
- Cash tied up at this volume
- $56,400
- Net-60 stress - float
- $26,400
- Net-60 stress - cash tied up
- $103,400
How we estimate this
DSO is net terms plus a collection buffer that rises with risk. The retainer covers disbursements plus a share of the fee. Cash tied up is the disbursement float plus about half the fee value outstanding over the DSO. Net-60 stress shows the same volume on 60-day terms.
How to use it
Four steps
- 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.
Background
What the numbers mean
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.
FAQ
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.
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Stop doing this by hand for every file
IMECore runs the same calculation on every case, and keeps the answer on the file.