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Review Bank Transactions: Batch Create Payments and Expenses

Learn how to select multiple imported bank transactions and create Contact Payments, Contact Expenses, or Firm Payments in a single workflow.

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Written by Marie Burgess

Overview

The Batch Create feature in PantherAccounting Plus lets you select multiple imported bank transactions from the Review Bank Transactions page and create transactions for them in a single workflow. This is especially helpful for firms that process a high volume of transactions each day.

You can batch create one of three entry types:

  • Contact Payment - a payment linked to a contact and, optionally, a matter

  • Contact Expense - a hard cost expense linked to a contact and matter

  • Firm Payment - a firm-level payment with a chart of account, not tied to a contact

šŸ’” Tip: New to Review Bank Transactions? Start with Review Bank Transactions: Connecting Your Bank and Matching Payments via Plaid to connect your bank or credit card account first.

Step 1: Select Your Bank Transactions

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Review Bank Transactions in the top menu and choose your bank or credit card account.

  2. Use the checkboxes on the left side of each transaction to select the withdrawal and deposit transactions you want to create entries for.

  3. To select many at once, click the Select All checkbox at the top of the list. This selects the first 50 transactions shown (you can batch create up to 50 transactions at a time).

A few things to keep in mind while selecting:

  • Checking a transaction's box does not open its matching payments in the right panel. Clicking the transaction itself will display any matching payments.

  • You can still drag and drop an individual transaction to match it while others are checked; your checked boxes are unaffected.

Step 2: Choose the Entry Type

Once at least one transaction is selected, click the Batch Create (N Selected) button which appears at the top of the transaction list.

In the modal, choose the type of entry you want to create for the selected transactions. All transactions in the batch must be created as the same entry type. To create different types of entries, complete a separate batch for each type.

Select one of the following options:

  • Contact Expense - Create expenses linked to contacts and matters.

  • Contact Payment - Create payments for contacts and, optionally, matters.

  • Firm Payment - Create firm-level payments.

Some options may be unavailable depending on the account and transactions you selected:

  • Trust accounts can only batch create Contact Payments.

  • Contact Expenses are available for withdrawals from operating accounts and charges on credit card accounts, not for deposits.

  • Contact Payments are not available for credit card accounts.

Step 3: Complete the Details for Each Transaction

The Batch Create page displays one card for each transaction you selected. The left side of each card shows the transaction's date and amount from your bank (these become the entry's payment date and amount), along with a status badge:

  • Incomplete - one or more required fields still need to be completed

  • Ready - all required fields are complete, and the entry will be created when you save.

The Notes field is pre-filled with the merchant or description from your bank, and PracticePanther will attempt to automatically match the Payee to an existing contact based on the merchant name. Fill in the remaining fields for each card:

  • Contact Payments:

    • Payment Method

    • Contact

    • Matter

    • Payee

    • Selecting Check adds a Check Number field

    • Selecting Transfer as the payment method adds Transfer To/From fields.

  • Contact Expenses:

    • Contact

    • Matter

    • Category

    • Chart of Account

    • Payment Method

    • Billed By

    • Invoice Description

    • Billable?

    • Payee,

    • Receipt upload

    • If the selected contact has LEDES enabled, a UTBMS Task Code field appears.

  • Firm Payments:

    • Payment Method

    • Chart of Account

    • Payee / Payor

    • Reference Number

    • Receipt upload

šŸ’” Tip: Receipts can be PNG, JPG, PDF, CSV, XLSX, DOC, or DOCX files up to 5MB.

Save Time with "Apply First Value to All"

Instead of filling in the same value on every card, complete the first card and use the Apply first value to all links at the top of the page (for example: Contact, Matter, Payment Method, or Chart of Account, depending on the entry type).

  1. Fill in the field on the first card.

  2. Click the matching field name in the Apply first value to all bar.

  3. The first card's value is copied to that field on all other cards.

šŸ’” Tip: Apply first value to all won't overwrite fields you've already edited on other cards, so you can safely set the common value first and then adjust individual cards.

Removing a Transaction from the Batch

If you need to remove a transaction from the batch click the X on the left side of its card. Removing a card only takes it out of the batch, the bank transaction itself is not deleted and remains on the Bank Transactions page.

Step 4: Save and Match Ready

  1. When your cards are complete, click Save and Match Ready in the top-right corner. The button is enabled once at least one card is in Ready status.

  2. PracticePanther creates a payment or expense for each Ready card and matches it to its bank transaction.

  3. As each card is saved it will be removed from the page and from your Bank Transactions list, similar to individually matched transactions.

  4. When everything finishes, you can return to the Bank Transactions page.

If you need further assistance or have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team.


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