Invoicing - Prepayments & Deposits
Overview
Safari supports two ways to handle advance payments on a subpoena matter. A prepayment is used when you have already received a check along with a served document — you record it in Safari so the amount is credited against the invoice balance at the paywall. Requiring a deposit is used when you want to collect payment from the requesting party before you begin gathering responsive documents — you open the portal with just an invoice and a cover letter, and add the responsive documents after payment is received.
Prepayment
Entering a Prepayment
Sometimes you may receive a check with a served document (e.g., a subpoena). You can record a prepayment in the Financial section of the left-side panel. To enter or edit a prepayment at the Delivery Setup stage, expand the Financial section and edit.
(Hint: the PREPAID link opens the Financial section.)How Prepayment Affects Invoicing
Safari-Generated Invoices: Any prepayment amount entered will show on the invoice as being deducted from the balance to be collected via the paywall. The invoice shows the total fee, any prepayment, and the remaining balance. (You can preview any invoice by selecting it, clicking save, and then opening the invoice in the Financial folder.)
Example: You receive and enter a $50 prepayment and select an invoice amount of $175. When you open the portal, Safari generates an invoice that shows the standard fee of $175, prepayment of $50, and balance due of $125. When the issuer logs into the portal, they will be required to pay the balance owing.
Manual Invoices: If you upload a manually created invoice, Safari generally works the same way. The amount required at the paywall is the invoice amount you enter less any prepayment you enter.
Requiring a Deposit Before Collecting Documents
If your policy requires payment before you begin gathering responsive documents, you can use Safari's deposit workflow to collect that payment through the portal. The process uses a rolling production to keep the matter open while you wait for the requesting party to pay.
Deposit Invoice, Cover Letter and Email Correspondence
Deposit Cover Letters, Invoices and Email Correspondence templates are created by your system's Owner or Admin, see Setup - Templates and Library for more information.
Deposit Cover Letters, Invoices and Email Correspondence templates are created by your system's Owner or Admin, see Setup - Templates and Library for more information.Deposit Invoice
In the Financial Section of the left-side panel, select a deposit invoice template as the Invoice Type. This sets the amount the issuer will be required to pay before accessing any documents.
Deposit Cover Letter
The portal requires at least one document in the Response folder before it can be opened. To create a cover letter, select the Response folder and navigate to New > Document > Deposit Cover Letter. The letter will auto-populate from the matter data you have entered; any missing fields will be highlighted in yellow. Once the draft is final, select Create PDF, then Save. The PDF will appear in the Response folder.
Email Correspondence
Optionally, you can also notify the issuer by email before opening the portal. Select the Correspondence folder and navigate to New > Correspondence > Initial Acknowledgement. The email can mirror the deposit cover letter and should alert the issuer that they will receive portal access instructions from no-reply@serveport.com.
Opening the Portal
At the Delivery Setup stage, enable the Paywall and check the Rolling Production box next to Keep in "Active – Unresolved" before opening the portal.
This keeps the matter in rolling production status while payment is pending, rather than closing it out.
Tracking Payment
To be notified when the deposit is paid, go to My Profile > Notifications and enable A payment has been received for my rolling production matters. This setting is on by default, but it is worth confirming. When payment is received, Safari will send you an email with the Matter ID, payment date, payment amount, and serving party name.
This notification email is the only way to know that a deposit payment has been received. Make sure the setting is enabled in your profile.
Once payment is confirmed, add the responsive documents to the matter. Uploading documents to a rolling production automatically notifies the issuer that their documents are ready.
Note: If the deposit does not cover the total invoice amount, you can select CLOSE PORTAL/STOP DELIVERY in the left-side panel. From there, you can gather the responsive documents and update the Financials to select the appropriate invoice and complete delivery.
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