Trust Accounting Settings

This article is intended to help you configure HawkSoft and QuickBooks before your agency gets started using the HawkSoft Trust Accounting feature.

Trust Accounting Setup is typically completed by the agency Owner, Bookkeeper, Admin, or the person at the agency responsible for making deposits and/or reconciling the Trust Bank Account in QuickBooks.

For more information about configuring Company Payables, see Company Payables Setup.

Required Permissions:
To open Accounting Settings, user permissions must be set to include:

Accounting > Access Trust Accounting Settings

See User Permissions for more information.

To access Trust Accounting Settings, click the Gear icon Setup menu, then select Trust Accounting.

  1. Log into the HawkSoft Web app, accessed from any computer.

  2. Click the Gear icon Setup menu at the top-right corner, and then select Accounting Setup.

    For more information about logging into the HawkSoft web app, see Logging In and Out of HawkSoft.

The Accounting Settings window opens.

The General Settings tab enables you to configure the following settings for your agency:

To determine the time zone used for 'Today' and 'Yesterday' for accounting purposes, update your Agency Time Zone in Agency Information Setup.

Receipt Options

Show Agent Field on New Payment - When checked, HawkSoft adds an Agent field when creating receipts to track fees retained by the agency which will be split with an agent. The Agent field is viewable on the receipt when opened from the Trust Accounting Report or from the Trust Accounting tab on a client.

Receipt Disclaimer is a customizable message that appears at the bottom of all receipts.

HawkSoft includes a default disclaimer which you can edit or remove to meet your agency's needs.

To restore the default disclaimer, click Restore Default Disclaimer.

Agency Payee - Multi-office agencies can choose between displaying their agency name or the policy's office name when the agency is displayed as a payee on receipts and reports.

Invoice Options

Default days until invoice due - Set the default number of days for invoices. By default, HawkSoft sets the due date for invoices to 30 days after they were created. Your agents can modify this number when creating individual invoices.

Invoice Footer - Add or remove text included at the bottom of all invoices. The Invoice Footer is not editable on individual invoices.

Insert Merge Field - Select a merge field from the drop-down to add additional contact information from the agency or carrier.

The default footer text includes “Please remit to:” and the following merge fields from the Agency Information:

  • Agency Name

  • Agency Address

  • City, State, Zip

  • Phone Number

  • Agency License Number (if applicable)

To restore the default invoice footer, click Restore Default Footer.

Click Save Options when you are done with General Settings.

Printed Comments

You can create multiple comments that your staff can select when creating an invoice or credit memo. These comments are editable by the user.

You can + Add Comment, or click on an existing comment to edit it, Set as Default Printed Comment, or Delete it.

Set Item Numbers

You can set the Next Item Number for an Invoice, Payment, Check, Credit Memo, and Receipt. The next time any user processes a transaction, HawkSoft will use the listed item number and will continue numbering further transactions from that point. This can be useful for avoiding duplicate item numbers if your agency also manually creates transactions in QuickBooks, for example.

Click Save Item Numbers after making changes.

Lowering the Next Item Number may result in duplicate transaction numbers.

Select the General Ledger Accounts tab to review the default General Ledger (GL) accounts and modify them as needed.

General Ledger accounts correlate with Line Item templates

Creating General Ledger Accounts and Line Item templates are essential for reporting purposes and to integrate with the accounts in QuickBooks' Chart of Accounts.

Once you have created your Line Item Templates, users will select a template when creating invoices, receipts, and NSF transactions and the templates will automatically report to the associated GL account. This determines what account the transaction will update in QuickBooks if applicable.

By creating both General Ledger (GL) accounts and Line Item Templates for each of your carriers, you can track funds by carrier more easily. By creating a Payables parent account, and a sub-account for each carrier, HawkSoft will group these accounts in your QuickBooks Chart of Accounts. See Company Payables Setup for more information.

HawkSoft provides some General Ledger (GL) accounts for your convenience. The table below lists the GL accounts, the account types that will be created and used by QuickBooks, and the purpose of each account.

Account Name Parent Type Purpose
Direct Bill Liabilities   Other Current Liability This account is used as a clearing account for direct bill payments.
Premium Trust   Bank Bank account for customer funds that will be deposited into and distributed from.
Transfer from Trust   Other Current Liability Parent account for other transfer accounts.
Retained Commissions Transfer Other Current Liability Agency commission that is retained from insurance premium payments received by the agency for agency bill policies.
Agency Fees Transfer Other Current Liability Agency fees, such as broker fees, endorsements, payments, or application fees that the agency charges and retains at the agency.
NSF Fees Transfer Other Current Liability Agency fees charged for an NSF transaction. See Processing an NSF Invoice for more information.
Balances Waived Transfer Other Current Liability Account to track customer receivable amounts that are waived by the agency. See Waiving Balances for Unmatched Transactionsfor more information.

To add an account

  1. Click the + Add Account button.

    The Add New Account dialog opens.

  2. Enter an Account Name.

    For example, Agency Fees.

  3. Select an Account Type from the drop-down: Bank, Equity, or Other current liability.

  4. If This is a Sub-Account, check this box, and then select a Parent Account.

    When a Sub-Account is created, the line item templates can be linked to the Sub Account rather than to the main GL Account.

  5. If This is an agency revenue account, check this box.

    Agency revenue accounts track agency income and balances that are written off. For example, Agency Fees, Agency NSF Fees, Balances Waived, and Retained Commissions.

  6. Optional: Add a Description for this account.

  7. When you are finished, click the Save button.

To edit an account

  1. Click on the account.

    The Edit Account dialog opens.

  2. Edit the account as needed, and then click the Save button.

To protect against your trust and operating accounts becoming mixed, some account settings can not be edited after the account has been created, such as the account type, sub-account checkbox and parent account selection, and the agency revenue checkbox.

To inactivate an account

You can inactivate accounts that are not associated with any Line Item Templates. If an account is associated with a Line Item Template, a message appears and you won't be able to inactivate the account.

  1. Click on the account you are inactivating.

    The Edit Account dialog opens.

  2. Check Inactive, and then click the Save button.

To see inactive accounts, enable the Show Inactive slider above the table of accounts.

To reactivate an account

  1. Enable the Show Inactive slider above the table of accounts.

    The Status column indicates which accounts are inactive.

  2. Click on the inactive account.

    The Edit Account dialog opens.

  3. Uncheck Inactive, and then click the Save button.

Select the Line Item Templates tab to review the list of templates and modify them if needed.

These templates are available to select as line items when your agents create receipts, invoices, and NSF transactions. The funds from each Line Item Template is applied to the associated General Ledger (GL) account.

HawkSoft provides some default line item templates for your convenience. To determine if any customization is required, consider the types of invoices and receipts your agency needs to create.

The Agency Sweep line item is used when payments are deposited into the agency's Trust account, then the carrier sweeps the account via EFT.

Invoice Item Field Default Settings
Item Name Agency Sweep
Available when creating Receipts
Receipt Description Insurance Premium Payment
Payee Company
Bank Account Trust
Reporting Account (GL) Direct Bill Liability
QuickBooks Transaction Type EFT

The Agency Check to Company line item is used when the agency deposits the insured's payment, then the agency issues a check to the carrier.

Invoice Item Field Default Settings
Item Name Agency Check to Company
Available when creating Receipts
Receipt Description Insurance Premium Payment
Payee Company
Bank Account Trust
Reporting Account (GL) Direct Bill Liability
QuickBooks Transaction Type Set to Print

The Insured Payment Direct to Company line item is used when the agency assists an insured making a payment direct to the carrier.

Because the payment goes directly to the carrier, it is not deposited into the agency's bank account, and does not appear on the Trust Accounting Report.

Invoice Item Field Default Settings
Item Name Insured Payment Direct to Company
Available when creating Receipts
Receipt Description Insurance Premium Payment
Payee Company
Bank Account <None>
Reporting Account (GL) Direct Bill Liability
QuickBooks Transaction Type n/a

The Agency Fee line item is used for fees charged and retained by your agency.

Invoice Item Field Default Settings
Item Name Agency Fee
Available when creating Receipts, Invoices
Receipt Description Agency Fee
Payee Agency
Bank Account Trust
Reporting Account (GL) Transfer: Agency Fees in Trust
QuickBooks Transaction Type n/a

The Insured Refund line item is used when your agency issues a refund check to the insured.

Invoice Item Field Default Settings
Item Name Insured Refund
Available when creating Receipts
Receipt Description Insured Refund
Payee Insured
Bank Account Trust
Reporting Account (GL) Direct Bill Liability
QuickBooks Transaction Type Set to Print

This option is selected by default when issuing an insured refund. To change this, uncheck Default Insured Refund.

The NSF Check line item is used when the insured's check is returned by the bank for Non-Sufficient Funds. The bank's NSF fee is included in this item when the NSF checks are processed.

Invoice Item Field Default Settings
Payee Name NSF Chargeback
Item Name NSF Check
Available when creating NSFs
Receipt Description Unavailable
Payee Other
Bank Account Trust
Reporting Account (GL) Direct Bill Liability
QuickBooks Transaction Type EFT

The Agency NSF Fee line item is used when your agency charges a fee to the insured for NSF checks, above and beyond what the bank charges you.

Invoice Item Field Default Settings
Item Name Agency NSF Fee
Available when creating NSFs
Receipt Description Unavailable
Payee Agency
Bank Account Trust
Reporting Account (GL) Transfer: NSF Check Fee
QuickBooks Transaction Type n/a

The Balance Waived template is used when the agency wants to waive a balance for the insured. For example, writing off a small balance or bad debt.

Invoice Item Field Default Settings
Item Name Balance Waived
Available when creating Invoices
Receipt Description Unavailable
Payee Agency
Bank Account Trust
Reporting Account (GL) Transfer: Balances Waived
QuickBooks Transaction Type n/a

To add a line item template

Alternatively, you can duplicate an existing line item template, then click on the new line item template to edit it. This can save you time when creating similar line item templates.

  1. Click the + Add Line Item Template button.

    The Add New Line Item dialog opens.

  2. Select Payee for this line item.

  3. Conditional: If the Payee is Other, then enter the Payee Name.

  4. Enter an Item Name.

    This text will appear when this template is selected for invoices, receipts, or credit memos.

  5. Specify if this line item template is available when creating Receipts, Invoices, and/or NSFs.

  6. Optional: Update the Receipt Description. This text will appear on printed copies of the receipt to provide additional information about this line item.

  7. Select which Bank Account these transactions will be applied to.

    To prevent a transaction from being exported to QuickBooks, set the Bank Account to None.

  8. Select which Reporting Account (GL) these transactions will apply to.

  9. If the agency Allows Retained Commission on these transactions, check this box, then select a Retained Commission Reporting Account.

  10. Conditional: In the QuickBooks Transaction Type drop-down, select None, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), or Check Set to Print.

    This field does not appear if you have selected Agency as the Payee.

    • None - Select this option when you don't want to set the check to print or mark the check number as EFT. The check is still created.

    • Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) - Select this option when funds will be electronically debited from the agency bank account.

    • Check Set to Print - Select this option when your agency will print a check from QuickBooks to send to the payee.

      • This option will queue up a check to print when this line item is exported to QuickBooks.

  11. Optional: Enter a Default Invoice Amount.

    For example, if your agency charges a flat $10 fee for processing NSF checks, you can enter $10 for the NSF Fee line item template.

    Agents can override this value on individual invoices, receipts, and credit memos.

  12. When you are finished, click the Save button.

To edit a line item template

  1. Click on the line item template.

    The Edit Line Item template opens.

  2. Edit the line item template as needed, and then click Save.

To inactivate a line item template

  1. Click on the line item template you are inactivating.

    The Edit Line Item template opens.

  2. Click Deactiveate this template.

    A popup message at the bottom of the window confirms the template has been made inactive.

To see inactive line item templates, enable the Show Inactive slider above the table of templates.

To reactivate a line item template

  1. Toggle the Show Inactive slider to active (blue).

  2. Click on the line item template you are reactivating.

    The Edit Line Item template opens.

  3. Click Reactivate this template.

    A popup message at the bottom of the window confirms the template has been reactivated. The template remains open for further editing.

Select the Line Item Descriptions tab to review the Line Item Descriptions and modify them if needed.

These descriptions are available when creating an invoice or credit memo, and will make it easier for your agents to quickly select a standardized description (for example, "Premium for Policy XX008"). Agents can also type in custom line item descriptions when creating an invoice or credit memo. These pre-configured descriptions are not tied to a specific line item template.

You can set one of the line item descriptions as the default description. This description will always be selected by default, but your agents can select a different description when creating an invoice, receipt, or credit memo.

HawkSoft provides the following default line item descriptions for your convenience. You can add, edit, or remove line item descriptions as needed. Descriptions with $(PolicyNumber) add the policy number to the line item description on the invoice or credit memo.

  • Agency Fee

  • Cancellation on Policy #$(PolicyNumber)

  • Down Payment on Policy #$(PolicyNumber)

  • Endorsement on Policy #$(PolicyNumber)

  • Insurance Premium on Policy #$(PolicyNumber)

  • New Business on Policy #$(PolicyNumber)

  • Premium Financed

  • Renewal on Policy #$(PolicyNumber)

  • Taxes and Fees

  • TOTAL due on Policy #$(PolicyNumber)

To add a line item description

You can create line item descriptions in addition to the default HawkSoft descriptions.

  1. Click +Add Line Item Description.

    The Add New Line Item Description dialog opens.

  2. Enter a Description.

  3. Optional: Insert a Merge Field from the drop-down.

    Merge fields auto-fill information from the policy, such as adding the policy number.

  4. Optional: Check Set as Default Line Item Description to have this description fill automatically when creating an invoice.

    Your agents can select a different line item description or enter a custom line item description when creating an invoice.

    Only one line item description can be set as default. Setting a new description as default will remove this setting on the prior default, if any.

  5. When finished, click the Save button.

To edit a line item description

  1. Click on the line item description you are editing.

    The Edit New Line Item Description dialog opens.

  2. Edit the line item description as needed, and then click the Save button.

To change the default line item description

The default line item description is indicated by a checkmark in the Default column.

To use a blank space as the default line item description, click Clear Default.

  1. Click on the line item you want to set as the default.

    The Edit New Line Item Description dialog opens.

  2. Click Set as Default Line Item Description, and then click the Save button.

To remove the default setting from whichever description it is set on, leaving no default description selected, click Clear Default at the upper right of the description list.

To delete a line item description

  1. Click on the line item you want to delete.

    The Edit New Line Item Description dialog opens.

  2. Click Delete Description, then click the Confirm button.

Select QuickBooks Integrations > Manage Integrations to update your QuickBooks settings in HawkSoft. HawkSoft is designed to integrate with QuickBooks, enabling you to easily send your accounting transactions from HawkSoft to QuickBooks. These settings determine how HawkSoft communicates with QuickBooks.

If your agency does not integrate with QuickBooks, no action is required.

For agencies that use multiple QuickBooks companies, you can create connections to each of them in HawkSoft, then select which connection you want to send transactions to when Exporting to QuickBooks.

This tab lists all created connections to QuickBooks and displays the integration name, type, whether it is sending customers to QuickBooks by name or ID, the connection status, and (for QuickBooks Online connections) the connected QuickBooks company name.

If your agency had a connection to QuickBooks under the single-connection system, prior to 12/04/25, it has been converted to a connection in the new multiple connections system with the same type, named "QuickBooks Connection".

Converted QuickBooks Online connections will not display the connected company name on this tab until an export is performed once.

Connections that are no longer needed may be archived. Click the show archived toggle in the upper right to see archived connections.

Click the Refresh button to update the list with any changes other users have made since you opened the QuickBooks Integrations tab.

  1. Click Add New Integration

    The New Integration dialog launches.

  2. Enter an Integration Name.

    This name is used only as an identifier in HawkSoft, and appears in the list of integrations to select from when you export to QuickBooks.

  3. Select an Integration Type.

    Options are QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online. Select the option that matches the QuickBooks company you want to connect to.

  4. Optional: Select to send customers to QuickBooks by name or customer ID.

    By default, HawkSoft creates new customers in QuickBooks when needed, using the customer name. Using the Send Customer As drop-down, you can choose to create these QuickBooks customers by client ID if preferred.

  5. Click Save Integration to save the integration settings and close the dialog without connecting to QuickBooks at this time.

    OR

    Click Save & Connect to QuickBooks to proceed to connection.

  6. From here, follow the steps inside To connect to QuickBooks Online, or To connect to QuickBooks Desktop, depending on the version of QuickBooks you are integrating with.

  1. Click Save & Connect to QuickBooks at the end of adding a new integration, or click Connect next to the integration on the QuickBooks Integrations tab.

    An Intuit Account sign in window will appear.

  2. Enter your Intuit account credentials, and then press the OK button.

    If your account is linked to multiple companies in QuickBooks Online, you will be prompted to select a company from a drop-down.

    A message will appear to confirm that HawkSoft has successfully integrated with your QuickBooks Online account.

    You cannot have more than one connection to the same QuickBooks Online company. If you are attempting to connect to a QBO company for which you already have a connected integration, a message informs you that the integration to this company already exists, and the integration is not saved.

  3. Close the dialog and return to HawkSoft.

    The connection Status updates to show Connected. The connection is ready to select when exporting. See Exporting to QuickBooks for more information.

    Prior to exporting any trust accounting items to a QuickBooks integration for the first time, HawkSoft strongly recommends exporting QuickBooks integration settings. See To export integration settings to QuickBooks for more information.

  1. Click Save & Connect to QuickBooks at the end of adding a new integration, or click Connect next to the integration on the QuickBooks Integrations tab.

    The Install QuickBooks Web Connector window opens.

  2. Conditional: If you have not already installed the QuickBooks Web Connector, download and install QuickBooks Web connector from the Intuit website.

    Click the 'Download QuickBooks Web Connector' link to open QuickBook's Support article on downloading and installing the QuickBooks Web Connector.

  3. After the QuickBooks Web Connector is installed, click the Continue button.

  4. Click Download Configuration File, and save HawkSoftCloudAccountingSetup.qwc to your computer.

  5. In QuickBooks, open the File menu, and then select App Management > Update Web Services.

    QuickBooks Web Connector opens to Add a Configuration File.

  6. In the QuickBooks Web Connector window, select Add an Application.

    A file browser window opens.

  7. Navigate to and select HawkSoftCloudAccountingSetup.qwc, then click the Open button.

    The Authorize new web service window opens.

  8. Click the OK button.

    The Application permission window opens.

  9. Select Yes, whenever my QuickBooks company file is open, then click the Continue button.

    An Application permission confirmation window opens.

  10. Click the Confirm button.

  11. Conditional: If prompted, enter your QuickBooks password .

  12. In the HawkSoft Account Settings window, click the copy button next to the password field.

    The QuickBooks integration password is copied to the clipboard.

  13. In QuickBooks Web Connector, right-click the Password field and select Paste.

  14. In the QuickBooks Web Connector, click Update Selected.

    If prompted to save the password, click Yes.

  15. Optional: Click the Hide button to minimize the QuickBooks Web Connector window to the system tray.

    The QuickBooks Web Connector window closes.

  16. In the HawkSoft Accounting Settings window, click the Continue button.

  17. Click the Test Connection to QuickBooks button.

    You will see a message confirming if HawkSoft has successfully connected to your QuickBooks database.

  18. Click the Finish button.

    The dialog closes and the connection Status updates to show Connected. The connection is ready to select when exporting. See Exporting to QuickBooks for more information.

    Prior to exporting any trust accounting items to a QuickBooks integration for the first time, HawkSoft strongly recommends exporting QuickBooks integration settings. See To export integration settings to QuickBooks for more information.

HawkSoft suggests exporting integration settings to QuickBooks after connecting your integration. This process ensures that the QuickBooks Chart of Accounts, QB desktop lists, and QBO services are set up and configured as expected before you export any accounting items from HawkSoft.

As some agencies may prefer to perform manual QuickBooks setup, this process is not automatically performed when saving a new connection, but is strongly recommended for most agencies.

  1. Navigate to HawkSoft Trust Accounting Settings > QuickBooks Integrations, if you are not there already.

  2. Click on the integration you want to export settings for.

    The Edit Integration dialog launches.

  3. Click Export Settings.

    A pop-up message confirms success. Your general ledger accounts and line item templates are queued for transfer to QuickBooks via the selected integration.

  4. Click Save Integration to close the dialog.

You can change the name and Send Customer As type of an integration after it has been created.

If you no longer need a specific QuickBooks integration, you can archive it to remove it from the list and from the selection when exporting to QuickBooks.

  1. Navigate to HawkSoft Trust Accounting Settings > QuickBooks Integrations, if you are not there already.

  2. Click on the integration you want to archive.

    The Edit Integration dialog launches.

  3. Optional: Edit the Integration Name as desired.

  4. Optional: Change the Send Customer As type.

  5. Conditional: Click Archive Integration to remove it from the list and selection going forward.

    OR

    Click Save Integration to save changes to the Integration Name or Send Customer As setting. You can also click Save & Connect to QuickBooks to start the connection process after saving your changes.

To restore an archived integration

If you have archived an integration and later find that you need it again, you can restore it to an active state.

  1. Inside the QuickBooks Integration tab (of Trust Accounting Settings), toggle "show archived" in the upper right to active (blue).

  2. Locate the archived connection you want to restore and click Restore under the Connect to QuickBooks column.

    The connection is no longer archived, and is available to select for export again.

Accounting Class Codes

Select the QuickBooks Integrations > Class Codes tab to update your QuickBooks Class Code settings. Class Tracking is a QuickBooks feature that assigns classes to transactions. Class codes can tag transactions to help with reporting in QuickBooks. HawkSoft will automatically assign each transaction a class code based on your settings.

QuickBooks Online may limit the number of different class codes it supports based on your QuickBooks subscription.

Data Field Definition
Do Not use Class Codes This is the default setting. Use when the agency does not have class tracking in QuickBooks and does not want to use class codes.
Single Value Sends transactions to QuickBooks with a single class code you specify.
Policy Office Sends transactions to QuickBooks with a class code based on the transaction's office.
User Office Sends transactions to QuickBooks with a class code based on the office the user was signed into when they created the transaction.
Transaction How to Edit
Invoices You can edit the class code in QuickBooks.
Credit memos You can edit the class code in QuickBooks.
Direct Bill Disbursement Checks You can edit the class code in QuickBooks.
Insured Refund Checks You can edit the class code in QuickBooks.
NSF Checks You can edit the class code in QuickBooks.
Company Payable Checks You can edit when creating the check.
Agency Revenue Checks You can edit when creating the check.

Negative Agency Revenue and Company Payables checks create a General Journal Entry in QuickBooks with the appropriate class code.

 

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