Financial Management - Technical Specification

Case accounting and financial transaction processing

Purpose

The Financial Management module handles all financial aspects of legal cases including case account creation, cost tracking, journal entry generation, and integration with Business Central. It manages the financial lifecycle from initial case creation through settlement, tracking medical costs, calculating balances, and generating appropriate journal entries for the general ledger. The module ensures accurate financial reporting and seamless synchronization with the enterprise financial system.

Key Concepts

Term	Definition
Case Account	Financial account tied to each legal case
Journal Entry	General ledger transaction record
Journal Template	Predefined pattern for journal entries
Debit/Credit	Double-entry bookkeeping entries
Case Balance	Running total of case financial position
Retail Amount	Standard charge before contractual adjustment
Contracted Amount	Negotiated rate per contract
Write-Off	Contractual adjustment amount
Account Status	Current state of case account
Business Central	Microsoft ERP system for financial management

User Roles

Role	Description	Permissions
Financial Analyst	Manages case finances	Full CRUD
Accounting Manager	Oversees journal entries	Create, Read, Update, Approve
Case Manager	Views case financials	Read only
CFO/Controller	Financial oversight	Read, Approve, Reports
Auditor	Reviews transactions	Read, Audit access
System Administrator	System configuration	All permissions

Field Documentation - Case Account Entity

Field Name	Type	Required	Description	Validation Rules	Related Entity
ID	String	Yes	Unique account ID	Auto-generated CUID	Primary Key
Account Number	String	Yes	Human-readable number	Format: CA-YYYY-XXXXXXX	-
Legal Case	LegalCase	Yes	Associated legal case	One-to-one relationship	LegalCase
Patient	Patient	Yes	Case patient	Must match legal case	Patient
MRN	String	Yes	Member Registration Number	From legal case	-
Account Status	String	Yes	Current status	Enum: Active, Hold, Closed, Written Off	-
Status Reason	String	No	Reason for status	Required for Hold/Written Off	-
Status Date	DateTime	Yes	When status changed	Auto-set on change	-
Opening Date	DateTime	Yes	Account creation date	Matches case creation	-
Closing Date	DateTime	No	Account closure date	Required for Closed status	-
Total Retail Charges	Decimal	Yes	Sum of all retail charges	Calculated field, >= 0	-
Total Contracted Amount	Decimal	Yes	Sum of contracted amounts	Calculated field, >= 0	-
Total Adjustments	Decimal	Yes	Total write-offs	Calculated: Retail - Contracted	-
Total Payments	Decimal	Yes	Payments received	Sum of all payments, >= 0	-
Current Balance	Decimal	Yes	Outstanding amount	Contracted - Payments	-
Medical Lien Amount	Decimal	Yes	Total medical liens	Sum of all liens, >= 0	-
Attorney Fees	Decimal	No	Estimated attorney fees	Based on fee percentage	-
Settlement Amount	Decimal	No	Case settlement value	From legal case	-
Settlement Date	DateTime	No	When case settled	From legal case	-
Patient Portion	Decimal	No	Patient responsibility	Usually 0 for legal cases	-
Insurance Portion	Decimal	No	Insurance responsibility	If applicable	-
Legal Case Portion	Decimal	Yes	Case responsibility	Usually 100%	-
Credit Limit	Decimal	No	Maximum allowed charges	Set by policy	-
Over Limit	Boolean	Yes	Exceeds credit limit	Calculated field	-
Last Activity Date	DateTime	Yes	Last transaction date	Auto-updated	-
Days Since Activity	Integer	Yes	Days since last transaction	Calculated field	-
Aging Bucket	String	Yes	Age category	Enum: Current, 30, 60, 90, 120+	-
Collection Status	String	No	Collection state	Enum: None, Pending, In Collection	-
Business Central ID	String	No	BC customer number	From BC sync	-
BC Sync Status	String	Yes	Sync state	Enum: Pending, Synced, Error	-
BC Last Sync	DateTime	No	Last sync timestamp	Set on sync	-
GL Account Codes	Text	No	Associated GL accounts	JSON array	-
Cost Center	String	No	Financial cost center	From configuration	-
Department	String	No	Financial department	From configuration	-
Financial Notes	Text	No	Accounting notes	Max 5000 chars	-
Created At	DateTime	Yes	Creation timestamp	Auto-generated	-
Updated At	DateTime	Yes	Update timestamp	Auto-updated	-
Created By	User	Yes	Creating user	Valid user ID	User
Updated By	User	Yes	Updating user	Valid user ID	User
Journal Entries	JournalEntry[]	No	Related journal entries	-	JournalEntry (1:Many)
Transactions	Transaction[]	No	Financial transactions	-	Transaction (1:Many)

Field Documentation - Journal Entry Entity

Field Name	Type	Required	Description	Validation Rules	Related Entity
ID	String	Yes	Unique journal entry ID	Auto-generated	Primary Key
Journal Number	String	Yes	JE number	Format: JE-YYYY-XXXXXXX	-
Case Account	CaseAccount	No	Related case account	If case-related	CaseAccount
Journal Template	JournalTemplate	Yes	Template used	Valid template	JournalTemplate
Entry Date	DateTime	Yes	Transaction date	Cannot be future	-
Posting Date	DateTime	Yes	GL posting date	Accounting period	-
Entry Type	String	Yes	Type of entry	Enum: Charge, Payment, Adjustment, Accrual	-
Description	String	Yes	Entry description	Max 500 chars	-
Reference Number	String	No	External reference	Claim number, etc.	-
Total Debits	Decimal	Yes	Sum of debits	Must equal credits	-
Total Credits	Decimal	Yes	Sum of credits	Must equal debits	-
Is Balanced	Boolean	Yes	Entry balanced	Debits = Credits	-
Posted	Boolean	Yes	Posted to GL	Default false	-
Posted Date	DateTime	No	When posted	Set when posted	-
Posted By	User	No	Who posted	Valid user ID	User
Reversed	Boolean	Yes	Is reversed	Default false	-
Reversal Entry	JournalEntry	No	Reversal JE	For corrections	JournalEntry
Business Central ID	String	No	BC journal ID	From BC sync	-
BC Sync Status	String	Yes	Sync status	Enum: Pending, Synced, Error	-
Approval Status	String	Yes	Approval state	Enum: Draft, Pending, Approved, Rejected	-
Approved By	User	No	Approving user	Required if approved	User
Approval Date	DateTime	No	When approved	Set on approval	-
Journal Lines	JournalLine[]	Yes	Entry lines	Min 2 lines	JournalLine (1:Many)

Field Documentation - Journal Line Entity

Field Name	Type	Required	Description	Validation Rules	Related Entity
ID	String	Yes	Unique line ID	Auto-generated	Primary Key
Journal Entry	JournalEntry	Yes	Parent entry	Must exist	JournalEntry
Line Number	Integer	Yes	Line sequence	Sequential from 1	-
GL Account	String	Yes	General ledger account	Valid GL code	-
GL Description	String	Yes	Account description	From GL master	-
Debit Amount	Decimal	No	Debit value	Positive, 0 if credit	-
Credit Amount	Decimal	No	Credit value	Positive, 0 if debit	-
Description	String	Yes	Line description	Max 500 chars	-
Cost Center	String	No	Cost center code	Valid cost center	-
Department	String	No	Department code	Valid department	-
Project	String	No	Project code	If applicable	-
Vendor	Vendor	No	Related vendor	For AP entries	Vendor
Customer	String	No	Customer code	For AR entries	-

Field Documentation - Journal Template Entity

Field Name	Type	Required	Description	Validation Rules	Related Entity
ID	String	Yes	Template ID	Auto-generated	Primary Key
Template Name	String	Yes	Template identifier	Unique, max 100 chars	-
Template Type	String	Yes	Category	Enum: Charge, Payment, Adjustment, Settlement	-
Description	String	Yes	Template purpose	Max 500 chars	-
Active	Boolean	Yes	Template available	Default true	-
Debit Accounts	Text	Yes	Debit GL accounts	JSON array	-
Credit Accounts	Text	Yes	Credit GL accounts	JSON array	-
Auto Post	Boolean	Yes	Post automatically	Default false	-
Requires Approval	Boolean	Yes	Needs approval	Default true	-

Workflows

Case Account Creation Workflow

1. Automatic Creation

   • Triggered by legal case creation
   • Generate account number
   • Set initial status to Active
   • Initialize all balances to zero

2. Account Setup

   • Link to Business Central
   • Assign GL accounts
   • Set credit limit
   • Configure cost center

3. Initial Journal Entry

   • Create opening JE
   • Set up receivable
   • Post to GL
   • Sync to BC

Charge Posting Workflow

1. Claim Approval

   • Claim approved for payment
   • Calculate retail amount
   • Calculate contracted amount
   • Determine adjustment

2. Journal Entry Creation

   • Select charge template
   • Create journal entry
   • Debit: Medical Expense
   • Credit: Accounts Payable

3. Account Update

   • Update total charges
   • Update contracted amount
   • Calculate new balance
   • Update aging

4. Business Central Sync

   • Send journal to BC
   • Update vendor payable
   • Receive BC confirmation
   • Update sync status

Payment Processing Workflow

1. Payment Receipt

   • Receive payment information
   • Identify case account
   • Verify payment amount
   • Select payment template

2. Journal Entry Creation

   • Create payment JE
   • Debit: Cash
   • Credit: Medical Expense
   • Post to GL

3. Balance Update

   • Apply payment to balance
   • Update payment total
   • Recalculate current balance
   • Update last activity

Settlement Workflow

1. Settlement Notification

   • Receive settlement amount
   • Calculate distributions
   • Attorney fees
   • Medical liens
   • Patient portion

2. Settlement Entries

   • Create settlement JE
   • Clear medical expenses
   • Record attorney fees
   • Process liens

3. Account Closure

   • Verify zero balance
   • Change status to Closed
   • Final BC sync
   • Archive account

Month-End Processing

1. Accrual Calculation

   • Identify unbilled services
   • Calculate accruals
   • Create accrual entries
   • Post to GL

2. Reconciliation

   • Compare to BC
   • Identify discrepancies
   • Create adjustments
   • Balance accounts

3. Reporting

   • Generate financial reports
   • Aging analysis
   • Revenue recognition
   • Case profitability

Business Rules

Account Rules

• One account per legal case
• Account created automatically with case
• Cannot delete account with transactions
• Status changes require documentation
• Credit limit enforcement optional

Journal Entry Rules

• Debits must equal credits
• Cannot post to closed periods
• Approval required over threshold
• Templates mandatory for standard entries
• Reversal creates new entry

Balance Rules

• Balance = Contracted - Payments
• Negative balances require review
• Write-offs require approval
• Adjustments need documentation
• Zero balance required for closure

Sync Rules

• Real-time sync for critical transactions
• Batch sync for routine entries
• Failed syncs retry automatically
• Manual intervention for persistent failures
• Sync status tracked per transaction

Integrations

System	Integration Type	Purpose
Business Central	REST API	GL posting, AR/AP
Claims System	Direct Database	Charge creation
Legal Case System	Direct Database	Case linkage
Payment System	API	Payment processing
Reporting System	Database Views	Financial reports
Document Management	File System	Supporting documents

Common Issues

Issue	Description	Resolution
Out of Balance	JE debits ≠ credits	Review and correct lines
Sync Failure	BC sync fails	Retry or manual sync
Period Closed	Cannot post to period	Post to next open period
Missing Template	JE template not found	Create or select template
Credit Limit	Exceeds limit	Increase or override

Screenshots Needed

• Case Account Dashboard
• Journal Entry Form
• Journal Template Manager
• Balance Summary View
• Payment Application Screen
• Settlement Calculator
• BC Sync Monitor
• Financial Reports
• Approval Queue
• Month-End Checklist

Performance Considerations

• Journal posting < 3 seconds
• Support 10,000+ accounts
• Real-time balance calculation
• Efficient BC sync process
• Quick financial reporting

Security Considerations

• Financial data encryption
• Approval workflow enforcement
• Audit trail for all entries
• Segregation of duties
• BC credential security

Notes

• Journal entries are immutable once posted
• BC sync is critical for financial integrity
• Templates reduce entry errors
• Automated accruals improve accuracy