> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.holace.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Settlement Calculator

> From gross settlement to net to client — fees, expenses, liens, and the value-added view.

The **Settlement** tab on a journey is where the final money math lives. Once the carrier and the firm land on a number, the calculator turns gross recovery into net to client and produces every figure the [disbursement statement](/legal-workflow/disbursement-statement) needs.

\[Screenshot: Settlement tab with the Negotiation Log on the left and the Recovery / Fees / Expenses / Liens / Net Proceeds stack on the right]

## The two-column layout

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Left column" icon="bars">
    Policy Limits (read-only) and the [Negotiation Log](/legal-workflow/negotiation-log).
  </Card>

  <Card title="Right column" icon="calculator">
    Recovery Amounts, Recovery Summary, Legal Fees, Expenses, Liens, Net Proceeds, and the Value-Added Summary.
  </Card>
</Columns>

The right column is the calculator. Everything stacks top-down, and every section reads from a single source of truth elsewhere in the system — there's no duplicate data entry.

## The numbers, in order

<Steps>
  <Step title="Recovery Amounts">
    One row per recovery source — liability carrier, UM/UIM carrier, premises carrier, settlement-on-top, etc. Each row has a source, a recovery type, an amount, and a fee percentage. The total of all rows is the **Total Recovery (gross settlement)**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Opening offer">
    The **1st Offer** from the [Negotiation Log](/legal-workflow/negotiation-log). Used as the anchor for the Value-Added math.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Attorney Fees">
    Calculated per-recovery-row using the row's fee percentage. Goodwill reductions (when the firm voluntarily takes less) appear as a separate line item so the client sees the firm's contribution.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Expenses">
    Pulled automatically from the [Expenses tab](/case-management/journey-tabs/settlement) on this journey — court fees, filing fees, expert costs, generated litigation documents, mediation. Edit on the Expenses tab; the Settlement tab reflects in real time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Liens">
    Medical liens + other liens, with the **Final Amount** (post-reduction) from the [Damages tab](/legal-workflow/damages-tracking). The Settlement tab does not let you edit lien numbers — fix them on Damages and they update here.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Net to Client">
    `Total Recovery − Attorney Fees − Expenses − Liens = Net to Client`. This is the headline number on page 3 of the disbursement statement.
  </Step>
</Steps>

\[Screenshot: Right column of the Settlement tab showing the running calculation top to bottom]

## Recovery types

The recovery-amount picker covers the realistic plaintiff-side categories:

* Liability settlement
* UM / UIM settlement
* Med-Pay
* PIP
* Workers' Comp
* Premises / Other carrier
* Other recovery

Each row records the source (carrier or counterparty), the type, and the gross amount. If the firm takes a different fee percentage on a particular recovery (e.g. a reduced fee on a UM/UIM payment), the per-row fee field overrides the firm default for that one row.

## Value-Added Summary

The **Value-Added Summary** card shows the firm's earned value in plain language:

* **Opening offer → Final settlement** — the dollar amount the firm closed beyond the carrier's first move
* **Medical bill reductions** — what was negotiated off the providers post-settlement
* **Attorney fee reduction (goodwill)** — any voluntary fee cut

Total → **Total value added for client**. This is the figure the firm uses when explaining the disbursement to the client at signing.

\[Screenshot: Value-Added Summary card with the three line items and the bold total]

<Warning>
  If the calculator flags **"Opening offer is higher than final settlement"**, double-check the Negotiation Log — usually it means the 1st Offer was logged at the wrong amount or the final settlement was entered too low.
</Warning>

## Single source of truth

The Settlement tab does not hold its own copy of any number. Every value reads from somewhere else:

| Number                   | Lives on                                                |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Demand amount            | **Demand** tab                                          |
| Negotiation moves        | **Negotiation Log** (left column)                       |
| Bill totals + reductions | [**Damages**](/legal-workflow/damages-tracking) tab     |
| Lien final amounts       | [**Damages**](/legal-workflow/damages-tracking) → Liens |
| Expenses                 | **Expenses** tab                                        |

This is intentional. If the disbursement number is wrong, you fix it in the source — and every downstream view (Settlement, Disbursement Statement, client recap) updates consistently.

<Note>
  Default fee percentages and expense categories are configured per firm: see [Admin → Firm Pricing Configuration](/admin-cross-cutting/admin-portal/billing).
</Note>

## What's next

When the calculator looks right, generate the [Disbursement Statement](/legal-workflow/disbursement-statement) — that's the printable, client-signable artifact you'll deliver at closing.