What this article helps with: Every cost associated with Hona Disbursements: what your firm pays, when and from which account, what your client may choose to pay, and the amount limits that apply.
Who this is for: Firm admins, finance and accounting staff, and anyone who needs to explain the pricing to a partner or a client.
When not to use this article: This article covers disbursement transaction costs only. It does not cover your Hona subscription. For anything related to your Hona contract or invoice, talk to your account manager.
The short version
Who pays | What | When |
Your firm | $3 per disbursement, flat | Only on successful disbursements, billed twice monthly |
Your client, if they choose instant | 1% of the payout, capped at $95 | Deducted from their payout at the time they accept |
Your client, if they choose ACH | Nothing | Free, always available |
There is no Hona subscription charge for Disbursements, no per-seat fee, and no setup fee. There is nothing added on top of the $3.
Your firm's fee: $3 per disbursement
It is flat, regardless of amount
$3 whether the payout is $500 or $150,000. It does not scale with the amount, and it does not change based on which method your client picks. If your client chooses instant, your firm still pays $3 and nothing more.
It is per disbursement
Each disbursement is a separate $3. So:
Two plaintiffs on one case, paid separately, is two disbursements and $6.
One client who receives a second payout later is another $3.
A $150,000 payout to a client who wants instant has to be split across two disbursements (because instant caps at $100,000), so that is $6.
Paying providers or lienholders counts too. A settlement where you pay the client plus six providers is seven disbursements and $21.
This makes the cost easy to forecast: count the payouts, multiply by three.
You are only charged when it works
The fee is triggered when your client accepts the funds. You are not charged for:
A disbursement you drafted and canceled
A link your client never opened, or one that expired
A payment that failed
Where it comes from, and when
Fees are debited from the account you designated as your fee account at enrollment, which for nearly every firm is the operating account. Fees never come out of your trust account.
Billing runs twice a month, on the 1st and the 15th, and it arrives as a single batched invoice rather than dozens of separate $3 charges. Your accountant will see one expense covering every disbursement in that period, line-itemized with client name, matter, amount, and transaction ID. The invoice lives in your Confido account and your accountant can be given access to it directly.
How the disbursement itself hits your trust account
One debit per disbursement. They are never batched together, so each debit ties cleanly back to one client and one matter.
Same day or the next business day, depending on when your client accepted.
Always the gross amount. If your client paid the 1% instant fee, that comes off their side. Your trust ledger shows the full disbursement amount either way, which keeps your reconciliation clean.
Can we recoup the $3 as a case cost?
Can we recoup the $3 as a case cost?
Firms do. Because the fee is flat and predictable, you can add it as a hard cost per disbursement the same way you would any other disbursement expense. If a settlement involves three payouts, that is $9 in fees to account for.
Whether and how you pass a cost like this on is a decision for your firm, and depends on your fee agreement and your jurisdiction's rules. Hona does not advise on that.
Your client's choice
Instant to debit card: 1%, capped at $95
Your client can choose to have the funds pushed to their debit card in seconds or minutes. That option carries a 1% fee capped at $95, paid by your client, deducted from their payout.
Worked examples:
$2,000 payout, instant: $20 fee
$9,500 payout, instant: $95 fee, exactly where the cap starts to bind
$50,000 payout, instant: $95 fee, not $500
Instant is the default selection on the page, and most clients take it, though it varies quite a bit by firm and client base.
Direct deposit (ACH): free, 4 to 6 business days
Always available, always free. Your client is never required to pay anything to receive their settlement funds. Neither your firm nor Hona can turn the free option off.
Limits
Limit | Detail |
Instant to debit card | Not available above $100,000. Above that, ACH is your client's only option. To pay a larger amount instantly, split it into multiple disbursements. |
Payment link expiry | 60 days by default, adjustable per disbursement. |
Demo and sandbox mode | Capped at $1,000 per example disbursement. If a test payment fails with a generic partner error, the amount is usually the reason. Use a small number when testing. |
Trust account balance | Not checked by Hona. There is no balance validation before a disbursement goes out, and no check against a specific case's funds. Your approval step is the control. |
Firm processing limit | Set when your firm is underwritten and sized for your normal volume. An unusually large batch, for example a mass tort distribution, can hit it. Tell us in advance and we will have Confido raise it. |
International | Not supported. Funds cannot be sent overseas. Your client needs a US bank account or US debit card. |
FAQs
Do we pay Hona anything for Disbursements?
Do we pay Hona anything for Disbursements?
No. The $3 goes to Confido Legal, our payments partner. Hona does not bill you for Disbursements and does not add a markup. There is no subscription, per-seat, or setup charge for the feature.
We already use Confido directly. Do we pay twice?
We already use Confido directly. Do we pay twice?
No. Connecting your existing Confido account to Hona does not create a second billing relationship. You keep paying Confido what you pay them today, and Hona sits on top as the interface your team works in.
Does the firm pay more when the client chooses instant?
Does the firm pay more when the client chooses instant?
No. Your firm pays $3 either way. The instant fee is paid by your client, from their payout, and only if they select it.
Can we move money from trust to our own operating account through this?
Can we move money from trust to our own operating account through this?
Do not use a disbursement for that. Confido has a dedicated trust-to-operating transfer function in its own app, and it is free. Using a disbursement instead would cost you $3 unnecessarily. Ask [email protected] if you need pointing to it.
Is the $3 negotiable?
Is the $3 negotiable?
$3 is the standard rate. If your firm does high disbursement volume and wants to discuss terms, talk to your Hona account manager.
Conclusion
$3 per successful payout from your operating account, billed on the 1st and the 15th, and an optional 1% capped at $95 that only your client pays and only if they want their money in minutes. Questions about a specific charge on your statement? Chat with our support team or email [email protected].