In VRTrust, payouts and transfers are distinct types of transactions.
Owner payouts are created from the Statements area (the owner statement) and then matched in Bank Reconciliation. (Do not use Create → Bank Transfer inside Bank Reconciliation to record owner payouts — that bypasses the owner statement and the GL won't post correctly.)
PM (manager) payouts are recorded as an Expense to the PM Payouts account with Bill to = Manager — or, if you run Operations Accounting, as a bank transfer from trust to operating. They are not created from the PM Statement (see below).
Transfers move money between the trust account and the operating account (or vice versa), and are created from the Bank Reconciliation area.
Use this article to decide which one you need.
When to use payouts vs. transfers
You're paying… | Create it from… | Records against |
An owner (trust → owner's bank) | Owner Statement → Create payment | Published owner statement |
Multiple owners at once | Statements → Payouts → bulk Create payments action | Each owner's statement |
Your PM company — trust accounting only in VRTrust | Expense → account PM Payouts, Bill to = Manager | PM statement |
Your PM company — Operations Accounting (operating account also in VRTrust) | Bank Reconciliation → Bank transfers → Add Transfer | PM statement |
The trust account (operating → trust) | Bank Reconciliation → Bank transfers → Add Transfer | PM statement (via the Due to/From Trust entry) |
Bank fees, deposits, journal corrections | Their dedicated transaction type | GL only |
Bank Reconciliation is where you match these to the bank record on the bank feed. It is not where they are created.
Paying an owner
Go to Statements → Owner Statements and open the statement for the period you're paying.
Review the statement and click Publish. Publishing locks the statement so the payout posts against a finalized period.
Click Create Payment to open the Owner Payout modal.
Select whether this payment is to or from the owner
Enter the Payment date and Payment amount (the suggested amount is the owner's available balance, less any reserve).
Click Create payment.
The payout is recorded against your Payout Distribution account assignment (typically your trust bank or operating account) and is visible on Statements → Payouts. If the listing has multiple owners, the payout is split automatically by ownership percentage.
If you need to change the amount of a payout after publishing, move the statement back to Draft, edit, re-publish, and recreate the payment.
If your team has an operating account connected in VRTrust, you can pay an owner directly from that operating account instead of trust.
VRTrust still records the payout against the owner and automatically adds a Due to/From Trust balancing entry so both ledgers stay in sync — you don't need to do anything differently in the payout flow itself.
To change the bank account on an existing payout, go to Statements → Payouts, open the payout, click the listed bank account, and select a new one from the dropdown.
Paying multiple owners in bulk
If you're paying many owners at once (e.g. end-of-month payout run), use the bulk flow described in Create payments to or from owners in bulk (VRTrust).
Paying your PM company (PM payouts / transfers of trust funds to your operating bank account)
This is PM money, not owner money, so it records against your PM statement, not an owner statement. How you record it depends on whether your operating account is set up in VRTrust.
Trust accounting only in VRTrust (operating account outside VRTrust)
Record the payout as an Expense transaction:
Create an Expense (or categorize the payment from the trust bank record in Bank Reconciliation).
Set the expense account to PM Payouts.
Set Bill to to Manager so the expense posts to the PM statement.
Pay it from your trust bank account; enter the amount and date.
Save, then reconcile against the trust bank record in Bank Reconciliation.
Operations Accounting (both trust and operating accounts in VRTrust)
Record the movement as a bank transfer:
Go to Bank Reconciliation → Bank transfers and click Add Transfer.
Enter From bank account (trust), To bank account (operating), the amount, the date, and a description.
Click Add transfer.
Confirm the entry on your PM statement (in the Transfers section) and reconcile the transfer in both the operating and trust bank accounts at month-end.
Why not create owner payouts by creating a Bank Transfer in Bank Reconciliation?
The Bank Transfer option inside Bank Reconciliation creates a generic GL transfer with no owner-statement linkage. Owner payouts created this way:
Won't appear on the owner's statement as a transfer.
Won't reduce the owner's available balance.
Won't reconcile against the owner's payout assignment.
Will likely cause downstream variances at month-end.
Always create the payout from the statement first, then reconcile it.
Matching in Bank Reconciliation (the final step)
Once the payout or transfer is created:
Go to Bank Reconciliation and select the bank account.
Find the bank-feed record for the payout or transfer.
Match it to the record you just created (use Find/search if it's a bundled payout covering multiple owners — the totals must match exactly).
Accept the match.