A disengagement letter confirms the date you stop acting for a client, lists the services that are ending, and sets out what each side is responsible for afterwards.
The ability to send disengagement letters is part of the Socket Engage add-on module.
There are two parts to this. You create a disengagement letter template once, in Settings, and then you use it each time you close a client.
Step 1: Create a disengagement letter template
You need a disengagement letter template before you can send a letter. If you skip this, Socket shows a message on the letter's first page asking you to create one, with a link to Document Templates.
You only need to do this once. To create the template:
Go to Settings, then Document Templates (under Templates), and select New.
Choose Socket Engage as the starting point.
From the list, pick Socket Engage - Disengagement Letter and select Create.
The template opens with its sections ready to edit: Introduction, Services provided by us, Respective responsibilities, Fees, Retention of records, Applicable law, and Agreement of terms of disengagement. Select the pencil next to any section to change the wording, or use Add New Section at the bottom.
⚠️ The template is a starting point. Read it through and adjust it to suit your practice before you send your first letter.
Step 2: Mark the client as closed
The usual way to start a disengagement letter is by closing the client. Open the client, select the three dots at the top right, and choose Mark As Closed.
In the Confirm Marking As Closed window:
Set the Last Billable Month.
Add a reason under Why is this client being closed?
Tick Also send a disengagement letter.
Select Confirm.
If the client has open proposals, the window lists them, as they'll be closed along with the client.
⚠️ Closing a client stops their billing. The last billable month is the last month they're invoiced for.
You can also start a disengagement letter from Letters in the main menu using New, or from a sent engagement letter's row.
Step 3: Choose the template and effective date (General step)
After you confirm, Socket opens the new letter. It has four steps, shown along the bottom of the page: General, Services, Customise, and Send.
On General, choose your disengagement letter template under What template do you want to use? and enter the Effective date of termination. This is the date you stop acting for the client. Then select Next.
Step 4: Choose the services that are ending (Services)
Socket pre-selects the services from the client's active proposals. If they have none, it uses their most recent engagement letter instead.
Tick or untick services so the list matches what you're ending, then select Next. You need at least one service ticked, as the letter names each service it ends.
Unticking a service only removes it from the letter's wording. Billing stops when you close the client, so this step doesn't change it.
Step 5: Check the wording and settings (Customise)
Everything on this page comes from your template and your global settings, so you can go straight to Next if it all looks right. Each section opens and closes when you select its heading.
Recipients shows who the letter goes to. Add anyone else who needs a copy in the CC or BCC fields, separating multiple addresses with a comma.
Introduction and Next Steps each have a dropdown to pick the wording, and an Edit button to change it for this letter. The introduction appears at the top of the letter, and the next steps show to the client once they've signed.
Document Emails holds the two emails the client receives, and you can edit either one:
New Document Email: sent when the letter goes out for review and signing.
Final Document Email: sent once the client has signed, with a copy of the signed letter attached.
Additional Customisation lets you override your global settings for this letter only. You can choose whether the client can decline the letter (they'll see a Decline Disengagement Letter option) and whether to include marketing consent.
Customise Document Content is the letter itself, laid out in the same sections as your template. Use the pencil to edit a section for this letter, or the bin to remove it. If a tag needs a value, a Missing Tags - Click to Resolve button appears against that section.
Step 6: Review and send (Send)
The Review & Send page shows the client, the approver (the client contact who signs), the effective date, and the services being terminated. Select the pencil next to any of these to go back and change it.
To read the letter exactly as your client will, select Preview what the client will see. When you're happy, select Send For Approval to email it to the client, or Share Via Link to send the link yourself.
Your client ticks to confirm their agreement and types their name to sign, the same as they would on an engagement letter.
Tracking your disengagement letters
Disengagement letters sit under Letters alongside your engagement letters. They move from draft to pending once sent, and to signed when the client signs. The Type column tells the two kinds apart, and for disengagement letters the Date column shows the effective date.
Socket doesn't send reminders for disengagement letters.