Inputs you will need

To run prejudgment or post‑judgment interest for a North Carolina matter in DocketMath’s Interest calculator, you’ll need a concrete, fact‑level checklist. Use this as your working list before you open the tool: /tools/interest.

Core case details

• Contract, personal injury, judgment, etc.

  • This can affect the applicable rate or start date rules.
  • District Court, Superior Court, appellate court, federal court applying NC law, etc.

Money amounts

The dollar amount on which interest will run.

• For judgments: the amount of the judgment (sometimes excluding costs).
• For claims: the liquidated amount you’re using as the base.

If the claim/judgment grows over time:

Timeframe inputs

This is one of the most important inputs. Common candidates:

• Date of breach / default
• Date the amount became due under a contract
• Date of filing
• Date of judgment (for post‑judgment interest)

The date through which you want interest calculated:

• A past date (e.g., date of payment, date of judgment)
• Today’s date
• A projected future date (e.g., anticipated trial or payment date)

Interest rate details

North Carolina has a mix of statutory and contractual interest rules, and the correct rate can change based on:

• Contract vs. non‑contract claim
• Whether a valid contract rate exists
• Whether you’re pre‑ or post‑judgment
• Statutory caps or defaults

For DocketMath, collect:

• Per year (APR / annual simple interest)
• Per month, per day, or other (if the contract is unusual)
• Step‑up or step‑down rates
• Contract amendments that change the rate
• Statutory changes in the applicable rate

Compounding and method

• Simple (no compounding)

  • Daily, monthly, quarterly, annually

  • Whether unpaid interest itself earns interest (often a contract issue)

  • 365‑day year, 360‑day year, or actual/actual

  • If not specified, you’ll generally choose a standard approach in the tool

Judgment‑specific inputs (if you already have a judgment)

If you’re calculating post‑judgment interest for a North Carolina judgment:

• Principal vs. costs vs. attorney’s fees (if you want to track interest on some but not all)
• Each payment amount
• Payment date
• How the payment should be applied (interest first vs. principal first)

Output‑control options

These don’t change the legal result, but they change how DocketMath presents the math:

• To the nearest cent, dollar, or custom
• Summary only
• Line‑by‑line breakdown
• Daily schedule (for heavy audit or expert work)
• PDF for court/expert use
• Spreadsheet/CSV for internal modeling
• Copy‑paste text for pleadings or demand letters

Where to find each input

Here’s where teams typically pull the information needed for North Carolina interest calculations.

Jurisdiction and case basics

• Complaint / petition

  • Jurisdiction (North Carolina) and court level are on the caption.
• Docket sheet

  • Confirms court, case type, and key dates such as filing and judgment.

Principal and money movements

• Contract, promissory note, or credit agreement

  • Original principal amount
  • Payment schedule
  • Any add‑on advances or draws

• Invoices, account statements, or ledger

  • For commercial disputes, each invoice and its due date
  • Running balance of what’s owed

• Judgment order or final judgment

  • Total judgment principal
  • Separate line items for:

    • Principal
    • Costs
    • Attorney’s fees
    • Sanctions (if any)

• Payment history

  • Bank statements
  • Trust account ledgers
  • Receipts or payoff letters
  • Settlement or partial‑payment agreements

Interest start and end dates

• Contract / note

  • Look for:

    • “Interest shall accrue from…”
    • “Default interest begins on…”
  • If the contract is silent, the legally correct start date may require legal analysis.

• Pleadings and orders

  • Complaint or counterclaim may specify a requested start date.
  • Judgment may state:

    • “With interest from [date]” (prejudgment interest)
    • “With interest from the date of entry” (post‑judgment interest)

• Case calendar / docket

  • Judgment entry date
  • Date of payment or satisfaction
  • Settlement date

Interest rate and method

• Contract documents

  • Interest rate clause (e.g., “10% per annum”)
  • Default rate clause
  • Compounding terms (e.g., “interest shall be compounded monthly”)
  • Any amendments or riders changing the rate

• Judgment or order

  • May specify a rate different from the general statutory rate.
  • May specify whether it’s simple or compound.

• Internal rate sheets or credit policies (for lenders and recurring counterparties)

  • Standard rates applied across similar contracts
  • How the institution applies payments (interest vs. principal)

• Statutory or rule references

  • If you’re using a North Carolina statutory or judgment rate rather than a contract rate, your team may:

    • Maintain a reference sheet
    • Or rely on a research memo specifying the applicable rate and date range

Compounding, payment application, and assumptions

• Contract terms

  • “Interest shall be calculated on a 360‑day year basis.”
  • “Payments shall be applied first to accrued interest, then to principal.”

• Institution or firm policy

  • For internal modeling, you might standardize:

    • Simple interest unless the contract clearly says “compounded”
    • 365‑day year unless clearly otherwise

• Prior calculations

  • Old spreadsheets or expert reports can show how the parties historically treated interest and payments.
  • Use these to align DocketMath’s settings with prior practice when that’s strategically important.

Run it

Once you have your North Carolina inputs collected, using DocketMath’s Interest calculator is mostly plug‑and‑check:

1. Open the Interest tool
   Go to: /tools/interest and select North Carolina (US‑NC) as the jurisdiction if prompted.

2. Enter principal and amounts

   • Input the initial principal.
   • Add any additional amounts with their effective dates.
   • Enter each payment/credit with:

     • Date
     • Amount
     • How to apply it (interest first vs. principal first).

3. Set the date range

   • Choose the interest start date (as determined by your legal theory).
   • Choose the end date:

     • Today
     • A past date (e.g., date of payment)
     • A future projection date (e.g., estimated trial date).

4. Configure the rate

   • Select contract, statutory, or judgment rate (depending on what you’ve already decided).
   • Enter:

     • Rate percentage
     • Basis (per year, per month, etc.)
   • If the rate changes:

     • Add each rate period with a start date and rate.

5. Choose method and assumptions

   • Simple vs. compound interest.
   • Compounding frequency (if any).
   • Day‑count convention (360 vs. 365 vs. actual, if relevant).
   • Rounding preferences.

6. Review the preview

Inputs you will need

Use this checklist to gather the core inputs before you run the Interest tool.

• principal or judgment amount
• interest type (pre- or post-judgment)
• rate and compounding method
• start date and end/as-of date
• payments or credits that reduce principal
• day-count convention

Where to find each input

Most inputs live in the case file, contracts, or docket entries. Dates usually come from the triggering event notice; rates and caps come from governing documents or statute; and amounts come from the ledger or judgment. Record the source for each value so the run is reproducible.

Run it

Enter the inputs in DocketMath and run the Interest calculation to generate a clean breakdown: Run the calculator.

Capture the source for each input so another team member can verify the same result quickly.

When rules change, rerun the calculation with updated inputs and store the revision in the matter record.

Related reading

• Interest rule lens: Maine

• How deadlines rules vary in North Carolina

• Inputs you need for deadlines in Australia

• Why we started the DocketMath blog