Every industry has specific needs with it comes to accountancy software and the legal profession is no different. In fact, lawyers and solicitors’ requirements are so specific that an entirely new breed of cloud-based software has emerged to meet them.
For example, lawyers need solutions that can handle client trust accounts and the interest on trust accounts. The software also needs to track time and expenses by the case and service code so that clients are billed appropriately. On top of general bookkeeping capabilities, law firms might look for solutions that include client portals, document management, and calendars.
These integrations not only make the accounting end run smoother, but also the business as a whole. With these streamlined tasks being simpler and quicker to accomplish, it leaves lawyers more time to focus on the client. The following review showcases the best accounting software for lawyers in 2021.
We’ll cover each accounting software solution in more detail later. In the meantime, here’s a quick summary best accounting software for lawyers and legal firms:
- PCLaw: Best overall accounting software for lawyers. This software does it all, from trust accounting to billing to matter management. This combination increases productivity, profitability, and improves team collaboration.
- Clio: Best sole proprietor and small business accounting Software for Lawyers. Solo practitioners often use a combination of software plus a virtual assistant for administrative tasks. This legal software integrates with accounting software, document software, and email providers.
- CosmoLex: Best built-in accounting suite software for lawyers. Built-in legal-specific accounting suite automatically keeps users current and compliant.
- TimeSolv: Best integrated accounting software for lawyers. Integration tools easily sync data with all the major players. Avoid entering data twice and increase productivity and efficiency.
- Zola Suite: Most secure accounting software for lawyers. The only cloud-based end-to-end legal practice management to have completed the SOC 2 audit. Provides the highest level of security.
- LeanLaw: Best trust accounting software for lawyers. Features a 3- way reconciliation between the bank account, trust account, and QuickBooks Online.
How we test the best accounting software for lawyers
When coming up with our list of the best accounting software for lawyers, we looked for software based on the following criteria:
- Size of business
- Features
- Integration
- Security
Best accounting software for lawyers
1. PCLaw
Best accounting software for lawyers overall
PCLaw is our top choice overall for best accounting software. This software is a joint venture between PCLaw and Time Matters, so it features pretty much everything a law firm will need, from matter management and billing to legal accounting and practice management.
Its features are second to none, allowing users to collect payments from clients, pay vendors, manage trust accounts, and track appointments, expenses, time, and tasks.
Time Matters is a customizable legal software solution for practice management. This software improves information-sharing, collaboration, and workflow. Redundant tasks are automated which simplifies the process and saves lawyers a lot of time and frustration.
A multitude of functions can be streamlined, such as billing & invoice, time tracking, and document automation.
Lawyers can focus more on the practice and their clients thanks to the detailed and accessible reports and a user-friendly dashboard. This helps in managing profitability.
This legal case management software centralizes your records and shares case & client data. The centralization and sharing of data improve team collaboration.
Another benefit is that this software offers apps for on the go. PCLaw Go and Time Matters Go can be found in the App Store and Google Play.
In summary, in this one platform, lawyers can centralize case information, access documents, access contacts, simplify workflow, manage appointments, manage tasks, track time, and handle all the billing. The software excels in these areas.
Not only does it excel in the programming of the many features, but it results in the law firm being run more effectively and efficiently when you simplify the process, not to mention the time it saves. Enhancing business processes leads to more profitability because the staff has more time to focus on the clientele.
BEST ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE FOR LAWYERS: PCLaw is our #1 pick. It’s a comprehensive software package that excels in matter management, billing & legal accounting, and practice management. You get the best of all worlds with this one software program.
2. Clio
Best sole proprietor and small business accounting software for lawyers
Clio is a practice management software that integrates with external accounting programs, such as QuickBooks and Xero. While we rated it as the best sole proprietor and small business accounting software for lawyers, it is also one of the best scalable options. Clio grows with your business, especially with its price options, because you don’t have to pay for features until you need them.
When you’re running a solo practice, you don’t have time for all the administrative tasks. That’s where Clio comes in. Clio does a good job of managing clients and cases, so you have more time with the clients.
Clio will handle all the billable minutes with its time and expense tracking and handle the legal documentation with its automated document management feature. You can access the software from anywhere with its cloud-based platform which is accessible on desktop or mobile. You can also manage everything in one place with its integration features.
It also has features that aid in acquiring new business and tracking clients, like the legal client relationship management software, automated appointments, document requests, welcome emails, online portals, and e-signatures.
Clio’s automated end-to-end billing with its invoicing and online credit card payment feature is just another way to remove the workload associated with administrative tasks. By reducing administrative tasks, you can reduce your overhead, which is a big concern when just starting out by yourself. In the end, it will boost your firm’s bottom line.
3. CosmoLex
Best built-in accounting suite software for lawyers
If you prefer working with fewer software vendors and want a built-in accounting suite, then it’s hard to beat CosmoLex. CosmoLex focuses on legal practice management for small to mid-sized businesses.
CosmoLex has most of the standard features that are typically included in practice management software packages. These include a detailed dashboard, case management, contact management, calendar, task management, document management, time & expense tracking, billing & invoicing, online payments, online client portal, mobile application, reporting, and integrations.
The built-in accounting suite is where CosmoLex really stands out. They offer a full accounting suite that will do pretty much anything you would ever want or need out of an accounting system. Having all of your practice management and accounting needs combined in one place makes it very convenient and helps your business run more efficiently.
The accounting suite offers a comprehensive list of financial features. These features include accounts payable tracking, automated fee distribution, automatic invoice payment, bank reconciliation, check printing, financial reporting, general ledger, and revenue distribution.
The robust built-in accounting features make this software package stand out among the rest. This software comes in handy when there is a need for complex fee-splitting and/or commission.
4. TimeSolv
Best integrated accounting software for lawyers
TimeSolv has a combination of legal management features and legal time tracking & billing and is designed for businesses of all sizes. Not only does it accommodate individual attorneys, but law firms. It integrates the work of office managers, paralegals, and senior partners.
The software is extremely useful to firms who need advanced billing and timekeeping features. Lawyers with complex expenses or rate tracking and those who want to track the performance of associates will benefit from this software package.
It includes law-specific features such as unlimited clients & matters and flexible billing options for fixed, hourly, and consolidated. Some of its features include time & expense entry, batch billing, trust & IOLTA accounting, LEDES codes, conflict search, and document management & automation. It stores payment information, records all payments, and runs payments in batches. It also has flexible billing templates and multiple reports in different formats.
What really stands out is its robust integration tools. It easily converts information from industry-leading software to law firm software. It syncs data with all the major players, such as QuickBooks, Xero, Microsoft 365, NetDocuments, Dropbox, LawPay, and AccoutEdge.
Enter data once and information is automatically synced among the relevant software reliably and consistently.
5. Zola Suite
Most secure accounting software for lawyers
Zola Suite is an end-to-end practice management software designed specifically for lawyers. The organization and automation features will keep your law practice running smoothly and efficiently.
The organizational features include matter management with a legal note organizer, intelligent email, a case-centric calendar, and contact management with advanced filters.
The automation features include document management & automation, CRM that manages leads & tracks referrals, task management, and a client portal.
It also has time & billing with advanced origination tracking & reporting and complete business accounting, trust accounting, and settlement management.
The feature that stands out the most with Zola Suite is its security. They are the only cloud-based end-to-end legal practice management that has completed a SOC 2 audit. SOC 2 was established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to ensure that businesses don’t take on any unnecessary risks when hiring a service provider.
To be SOC 2 compliant, the internal control practices and policies must be audited and meet certain service principles. These include security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. As a result, Zola Suite delivers the highest level of security.
6. LeanLaw
Best trust accounting software for lawyers
LeanLaw is a legal billing software for small to mid-sized law firms. LeanLaw and Intuit have partnered to better serve law firms and because of this collaboration between LeanLaw and QuickBooks Online, it’s a strong competitor among legal software.
LeanLaw offers timekeeping pushed automatically to your invoice, comprehensive & automated billing, fixed fee billing, trust accounting, automated legal billing codes, expense tracking, and real-time reporting. One of the best features is trust accounting.
LeanLaw has integrated with Gravity Legal, which allows the firm to request IOLTA funds electronically and automatically deposited into the trust account. You can also integrate trust accounting data into invoices with a customized report. Since your legal trust accounting is always in sync, your trust accounting will undergo a 3- way reconciliation on a weekly or monthly basis. The 3-way reconciliation is between the bank account, trust account, and QuickBooks Online.
Trust accounting gets overlooked in a lot of accounting software packages, but now with LeanLaw.
Methodology: How we found the best accounting software for lawyers
Looking for just the right accounting software can be extremely overwhelming because there are so many to choose from. All these products have distinct features, advantages, and disadvantages. Law practices need lawyer-specific software to run more efficiently. To ensure that we are recommending the best solution based on the various needs of lawyers, we evaluated all of our software against the criteria below:
- Size of business: Some accounting software meets the needs of one size business better than others. For example, a sole proprietor or small business will be structured differently than a medium or large-sized practice and have different needs.
- Features: One reason accounting software is so overwhelming is that sometimes it’s hard to know what features it includes or doesn’t have. Here, we’ve tried to highlight all the key features for each so that you can get an idea of which software has what. You’re going to want the one that caters more to your type of business and will make that business run more efficiently.
- Integration: There are times you have other software programs already set up and running but would like to incorporate that information into your industry-specific software without having to make multiple entries or add data manually. A smooth and consistent integration process is crucial for an all-in-one setup.
- Security: Security is a top concern when working with or sharing sensitive information on the internet. That’s why it’s important to look for software that offers the highest security possible.
Our research doesn’t end here. Evaluating the factors above is just a small part of our comprehensive accounting software methodology. This data-driven approach helps us better understand the services, so we can recommend only those that are a good fit for your needs.
FAQs
What are some important features to look for in accounting software for lawyers?
Some important features to look for include matter management, time tracking, trust accounting, billing system, and practice management.
What criteria should I consider when choosing accounting software for lawyers?
Some things to consider when looking to purchase software for lawyers are the size of the practice, features, security, and integration capabilities.
What are the advantages of using accounting software for lawyers?
Accounting software streamlines and automates the many facets of running a law practice which will save you time, simplify the process, and make more time to focus on clients.
Contents [hide]
- How we test the best accounting software for lawyers
- Best accounting software for lawyers
- Methodology: How we found the best accounting software for lawyers
- FAQs
- What are some important features to look for in accounting software for lawyers?
- What criteria should I consider when choosing accounting software for lawyers?
- What are the advantages of using accounting software for lawyers?
