Categories > Legal Billing Software

Last Reviewed: November 27th, 2024

Best Legal Billing Software Of 2024

What is Legal Billing Software?

Legal Billing Software is an application that simplifies the process of tracking billable hours and generating invoices. This tool addresses issues such as inaccuracies in manual billing, inadequate revenue tracking, and difficulties in creating client invoices. Its significance is highlighted by benefits like enhanced accuracy, simplified billing, and improved revenue tracking. Integral features commonly include time tracking, invoice generation, expense tracking, and payment processing. Developing trends include AI utilization for advanced analytics and insightful reporting. Primarily, law firms and solo attorneys would derive great benefits, although other professionals charging by the hour may also find it useful. Limitations exist, including potential cost concerns, complexities in deployment, and need for user training. To sum, Legal Billing Software offers notable contributions to tracking and invoicing of legal services. It provides the precision and efficiency craved by legal professionals, supplementing revenue generation efforts.

What Are The Key Benefits of Legal Billing Software?

Enhances billing accuracy
Simplifies invoice creation
Improves revenue tracking
Offers efficient time tracking
Automates payment processing
Facilitates expense tracking
Supports insightful analytics
Enhances financial transparency
Boosts productivity
Ensures regulatory compliance

Overall

Based on the latest available data collected by SelectHub for 38 solutions, we determined the following solutions are the best Legal Billing Software overall:

How We Rate Products

Our vendor evaluation process involves an in-depth 400+ point analysis of the product's capabilities. Our rigorous evaluation criteria, commitment to data integrity and dedicated industry coverage allow us to deliver the best possible insights and recommendations, free of bias or undue influence. Our methodology and process come together in our analyst scores.

SelectHub's Technology Selection Management (TSM) Scoring Engine processes the data collected during research and computes the analyst score for each product. The scoring engine factors in functional and technical requirements, standardized across categories for an apples-to-apples comparison. The computation also includes implementation and vendor qualification criteria where present.

MyCase

Start Price

^$39

Per User, Monthly

Company Size

Small Medium Large

Deployment

Cloud On-Premise

Platform

Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android

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Why We Picked MyCase

MyCase has attracted a loyal following within the legal community, with many users praising its intuitive interface and comprehensive features. The platform's ease of use is a recurring theme in reviews, making it accessible even for those with limited technical expertise. Users appreciate the ability to efficiently manage cases, track time, and communicate with clients all within a single platform. MyCase's billing and invoicing tools also receive positive feedback, streamlining the often cumbersome process of generating invoices and collecting payments. Compared to competitors like Clio and PracticePanther, MyCase is often lauded for its affordability and user-friendly design, making it a popular choice for solo practitioners and small law firms. However, some users note that MyCase's reporting capabilities may not be as robust as those offered by some competitors, and integrations with third-party applications could be more extensive. Despite these limitations, MyCase's core functionality, affordability, and ease of use make it a compelling option for legal professionals seeking a reliable and efficient practice management solution.

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Pros & Cons

Client Communication: MyCase offers a secure client portal that facilitates easy document sharing, messaging, and appointment scheduling, streamlining communication and collaboration.
Case Management: The platform provides tools for organizing case files, tracking deadlines, and managing tasks, ensuring that legal professionals stay on top of their workload.
Billing and Invoicing: MyCase simplifies the billing process with features like time tracking, expense recording, and online payment processing, making it easier for lawyers to get paid promptly.
Mobile App: The MyCase mobile app allows attorneys to access case information, communicate with clients, and manage tasks on the go, providing flexibility and convenience.

Limited Customization: MyCase offers limited options for tailoring workflows or interfaces to specific firm needs, which can be frustrating for users with unique processes.
Billing Challenges: Some users report difficulties with generating invoices, particularly batch billing, leading to inefficiencies and potential errors in client billing.
Mobile App Functionality: The mobile app's features and functionality lag behind the desktop version, limiting its usefulness for lawyers on the go.
Integrations: MyCase's integrations with other software can be limited, requiring workarounds or manual data entry to connect with essential tools.

Key Features

Case Management: Consolidate case-related documents into one location, track ongoing cases and manage obligations through the legal calendar. Leverage automated workflows to carry out repetitive tasks and standard procedures.
- Documentation: Store an unlimited number of documents in customizable folders. Pre-fill document templates with case information. Encourage collaboration on documents across multiple teams, track version history and access legal documents globally from any mobile device. Upload, download and print documents in bulk.
- Legal Calendar: Create calendar entries and link them to associated cases. Share important events with clients and team members. Color code entries and sort by status or cases. Access a personal calendar and a centralized calendar for firm-wide updates on meetings, deadlines and appointments. Automatically get notifications on important events, touchpoints and Statute of Limitation deadlines.
- Status Reports: Get real-time insights into case history, progress and status via the dashboard. Track the firm’s productivity with built-in reports. Supported reporting metrics include cases by stage, average duration spent in each case and cases closed over time.
- Automated Workflows: Implement code-free automation to prepare workflows for standard processes. Automatically set case milestones, assign tasks and create forms. Get alerts for important dates, trial hearings and deadlines.
Integrations: Integrate with Microsoft Outlook for real-time document synchronization, collaborative editing, offline editing and browser-based editing. Other integrations include Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, QuickBook and Mailchimp.
Security: Encrypt case files and messages with 128-bit SSL encryption while in transit and with 256-bit AES encryption at rest. Regularly back up the firm’s data. Validate data integrity after every update and eliminate redundancies. Physical access to servers is controlled via security escorts and two-factor authentication.
Electronic Signatures: Send encrypted documents to clients for their signatures. Supports multiple signers and countersigners and complies with the ESIGN act. Use the eSignature dashboard to track pending signatures.
Billing: Manage the entire billing cycle from invoicing and time tracking to payments and accounting.
- Legal Invoicing: Create legal invoices directly from time entries. Generate UTBMS codes for billable tasks and implement LEDES billing. Prepare invoices in bulk and share them with clients via the client portal, emails or traditional paper. Sort invoices by payment status and get automated notifications for overdue and outstanding payments. Automatically notify clients regarding outstanding invoices.
- Revenue Reporting: Run built-in reports on aging invoices and accounts receivable. Run reports on the firm’s financial health. Compare the amount billed to revenue collected to prepare a case revenue report. Measure performance against business goals and take corrective action if necessary.
- Time Tracking: Track billable hours with multiple timers or add entries after completing the task. The Smart Time Finder tool identifies billable actions without time entries. Leverage billable and non-billable expense tracking and embedded activity timers to maximize billing proficiency. Track time on the go from mobile devices and automatically link entries to associated cases.
Payments: Offer clients multiple secure payment options, including in-person, over the phone, and online via credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX) or eCheck (ACH). Process eChecks for free and automatically update invoice status and trust accounts for payment reconciliation. Set up tailored payment plans and automated monthly reminders for clients.
- Accounting: Seamlessly manage multiple trust and operating accounts. Deduct credit card fees only from operating accounts, maintain detailed logs of every transaction and organize payment history by date range or case.
Lead Management: Use the Lead Status Board extension to manage the entire lead lifecycle from prospect to client. Break down lead acquisition into multiple stages and assign staff tasks for every step. The analytics dashboard gives complete visibility into successful referrals, touchpoint history and conversion rate. Process leads faster with customizable intake forms and eSignature support.
Client Experience: Provide clients with a secure, two-way channel for sharing messages, documents and events via the client portal. Automatically record all correspondence for future reference. Directly share invoice links for simple, secure and direct online payment.
Website: Design a custom, mobile-friendly website with preconfigured search engine optimization, Google Analytics integration and 99% uptime. Upload a custom business logo. Embed client intake forms and client portal connections directly into the website.

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Clio

Start Price

^$40

Per User, Monthly

Company Size

Small Medium Large

Deployment

Cloud On-Premise

Platform

Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android

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Why We Picked Clio

Clio offers practice management capabilities, along with data and task management modules. According to reviews, its primary functions like time tracking, billing and matter management meet modern legal requirements. It’s scalable, secure and easy to use, with a responsive support team to back it up.

However, reviewers noted that integrations are buggy and loading time is slow. While the features make it worthwhile, many users feel that the cost could be lower. Overall, Clio is an excellent package if you don’t mind paying a bit more and dealing with extended load times.

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Pros & Cons

Ease of Use: All the users who reviewed this aspect found the UI intuitive and easy to pick up.
Functionality: According to 73% of users reviewing capabilities, basic functions such as time tracking, accounting and document management perform satisfactorily.
Service and Support: 83% of users who mentioned this element said they’re satisfied with the customer support and response rates.
Task Management: Regarding this feature, 71% of users said the softwaremade task management easier.

Integrations: Integration options are limited and plagued with bugs, according to 60% of users mentioning this aspect.
Speed and Performance: According to 100% of users who reviewed this element, loading speed is slow, negatively affecting performance.
Reporting: 56% of users who reviewed this feature found that reports lack customizability.
Training: 80% of users found the training resources to be insufficient.
Cost: According to 80% of users who reviewed this aspect, the software cost is higher than its competitors.

Key Features

Client Management: Increase operational efficiency by automating standard firm procedures throughout the client lifecycle. Improve the customer experience by encouraging client collaborations in case operations.
- Client Intake Management: Automate logging and synchronization of client intake data, case management tasks and calendar information under one scheduling environment. Track potential client information and open new matters seamlessly with Quick Intake.
- Client Tracking: Never miss a single task or appointment with checklists, automated reminders and cross-platform sharing of client information and documentation. Follow up on potential clients and collect matter details with 24/7 secure access to cases, scheduling, contacts through Online Intake Forms and the Matter Pipeline.
- Client Services: Increase client engagement with automated follow-up emails and reminders. Offer flexible payment options including online credit cards.
Security: Secure your data from potential external and internal vulnerabilities with a dedicated cybersecurity portal. Enforce administrative, physical and technical controls like 2FA, criminal background checks, security training and more to protect against future liabilities.
- Compliance: Ensure GDPR compliance both as a data controller and processor. Get payments processed 39% faster with credit cards while operating in compliance with PCI guidelines.
- Data Encryption: Store and transmit data securely with HTTPS and TLS-based in-transit and at-rest encryption. The secure web interface is verified by DigiCert.
- Control Implementation: Control access to sensitive information with role-based permissions, login safeguards and session/activity tracking via IP information. Increase safety standards with strong passwords, regular password resets and two-factor authentication via the mobile app.
Firm Insights: Thoroughly understand the firm’s strengths and weaknesses with in-depth reporting on the most valuable referral sources, clients, and matter types. Compare actual matter totals to estimated ones and track billed, unbilled and collected amounts.
Case Management: Track and manage case-related documents, bills, time and client contact information from anywhere. Integrate pre-existing case information from over 200 applications including Dropbox, Outlook and Google Workspace.
Document Management: Remotely store and access an unlimited number of legal documents, images, audio and video files. Backup documents automatically, filter and sort using customized categories, search using keywords and send documents for signature through the e-Signature portal.
Billing Management: Create, approve and send bills electronically and process interest for late payments with the Clio Connect portal. Offer automated, flexible and faster payment plans with integrated credit card processing via the Clio Payments extension.
Contact Management: Track the firm’s clients and contacts with quick overviews of their connected matters, documents, transactions and bills. Trace their interactions with the firm, identify conflict of interests, if any, and log case-specific information in custom data fields.
Accounting: Create trust and operating accounts and produce invoices in compliance with legal industry regulations. Use the client ledger portal to monitor all accounts and transactions associated with a client and perform 3-way reconciliations either manually or with the help of third-party extensions.
Calendar Management: Stay on top of deadlines and important dates by synchronizing calendars with cases. Create custom entries to log more billable hours, share important events and dates with clients and keep track of firm-wide events, meetings and appointments.
Task Management: Keep track of pending tasks on legal cases, assign tasks to other members and set as many customized task categories as required using the Advanced Tasks portal. Get notifications about overdue tasks, organized by due date, in the main dashboard.
Time and Expense Tracking: Keep a record of time spent working by seamlessly adding entries from calendar events, tasks, communication logs, notes, documents, Outlook and Gmail. Track time and expenses in real time even when on the go using the mobile application.
Performance Management: Get detailed reports on the utilization of the firm’s time with insights on how to streamline workflows and reallocate resources for better productivity. Identify unbilled hours and write-offs to prevent further incidents.
Legal Client App: Clients can use the mobile app to receive push notifications, status updates and case details, contact their lawyer and scan and upload documents. Case lawyers provide sign up links via email for secure login with Face ID or Touch ID verification.

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Quickbase

Start Price

^$35

Per User, Monthly

Company Size

Small Medium Large

Deployment

Cloud On-Premise

Platform

Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android

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Why We Picked Quickbase

Quickbase is a user-friendly platform suited to help businesses optimize project management with custom applications, workflow automation and data-driven insights. Its no-code structure and intuitive interfaces to develop applications and reports quickly, even with minimal coding experience, are often mentioned by users.

Users can centralize data from multiple sources and access advanced data insights on key project metrics to improve decision-making, save time and optimize resource allocation. Extensive customization options are another reviewer favorite, enabling users to build solutions tailored to their specific needs.

Integration with third-party applications adds to Quickbase's appeal by enhancing productivity and streamlining operations. Additionally, reviewers consistently highlight the abundance of training resources and documentation available, including guides, video courses and a supportive user community.

Despite high customization and ease-of-use, reviewers note a learning curve to optimize adoption and performance. Quickbase’s “reads”-based cost structures are also a barrier for smaller businesses with limited budgets.

Overall, Quickbase is an excellent option for businesses who require extensive customization to optimize their project management, offering ease-of-use with data accessibility and custom apps for task management.

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Pros & Cons

Ease of Use: Use a no- or low-code structure to easily input and access data. Speed up application development and report creation with easy navigation and intuitive interfaces.
Workflow Automation: Streamline processes and task management using workflow emails, notifications and live data views through charts and graphs.
Customization: Build customized applications for unique business processes using AI, pre-built templates and no code software. Access custom portals for teams and clients, define personalized user roles and permissions and utilize dynamic dashboards.
Data Accessibility and Data Analysis: Eliminate date silos by consolidating information from multiple sources into a centralized view. Generate custom reports to visualize data intuitively, track key metrics, and identify trends and patterns.
Integration: Enhance productivity and streamline operations by integrating with third-party applications and using API access to build custom extensions.
Training Resources and Documentation: Access training resources and documentation in the form of guides, video courses, certifications, online help and a strong user community to help users learn the intricacies of the solution.

Learning Curve: New users may face a steep learning curve and adoption can be challenging for those unfamiliar with programming principles.
Cost: The pricing can be a barrier for some organizations, especially smaller ones or those with limited budgets.

Key Features

No-Code Builder: Create custom project management applications with minimal coding experience. Use AI, drag-and-drop tools and pre-built templates to design custom applications for your team's needs and workflows.
Integrations: Use pre-built integration channels to unify existing business systems, data sources and workflows with third-party tools. Eliminate manual data entry and ensure all project information is centralized and up-to-date using APIs to develop custom extensions.
Automated Workflows: Use automation features to streamline repetitive tasks and processes within your projects. Set up automated triggers and actions based on specific events, such as sending notifications when a task is completed or automatically generating reports when deadlines approach.
Dashboards: Use interactive dashboards to gain a real-time, centralized view of all your projects. View key project metrics, resource allocation, task statuses and overall progress to identify potential issues early on and make informed decisions to keep projects on track. Filter, group, modify and search dashboards to improve project analysis. Design highly personalized, role-based dashboards with simple drag-and-drop functionality.
Mobile Apps: Build and access mobile-ready applications, monitor projects securely and remotely, and view mobile dashboards.
Customizable Reporting: Create custom reports and dynamic dashboards tailored to your specific needs. Analyze project performance, identify trends and make data-driven decisions by intuitively visualizing project data using charts, graphs and tables.
Role-Based Security: Improve data security and access control with role-based permission to ensure only authorized personnel can view or modify sensitive project information. Define user roles and assign specific access levels to different team members based on their needs.

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Needles

Start Price

^$85

Quote-based

Company Size

Small Medium Large

Deployment

Cloud On-Premise

Platform

Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android

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Why We Picked Needles

Needles provides all the functions expected of a modern legal practice management solution, including matter and document management, mobile time tracking, reporting and task supervision. It offers an efficient task management module, but it’s important to note that some users experienced difficulty editing entries in the legal calendar.

According to reviews, the platform is difficult to learn, but the product training and support team are helpful in getting past the initial hurdle. Finally, the intuitive UI and exhaustive features make it a capable contender, but only for companies with a budget to justify the extra cost.

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Pros & Cons

Functionality: Its time-tracking, billing and accounting functionalities meet the modern-day requirements of the legal industry, according to 65% of users mentioning this element.
Ease of Use: According to 69% of users who reviewed this aspect, the platform is intuitive and easy to use.
Reporting: 67% of users who reviewed this feature said that it provides plenty of customizable options.
Task Management: Regarding this feature, 75% of users found it helpful to track tasks and meet deadlines.
Training: 75% of users who reviewed this element said they’re satisfied with the knowledge base and training resources.

Integrations: It provides limited integration options, according to 60% of users mentioning this aspect.
Speed and Performance: According to 100% of reviews about this feature, the platform’s performance sometimes suffers under heavy workloads.
Cost: All the users who mentioned this element said it’s more expensive than its competitors.

Key Features

Task Management: Stay on top of pending tasks, deadlines and important events with fully configurable workflows, synchronized Outlook calendars and automated daily checklists. Receive and broadcast important updates with firm-wide scheduling and communication portals.
Document Management: Encourage employees to collaborate on and share documents, globally in real time. Identify documents using keywords, prepare files for e-Signatures and choose customizable rich templates from industry-specific case libraries.
Firm Insights: Leverage real-time reporting and analytics on business health. Use the configurable dashboard to create custom reports, data and metrics, monitor business processes and identify valuable assets.
Data Management and Security: Secure your data with centralized data storage that eliminates redundancies and automatically backs up all documentation. Organize and store files with the PDF Template Wizard and import data in bulk via CSV files.
Time and Expense Tracking: Track time effortlessly with the help of the Outlook add-in for any device, including mobile devices. Log expenses in real time, eliminate errors and omissions and automate internal audit logs.
Client Management: Improve customer satisfaction via the self-service portal with over 99% uptime. Address client inquiries, process reimbursements and payments and update case details seamlessly.
API: Implement low-code integration of third-party extensions or create new integrations entirely using the API-based architecture. Directly integrate with Microsoft Office 365, OneDrive, QuickBooks, DocuSign and Lexitas.
Security: Secure data, documentation and digital access with Microsoft Azure. Get 24/7 security from cyber attacks and ensure business continuity with biometrically-secured physical data centers, remote-hosted servers and advanced data encryption.

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Filevine

Start Price

^$87

Per User, Monthly

Company Size

Small Medium Large

Deployment

Cloud On-Premise

Platform

Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android

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Why We Picked Filevine

Filevine is a versatile legal practice management solution that helps streamline various operations, from client management and document organization to time tracking, invoicing, and payment processing. Its integrated payment processor facilitates client payments through credit cards or ACH, providing a convenient option for law firms.

One of Filevine's standout features is its robust reporting capabilities, enhanced by built-in AI. Law firms can generate detailed reports to track revenue, performance, lead conversion, hiring, caseloads and staff performance. AI-powered analytics provide valuable insights into team dynamics, caseload trends and overall firm health. By identifying top performers and areas for improvement, firms can optimize their operations and enhance efficiency.

Filevine's AI also offers generative capabilities. The platform can summarize client applications and interactions, analyze lead sources to inform marketing strategies, and even generate demand letters and scan documents for insights. Additionally, it can automate immigration application processes and assist in document creation by generating summaries, charts and descriptions based on user prompts.

While Filevine is a powerful tool for many law firms, it has some limitations that may not suit all needs. For example, it currently lacks a dedicated section for subrogation liens in the draft closing tab. Its sorting and filtering options for reminders could be improved. Additionally, the restriction of assigning only one cost/trust account per organization may not align with regulatory requirements for larger firms.

Overall, Filevine is a valuable tool for solo practitioners and mid-sized law firms seeking to streamline their operations and leverage AI-powered insights. However, larger enterprises with more complex needs may find limitations that require careful consideration.

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Pros & Cons

Customization: Filevine is highly customizable to suit various legal practices and case types.
Ease of Use: Most reviewers highlighted the platform’s user-friendly interface, making it easy to navigate.
Comprehensive Reporting Features: Its robust reporting tools help firms track data, performance and client conversion effectively.
Streamlined Client Communication: Features like two-way text messaging, document sharing and email linking simplify client communication while maintaining accountability.
Support for Remote Work: Many users praised its accessibility, allowing legal work from anywhere with an internet connection.
Easy Integrations: Filevine integrates well with other legal platforms, enhancing its versatility.

Customer Support Issues: Several users complained about poor customer service, long response times and challenges during onboarding and implementation.
Complex Setup: The initial setup and implementation process can be lengthy, requiring significant internal resources.
Glitches and Bugs: Some users experienced software glitches and technical issues, leading to workflow delays.
Documentation and Training: Reviewers expressed concerns about the lack of sufficient documentation and the need for more training.

Key Features

Case Management: Centrally access all case-related information, documents, notes, tasks and correspondence. Automate standardized procedures, tasks, reminders and deadlines. Use the activity feed to track tasks in real time, communicate with clients and pull up contextual information. Set up roles and permissions to control access and assign responsibilities.
Lead Capture: Create client intake forms tailored to the firm’s needs. Automate follow-up tasks and communications required to convert potential clients. Use the dashboard to display tasks and track lead volume over time, lead sources, revenue by source and conversion rate.
Integrations: Connect with Lead Docket to streamline lead referrals and access its vast library of integrations. Add over 2,000 applications through its API-based architecture. Seamlessly integrate with QuickBooks to synchronize legacy accounts. Other integrations include Google Calendar, Zapier, Office 365, Domo, Vinesign and Slack.
Legal Documentation: Access an end-to-end document management module with unlimited storage and built-in editing and collaboration tools. The DocGen inclusion instantaneously creates custom contracts, retainers, firm reports, demand letters, interrogatories and more. Search for specific documents via custom document hashtags and OCR. Create custom folder structures to store legal documents separately based on practice areas or cases.
- Editing: Lock documents for edits. Edit PDFs, combine and insert documents and apply consistent identifiers to multiple sets of documents.
- Filevine Fusion: Use granular reporting to create dynamic documents, sophisticated forms, visuals and charts with a single click. Consolidate data from all over the system into a single document ready to download, print and email. Seamlessly fits into the firm’s existing workflows.
Contracts: Leverage automated approval workflows, version control, custom alerts and real-time editing to manage the entire contract lifecycle. Use dynamic templates with conditional logic to create legally binding contracts instantly. Create custom contracts, letters and drafts in bulk with self-service templates. Seamlessly transfer legacy contracts with captured metadata and track legal obligations via dashboard snapshots.
Reporting and Business Analytics: Generate reports on everything from tasks and notes to time entries and calendar events. Schedule automatic delivery of reports when required. Get data-driven insights on top performers, productivity, training opportunities, task completion rates, cumulative actions taken and more. Expand or limit report results by any condition or factor.
- Audit Reports: Record every activity registered in the system and store it for 30 days. Get actionable insights into staff productivity and business profitability.
- Filevine Periscope: Enable data visualization via the Periscope extension and expand raw datasets. Get recommendations on the best possible combination of workflows and actions for maximum productivity. Identify and standardize efficient workflows and eliminate ineffective habits.
Time and Expense Tracking: Track time from anywhere within the platform. Set up custom hourly rates for legal practitioners and define default rates for everyday expenses. Implement custom templates to streamline expense tracking.
Billing: Seamlessly generate invoices and connect payments to the corresponding bills. Send invoices directly from the billing portal via email, fax or postal mail. Create, send and review active invoices via the billing control panel.
Guest Access: Configure permissions to provide temporary guest access to co-counsels, clients and others. Securely share important files, documents, updates and information.
E-signature: Allow clients to electronically sign documents via drawing, typing or uploading an image of their signature. Use recyclable templates to add up to four signers per document and create custom fields for dates, initials and signatures. Track document status and get instant alerts about updates. Automatically save signed documents and contracts to associated folders.
Security: Require clients and staff to sign in with a selfie to get past gesture authentication.
Mobile App: Securely access case files and time tracking capabilities on the go with the mobile application.
Legal Calendar: Always stay up to date with deadlines, Statute of Limitations, important events, meetings and client touchpoints. Schedule firm-wide meetings, appointments and tasks with the central calendar. Filter the view to drill down on specific staff and run calendar reports to create actionable tasks.

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Clio Grow

Start Price

^$49

Per User, Monthly

Company Size

Small Medium Large

Deployment

Cloud On-Premise

Platform

Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android

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Why We Picked Clio Grow

Will Clio Grow help your law firm grow its client base? Many users say yes. Clio Grow is lauded for its user-friendly interface and seamless integrations, which simplify the often-cumbersome client intake process. For instance, users praise its ability to automate tasks like sending engagement letters and collecting information through online forms, saving them valuable time and reducing errors. This streamlined approach not only enhances efficiency but also allows lawyers to focus on what matters most: their clients. However, some users have pointed out that Clio Grow can be a bit pricey, especially for smaller firms or solo practitioners. Additionally, occasional bugs and feature limitations have been reported, though these appear to be relatively infrequent. Think of it like a well-maintained car: it might have a few minor hiccups now and then, but overall, it gets you where you need to go reliably.

Clio Grow's emphasis on automation and client relationship management makes it stand out from the crowd. Unlike some competitors that focus primarily on case management, Clio Grow prioritizes nurturing leads and converting them into paying clients. This is achieved through features like automated email sequences, appointment scheduling, and personalized communication tools, all designed to enhance the client experience from the very first interaction. This makes it an ideal solution for firms looking to boost their client acquisition efforts and build stronger relationships that translate into long-term success.

In conclusion, Clio Grow is best suited for law firms that place a premium on efficiency, automation, and providing a stellar client experience. While it may not be the cheapest option on the market, its robust features and user-friendly design make it a worthwhile investment for those looking to streamline their intake process and grow their client base effectively.

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Pros & Cons

Simplified Intake: Clio Grow makes it easier for legal professionals to manage the often cumbersome client intake process.
Lead Management: Users praise the software for its effectiveness in managing leads, enabling them to track and nurture potential clients.
Seamless Integrations: Clio Grow receives positive feedback for its ability to integrate with other tools, streamlining workflows for legal professionals.
Excellent Support: Users consistently highlight the strong customer support provided by Clio Grow, ensuring they receive assistance when needed.

Price: Some users find the pricing structure of Clio Grow to be expensive, especially for smaller law firms or solo practitioners with limited budgets.
Learning Curve: New users unfamiliar with legal practice management software may face a learning curve when adapting to Clio Grow's features and interface, potentially requiring additional time for training and adjustment.

Key Features

Client Management: Improve customer experience for existing clients and follow up with potential customers via the legal customer relationship management portal. Always keep track of tasks, client requirements and opportunities.
- Contact Management: Tag and organize retained clients, professional contacts and potential customers to get an organized overview of their contact and matter details on the dashboard. Encourage potential contacts to show up for consultations with a simplified scheduling process and automated reminders.
- Client Services: Choose from a variety of customizable intake forms and create documents instantly. Automatically set up tasks, reminders and personalized multi-step email campaigns to keep clients up-to-date about case proceedings, increase engagement and convert potential leads.
- Client Insights: Get detailed reports on client referrals, high-value contacts, conversion rates and profitable practice areas to improve client retention rates and advertise efficiently.
Intake Management: Streamline the intake process with a completely digital client intake portal. Eliminate paper usage, redundant PDF forms and in-person consultations, organize important details about new clients and track their status in real time.
- Intake Processing: Create a public intake form, link it to the firm website and share it with clients via email or SMS. Automatically create to-do lists, documents and emails to speed up the intake process. All contact and matter information is automatically categorized in the client relationship management portal.
- Lead Tracking: Get status updates and matter overviews of potential clients in the Lead Inbox and Matter Pipeline portals. Identify exactly which prospective clients require a follow-up and when in order to sign retainers.
- Intake Tasks: Schedule appointments and follow up on meetings with the Scheduler extension. Check potential contacts against the firm’s records to identify conflicts of interest and repeat clients.
- Synchronization: After completion of the intake process, synchronize all documents, notes, events, intake form details, and related contacts with the firm database through the cloud.
E-signature: Automatically prepare documents with integrated e-signature capabilities. Send and approve e-signatures securely in order to speed up business processes and remove bottlenecks.
Document Management: Prepare and send documents and retainers for e-signatures. Clients can even sign the legal documents securely from their phones and tablets without ever having to download, print or mail them.
Task Automation: Stay on top of matter updates, client appointments and pending requests with real-time tracking and alerts. Keep current and prospective clients in the loop with timed-delivery email scheduling, unlimited email templates and automated reminders.
Client Intake Insights: Identify the most successful practice areas, matter types, referral sources and top-performing firm members and clients with advanced reporting and analytics modules. Organize client intake reports and lead sources to improve financial forecasting and eliminate redundancies.
Calendar Management: Optimize schedules to prevent same day, back-to-back and last minute appointments. Book meetings and appointments online with the easy-to-use, calendar extension that automatically sends event reminders and appointment confirmation alerts and provides firm-wide visibility.

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INSZoom

Start Price

^$50

Company Size

Small Medium Large

Deployment

Cloud On-Premise

Platform

Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android

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Key Features

Case Management: Manage and track all aspects of legal cases, including deadlines, documents and communication in a centralized repository. Easily view and manage case status, filing dates and important milestones.

Customized Case Workflows: Streamline and automate routine tasks like data entry or document generation.
Deadline Tracking: Track case deadlines and set automated reminders to avoid missing critical dates, reducing the risk of missed deadlines and associated penalties.

Document Management: Organize and manage all legal documents related to immigration cases in a single place. Access all relevant case forms, applications, contracts and other important files.

Document Version Control: Track and manage multiple document versions. Team members can collaborate effectively on documents by accessing the latest version.
Document Automation: Create, assemble and distribute legal documents automatically, saving time and increasing efficiency.

Time and Billing: Track billable hours and expenses, create invoices, and manage payments to bill clients accurately.

Invoicing: Generate professional-looking invoices for clients and track payments based on predefined billing rules or time-tracking data.
Trust Accounting: Manage client funds, including deposits, payments and refunds. Track all transactions and generate reports to comply with relevant regulations.

Reporting and Analytics: Create custom reports and dashboards to track case information, financial data and performance metrics. Get a range of reporting options such as ad-hoc, scheduled and automated reporting. Export data in various formats like Excel and PDF.

Financial Analytics: Analyze financial performance and profitability of cases and clients using detailed financial reports that provide insights into billing rates, billable hours, expenses and payments.
Performance Metrics: Track key performance indicators (KPIs) and identify areas for improvement with performance metrics. View metrics such as case cycle time, client satisfaction and employee productivity to optimize legal operations.

Collaboration and Communication: Collaborate with team members and assign tasks with ease. Clients can use a portal to access case information and documents.
Compliance Management: Stay compliant with immigration regulations by providing alerts and reminders for key deadlines, managing compliance documents, and automating compliance checks.
Secure Portal: Upload documents securely and communicate with the legal team. Access up-to-date information about cases and eliminate the need to visit the legal office for updates.
Integrations: Integrate with various third-party apps, such as HR systems, eSignature tools and document management systems, to streamline workflows and simplify data management.
Mobile App: Access and manage cases from anywhere, at any time, on any device.

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Bill4Time

Start Price

^$27

Per User, Monthly

Company Size

Small Medium Large

Deployment

Cloud On-Premise

Platform

Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android

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Why We Picked Bill4Time

Time is money, and when it comes to billing for your time, you need software that doesn't waste either. Bill4Time has been making waves in the legal software arena, but is it all hype or does it truly hold up in court? Let's delve into the jury's verdict on this popular time-tracking and billing solution.

Bill4Time users rave about its intuitive interface and robust features, especially its time-tracking capabilities. The ability to track time across projects with ease, generate detailed reports, and seamlessly integrate with accounting software streamlines the billing process, saving valuable time and ensuring accuracy. Users also appreciate the flexibility of the platform, allowing customization to fit individual workflows and preferences. However, some users find the mobile app to be less user-friendly than the desktop version, and others desire more advanced reporting options.

Compared to competitors like Clio and TimeSolv, Bill4Time stands out with its competitive pricing and user-friendly interface. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of some higher-priced options, it provides a solid foundation for time-tracking and billing needs, making it a compelling choice for solo practitioners and small to medium-sized law firms seeking an efficient and cost-effective solution.

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Pros & Cons

Customizable Invoices: Users appreciate the ability to personalize invoices with their firm's branding and preferred layout, ensuring a professional presentation to clients.
Detailed Reporting: Bill4Time offers comprehensive reports that provide insights into billable hours, expenses, and overall firm performance, enabling data-driven decision-making.
Client Portal: The secure client portal facilitates seamless communication and collaboration, allowing clients to access invoices, make payments, and share documents conveniently.
Mobile App: The mobile app empowers attorneys to track time, manage expenses, and stay connected while on the go, enhancing flexibility and productivity.

Limited Functionality for Legal Professionals: Bill4Time may not be the best fit for all law firms due to limitations in features specifically designed for legal professionals, such as trust accounting and conflict checking.
Usability Challenges: Some users find the interface to be clunky and outdated, leading to a steeper learning curve and potential frustration during daily use.
Customer Support Concerns: A portion of users have expressed dissatisfaction with the responsiveness and effectiveness of Bill4Time's customer support, which can be crucial when encountering technical issues or needing assistance.

Key Features

Time Tracking: Track billable and non-billable time, staff contractors, consultants and internal non-client time with separate timers. Convert meetings to billable hours and run multiple timers at the same time. Review daily and weekly time entries to measure the firm’s productivity and financial health. Set up custom activity types and work code lists to improve efficiency.
Expense Tracking: Upload images of receipts to track case-related expenses in real time. Leverage two-way image syncing to track expenses internally or charge a flat percentage markup. Comes with built-in configurable UTBMS billing codes.
Integrations: Integrate with third-party applications such as QuickBooks, Outlook, Google Calendar, Box, NetDocuments, Cyber Revolution and more.
Billing and Invoicing: Create pre-filled bills, detailed invoices and statements with configurable payment terms, currency and late fees. Set up tailored payment plans and link invoices to online payment options.
- Invoice Templates: Track the status of invoices in real time. Override default payment rates and add a brand logo, currency, company details, payment terms, late fees and more. Prepare invoices en masse and generate summary reports. Provide clients with flat rates, percentage discounts, hybrid billing options and online payment methods.
Online Payments: Securely process online payments with various flexible payment options, including eCheck and credit cards. Ensure compliance with IOLTA, ABA and state bar guidelines. Run payment-related reports to maximize efficiency.
Client Management: Get 24/7 access to client and project information from any device. Customize the dashboard for quick access to specific information, such as client info, outstanding balances, assigned account manager and more. Centrally store all case-related data, contacts and notes. Tailor the client’s budget according to the firm’s financial goals.
Case Tracking: Organize cases with custom notes and files. Assign activities to specific cases and track pending tasks with the shared schedule. Get status updates on essential activities with the customizable notification center.
Tasks: Set up automated workflows to assign, track and schedule tasks. Add custom descriptions, details, priority levels and due dates. Search for specific tasks with custom filters, such as due date, assigned employee, completion status and priority level. Convert completed tasks into time entries.
Accounting: Get complete visibility of outstanding balances, credits and debits, pending projects and balance adjustments. Supports trust accounting.
Reporting: Run preconfigured reports to evaluate accounting activity, client details, entry specifics, legal matter, user activity and productivity. Export recorded data in PDF or CSV format for analysis by external auditors.
Client Portal: Provide clients with a self-service portal. Get real-time access to invoices, payment history, outstanding balances and the payment portal. Improve brand awareness by embedding the firm’s logo into the client portal and payment gateway.
Customization: Prepare custom invoices to match the firm’s existing layout, data fields and format. Create custom reports with extra columns, optional views and additional filters. Set up custom rate tables with flexible billing rates.
Firm Metrics: Leverage the configurable dashboard to track monthly performance metrics, measure key performance indicators, set utilization targets and develop competitive billing rates. Evaluate unique data points to generate actionable insights. Track the firm’s reputation on review sites and take corrective action where necessary.
Data Security: Protect the firm’s data with 256-bit SSL encryption. Provide round-the-clock protection and comply with SSAE 18 SOC 1 reporting standards.
Permissions and Access: Limit visibility into restricted information with permission-based access. Assign permissions for every function and provide third-party contractors with temporary access. Track logins automatically.
Mobile Application: Get unrestricted access to the firm’s data, legal matters, dashboard and activity timers via a native app for mobile devices. Get daily, weekly and monthly progress reports, add case details, communicate with clients and view outstanding balances.
Legal Documentation: Upload and store an unlimited number of case-related documents. Create custom folders and subfolders and share access with the entire firm. Leverage file duplication and templates to standardize document creation. Search for specific documents and quotes faster with fuzzy search. Implement completely new conventions or use the built-in structure.

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TimeSolv

Start Price

^$17.95

Company Size

Small Medium Large

Deployment

Cloud On-Premise

Platform

Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android

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Key Features

Time Tracking: Track the time spent on different tasks by starting and stopping multiple timers simultaneously. Keep track of billable hours for all clients and projects without switching between different time-tracking tools.

Multiple Timers: Set up timers for various clients or projects and pause or resume anytime. Manage workload while ensuring that no billable time is lost or missed.
Time Entries: Record time manually or import from calendar events, such as meetings and appointments. The automatic time capture feature helps track time spent on emails, calls and other activities.

Billing and Invoicing: Create and send invoices quickly with one interface. Enter billable hours and expenses, set billing rates, and create customized invoices. Add discounts or write-offs to invoices and track payments received against each invoice.

Customizable Invoices: Customize invoices with logo and branding. Choose from a variety of templates and add branding elements to create invoices that reflect the firm's unique identity.
Multiple Billing Options: Offers multiple billing options, including hourly rates, flat fees, contingency fees or task-based billing to bill clients according to their needs.
Automatic Invoicing: Schedule automatic invoicing and reminders for recurring payments, improving cash flow and reducing the risk of payment delays.
Reporting: Monitor billing and invoicing activities and generate detailed reports that show billable hours, expenses, payments received and outstanding balances. Export reports in various formats, including PDF, Excel and CSV. Customize them to show data by client, project or time period.

Accurate Record-keeping: Track all transactions related to client trust accounts accurately. Stay compliant with legal accounting rules and regulations and maintain a high level of trust with clients.

Trust Reports: Generate trust account reports quickly with various report types, including client balance reports, transaction reports and trust account ledgers.
Reconcile Trust Accounts: Stay on top of accounting tasks with a straightforward reconciliation process. Automatically calculate any discrepancies and allow legal professionals to resolve them quickly.
IOLTA Compliance: Maintain compliance with IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts) regulations. Avoid penalties and build client trust.

Centralized Document Storage: Store all case-related documents in one place to avoid managing multiple repositories and easily find and access records.

Customizable Folders: Create document folders based on case type, client or other criteria.
Searchable Documents: Search for documents based on keywords, dates and file types.
Document Versioning: Keep track of all document versions and changes made over time. Always work with the most up-to-date version.
Document Management Systems: Integrate with document management systems like Dropbox and Google Drive to access and manage files and avoid duplicate file storage.

Mobile App: Easily access time and expense tracking, invoicing, and document management features from mobile devices. Stay on top of legal operations, even when out of the office.

Time and Expense Tracking: Track time with automatic timers and customizable time entries. Record expenses by creating custom categories and uploading receipts from the mobile device.
Invoicing: Create and send invoices with customizable templates, automated invoice generation and the ability to accept online payments. Monitor invoice status and send reminders to clients who still need to pay.
Document Management: Access, upload and organize documents, set permissions, and collaborate with team members on the go.

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PracticePanther

Start Price

^$49

Per User, Monthly

Company Size

Small Medium Large

Deployment

Cloud On-Premise

Platform

Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android

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Why We Picked PracticePanther

During testing, I found PracticePanther relatively straightforward to set up. Customizing the platform with my firm’s logo and name was a breeze. Creating matters, assigning tasks and syncing calendars felt intuitive. Even integrating Panther Payments for online payments was smooth sailing. While the interface could use a design refresh, it’s functional and easy to navigate.

One standout feature is the matter creation process. The ability to categorize matters with tags and custom fields is beneficial. PracticePanther’s flexibility in handling different billing structures, including flat rates, hourly rates and retainers, is a major plus. The platform's automatic alerts for depleted retainer funds are a time-saver.

I'm also impressed with its document management capabilities. The integration with cloud storage and the version history feature is invaluable for maintaining document control. Creating custom templates for different document types is a convenient touch.

While PracticePanther offers a solid foundation for legal practice management, it presents some notable limitations. The billing process is particularly cumbersome. The absence of a streamlined review function, forcing users to open each invoice individually, significantly hampers efficiency. This contrasts sharply with other platforms that offer more intuitive billing and reviewing navigation.

Additionally, the lack of advanced features, such as integrated legal research tools, is a drawback for firms that rely heavily on online research. Although the software can track time, the absence of connections with research websites and tools means manual timekeeping, which can be error-prone and time-consuming.

Despite these shortcomings, PracticePanther is well-suited for solo practitioners and small law firms with relatively straightforward caseloads. Its ease of use and core features, such as matter management and document handling, make it a viable option for firms that prioritize these functions. However, for larger firms with complex caseloads or those that require advanced features like robust reporting and analytics, PracticePanther may fall short.

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Pros & Cons

Ease of Use: Many users find PracticePanther easy to use, with an intuitive interface that makes it accessible for beginners without extensive coding experience.
Comprehensive Features: The software addresses critical legal practice management needs, offering tools for billing, invoicing, time tracking, case management, document handling and client portals.
Efficient Automation: PracticePanther offers automation for client onboarding, billing and document handling, streamlining workflows and saving time on repetitive tasks.
Easy Accessibility: The cloud-based platform, along with its mobile app, helps users access tasks and stay in touch with their operations from anywhere.
Streamlined Client Experiences: The platform offers client onboarding automation, unique portals and internal messaging tools that help simplify and streamline client-attorney interactions.

Performance Issues: Some users report the software being slow and unresponsive, particularly during peak usage times.
Bugs and Errors: A few users reported calculation errors in trust accounting and time tracking due to bugs and cookie issues.
Documentation Quality: The software’s documentation could be clearer and more user-friendly, particularly for new users.
Limited Reporting: The solution offers limited pre-built reporting templates and dashboard visualizations. However, the vendor offers assistance in designing custom ones.
Integration Challenges: Users have reported faulty integrations with third-party tools, especially with Zapier, Jubilee and Record Grabber.
Billing Limitations: The platform offers limited billing customizations and requires users to manually open each bill to see its content, making the review process slow and cumbersome.

Key Features

Case Management: Store detailed user information with ease, along with tags and follow-up updates, making it easy and organized.
- Remote Access: Get quick overviews of all case-related information, including contacts, tasks, calendar entries, documentation and more. Automatically sync firm databases for unobstructed remote access from any device with an internet connection.
- Contacts and Matter Management: Keep legal matters organized and up-to-date by adding relevant contacts, notes and bills. Limit access to sensitive matter information with controlled permissions. Securely collaborate with team members and share and recall data.
- Conflict Search: Link contacts to matters for checking on conflicts of interest and parties represented by the lawyer.
Document Management: Manage all your documents in one place and set up automation to reduce repetitive tasks.
- Centralized Repository: Store and manage all legal documents and files securely in a single location. Enhance efficiency by electronically sending documents for signatures, auto-populating client information, and creating custom templates to streamline document creation workflows.
- Organized Access: Avoid wasting time searching for documents. Organize files by client and matter for easy retrieval. Use custom tags to categorize and filter your firm's legal documents.
- E-Signatures: Expedite the document approval process by offering electronic signatures via email, text message or the client portal. Create and send multiple documents for eSignature in batches simultaneously.
- Cloud Integration: Connect with leading cloud storage platforms like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Box.com. This eliminates the need to switch between platforms and helps you sync all document changes automatically.
- Customizable Templates: Boost document creation speed by uploading and using pre-defined templates. Automatically populate templates with your firm's information and client data. Track document progress through a dashboard with status indicators (incomplete, completed, in progress, overdue) and assign conditional tasks as needed.
Legal Billing: Never miss a billable hour with automated time and expense tracking tools.
- Customizable Invoicing: Create professional invoices tailored to your firm's branding. Include client information, activity logs, notes and more. Assign specific billable rates based on user, activity, matter or contact for accurate fee calculations.
- Integrated Payment Processing: Accept payments through various methods, including custom payment links, the client portal, phone or in-person transactions using Panther Payments, the native payment processor.
- Billing Reports: Gain insights into your firm’s performance by generating detailed reports. Analyze billing trends and collections data, identify top-billed practice areas, and filter reports by custom tags, bank accounts, payment methods, contacts or matters.
Trust Accounting: Manage trust and operating accounts while automating compliance with IOLTA, ABA and all 50 state bar regulations. Stay informed about retainer balances by setting up automatic alerts. Receive notifications when trust account balances fall below pre-defined thresholds and perform daily three-way reconciliations for oversight of your trust account activity.
Legal CRM: Organize client data, gain a holistic view of cases, automate client onboarding and sync new client data from automated intake forms.
- Custom Tags: Categorize contacts by client type (existing, potential etc.), professional contact or any other relevant category using custom tags. Use these tags to filter data and gain insights into your client base.
- Client Portals: Provide clients with a secure online portal. They can access uploaded documents, communicate with your firm, review invoice balances and make online payments. The platform automatically populates client information from their intake forms to create accurate profiles.
- Workflow Automation: Streamline client follow-up with automated workflows that trigger tasks and events based on pre-defined conditions. Automate appointment scheduling and send automatic reminders to clients, ensuring timely communication.
Calendaring: Create time entries, confirm client meetings, manage tasks and stay on top of court rule deadlines using a centralized calendar system.
- Visualized Deadlines: Use color-coded tags to visually identify deadlines and events associated with specific contacts, matters and tasks.
- Automated Time Capture: Convert appointments and events into time entries with a single click, ensuring all billable hours are captured and accurately allocated to the appropriate client.
- Court Rule Integration: Connect with LawToolBox to sync pre-set and custom court rule deadlines with your PracticePanther calendar and workflows, keeping you ahead of important legal dates.
Integrations: Connect to a host of essential applications to improve the firm’s productivity and automation standards. Some popular applications it supports integrations with include Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Exchange, Box, Dropbox, Outlook, Google Calendar, Apptoto and many more.
Security: Protect firm data against vulnerabilities with 256-bit military-grade encryption. Limit platform access to authorized IP addresses and enable two-step authentication. Maintain client confidentiality and HIPAA compliance with Box.com’s secure storage capabilities.

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Buyer's Guide

Legal Billing Software Is All About Tracking and Managing Billables

By Shauvik Roy, Market Analyst at SelectHub

Legal Billing Software Bg Intro

Legal billing software allows independent lawyers and law firms to track time spent on cases and client work. It also includes accounting, invoicing, auditing and reporting functions. With more visibility into your firm’s revenue sources, you can focus more on growing your business.

Doing all your legal billing is time-consuming and exposes you to errors and omissions (E&O). With legal billing software, you can automate the entire process, save a ton of time and eliminate all chances of clerical errors. Also, compensation is directly proportional to time spent on casework for the legal industry, so the platform ensures your bills are up-to-date, accurate and auditable.

Executive Summary

Legal billing software provides intelligent time tracking tools for billable activities.
With access to electronic invoices and secure online payment gateways, you can fast-track payments.
The system offers dedicated modules to manage operating and trust accounts separately.
Legal billing software enables you to store all confidential client and payment information in compliance with relevant regulations.
Built-in analytics and reporting tools provide first-hand insights into your firm’s financial health.

What This Guide Covers:

What Is Legal Billing Software?
Primary Benefits
Key Features & Functionality
Software Comparison Strategy
Cost & Pricing Considerations
Most Popular Legal Billing Software
Questions to Ask
In Conclusion

What Is Legal Billing Software?

Legal billing software helps lawyers and law firms track time spent on case-related tasks – litigation, consulting, communication, documentation, eDiscovery, accounting and billing, all without missing a single beat. Using specialized software for these processes can save a tremendous amount of time and resources while improving accuracy and efficiency.

You can track time, prepare invoices, facilitate payments, handle accounts and manage compliance with a single integrated platform. More and more law firms are slowly starting to comprehend that it’s the most reliable way to scale the business without investing in legal software or a case management system.

Legal Billing Software Categories

Suppose your firm needs a dedicated billing system – in that case, you can opt for a standalone legal billing software without spending extra money on an all-in-one law practice management system.

With a customizable billing software in place, you can prepare tailored billing cycles, configure payment plans and brand your invoices. Real-time (or retrospective) time entries ensure your billing practices are transparent. And as a bonus, you get access to best practice reports to improve stakeholder engagement and make informed business decisions.

Primary Benefits

Legal Billing Software Benefits

Save Time and Improve Efficiency

The amount of time legal billing software can save for you is absurd. Automated time tracking and organized billing and bookkeeping practices ensure you have real-time access to all the information you need to prepare invoices.

With a single source of truth, you can connect clients to bills and issue electronic invoices for faster and streamlined payments, all without lifting a finger.

Streamline Billing for Multiple Clients

You can track time for multiple tasks and multiple clients at once. The system automatically converts tracked time to billable activities and prepares future invoices for relevant parties.

Securely store all relevant case and financial information in a centralized data repository for quick and easy access, eliminating the need for tedious bookkeeping practices. This way, you can automatically bill multiple clients, maintain accurate electronic records and organize your ledger.

Maintain Compliance and Security Standards

Because lawyers and law firms are privy to confidential information, they have to comply with many state and federal regulations. Consequently, they must implement stringent security measures to ensure compliance – compliance and security go hand in hand.

Depending on your practice area, implement safeguards for client and payment information, anti-money laundering, professional indemnity and conflicts of interests. Luckily, most legal billing solutions come equipped with state-of-the-art encryption and security measures necessary to meet compliance requirements.

Automate Time Tracking

Legal billing software is flexible in how you want to track time – use timers, add time entries retroactively or let the system automatically track time for you as you work along. You can also link these entries to relevant clients for streamlined billing procedures.

The software identifies and highlights tasks with missing time entries, so you don’t lose revenue. With this feature, you can save time, improve productivity and release your employees from the slog of actively tracking time for every single task.

Improve Cash Flow With Custom Invoices and Tailored Billing Plans

The platform not only streamlines the billing procedure but also simplifies the payment process. With access to an online payment gateway, you can accept credit card payments and prepare tailored payment methods for repeat and specialized clients. Flexible payment methods and diverse billing plans can help you significantly drive up cash flow for your company.

Key Features & Functionality

Legal Billing Software Features

Time Tracking	This feature makes up the cornerstone of legal billing software. You can use timers, add time retroactively and track time for multiple tasks at once – from whichever device you choose. Add time from calendar entries and set up custom billing rates depending on the software. You can organize time entries with custom activity codes or stick to UTBMS and ASA codes. The automated time capture module flags tasks without time entries and limits any potential loss of revenue.
Legal Calendar	Increase visibility across your entire team – who is working on what task, for how long and for which client. You can share your calendar, schedule firm-wide meetings and establish task ownership. Always stay on top of deadlines, pending tasks and appointments. You can even track time directly from calendar events. Link calendar events to time entries and, subsequently, to invoices to improve visibility and transparency across all procedures.
Billing and Invoicing	When it comes to billing practices, it pays to be flexible. You can choose to implement whichever billing practice you see fit – standard or customized billing, specialized billing or split fees. Automatically connect bills to relevant clients and issue electronic invoices through email or LEDES format. An additional perk is you get to customize the invoices. Put in your firm’s logo, change the color palette and make it more representative of your brand’s image.
Accounting	Most legal billing systems either offer integrated accounting services or support third-party accounting software. Law firms process two types of accounting – operational and trust. You can automatically deduct receivables, track payments and issue alerts to replenish trust balances with an in-house system. Auditing is another essential aspect of legal accounting. A legal billing system lets you run internal audits to ensure you are audit-ready. It also takes care of Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) payments and handles any paperwork that comes with the territory.
Reporting and Analytics	Any legal billing software worth its salt comes equipped with advanced reporting and analytics modules. You can run reports based on your firm’s revenue, matter types, practice areas, referrals, productivity etc. It provides valuable insights to identify potential areas of improvement when combined with data visualization tools.
Centralized Database	Safely store case information, financial data and client records in a centrally accessible data repository. You can remotely access this data from any authorized device with an internet connection.
Payment Functionality	A built-in online payment portal accepts multiple payment methods like a credit card, ETF, PayPal etc. With alternative modes, you get paid faster because paper checks take too long to process.
Security	Legal billing software comes with various security measures like military-grade data encryption, two-factor authentication, role-based restrictions, anti-malware programs and more. These security measures are essential for ensuring you steer clear of any noncompliance or malpractice suits.
Ledger Management	A general ledger automatically records transactions, expenses, payments and invoices for auditing purposes. During tax season, real-time access to your company’s finances can be a real boon.

Software Comparison Strategy

When it comes to billing practices, no two companies have the same requirements. There are a lot of variables in the mix – so it’s best to start with a requirements list.

While most legal billing solutions offer the same features in terms of functionality, you might want to consider a few points of divergence:

1. Deployment Strategy

You’ll find that most legal billing solutions offer both cloud and on-premise deployment modes – however, there are exceptions. If you need remote access to legal matters and need to track tasks on the go, then cloud-based deployment should be your priority. On the other hand, if your firm does most of its work at the desk, you can contemplate an on-premise deployment strategy. Either way, you’ll have to decide beforehand which one you prefer.

2. App Compatibility

Does the legal billing software have an app? Is there a mobile version? Do I need a mobile version of the app? These are questions that you’ll have to ask yourself. Having a mobile app is certainly helpful for using the platform on the go. And if that’s something you need, you’ll have to filter your preferences accordingly.

Also, if your law firm has a particular operating system of preference, check if the app is compatible with it.

3. Third-party Integrations

If you are migrating from an existing platform, you might have preferences for third-party apps. Look for vendors that support those specific third-party integrations in such cases.

4. Additional Services

Some vendors provide additional services like migration support, in-person product training, onboarding assistance etc. If you decide to avail of these services, you’ll have to look for vendors specializing in them.

5. Scope and Scalability

Filter your requirements based on the scope of your operations. If you’re a mid to large-sized law firm, you’ll need specialized accounting, billing, time-tracking and reporting capabilities.

However, small law firms and independent lawyers can get away with rudimentary time tracking and accounting capabilities. It’s easier to track invoices, receipts, time entries and accounts with only a handful of clients. Regardless, you should ensure the legal billing software is scalable and can grow to meet your firm’s burgeoning needs.

These are only a few considerations that will influence your software selection journey. We recommend you talk to your peers in the industry to get an idea of the challenges, advantages and disadvantages of their legal billing software of choice. The more information you have, the easier it will be to make the right decision.

Cost & Pricing Considerations

In most cases, your choice of deployment strategy will be the main determining factor in cost and pricing considerations.

On-premise

Right off the bat, you’ll incur installation charges, and the process is slow and tedious because you have to install the product on every device manually. While it comes with a certain degree of configurability, you’ll be responsible for maintaining and operating the entire equipment. Depending on the size of your company and the amount of equipment in use, you’ll have to factor in the increased rent and utility bill as well. Product updates can result in long periods of downtime without an automated patch management system.

Cloud-based

This is much faster and cheaper in most cases. With the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, you typically have to pay subscription fees based on the licensing period and the total number of users.

Some vendors provide select services at an extra cost — premium support, data migration, on-demand product training, data residency etc. You should account for the additional cost in advance if you need these services.

The best legal billing software in the world (though there’s no such thing) can’t help you grow your firm if you don’t reconcile your acquisitions budget to your financial goals. It’s imperative to have a firm grasp of the cost and pricing considerations and how it plays out in response to your needs before we progress any further.

Most Popular Legal Billing Software

Simply put, there’s no single best legal billing software that will magically meet the needs of the entire legal community – the requirements of law firms are too diverse for that to happen. That’s why we’ve listed some of the most popular legal billing systems for your reference:

Smokeball

Smokeball is a hybrid legal practice management software with comprehensive legal billing functionality. It can automatically track time and activity, send electronic invoices, and perform billing and accounting tasks. You can prepare custom invoices, create activity codes, run flexible reports and accept online payments via an in-house gateway.

It also offers a host of practice management tools, including case and document management modules, eSignature, eDiscovery, client portal and more. Its hybrid setup ensures you have both offline and online access to the platform. The mobile app provides all the essential functions and supports both iOS and Android operating systems. Smokeball provides complimentary support, onboarding and product training if and when you need them.

A centralized dashboard provides oversight on all tasks.

Zola Suite

Zola Suite is a fully cloud-based legal practice management solution specializing in legal billing and everything that comes with it. You get access to time and expense tracking tools, trust and business accounting, automated billing, electronic invoicing and reporting functions. Combine that with matter management tools, CRM systems and document management processes, and you’ve got a full-fledged practice management solution.

It uses military-grade data encryption and complies with SOC 2 auditing standards for a seamless compliance experience. On top of that, the mobile app uses fingerprint authentication and Apple TouchID for Android and iOS, respectively.

Get granular insights from your time entries.

MyCase

MyCase combines legal billing and case management tools to create a comprehensive practice management solution. It’s cloud-based and offers an array of time tracking, billing, accounting and invoicing modules. It supports LEDES billing, electronic signatures and military-grade data encryption across all devices.

You can prepare custom reports, generate codes for billable tasks and implement code-free automated workflows. The online payment portal accepts various payment options, including credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX) and eChecks (ACH).

Leverage batch billing to save time and resources.

Questions to Ask

We’ve covered a lot of information in the previous sections, and we are sure you have questions. However, these questions are the key to figuring out your requirements.

Legal Billing Software Key Questions to Ask

In this section, we’ve prepared a list of questions for you to consider. As you work your way through each of these questions, you’ll be able to form a clearer picture of what your firm needs.

Here are a few internal questions to begin a dialogue with yourself:

Do we need basic or extensive legal billing functionality?
What’s our acquisitions budget?
Would legal practice management software better suit our needs?
Do we have any preferences for third-party integrations?
What kind of regulations do we need to comply with?

Use these questions to communicate your requirements to the vendor:

What kind of security and compliance measures does the software provide?
Does the vendor provide trust, business and IOLTA accounting?
What type of payment and billing options are available?
Are there any onboarding and migration services?
What kind of product training can you look forward to?

In Conclusion

Getting a good legal billing software can be the difference between optimizing cash flow and letting revenue fall through the cracks. It’s a big decision, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

Just remember – compare the benefits, figure out which features you need and stick to a platform within your budget. Regardless of the size of your operations, you need a solution that can scale and meet your current requirements.

If you’re still here at the end of this guide, you already know more than most. It’s time to prepare your questions and start a conversation. We hope this guide will act as a reliable source in your software selection journey.

About The Contributors

The following expert team members are responsible for creating, reviewing, and fact checking the accuracy of this content.

By Riddhiman Roy

Technical Content Writer

As a Senior Technical Content Writer at SelectHub, Riddhiman Roy delivers content about eCommerce, legal, employee scheduling, procurement, hotel management and property management software. He holds a Master's in multimedia journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. When he is not fighting huge-article-ogres and evil Grammarly suggestions, you can find him in his natural habitat grooving to music and banging his drumkit.

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Technical Research By Vidhi Kanodia

Senior Analyst

Vidhi Kanodia joined SelectHub after graduating from Osmania University in Hyderabad. Building on the hands-on experience she gained there, she expertly reviews peer research work in categories like procurement, PLM, eCommerce, insurance, hotel management, risk management and legal software.

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Technical Review By Shashank K K

Principal Analyst

After graduating with a Masters in Finance from Trinity College Dublin, K K Shashank's research and detail-oriented skills led them to SelectHub. He has diverse knowledge across various software categories like Accounting, Financial Planning and Analysis, Ecommerce, Risk Management, PLM, Insurance and more since 2020.

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Edited By Pooja Verma

Content Editor

Pooja Verma is a Content Editor and Senior Market Analyst at SelectHub, who writes and edits content for endpoint security, legal, CRM, fundraising software, eCommerce, and mental health software. She earned a literature degree from Miranda House, DU and also holds Master’s in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication in India. In her free time, you can spot her reading a book or binge-watching the latest web series and movies.

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What is Legal Billing Software?

What Are The Key Benefits of Legal Billing Software?

Overall

How We Rate Products

Why We Picked MyCase

Pros & Cons

Key Features

Why We Picked Clio

Pros & Cons

Key Features

Why We Picked Quickbase

Pros & Cons

Key Features

Why We Picked Needles

Pros & Cons

Key Features

Why We Picked Filevine

Pros & Cons

Key Features

Why We Picked Clio Grow

Pros & Cons

Key Features

Key Features

Why We Picked Bill4Time

Pros & Cons

Key Features

Key Features

Why We Picked PracticePanther

Pros & Cons

Key Features

COMPARE THE BEST Legal Billing Software

All Legal Billing Software (38 found)

CloudLex

MerusCase

CASEpeer

Firm Central

Amicus Attorney

CaseFox

ProLaw

Time Matters

CARET Legal

CounselLink

Tabs3

AbacusLaw

Centerbase

Penelope Software

Amicus Cloud

CaseFleet

Law Ruler

Lawcus

Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

What Is Legal Billing Software?

Primary Benefits

Save Time and Improve Efficiency

Streamline Billing for Multiple Clients

Maintain Compliance and Security Standards

Automate Time Tracking

Improve Cash Flow With Custom Invoices and Tailored Billing Plans

Key Features & Functionality

Software Comparison Strategy

1. Deployment Strategy

2. App Compatibility

3. Third-party Integrations

4. Additional Services

5. Scope and Scalability

Cost & Pricing Considerations

On-premise

Cloud-based

Most Popular Legal Billing Software

Smokeball

Zola Suite

MyCase

Questions to Ask

In Conclusion

About The Contributors