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The accounting software market is predicted to grow by 18.8% in 2021, with the legal industry being a major driver of this growth. This article discusses the best law firm accounting software that will be available in 2022.
Law companies need specialized accounting software that goes beyond basic bookkeeping. Client trust accounts (CTAs), as well as interest on attorneys’ trust accounts, must be handled by law office accounting software (IOLTAs) To correctly charge the customer, they must carefully monitor time and costs spent on cases and keep comprehensive documents. Legal accounting software is intended to assist attorneys in effectively managing their income, improving their billing process, and gaining important insight into their financial health. We looked at a variety of accounting software choices to find the finest all-in-one solutions, as well as several law firm connections for popular accounting software.
- PCLaw; is the best all-in-one accounting software for legal firms.
- CosmoLex: For legal firms looking for an all-in-one cloud-based accounting and practice management system.
- LeanLaw; is the best legal accounting software connection for QuickBooks Online users.
- TimeSolv; Best for legal firms that utilize the Xero accounting software.
- Suite Zola: Best for legal firms looking for a less costly all-in-one cloud-based solution.
How Did We Evaluate Accounting Software for Law Firms?
Trust/IOLTA accounting, financial reporting by matter, and practice management are all capabilities found in law firm accounting software that are not included in ordinary bookkeeping software. A three-way reconciliation of client ledgers, trust accounts, and bank statements is required by a legal-specific accounting system. We choose our top law firm accounting software based on price, simplicity of use, customer service, and the availability of key legal-specific features like:
- Matter management: The finest law firm accounting software should make handling legal issues as simple as possible, including contracts and transactions, trust accounting, invoicing for case-related events, and compliance.
- Time tracking: As a lawyer, you’ll need excellent software to keep track of how much time you spend on various clients and cases.
- Trust accounting: The software should allow you to keep track of both the total amount of client money in your client trust account and the amount due to each customer. A list of trust transactions segregated by the client must also be provided by the program. Finally, a triple reconciliation between the client trust account, client ledgers, and bank statement should be simple.
- Billing system: Time and costs must be tracked by customer job and service code in the billing system. Allowing billing rates to vary by service code and employee is a good idea. While away from the office, employees should be able to monitor and report their time and expenditures. Finally, the billing system should produce invoices that are professional in appearance and can be printed or sent.
- Practice management: Practice management capabilities that are linked with your accounting and invoicing systems may be appealing to you. Client portals, encrypted communications, document management, calendars with integrated time tracking, and matter dashboards with connections to all relevant parties, documents, time, expenditures, and bills are some of the most common features.
PCLaw
PCLaw by LexisNexis is a popular practice management and accounting software for legal offices that enables them to handle cases, monitor time and expenditures, pay suppliers, collect client payments, and manage trust accounts all in one location. Both solo practitioners and legal firms that monitor billable hours and compute earnings per hour will benefit from the initiative.
What We Enjoy
- PCLaw Go allows you to monitor your time from anywhere.
- It’s a one-stop-shop for legal management.
- Other LexisNexis products are compatible.
- For simple invoicing, Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standard (LEDES) codes are used.
What Isn’t There
- There is no payroll processing built-in.
- It’s difficult to utilize.
- Sharing books with an external accountant is difficult.
- There are no upfront costs.
Pricing
PCLaw does not post price information on their website, however, you may get a quotation through LexisNexis. Before you purchase, you can join up for a free trial.
Expert Recommendation
PCLaw has nearly everything you’ll ever need. LEDES codes may be used to automate client invoicing, establish numerous accounts for client trusts, firm funds, and IOLTA accounts, create assignments and allocate them to other attorneys, and monitor time on the move using PCLaw Go, the company’s mobile timekeeping software. Because it’s part of the LexisNexis family of legal practice management software, there are many methods to integrate it with other applications. It doesn’t come with a payroll administration application, but it does connect with ADP to handle payroll. PCLaw is a sophisticated but difficult legal accounting application, so you may want to seek the assistance of a professional bookkeeper or accountant who is acquainted with it.
CosmoLex
CosmoLex is an all-in-one accounting and legal practice management system, similar to PCLaw, except instead of being installed on your local computer or network, it is cloud-based. Time tracking, trust accounting, billing, and task and document management are just a few of the tools available in PCLaw. It’s part of the Tabs3 software family, which specializes in law firm software for solo and small legal firms.
What We Enjoy
- Built-in accounting software; no other software is required. QuickBooks
- Customer service and limitless training are provided at no cost.
- LawPay accepts online payments.
- For an external accountant, a free login is available.
What Isn’t There
- There aren’t many third-party software integrations.
- There is no payroll system that is integrated.
- Firms with ten or more users are eligible for tiered pricing.
Pricing
Monthly contracts cost $89 per user per month, while yearly contracts cost $79 per user per month. All accounts come with a free accountant login, unlimited training, free data transfer, unlimited file storage, and 90-day money-back guarantee.
Expert Recommendation
The built-in legal-specific accounting suite in CosmoLex is something you won’t find in other legal practice management systems. This eliminates the need to purchase QuickBooks or any other accounting software. You may monitor and manage assignments and activities using CosmoLex, as well as record billable hours, take contingent, flat, or hourly rates, and accept payments via LawPay. It has over 100 reporting options to assist you in better understanding the financial status of your company. On the negative, CosmoLex doesn’t offer a lot of third-party integration, which may be a problem if you use a lot of other applications in your practice. If you require a system with integrated customer relationship management (CRM) tools and client intake forms, for example, you may need to search for an alternative.
LeanLaw
LeanLaw is the perfect option for you if you use QuickBooks Online but require a legal accounting system that follows trust accounting standards and does a three-way reconciliation. It’s best suited for legal companies with up to 30 lawyers. QuickBooks Online is already our best overall small company accounting software, but LeanLaw takes it a step further by turning it into a powerful legal billing and accounting system.
What We Enjoy
- QuickBooks integration is available.
- In comparison to other comparable programs, this one is more inexpensive.
- Automatically reconciles trust accounts
- App with a lot of features
What Isn’t There
- QuickBooks requires a separate subscription.
- Can’t keep track of papers, contacts, or conversations in a case.
- There isn’t a client portal for exchanging documents.
- Similar programs are more robust.
Pricing
- Monthly contracts are $35 per user per month, while yearly contracts are $30 per user per month.
- Monthly contracts are $50 per user per month, while yearly contracts are $40 per user per month.
Basic features such as timekeeping, QuickBooks Online connection, trust accounting, and reporting are included with the Core plan. Higher-level subscriptions include features like LEDES billing, sophisticated report formats, and access to top legal accounting specialists.
Expert Recommendation
LeanLaw is primarily a legal billing software, but one of its strongest features is that it automatically reconciles trust accounts. LeanLaw can assist you in bringing your IOLTA finances back into balance. You may make legal trust deposits and pay bills straight from your trust accounts thanks to its sophisticated IOLTA accounting integrated into the invoicing process. It also has a complete-time tracking feature that enables you to record time using any device, in addition to its deep QuickBooks connection. QuickBooks automatically converts time inputs into invoices, and electronic payments may be handled via the Intuit Payment Network. Standard LEDES codes are now supported by LeanLaw for simple billing.
TimeSolv
TimeSolv is a cloud-based timekeeping and invoicing system with project management integration. The software isn’t exclusively for project management, but it does have powerful tools for monitoring time, expenditures, fees, and profits per case. It works with QuickBooks, Xero, Microsoft 365, and Dropbox, among other programs.
What We Enjoy
- Integrates with industry-leading applications like QuickBooks and Xero.
- Manage an infinite number of projects and customers.
- Tracks time while you’re on the move, even when you’re not connected to the internet.
- For businesses that need basic project management, it is a cost-effective option.
What Isn’t There
- A separate subscription to third-party software, like Xero, is required.
- Only the higher plan includes accounting functions.
- There are no CRM tools available.
Pricing
- For 1 to 4 users, the monthly fee is $39.95 per person.
- For 5 to 14 users, the monthly fee is $34.95 per person.
- For more than 15 users, the monthly fee is $29.95 per user.
TimeSolv Legal has law-specific capabilities including limitless clients and cases, as well as hourly, aggregated, and fixed-fee pricing options.
TimeSolv also provides accounting assistance. For full price information, go to TimeSolv.
No credit card is needed to join up for a 30-day free trial.
Expert Recommendation
TimeSolv is a sophisticated law firm software that transforms your Xero accounting software. Because TimeSolv is cloud-based, you can keep track of your time and expenditures from anywhere. It includes both the necessary trust accounting and three-way reconciliation, as well as features to assist you in better managing your client relationships. This software will most likely assist you if you charge on a precise hourly basis or need to monitor associate performance. Trust accounting, budgeting, document management, and project management are just a few of the legal management capabilities available in TimeSolv. You may monitor an issue or project on the move using its mobile app.
Zola Suite
Zola Suite is a cloud-based legal firm management software with built-in intelligent email management for handling case-related communications. Matter management, document management, task management, time tracking, billing, and trust accounting are some of its most noteworthy features. It’s best for legal firms with at least three users.
What We Enjoy
- The basic package is reasonably priced.
- With no monthly charge, accept credit card payments.
- There’s also a client site where you can simply exchange files with your customers.
- Compatibility with other Zola products
What Isn’t There
- Payroll processing is not integrated.
- Your external accountant will not have free access.
- There are fewer features in this application than in others.
- With the Core edition, you won’t be able to handle delinquent debts or suppliers.
Pricing
Any Zolo Suite package needs a minimum of three users.
- Core: $69 per month per user
- Enterprise: $89 per month for each user
- Enterprise Plus; costs $99 per month per user.
Document, task, contact, financial, and report management are all included in Core. The higher plans are required if you need CRM and intake management capabilities, specific permissions, or sophisticated document management.
Expert Recommendation
Legal professionals seeking a less costly, cloud-based, all-in-one solution who are prepared to forego a few more sophisticated capabilities may choose Zola Suite. When compared to CosmoLex, Zola Suite Core costs $69 per month per user, saving you $20 per month per user. You may start with the Core plan and then upgrade to Enterprise if you require more features. It’s also a good match for companies that deal with a lot of papers on a daily basis, particularly if they use Office365 or GSuite. Its built-in email management feature makes it simple to handle case-related contacts and communications through email. If you use other Zola products, Zola Suite is also a good choice. For example, Zola Suite makes it simple to send invoices to customers.
Conclusion
PCLaw is one of the few legal management programs that does not need the use of a separate accounting application. It’s a comprehensive solution with useful features including streamlined invoicing, simple time and cost tracking, and a wide variety of connections with other LexisNexis products and third-party applications. PCLaw is ideal if you don’t want to utilize several applications to manage your bank accounts, lawsuits, clients, and legal issues.
