Much like other industries, law firms need specific software designed to help manage their trust accounts, cash flow, billable hours, and more to ensure compliance.
It’s safe to say that there’s no doubt that accounting software is a necessary investment regardless of the size of your law firm, so to help streamline your business’s accounting needs, we’ve rounded up and reviewed 11 of the best law firm accounting software solutions on the market.
Read on to discover the best free and paid options available to transform the way you manage your firm’s accounts. Let’s dive right in!
Best Accounting Software for Law Firms: Our Top 11 List
Below we’ve done a quick overview of our top picks for the best accounting software solutions for law firms:
- FreshBooks — Overall, the best law firm accounting software thanks to its full range of accounting tools, built-in time tracking, vast currency support, and phenomenal integration capabilities.
- Zoho Books — The best small business accounting solution for collaborating with clients through a built-in portal, and it’s on the affordable side, starting at just $15/month for 3 users.
- Sage Accounting — Simple accounting software for small law firms and solicitors looking for a no-frills, powerful tool to handle cash flow, balance sheets, expenses, and everything in between.
- Oracle Netsuite — The top all-in-one business management and accounting solution for large law firms — it goes beyond accounting by offering CRM, e-Commerce, and ERP solutions.
- Xero — Popular tool for small and growing businesses as every plan lets you have unlimited users, and it offers everything you could need plus support for 160+ currencies and 1,000+ integrations.
- FreeAgent — A go-to solution for small firms after an incredibly easy-to-use tool to handle their accounting, project management needs, and time tracking — plus, there are no long-term contracts.
- Bonsai — An all-in-one powerhouse for accounting, tax, CRM, and project management — starting at just $17/month for unlimited clients and projects, 5 collaborators, and more.
- Zola Suite — A leading solution for larger firms — it boasts task, matter, document, and contact managing capabilities, amongst others, such as in-app email and time tracking all under one roof.
- PCLaw — Accounting software designed specifically for lawyers that’s best suited for medium to large-sized firms. It has all the accounting capabilities you’d expect and more — but for $39/user/month.
- LeanLaw — The best trust accounting solution for mid-sized law firms that offer client-based and matter-based accounting and managing trust accounts — but requires integration for payroll.
- TimeSolv — Great for basic accounting needs like automatic payments and invoices, time tracking, expense monitoring, and handling multiple trust accounts starting at $35.95/user/month.
When compiling this list, we considered the security and integration capabilities of each tool, the core features most crucial to law firms, the pricing, and how users have rated their experience — plus more.
The Best Accounting Software Law Firm: Top 11 Reviewed
In the sections that follow, we’ll take a closer look at each accounting software’s features, pricing, and pros and cons to help you discover which is best suited for your firm’s needs.
1. FreshBooks — Overall, the Best Law Firm Accounting Software Solution
Joining the 30+ million people that put their trust in FreshBooks is a no-brainer because it’s a win-win solution for your firm and your clients. With this all-in-one accounting powerhouse, you’ll be able to manage your client accounts, expenses, communications, and so much more with ease.
Best For | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Trial/Plan | Guarantee/Refund |
Small businesses | Starts at $4.50/month | Starts at $130.50 | 1 | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | 30-day trial | 30-day guarantee |
From automatic expense and time tracking to a fantastic mobile app and powerful automation, there’s little left to be desired with Freshbooks.
Special Features:
- Create professional invoices and set up automatic receipts
- Automatically track expenses and time spent on clients
- Set up late payment fees and reminders
- Run double-entry accounting checks for accuracy and compliance
- Integrate with 132+ apps, including Zapier
- Accept all leading payment methods in 25 currencies and 202 countries
- Create profit and loss and expense reports
- View sales tax summaries and detailed invoice histories
- Get automatic updates for client payments, follow-up reminders, etc.
Pricing:
FreshBooks has the following pricing options with add-on users costing an additional $10/user/month:
- Lite — $4.50/month — 5 billable clients, automated customizable recurring invoices, unlimited time and expense tracking
- Plus — $7.50/month — 50 billable clients, automatic expense tracking, double-entry accounting
- Premium — $15/month — Unlimited billable clients, track bills and accounts payable, automatic late payment reminders and fees
- Select — Custom pricing — Start with 2 member accounts
You can also try FreshBooks risk-free with the 30-day trial, and there’s a generous 30-day guarantee if you’re dissatisfied with your purchase.
Pros:
- It’s loaded with top-notch features
- Fantastic workflow automation
- Offers high security and encryption
- Incredibly intuitive and easy to use
Cons:
- Invoice templates could be more customizable
- Using retainers can be difficult
2. Zoho Books — The Best Small Business Accounting Solution for Collaborating With Clients
Zoho offers a large variety of affordable plans to accommodate almost every need, and as one of the best accounting software tools, it’s certainly kitted for the job.
Best For | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Trial/Plan | Guarantee/Refund |
Small businesses | Starts at $20/month | Starts at $15/month | 3 | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | Free plan + 14-day trial | 30-day guarantee |
Zoho has it all and more — manage your client accounts and projects, ease the burden of manual work with automations for payment reminders, recurring payments, etc. — and everything in between — all in one platform!
Special Features:
- Create quotes and invoices
- Set automatic payment reminders and recurring billing
- Monitor payments made and send purchase orders
- Categorize your banking transactions
- Manage your customer and supplier contacts
- Collaborate with clients through the client portal
- Send scheduled reports to you and your team via email
- Create customizable dashboards and reports
- Upload your receipts and monitor your expenses
- Attach documents to transactions
- Track time spent on specific tasks
Pricing:
Besides the free plan, Zoho Books has these 5 plans:
- Standard — $15/month — 3 users, 5,000 invoices, recurring expenses, custom views and fields, timesheet, and billing
- Professional — $40/month — 5 users, retainer invoices, recurring bills, purchase orders and approval, workflow rules
- Premium — $60/month — 10 users, vendor portal, custom reports, budgeting
- Elite — $120/month — 10 users
- Ultimate — $240/month —15 users, advanced analytics
Monthly billing, on the other hand, starts at $20/month for 3 users, and adding additional members costs just $3/user/month.
Pros:
- Offers great integration with other Zoho apps
- Superb for contact management, invoicing, and billing
- Cost-effective and user-friendly
Cons:
- Can’t make payments through the mobile app
- Not the best for larger businesses
3. Sage Accounting — Simple Accounting Software for Small Law Firms and Solicitors
Sage Accounting is perfect for small law firms, and although it’s straightforward to use, that’s not to say that it isn’t incredibly powerful in its capabilities.
Best For | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Trial/Plan | Guarantee/Refund |
Small law firms and individual solicitors | Starts at $10/month | N/A | 1 | Android, iOS, Windows | 30-day trial | No |
Sage has various financial products for varying needs and budgets, but this is certainly the best for law firms. You can record transactions, automate manual administrative tasks, and collaborate with your bookkeepers and accountants in real-time, plus so much more.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the key features on offer with Sage Accounting.
Special Features:
- Create and send invoices, plus track what you’re owed
- Automatically update your transaction records
- In-depth reporting, plus profit and loss reports and balance sheets
- Share, print, or email your reports with ease
- Accept invoice payments in multiple currencies within Sage
- Use the budgeting tools and project tracker to track performance
- Monitor time spent on clients (additional add-on option)
- View your cash flow forecasts and perform automatic bank reconciliation
- Automate payments, invoices, and payment reminders
- Integrate with over 20 external apps
Pricing:
Sage only has these 2 payment plans on offer:
- Sage Accounting Start — $10/month — 1 user, send invoices, bank reconciliation
- Sage Accounting — $25/month — Unlimited users, quotes and invoices, forecast cash flow
$25/month for unlimited users and a heap load of financial tools is a bargain, but before you commit, you can try the platform for free for a full 30 days.
Pros:
- Comprehensive reporting
- Simple navigation
- Fairly priced and easy to set up
Cons:
- Time tracking comes at an additional cost
- Doesn’t offer integrated payroll
- The interface is a bit outdated
4. Oracle Netsuite — The Best All-in-One Business Management and Accounting Solution for Large Law Firms
Netsuite is an immensely popular all-in-one business management software solution that incorporates enterprise resource planning (ERP), financial accounting, CRM, and e-Commerce in one centralized tool.
Best For |
Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Plan/Trial | Guarantee/Refund |
Larger Businesses | Custom | Custom | N/A | Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Unix, Linux | Only a demo |
30-day guarantee |
That said, its popularity is also largely due to the fact that it’s cloud-based so it’s accessible from any device, anywhere, and the data is updated in real-time, but beyond this, it’s also incredibly scalable and perfect for countless industries — including law firms.
Special Features:
- Financial planning and budgeting
- Order and inventory management
- Easily manage cash flow and account receivables and payables
- Create custom forms, dashboards, functions, transactions, and processes
- Manage project resources, allocation, cost, and revenue
- Handle multiple legal entities, currencies, and languages
- Automate payroll and have AIA-compliant billing
- Easily manage contracts
Pricing:
Netsuite’s flexibility doesn’t end with its functionality, hence why no pricing is on offer on the website.
That said, the pricing isn’t a one-size-fits-all situation and will be determined by your specific needs, the length of your subscription, the number of users you need to add, any add-ons, etc. Get a quote today.
Pros:
- Oracle experts are tremendous to work with
- Simplifies billing and invoicing
- Offers cross-department collaboration
- Keeps all your companies’ data organized
- Payroll and reporting are seamless
Cons:
- There’s a learning curve
- Support is expensive
5. Xero — Popular Accounting Solution for Small and Growing Businesses
Xero’s popularity is unsurprising when you consider that all of the plans let you have unlimited users — plus, you get a whole toolbox of crucial accounting features and an intuitive interface that you and your firm will love.
Best For | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Trial/Plan | Guarantee/Refund |
Small and growing businesses | Starts at $12/month | N/A | Unlimited | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS | 30-day trial | No |
You can set up automatic bank feeds, categorize and reconcile your bank account transactions, and get a clear picture of all your firm’s financial data with ease — and the magic doesn’t end there, let’s explore some of the other noteworthy features on offer.
Special Features:
- View accounts payable and cash flow
- Add ‘Pay Now’ buttons to your online invoices
- Accept payments through PayPal and other leading gateways
- Track the time and costs related to projects
- Create and send clients customized invoices
- Manage your payroll (or integrate with a payroll app)
- Organize your contacts and get a detailed transaction history
- Store and share files, bills, receipts, and more
- Support for 160 currencies and 1,000+ integrations
- Manage your expenses and track your firm’s financial health
Pricing:
Xero has these 3 plans, suitable for a variety of needs and budgets:
- Early — $12/month — Send quotes and 20 invoices, reconcile bank transactions
- Growing — $34/month — Bulk reconcile transactions
- Established — $65/month — Multiple currencies, track projects, in-depth reporting, claim expenses
Unfortunately, some of the key features are only available on the highest plan, but you can test them all for free with the 30-day trial.
Pros:
- All plans support unlimited users
- It’s safe and reliable
- The interface is user-friendly
- Create in-depth customizable reports
Cons:
- Limited invoicing on the starter plan
- You need to give a month’s notice to cancel
- The mobile app lacks features
6. FreeAgent — Adored by Small Businesses for its Simplicity, Ease of Use, and Accounting Tools
Although FreeAgent isn’t as well-known as those we’ve mentioned before it, it’s absolutely adored by those who have signed up for it. That’s because, overall, it’s a truly fantastic solution for small businesses.
Best For | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Trial/Plan | Guarantee/Refund |
Small businesses looking for simplicity | Starts at $10/month | N/A | Unlimited | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS | 30-day trial | No |
It’s simple to use and very user-friendly, and it provides excellent support along with the features you need in an accounting tool. It’s also one of the top legal project management tools, letting you create invoices, estimates, track tasks and the time spent on them, and handle expenses.
Simple yet effective — let’s explore what’s on offer before delving into the price tag that comes with them.
Special Features:
- Accurately track your expenses
- Loads of project management tools
- Time tracking on mobile and desktop
- Link your bank account for automatic transaction importing
- Send automated, recurring invoices
- Simple sales tax configuration
- Multi-language and currency support
- Send invoices, estimates, and proposals
Pricing:
Unlike most, FreeAgent has just 1 plan that comes with unlimited everything and no long-term contracts. The plan costs just $10/month for the first 6 months, and it goes up to $20/month thereafter, but you can test the platform for free for a full 30 days.
Pros:
- It’s incredibly simple to use
- Fantastic customer service
- Loads of automation capabilities
- No limits to the plan
Cons:
- Only 1 plan on offer, no flexibility
- Print on mobile is small, so it requires a lot of zooming
- It’s not the best for growing businesses
7. Bonsai — Phenomenal Accounting Software for Small Law Firms
Bonsai is nothing short of impressive — hence it’s 500,000+ customers. This is largely due to the software acting as an all-in-one powerhouse, with built-in accounting, tax, CRM, and project management tools.
Best For |
Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Trial/Plan | Guarantee/Refund |
Small businesses and self-employed | Starts at $24/month | $17/month | 5 | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS | 14-day trial |
14-day guarantee |
This software offers small businesses and startups the means to get organized, automate their tedious manual paperwork tasks, and get a handle on their numbers — all without costing an arm and a leg.
On the whole, Bonsai’s popularity comes down to it striking the perfect balance between ease of use and power, plus it caters to global businesses and offers free law firm templates for things like proposals and invoices.
Special Features:
- Built-in CRM to manage all your clients
- Create, send, and track electronic proposals
- Customize your invoices and have integrated payment
- Receive updates about payment timelines
- Automatically send clients payment reminders
- Invite contractors to collaborate on projects
- Automatic expense and income tracking
- Time tracking and automated timesheets
- Get tax estimates and track deductions
Pricing:
Bonsai has these 3 plans on offer:
- Starter — $17/month — Includes all templates, unlimited clients and projects, invoicing and payments, expense tracking, and up to 5 collaborators
- Professional — $32/month — Custom branding, forms, workflow automations, client portal, integrations + up to 15 collaborators
- Business — $52/month — Subcontractor management + onboarding, accountant access, connect multiple bank accounts, unlimited subcontractors and collaborators
The above is for an annual subscription. If you opt for monthly billing, you’re looking at $24/month for the Starter plan. Unsure? You can test Bonsai free for a full 2 weeks, plus there’s a solid 14-day money-back guarantee to fall back on if you find that it isn’t for you.
Pros:
- Intuitive UI that’s easy to navigate
- Phenomenal customer support
- Great for tracking late payments and expenses
- Offers an all-in-one solution for small law firms
- You can onboard clients for free
- Provides ample free templates
Cons:
- Pricing can be steep for some
- There’s a bit of a learning curve
8. Zola Suite — One of the Best Law Firm Accounting Software Solutions for Larger Businesses
This tool is jam-packed with features — from matter management to document and even contact management, plus time tracking, billing, and complete business and trust accounting — Zola Suite has it all.
Best For | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Trial/Plan | Guarantee/Refund |
Larger law firms | Starts at $69/month | Starts at $59/month | 1 | PC, Mac, iOS, Android | 10-day trial | No |
It’s also one of the best client management tools, and it has built-in task and calendar capabilities to keep your firm on top of every case, appointment, etc.
Special Features:
- Manage and track every legal case
- Assign tasks, log activity, and measure performance
- Rule-based advanced calendar system and automations
- Collaborate with clients with the client portal
- Use custom fields and intake forms
- User access and role management
- In-app email and CRM
- Comprehensive time-tracking and invoicing
- Retainer and trust fund management
- Create and schedule in-depth reports
Pricing:
Zola Suite has the following 3 plans:
- Core — $59/month — Document, task, and contact management, calendar, billing, accounting, reporting, client portal
- Enterprise — $79/month — Unlimited document storage, productivity tracking, CRM software, enhanced accounting features
- EnterprisePlus — $89/month — Custom permissions, department-based accounting
Monthly billing, on the other hand, starts at $69/user/month. The pricing makes Zola Suite best suited for mid-to-large-sized businesses but considering the toolbox of functionality you get, it offers great value for money for an all-in-one solution.
Pros:
- Automate reminders for calendar deadlines and follow-ups
- One of the best for law firm management on the go
- Incredibly user-friendly and offers great support
Cons:
- The client portal isn’t as simple as some might like
- Refunds and voiding checks can be tricky
9. PCLaw — Best All-In-One Large Law Firm Accounting Software
PCLaw is a trusted all-in-one solution that gives you comprehensive matter management, billing capabilities, and everything else you’d need in legal accounting software — all under one umbrella.
Best For | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Trial/Plan | Guarantee/Refund |
Mid-to-large-sized law firms | Starts at $39/month | N/A | 1 | Windows, Mac, Mobile | No | 30-day refund policy |
At the end of the day, PCLaw was built with the legal industry in mind — so you get a full toolbox of capabilities designed to improve your law firm’s efficiency. Let’s take a closer look at what’s included with this software.
Special Features:
- Manage matters, calendars, and documents
- Time tracking for billable and non-billable time
- Streamline your financials with automations and reconciliation tools
- Comprehensive dashboard overview of important data
- Create custom workflows to automate tasks
- Generate documents quickly and accurately with templates
- Track expenses and bill and collect payments
Pricing:
There’s no doubt that you can do loads with PCLaw, but whether it’s worth the $39/user/month starting price is up to you to decide. However, if you are interested in this all-in-one legal practice and trust accounting solution, you’d need to request a quote, as the pricing isn’t disclosed on the website.
Pros:
- It’s loaded with valuable features
- Easy time, file, and deadline tracking
- Sufficiently caters to a law firm’s needs
- Fantastic customizable and reporting capabilities
Cons:
- The mobile apps only offer the basic functionality
- There’s no built-in payroll system
- It’s expensive for smaller businesses
- No upfront pricing
10. LeanLaw — Best Trust Accounting Solution for Mid-Sized Law Firms
LeanLaw is designed to meet the needs of mid-sized law firms looking for a time tracking, trust accounting, and billing solution. And paired with an instant, seamless integration with QuickBooks, you get added functionality like bookkeeping and payroll features too.
Best For | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Trial/Plan | Guarantee/Refund |
Mid-sized law firms | Starts at $50/month | Starts at $40/month | 1 | Mac, Windows, Android, iOS | 14-day trial | No |
Special Features:
- Track each client’s trust funds
- Create client ledgers and maintain balances
- Real-time 3-way bank reconciliation
- Automate your trust financial reports
- Track time and expenses
- Attach invoices to expense reports
- Create automated workflows
- Use a clear client matter dashboard for every case
- Create and approve bills and automate payments
Pricing:
LeanLaw has just 2 plans which are priced as follows on a per-user basis:
- Core — $40/month — Time tracking, billing, expense tracking, limited bulk invoicing, client-based accounting, user permissions
- Pro — $55/month — LEDES billing, unlimited bulk invoicing, matter-based accounting, multiple trust accounts, advanced reporting
For a monthly subscription, you’re looking at $50/user/month on the Core plan and $65 per month on the Pro plan. If you’d like to test LeanLaw before committing to the paid options, there’s a free 14-day trial on offer.
Pros:
- Fantastic for lawyers who use QuickBooks
- Great mobile time recording capabilities
- Incredibly simple to use
Cons:
- Only get full accounting capabilities if you integrate with QuickBooks
- Isn’t as feature-rich as some of the other options
- Billing could be more customizable
11. TimeSolv — Legal Billing Software That’s Feature-Rich Yet Beautifully Simple
TimeSolv isn’t just one of the best project-tracking software tools for tracking the time spent on multiple tasks at once, but it’s also a robust legal billing solution that law firms will appreciate.
Best For | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Trial/Plan | Guarantee/Refund |
Time tracking | Starts at $39.95/month | Starts at $35.95/month | 1 | Mac, Windows, Android, iOS | 30-day trial | 6-month guarantee |
With a system built for ultimate convenience, you’ll be able to improve your cash flow by doing things like processing payments automatically, tracking expenses and the time spent on clients and projects (on the go), and having your tax calculations done for you!
Special Features:
- Simultaneously track time for multiple projects
- Use and customize invoice templates for quick billing
- Schedule your invoices, and issue and track refunds
- Collect, record, and allocate payments all within TimeSolv
- View your reports in 10 different formats
- Track your expenses online and offline
- Manage multiple trust accounts and autopay invoices
- Integrate with QuickBooks, Xero, Office 365, and more
Pricing:
As with most, TimeSolv’s pricing is based on the number of users you’re looking to onboard — with an annual subscription, you’re looking at $35.95 per user per month for 1 to 4 users and $39.95/user/month with monthly billing.
TimeSolv also offers a generous 30-day free trial and, to make matters better, a whopping 6-month money-back guarantee if you find that you’re unhappy with your choice!
Pros:
- Lengthy guarantee and free trial
- Simple billing structure
- Fantastic time tracking and accounting capabilities
- The platform is very user-friendly
Cons:
- Managing trust accounts can be challenging
- The calendar could use a reminder feature
- Reports aren’t customizable enough
Law Firm Accounting Software Comparison
Here’s an overview of all the key details related to these solutions to help you compare each of the best legal accounting tools:
Best Accounting Software | Best For | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Users for Starting Price | Support | Free Trial/Plan | Guarantee/Refund |
FreshBooks | Small businesses | Starts at $4.50/month | Starts at $130.50 | 1 | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | 30-day trial | 30-day guarantee |
Zoho Books | Small businesses | Starts at $20/month | Starts at $15/month | 3 | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | Free plan + 14-day trial | 30-day guarantee |
Sage Accounting | Small law firms and individual solicitors | Starts at $10/month | N/A | 1 | Android, iOS, Windows | 30-day trial | No |
Oracle Netsuite | Larger Businesses | Custom | N/A | N/A | Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Unix, Linux | Demo | 30-day guarantee |
Xero | Small and growing businesses | Starts at $12/month | N/A | Unlimited | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS | 30-day trial | No |
Free Agent | Small businesses | Starts at $10/month | N/A | Unlimited | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS | 30-day trial | No |
Bonsai | Small businesses | Starts at $24/month | Starts at $17/month | 5 | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS | 14-day trial | 14-day guarantee |
Zola Suite | Larger law firms | Starts at $69/month | Starts at $59/month | 1 | PC, Mac, iOS, Android | 10-day trial | No |
PCLaw | Mid-to-large-sized law firms | Starts at $39/month | N/A | 1 | Windows, Mac, Mobile | No | 30-day refund policy |
LeanLaw | Mid-sized law firms | Starts at $50/month | Starts at $40/month | 1 | Mac, Windows, Android, iOS | 14-day trial | No |
TimeSolv | Time tracking | Starts at $39.95/month | Starts at $35.95/month | 1 | Mac, Windows, Android, iOS | 30-day trial | 6-month guarantee |
Many of these are some of the best accounting software solutions for Mac devices — and as you can see, most support both desktop and mobile for ease of access and accounting on the go.
The Best Free Law Firm Accounting Software
Our top pick for the best free accounting software would be Zoho Books, they offer a free plan that lets you:
- Onboard 2 users
- Send 1,000 invoices/annum
- Set up automated reminders
- Create recurring invoices
- Use the client portal
- Monitor your expenses
However, if pricing does play a sizable role in your decision, we’d recommend narrowing down your options and testing the platforms if they offer free trials.
At the end of the day, there are loads of small law firm accounting software solutions like FreshBooks that don’t charge an arm and a leg and are well worth the investment for the functionality you get.
Why Do I need Law Firm Accounting and Financial Management Software?
Regardless of the size of your law firm, you’ll find that accounting software is well worth the investment to keep all your finances and accounts in order and to keep your clients happy.
Because unlike managing accounts on an Excel spreadsheet, these tools give you what your firm needs to be compliant and run efficiently — allowing you to have a complete overview of your day-to-day cash flow, client matters, and so much more.
Plus, you’ll be able to reduce the risk of timely and costly human errors. Not won over yet? Here are some key benefits of using software to manage your firm’s accounting needs:
Improve Your Organization
With software designed to help law firms stay on top of all of their financial data, these tools help you keep everything organized in one centralized location for easy filing and retrieving.
As a result, these tools also let you protect sensitive client information and keep accurate records to ensure compliance in your day-to-day operations. Overall, these tools let you easily manage your client accounts in a more efficient manner.
Save Time
Besides not having to deal with timely human errors, these solutions also generally come built-in with the power to automate manual administrative and accounting tasks to save you and your firm heaps of time so that you can focus on what matters most — dealing with urgent legal matters.
For example, automations may include things like being able to automate your payroll, manual data entry, late payment reminders and more to improve your firm’s efficiency and, ultimately, maximize your bottom line.
Gain Valuable Insight
Cloud-based solutions allow you to easily set up reports based on real-time data to gain insight into key metrics that are important to your firm. This can help you improve your cash flow and accurately know what’s working and what could be improved upon.
Create reports based on expenses, time spent on projects, and more — plus, you can have access to this data on the move, which brings us to our next point.
Ease of Accessibility
The best law firm accounting software solutions like FreshBooks have mobile apps to help you access and do tasks on the go — such as responding to clients, creating invoices, viewing crucial data, and more, all within the app, wherever you may be!
Some accounting tools offer more on their mobile apps, while others offer far less functionality compared to their web-based version.
Overall, it’s safe to conclude that considering how much these tools can improve your billing process, ensure your compliance, and automate your manual work — it’s well worth the investment, and as we’ve seen, there are loads of fantastic options on the market for varying needs and budgets.
How to Choose the Best Law Firm Accounting Software
These decisions are never easy to make, especially when there’s so much to take into consideration. So to help you make an informed choice, we’ve detailed some of the key factors you’ll want to bear in mind when weighing up your options.
Pricing
Depending on the size of your firm, costs related to software can be a determining factor when choosing a suitable solution. But there are great options for small and enterprise-level firms alike, with free trials to help you determine whether the software is right for your firm or not.
On a final note, the per-user pricing model is common, so we’d recommend considering your needs now but also factoring in how much it’ll cost your firm to grow with your chosen software.
Mobile Support
Lawyers are often on the move, and having accounting software that can be accessed from anywhere makes life far easier.
And as we mentioned, although most come with mobile apps, some may have more functionality than others, so depending on how important mobile access is to you, you’ll want to bear this in mind when making your decision.
Features
The capabilities of your chosen platform will depend on what matters most to your firm, but here are some of the core features that the best law firm accounting software tools have on offer:
- Bookkeeping — Either built-in or with easy integration for managing accounts and transactions
- Time tracking — For accurate billing based on tracked time
- Billing — To easily create and track invoices
- Payroll — Automate your payroll
- Reporting — Gain key insight into important data
Other features like expense tracking, calendar automations, etc., are also nifty features for any law firm, but knowing what features are crucial for your business will help you thin the herd of options.
On a final note, if you’re a small law firm, you may want to consider the features you’d need when you grow to determine how much it’ll cost you with your chosen accounting software.
Ease of Use
As every solution has varying learning curves, it’s important to find a solution that you and your firm will have no problem getting accustomed to. One of the best ways to do this is to look at customer reviews and test the platform with a free plan or trial if one is on offer.
Thankfully, most on this list are user-friendly, and they offer useful resources and customer support if you ever find yourself in a pickle.
Integrations
The importance of this can sometimes be overlooked. If your firm already uses specific tools, you’ll want to ensure that your chosen accounting solution can integrate with your current tech stack, as each solution comes with varying integration support.
So be sure to double-check whether you can seamlessly integrate with your bookkeeping software, customer relationship management tools, or any others.
Conclusion: What is the Best Law Firm Accounting Software?
With these law firm accounting software reviews, you’re equipped with everything you need to know to choose the best solution to simplify your accounting and bookkeeping needs.
We have no doubt that you certainly can’t go wrong with the popular FreshBooks, and at just $4.50/month, it’s certainly tough to beat, but Zoho Books and Sage Accounting are also popular and reliable options worthy of consideration for small businesses.
For large businesses, a tool like Zola Suite may prove best — at the end of the day, the best law firm accounting software solution for you will depend on your firm’s particular needs and budget.