Comparing the Best Lawyer Billing Software

Every law firm wants to be paid on time. Unfortunately, this is where many firms face a bottleneck. Perhaps their staff is too busy focusing on client matters to send out invoices regularly. Or maybe clients simply don’t pay on time—meaning firms have to waste precious hours following up.

According to our 2020 Legal Trends Report, on average, firms only collect 88% of what they’re owed. That’s right—they never receive 12% of what they bill clients. 

By optimizing the billing process, firms can better track and obtain their payments in full. This involves collecting revenue as efficiently and effectively as possible, reducing the time and manual effort spent on collections while increasing repayment rates. Importantly, firms should always aim to provide a client-centered billing experience that serves everyone. Spreadsheets and Excel for lawyers can be cumbersome and easy targets for security risks and mistakes. 

The solution is lawyer billing software.

There are many reasons why firms might decide to implement lawyer billing software. For example, firms can draft up accurate invoices in seconds with lawyer billing software, reducing monthly billing to under an hour. However,  not all lawyer billing software is equally as effective—so, which one’s right for your firm? 

If you’re looking for lawyer billing software reviews, you came to the right place. Let’s analyze the best lawyer billing software options currently on the market, diving into their features, benefits, pricing, and more. 

Let’s review Clio’s lawyer billing software further before comparing it to other alternatives currently on the market. 

Clio

Features and benefits

Clio Manage provides firms with advanced, on-the-go ebilling capabilities. They can choose from multiple billing templates, send out branded invoices, and accept a wide range of flexible payment options. They can also set up tailored payment profiles and create customized billing plans for each of their clients (including automated payment plans/recurring payments) and accept payment for multiple bills simultaneously. Firms can review each client’s detailed account information or gain an overview of their entire billing operations by running firm-wide billing reports. If they ever need to apply a discount, they can simply add these to their invoices.

Best for

Clio is the best all-around option on this list. It’s suitable for firms of all sizes: solo practitioners, small firms, and mid-sized and large firms. Additionally, it serves a wide range of practice areas, from personal injury law to intellectual property law (and everything in between).

Pricing

• EasyStart: $39 per user/per month.
• Essentials: $69 per user/per month.
• Advanced: $99 per user/per month.
• Complete: $129 per user/per month. 

Free trial

Sign up for a free trial of Clio Manage here.

TimeSolv

Features and benefits

TimeSolv is ideally suited for small to medium-sized firms. It’s the best option on this list for firms that regularly produce a wide variety of invoices, offering a ton of ready-made templates: cover page, time and expense details, statement of account and remittance page, time & expense details, fixed fee matter, time & expense detail, and split invoices. 

Best for

TimeSolv is ideally suited for small to medium-sized firms. It’s the best option on this list for firms that regularly produce a wide variety of invoices, offering a ton of ready-made templates: cover page, time and expense details, statement of account and remittance page, time & expense details, fixed fee matter, time & expense detail, and split invoices.  

Pricing

• 1 – 4 users: $39.95 per user/per month or $35.96 if billed annually.
• 5 – 14 users: $34.95 per user/per month or $31.46 if billed annually.
• 15+ users: $29.95 per user/per month or $26.96 if billed annually.

Free trial

Sign up for a free trial of TimeSolv here.

MyCase

Features and benefits 

MyCase offers a variety of billing options: hourly, contingency, flat fee, a mix of flat fee and hourly, or pro bono. LEDES billing is available with the appropriate UTBMS task and expense codes. The MyCase lawyer billing software accepts flexible payments via credit card or eCheck.

Best for

MyCase was built with small law firms in mind. 

Pricing

• Basic: $49 per user/per month or $39 if billed annually.
• Pro: $69 per user/per month or $59 if billed annually.

Free Trial

Sign up for a free trial of MyCase here.

PracticePanther

Features and benefits 

With PracticePanther’s on-the-go billing software, firms can create customized invoices by using a wide variety of templates. They can integrate with the tool’s time and expense tracking features, provide their clients with flexible billing and payment options, and generate firm-wide reports in just one click. 

Best for

PracticePanther boasts a versatile offering that’s suitable for firms of all sizes.

Pricing 

• Solo: $49 per user/per month, or $39 if billed annually.
• Essential: $69 per user/per month, or $59 if billed annually.
• Business: $89 per user/per month, or $79 if billed annually.

Free Trial

Sign up for a free trial of PracticePanther here.

Smokeball

Features and benefits 

Smokeball’s lawyer billing software accepts credit card and online payments, allows firms to create their own timesheets with customized activity codes, and offers trust accounting capabilities. Thanks to its batch editing, finalizing, and printing features, firms can expedite the end-to-end billing process as much as possible. They can easily generate a variety of reports: profit, accounts receivable, and aging summaries, among others. Additionally, it offers a wide range of integrations, such as with LawPay and QuickBooks Online. 

Best for

Smokeball is best for small firms that want to make sure they capture every single billable minute on their invoices. 

Pricing 

• Start: $29 per user/per month.
• Grow: $119 per user/per month on their annual plan, $99 on their three-year plan.
• Prosper: $169 per user/per month on their annual plan, $149 on their three-year plan.

Free Trial

Unfortunately, Smokeball doesn’t offer free trials—but you can watch a demo of the tool here.

What to consider before choosing lawyer billing software

Beyond reading lawyer billing software reviews, consider the following three areas before you go ahead and introduce lawyer billing software at your firm.

Determine how much time your law firm spends on billing per month

Time is a scarce resource for lawyers. Identifying how much time your law firm spends on billing will help you determine how much more time you can save with better lawyer billing software.

Understand how outstanding invoices impact your firm

Unpaid bills are a huge problem for law firms. Lawyer billing software can help get bills out to clients more quickly and send automatic follow-ups.

Determine the cost vs. benefit of new lawyer billing software

How much more can you bill/collect? What is the amount of time you’ll save?  How much will this new software enhance your ability to provide a better, more client-centered experience? 

The right lawyer billing software can help your firm succeed

Law firms need to master their billing process. There’s no point in working around the clock if your firm isn’t being paid—whether that’s due to an unfriendly client billing experience or because your staff is too busy to send out timely invoices. 

By utilizing lawyer billing software, your firm can reduce the time it takes to send out invoices, follow up with clients, and receive payment. Intuitive lawyer billing software can help you create automated, firm-wide billing practices that work for your attorneys and clients, for PCs and Macs. 

Learn more about providing the best client-centered billing experience by accepting credit card payments here. 

We published this blog post in March 2022. Last updated: February 3, 2023.

Categorized in: Accounting