Compared to QuickBooks Online and TrustBooks, Xero doesn’t offer the same level of customization capabilities for lawyers. However, this accounting software for lawyers allows you to send invoices and quotes, capture bills and receipts, use multiple currencies, and more. Which is why we created this round-up of the best accounting software for lawyers you can try for free. We searched and searched, but we couldn’t find any products
in our database that match your criteria. They’d be happy to provide a list of
free the best legal accounting software recommendations
that meet your exact requirements. For tips on data security for law firms and how to vet potential providers of cloud-based services for security, read our law firm security guide.

• Allows you to view tasks, deadlines, appointments and meetings by day, week, month or year.
• Trust accounting mistakes can lead to penalties, suspension, or even losing the right to practice law.
• With QuickBooks and Clio, lawyers can increase transparency when providing clients with legal services.
• Dedicated legal billing software can alleviate a lot of headaches and allow you to capture more billable hours.
• You can share documents securely with clients and request documents from clients for secure uploads.

If your law firm doesn’t already have business bank accounts, it’s time to open them. Most firms will need three business bank accounts at a minimum—checking, savings, and a separate IOLTA or trust account. Without the proper business bank accounts, you risk inaccurate bookkeeping, messy records, and potential compliance violations regarding trust funds.

Related Accounting Software

IOLTA, which helps raise money for legal aid for those in poverty via interest earned on client funds, entails special accounting requirements that you can manage with your software. The software protects against accounting mistakes and automatically records paper trails in case of an audit. Allows users to manage trust accounts for clients and even author checks within the system. That includes things like affordability, ease of use, and suite of features (client management, financial management, project management, etc.). You can make the right buying decision only by knowing exactly what features you’re looking for.

Clio works with your accounting software to help you manage your firm’s profitability, compensation, financial health, and more. Accounting software with a robust client relationship management system (CRM) saves time and streamlines your firm’s invoicing and billing workflows. Suppose  you choose accounting software that automatically syncs payroll functionality with time-tracking and expense apps. In that case, you can also generate pay runs with the click of a button, for better efficiency. The software offers advanced reporting, including origination reports for new-business incentives, allocation reports, matter budgets, and team and matter productivity. It’ll even connect you with experts to build custom reports for your firm.

• Online payment solutions like Clio Payments also streamlines your collections and accounting workflows.
• You can also simultaneously be more accurate and productive when it comes to law firm financials.
• Having all of your practice management and accounting needs combined in one place makes it very convenient and helps your business run more efficiently.

NetSuite’s pricing is custom, so you’ll need to speak with a sales team member for a quote. Its Sage Accounting plan normally costs $25 per month, but it offers 70% off your first six months, so you end up paying $7.50 per month. This comes with unlimited users, quotes, estimates, cash flow forecasts, purchase invoice management and automatically snap and post receipts for free for the first three months.

Five things to prioritize when testing free accounting software for lawyers

QuickBooks Online is a useful accounting software for lawyers on its own. But its advantages multiply when you pair it with legal practice management software. These two tools take care of everything from tracking revenue and expenses to billing clients—especially when you use them together.

Use financial reporting to identify opportunities

Teamwork is valuable—Clio and QuickBooks Online make an excellent team for law firms. Lawyers can free up more of their time to care for—and dedicate their time—to clients’ needs and bring in more revenue for their firms. This gives you the best of both worlds while making your law firm’s comprehensive accounting situation easier to manage. Accurate tracking of billable hours ensures a steady flow of revenue for your law firm or private practice.

PCLaw Accounting Screenshot

This best legal accounting software roundup covers everything from the best small law firm accounting software to premium law office accounting software for larger companies. Cloud-based legal practice management software is typically priced on a per-lawyer, per-month basis, with systems starting at about $50-$70 per user, per month. Some vendors will provide discounts if you pay annually instead of monthly. Most practice management systems offer the same applications for all practice areas, but provide some degree of customization.

Accounting for law firms lets you collect and analyze information, and make data-driven decisions based on what money comes in and leaves your firm, so it’s worth it to pay attention. The software also offers tools for businesses requiring financial compliance such as GAAP, ASC 606 and SOX. These insights include profitability ratios, cash positions, liabilities, fixed assets and taxes.

This plan doesn’t limit the number of invoices and quotes you can send, nor the number of bills you can enter. Its $70 per month Established plan comes with everything in the Growing plan, but also lets you track projects, use multiple currencies, claim expenses and view in-depth data analytics. This buyer’s guide will not only serve as a primer on what trust accounting is, but also explain what specific things software buyers should look out for if they’re in what is the difference between bookkeeping and accounting the market for a trust accounting system. If all you need is a better way to track billable hours, look into the many stand-alone solutions on the market created for this purpose. Easily integrate your FreshBooks accounting system with other apps and partners to simplify things like time management, payroll, and scheduling software. Zoho Books is a recommended product for companies that are already using other Zoho products, like Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects.

Without time tracking functionality, your attorneys could lose track of how long they spent on tasks or forget to charge clients for time spent. Billing is directly related to the time your attorneys spend working. If clients aren’t being billed properly for your attorney’s time, the firm will lose money. Legal billing is complex compared with billing in other small businesses.

SOC 2 was established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to ensure that businesses don’t take on any unnecessary risks when hiring a service provider. These integrations not only make the accounting end run smoother, but also the business as a whole. With these streamlined tasks being simpler and quicker to accomplish, it leaves lawyers more time to focus on the client. The following review showcases the best accounting software for lawyers in 2021. Legal accounting solutions will calculate billable hours and your preset hourly rate to create an invoice.

Whether it means using legal accounting software to simplify and automate your accounting, hiring a professional legal accountant, or both—don’t be afraid to delegate when you need to. By establishing—and following—best practices for accounting for law firms like the examples below, you’ll be better able to help your firm stay on track. Yes, you can—but it’s best that you integrate them with legal accounting solutions. For instance, you can integrate QuickBooks Online with LeanLaw to develop a powerful legal billing and accounting solution.