Smokeball vs Clio: where the books live and what each costs

Smokeball vs Clio comes down to where the firm’s books live and how much of the price you can see before a sales call. Clio includes Clio Accounting, with a general ledger, on every plan [1]; Smokeball keeps the trust and client ledgers and leaves the general ledger to QuickBooks Online [2].

Clio publishes one subscription price, a starting price for its Starter plan. Smokeball publishes none: all four plans say “Get pricing” [3]. Both publish their card and eCheck rates.

Smokeball vs Clio side by side

Clio and Smokeball: what each includes

Clio and Smokeball: what each includes

Feature	Clio	Smokeball
Trust accounting	Yes [1, 4]	Yes [3, 5]
Three-way reconciliation	Yes [1, 6, 7]	Yes [2, 8]
General ledger	Yes [1, 9]	No [2, 10]
Bank feeds	Yes [11]	Not stated [12]
Accounts payable	Yes [1, 13]	Not stated [10]
QuickBooks Online integration	Yes: Core, Signature, Elite [1, 14, 15]	Yes [3, 10]
Xero integration	Yes: Core, Signature, Elite [1, 16]	Not stated [10]
Built-in payment processing	Yes [17]	Yes [18, 19]
Practice management	Yes [20]	Yes: Boost, Grow, Prosper+ [3]
LEDES billing	Yes [1, 20]	Yes [21]
Client portal	Yes: Core, Signature, Elite [1, 22]	Yes: Boost, Grow, Prosper+ [3]
Mobile app	Yes [1, 23]	Yes: Boost, Grow, Prosper+ [3]
Free trial	Yes [1, 24]	Yes: Bill, Boost [25–27]

Smokeball and Clio: plans, published prices, ledger, LawPay and owner

Smokeball and Clio: plans, published prices, ledger, LawPay and owner

Compared	Clio	Smokeball
Plans	Starter, Core, Signature, Elite	Bill, Boost, Grow, Prosper+
Prices published	Starter only, as a starting price with no billing term	None; every plan is quoted
General ledger	Clio Accounting, in every plan	Kept in QuickBooks Online, through a one-way sync
LawPay	Integration ended August 31, 2026	Can be connected instead of Smokeball Payments
Trial length	7 days, no credit card	Not stated
Contract	30-day or 365-day billing cycle	Term set on the order form; fixed-term plans renew for 12 months unless the firm opts out
Owner	Clio (Themis Solutions Inc.), venture-backed	Smokeball, Inc., privately held

What Smokeball and Clio cost

Smokeball’s price depends on the number of users, the plan, the contract term and any add-ons, and comes only from its sales team [3]. Clio Starter costs from $49 per user per month, billing term not stated [1, 28]; Core, Signature and Elite show “Get pricing” [1].

Clio Starter comes to from $588 a year for 1 user [1, 28], from $2,940 a year for 5 users [1, 28] or from $11,760 a year for 20 users [1, 28]. No Smokeball plan can be costed without a quote, so the two cannot be compared on price. The Clio figure is a floor: Starter leaves out the QuickBooks and Xero integrations, the client portal, conflict checks and document templates [1].

Two Smokeball offers change the sum for some firms:

• Free Bill for bar members. Members of many US bar associations, including the State Bar of Texas and the California Lawyers Association, can use Bill, the billing and trust accounting plan, free. The offer pages state no time limit or user limit [8] [29].
• Bar discounts on the other plans. Many partner bar associations get a discount on Smokeball’s practice management plans, which cannot be combined with other discounts [30] [27].

When you ask for quotes, get from each vendor the per-user price of each plan you are considering, the billing term it assumes, and a written price for data migration. From Smokeball, also ask for the price of any add-on you need, such as AutoTime, Workflows or Intake [3]. Full detail is on the Smokeball pricing page and the Clio pricing page.

What each plan adds

Clio. Every plan includes matters, billing, trust accounting, Clio Accounting, the mobile app and LEDES billing. Core adds the QuickBooks, Xero and TrustBooks integrations, the client portal and conflict checks [1].

Smokeball. Bill covers billing and trust accounting only. Boost adds browser-based case management, the client portal and the mobile app. Grow adds the desktop app, document automation and email management. Prosper+ adds automatic time tracking, intake, workflows and firm reporting [3]. Unless the order form says otherwise, Smokeball’s terms put a firm on Prosper+ [27].

Where the books live: Clio Accounting against QuickBooks Online

Clio keeps the general ledger itself. Clio Accounting has a chart of accounts, journal entries and general ledger reports [9], vendor bills [13], and bank feeds through Plaid [11]. On Core and above, firms can keep their books in QuickBooks Online [14] or Xero, which needs the firm’s own Xero subscription [16].

Smokeball has no general ledger. It keeps billing, trust and client ledgers; QuickBooks Online keeps the general ledger, profit and loss, payroll and back-office spending such as rent [10]. The sync is on every plan and runs one way, from Smokeball to QuickBooks. On Bill it covers the general ledger only, not trust accounts, and QuickBooks Self-Employed is not supported [10]. So a Smokeball firm runs a second product for its books; see QuickBooks Online for law firms.

Three-way reconciliation

A three-way reconciliation checks the bank statement, the trust account’s own ledger and the total of the client ledgers against each other. Both products do it. In Clio, trust accounts in Clio Accounting go through a three-way reconciliation [6]. Smokeball describes three-way reconciliation on its trust accounting page [2], and trust management is on every plan [3]. Smokeball’s bank reconciliation works by entering the statement balance and ticking off transactions; its help center describes no bank-feed connection [12].

How often you must reconcile depends on your state. Illinois requires three-way reconciliation reports for every trust account at least quarterly Ill. RPC 1.15A(b)(7) [31]. The ABA’s model records rules call quarterly reconciliation a minimum and monthly the preferred practice ABA Model Trust Account Records Rule 1, Comment (Rule 1(i) paragraph) [32]. More on what the rules ask of software is in trust accounting software for law firms.

Payment processing: Clio Payments against Smokeball Payments

Both products have payments built in on every plan.

Card processing cost a year in three scenarios

Card processing cost a year in three scenarios

Product	Card rate	Bank transfer rate	$5,000 a month in 10 card payments	$25,000 a month in 25 card payments	$100,000 a month in 50 card payments	Also needs
Smokeball Payments	2.9% + $0.20 Published [18, 33, 34]	0.8%, capped at $8 (ACH)	$1,764 [18, 33, 34]	$8,760 [18, 33, 34]	$34,920 [18, 33, 34]	Requires a Smokeball plan
Clio Payments	2.95% Published [1, 17, 35–37]	1% (eCheck)	$1,770 [1, 17, 35–37]	$8,850 [1, 17, 35–37]	$35,400 [1, 17, 35–37]	Requires a Clio Manage plan

The fee structures differ:

• Smokeball adds a fixed fee to each card payment and charges more for American Express. Its eCheck fee is capped per payment. There is no monthly fee [18].
• Clio charges a percentage only, with no card brand network fees, and more for American Express. It states no cap on its eCheck fee [1]. Clio also offers Pay Later through Affirm; the firm pays that fee and cannot pass it on [37].

Both let firms pass card fees to clients as a surcharge. Smokeball allows it on credit cards, not debit cards, where state law allows [34]. Clio sets its own limits [36].

LawPay. Smokeball firms can connect LawPay instead of Smokeball Payments [19]; turning on Smokeball Payments switches LawPay off [18]. Clio ended its LawPay integration on August 31, 2026 [38].

Who can apply. Clio Payments is open to US and Canadian firms that pass an application [17]. For Smokeball Payments, the applicant must hold a minimum ownership stake in the firm [18].

Processing costs across more products are compared in law firm payment processing.

Payments into trust

Clio deposits trust payments in full and takes the fees from the firm’s operating account [35], as it does chargeback fees [39]. Smokeball’s help center does not say which account the fees on trust payments come from [18], so ask before taking card payments into trust.

Why this matters depends on your state. The ABA model rule lets a lawyer put the lawyer’s own money in a trust account only to pay bank service charges ABA Model Rule 1.15(b) [40]. Florida’s bar says that, unless lawyer and client agree otherwise, the lawyer pays transaction fees and they do not come from trust funds Fla. Bar Ethics Op. 21-2, Conclusion 3 [41]. An Illinois bar opinion says that where card payments go into trust, the lawyer must deposit enough of the lawyer’s own money to cover the card fees ISBA Op. 14-01, Opinion (Question 1) [42].

Contract terms, trial and moving your data

Clio. The free trial is 7 days, no credit card [1]. Subscriptions run on a 30-day or 365-day billing cycle [28]. Clio’s help center says to cancel before the renewal date to avoid annual charges. To cancel, the account administrator calls support [43].

Smokeball. The order form sets the users, the fee, the plan and the term. For plans sold on a fixed term, the fee is fixed and not refundable, and neither side can cancel without cause. Users cannot be cut and the plan cannot be downgraded until renewal, and users added month to month cost more than the regular user fee. Unless the firm opts out at least 30 days before the end date, the subscription renews for 12 months [27]. Bill and Boost subscribers can upgrade, downgrade or cancel in the app [26]. Smokeball offers a free trial of Bill and mentions trials for Boost, with no length stated [25] [26].

Moving your data. Neither brings full trust history across. Clio moves only opening balances per matter or contact [44]. Smokeball does not bring over paid invoices, general ledger items or full trust transaction history, and trust balances sometimes have to be entered by hand [45]. Smokeball confirms migration costs in the quote [3]; Clio charges extra to move documents, at a price set after scoping [44].

Who owns each

Smokeball, Inc. is privately held; in 2021 it raised money from private investors and employee shareholders [46]. The Smokeball-LEAP-InfoTrack group says founder Christian Beck has a significant investment in all its companies, Smokeball included [47]. FeeWise, whose support team handles banking changes for Smokeball Payments, says it is owned by the LEAP-InfoTrack group [48] [18]. In November 2025 Clio announced a Series G round led by NEA [49].

Clio vs Smokeball: which suits which firm

Neither wins overall: with no Smokeball price published, total cost cannot be compared. By need:

• You want to see a price before a sales call: Clio publishes Starter’s starting price [1]. Smokeball publishes none [3].
• You want the general ledger in the same system as billing and trust: Clio, on every plan [1].
• You keep your books in QuickBooks Online: Smokeball syncs to it on every plan, though Bill sends no trust data [10]. Clio’s QuickBooks Online integration needs Core or above [1].
• You belong to a partner bar association and need only billing and trust accounting: Smokeball Bill is free to members [8].
• You use LawPay: Smokeball still connects to it [19]. Clio no longer does [38].
• Your clients pay large sums by eCheck: Smokeball caps its eCheck fee per payment [18].
• You keep your books in Xero: Clio, on Core and above [16]. Smokeball’s US help center documents only QuickBooks Online [10].

For another head-to-head, see Clio vs MyCase; for the wider market, the law firm accounting software rankings by cost.