Best Accounting Software for Small and Solo Law Firms, Compared by Cost

Comparing the best accounting software for small law firms on one stated measure, the yearly cost for one lawyer of billing, trust accounting and a general ledger at published prices, Clio Manage Starter comes out lowest: from $588 a year for 1 user [1, 2]. The ledger can be built in, an add-on, or the cheapest QuickBooks Online plan the vendor says it works with.

Law firm accounting software for small firms: cost a year for 1 user and 5 users

Law firm accounting software for small firms: cost a year for 1 user and 5 users

Vendor	Cost a year, 1 user	Cost a year, 5 users	Label	Plan and price	General ledger	Best for
Clio	from $588 [1, 2] a	from $2,940 [1, 2] a	Published	Clio Manage Starter from $49 per user per month, billing term not stated	Built in	Firms that want practice management, billing, trust accounting and bookkeeping in one subscription instead of pairing a billing tool with QuickBooks or Xero. [1, 3]
PracticePanther	$1,044 [4–11] b	$3,396 [4–11] b	Published	PracticePanther Solo + QuickBooks Online Simple Start (1 accounting user) $49 per user per month, billed annually; or $59 billed monthly + QuickBooks Online Simple Start $38 per firm per month, billed monthly	Via QuickBooks Online Simple Start (1 accounting user), included in the cost	Small firms that want practice management, time tracking, billing and a trust ledger in one subscription with a published per-user price on every plan; full operating accounting (general ledger, bank feeds, bill payment) needs Business Pro, and lower plans rely on the QuickBooks Online sync for the firm's books. [4, 12]
LeanLaw	from $1,116 [7–11, 13–18] a,c	from $3,756 [7–11, 13–18] a,c	Published	LeanLaw Core + QuickBooks Online Simple Start (1 accounting user) from $55 per user per month, billing term not stated + QuickBooks Online Simple Start $38 per firm per month, billed monthly	Via QuickBooks Online Simple Start (1 accounting user), included in the cost	Firms that already keep their books in QuickBooks Online (or want to) and need legal time tracking, billing and client trust ledgers added on top, with their bookkeeper continuing to work in QuickBooks Online. [18, 19]
CosmoLex	$1,548 [20, 21]	$7,740 [20, 21]	Published	CosmoLex Pro $129 per user per month, billed annually; or $139 billed monthly	Built in	Firms that want trust accounting and their own books (general ledger, payables, financial statements) in the same system as billing, without a separate QuickBooks file. This needs the Pro plan. [20, 22]
MyCase	$1,656 [7–11, 23–25] d	$6,456 [7–11, 23–25] d	Published	MyCase Pro + QuickBooks Online Simple Start (1 accounting user) $100 per user per month, billed annually; or $120 billed monthly + QuickBooks Online Simple Start $38 per firm per month, billed monthly	Via QuickBooks Online Simple Start (1 accounting user), included in the cost [23, 27–31]	Solo, small and mid-sized US firms that want case management, billing, trust ledgers and card or eCheck payments in one subscription, with published per-user prices [23, 26]
Smokeball			Not published	Smokeball Bill [32, 33]	Via QuickBooks Online	Small firms that want billing and trust accounting with three-way reconciliation and keep their general ledger in QuickBooks Online. [34, 35]
TimeSolv	Not worked out e	Not worked out e	Published	TimeSolv Legal $58 per user per month, billed annually; or $60 billed monthly [36, 37]	Via QuickBooks Online; or Via Xero	Solo and small firms that want hourly time tracking and billing with trust accounting, LEDES and ABA task codes on the Legal plan, at a published per-user price, while keeping their books in QuickBooks or Xero. [36]

Where a vendor offers two routes, each row shows the cheaper one for one lawyer. That is why CosmoLex’s plan and five-user figure differ from the five-user law firm accounting software comparison.

Best accounting software for small law firms: what changes at one to five users

A QuickBooks Online subscription weighs most on a solo

QuickBooks Online is priced per company, not per user. Simple Start costs $38 per firm per month, billed monthly [7–11], whether one lawyer uses the legal software or five do. A solo on PracticePanther Solo pays $588 a year for 1 user [4–6] for the plan and $456 a year for 1 user [7–11] for the ledger. At five users the same ledger cost is shared across five seats. Clio leads at one user because Clio Accounting comes with Starter, with no second subscription [1].

When a built-in ledger is cheaper: CosmoLex

For one lawyer, CosmoLex Pro, which has its own general ledger, costs $1,548 a year for 1 user [20, 21]. The other route is Launch at $588 a year for 1 user [20, 21] plus QuickBooks Online Essentials at $1,020 a year for 1 user [7–11], the cheapest edition CosmoLex’s sync works with [38]. That comes to slightly more, so the CosmoLex row shows Pro, and its five-user figure is Pro for five users. At five users the order reverses: Launch with Essentials costs $3,960 a year for 5 users on CosmoLex Launch + QuickBooks Online Essentials (1 accounting user) [7–11, 20, 21], against $7,740 a year for 5 users [20, 21] for Pro.

Who logs in to the ledger

QuickBooks Online caps billable users at one on Simple Start, three on Essentials and five on Plus [10]. The table counts one accounting user. If the lawyer and an assistant both work in the books, the firm needs Essentials or above. An outside accountant does not take a seat: plans from Simple Start up include access for two accountant firm users, three on Advanced [10]. Clio Starter includes one free accountant license [1], and MyCase Accounting adds a free license for an outside accountant [29].

What entry plans leave out

The cheapest plan is not always enough for a small firm’s books:

• Clio Starter has no QuickBooks Online or Xero integration, client portal or conflict checks [1].
• PracticePanther Solo does not include multiple bank accounts; they start on Essential [4].
• MyCase Basic has no integrations, so the cheapest MyCase setup with a ledger starts on Pro [39]. Every user in a MyCase firm must be on the same plan [40].
• CosmoLex Launch has no bank reconciliation or three-way reconciliation; both start on Core [21].

Onboarding and data migration

One-off costs take a bigger share of a small firm’s first year, and most are unpublished. CosmoLex includes live onboarding training and guided data migration on all three plans [20]. MyCase charges no setup fee [25] and includes data migration on Pro [23]. PracticePanther Solo comes with one live training session, against three on Essential [4], and PracticePanther does not say what moving data in costs [41]. Clio Starter has self-serve migration tools; guided migration starts on Core [42]. LeanLaw may charge a one-time onboarding fee of an unpublished amount [13]. TimeSolv charges for converting data from another system [43], and Smokeball sets any onboarding fee on its order form [33].

Paying yearly and changing size

PracticePanther, CosmoLex, MyCase and TimeSolv charge less per user on annual billing; the table shows both prices. A year paid up front is hard to get back if the firm shrinks. PracticePanther does not refund subscription charges and wants five days’ written notice before a term ends to cancel or cut users [6]. MyCase keeps fees already paid when users are removed [44], and TimeSolv gives no refunds or prorated credits [45]. On a fixed-term Smokeball plan, seats can be reduced only at renewal [33].

The seven products for a small firm

Clio

Clio is the only product here whose entry plan includes a general ledger, bank sync and reconciliation of trust and operating accounts [1]. Starter’s price is a starting figure with no stated billing term, and every plan above it is quoted by sales. A firm moving to Clio brings opening balances, not past trust or operating transactions [42]. See Clio pricing and plans.

PracticePanther

Solo, PracticePanther’s cheapest plan, keeps a trust ledger with basic reconciliation and sends the books one way to QuickBooks Online [46]. PracticePanther’s own general ledger, bank feeds and bill payment come only with Business Pro [47], which costs $1,368 a year for 1 user [4, 12, 47, 48]. See PracticePanther pricing.

LeanLaw

LeanLaw adds time tracking, billing and trust ledgers to a QuickBooks Online file the firm pays for separately [16]. It suits a solo whose books, or whose bookkeeper, are already in QuickBooks Online. The monthly trust reconciliation is done mainly in QuickBooks Online, with LeanLaw’s trust data as one of the three figures compared [49]. See LeanLaw pricing.

CosmoLex

Of the products with both a built-in ledger and a priced QuickBooks Online route, CosmoLex is the one where a solo pays less for the built-in ledger. Turning on its QuickBooks Online sync switches off CosmoLex’s own business accounting [22], so a firm picks one. Its subscription renews automatically and prepaid fees are not refunded [50]. See CosmoLex pricing.

MyCase

A solo on MyCase Pro can keep the books in QuickBooks Online or buy MyCase Accounting, charged only for users given an accounting license [27]. Pro with one license costs from $1,668 a year for 1 user (MyCase Pro + 1 MyCase Accounting license) [23–25, 27–31], close to the QuickBooks Online route. Three-way trust reconciliation comes with the add-on; MyCase does not describe the trust reconciliation in its base plans as three-way [23]. See MyCase pricing.

Smokeball

Smokeball quotes every plan through sales [32], so a solo cannot cost it in advance. Members of some state bar associations, such as the State Bar of Texas, get the Bill plan free [51]. On Bill, the QuickBooks Online sync covers the general ledger but not trust accounts [35]. See Smokeball pricing.

TimeSolv

Trust accounting, LEDES billing and conflict checks are on TimeSolv’s Legal plan, not its cheaper Pro plan [36]. It does not describe a general ledger of its own and connects to QuickBooks Online or Xero, so it also suits a solo who keeps the books in Xero [52] [36]. See TimeSolv pricing.

Small law firm accounting software features compared

Law firm accounting software: what each product includes

Law firm accounting software: what each product includes

Feature	Clio	PracticePanther	LeanLaw	CosmoLex	MyCase	Smokeball	TimeSolv
Trust accounting	Yes [1, 53]	Yes [4, 54]	Yes [13, 55]	Yes [20, 21]	Yes [23]	Yes [32, 56]	Yes: TimeSolv Legal [36, 57]
Three-way reconciliation	Yes [1, 3, 58]	Yes [4, 59, 60]	Partly [49, 61]	Yes: Core, Pro [21, 62]	Extra cost [23, 27]	Yes [34, 51]	Yes: TimeSolv Legal [57, 63]
General ledger	Yes [1, 64]	Yes: Business Pro [4, 47]	No [18]	Yes: Pro [20, 21, 65]	Extra cost [27, 66]	No [34, 35]	Not stated [36]
Bank feeds	Yes [67]	Yes: Business Pro [68]	Not stated [61]	Yes: Pro [20, 22, 69]	Extra cost [27, 70]	Not stated [71]	Not stated [36]
QuickBooks Online integration	Yes: Core, Signature, Elite [1, 72, 73]	Yes [4, 46, 74]	Yes [16, 17]	Yes [20–22, 38, 75]	Yes: MyCase Pro, MyCase Advanced [23, 76]	Yes [32, 35]	Yes [36, 52]
Xero integration	Yes: Core, Signature, Elite [1, 77]	No [78]	Not stated [17, 79]	Not stated [80]	Not stated [81]	Not stated [35]	Yes [36]
Built-in payment processing	Yes [82]	Yes [4, 83, 84]	Yes [13, 85]	Yes [21, 86]	Yes [23]	Yes [87, 88]	Yes [36, 89]
Mobile app	Yes [1, 90]	Yes [4]	Partly [91–93]	Yes: Core, Pro [21]	Yes: MyCase Pro, MyCase Advanced [23, 39]	Yes: Boost, Grow, Prosper+ [32]	Yes [36, 63]
Free trial	Yes [1, 94]	Yes [4, 95]	Yes [13, 96]	Yes [20, 97]	Yes [23]	Yes: Bill, Boost [33, 98, 99]	Yes [36]

Trust records at a one-lawyer office

Trust rules differ by state. New Jersey requires every practitioner to keep a trust account and a separate business account R. 1:21-6(a) (as reproduced in OAE outline, App. B) [100], and to reconcile the trust records with the bank statement at least monthly R. 1:21-6(c)(1)(H) (as reproduced in OAE outline, App. B) [100]. California requires a ledger for each client Cal. RPC 1.15, Standards (1)(a) [101] and a monthly reconciliation of client ledgers, account journal and bank records Cal. RPC 1.15, Standards (1)(d) [101]. The feature grid shows which products produce a three-way reconciliation, and on which plans.