Trust Accounting Software for Law Firms: Prices, Plans and Three-Way Reconciliation

Trust accounting software keeps a ledger for each client whose money a law firm holds, records every deposit into and payment out of the trust account, and reconciles that account against the bank statement and the client ledgers. The lowest published cost is $2,940 a year for 5 users on CosmoLex Launch [1, 2]; PracticePanther Solo costs the same, and Clio Starter starts at the same figure.

CosmoLex Launch has no three-way reconciliation, while PracticePanther and Clio include it on those plans. Smokeball publishes no subscription price.

Trust accounting software: cost a year for 5 users

Trust accounting software: cost a year for 5 users

Vendor	Cost a year, 5 users	Label	Plan and price	General ledger	Best for
CosmoLex	$2,940 [1, 2]	Published	CosmoLex Launch $49 per user per month, billed annually; or $59 billed monthly	Via QuickBooks Online	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. [1, 3]
PracticePanther	$2,940 [4–6]	Published	PracticePanther Solo $49 per user per month, billed annually; or $59 billed monthly	Via QuickBooks Online	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, 7]
Clio	from $2,940 [8, 9] 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. [8, 10]
MyCase	$3,000 [11–13]	Published	MyCase Basic $50 per user per month, billed annually; or $60 billed monthly	None	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 [11, 14]
TimeSolv	$3,480 [15, 16]	Published	TimeSolv Legal $58 per user per month, billed annually; or $60 billed monthly	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. [15]
LeanLaw	from $3,756 [17–27] a,b	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. [22, 28]
Smokeball		Not published	Smokeball Bill [29, 30]	Via QuickBooks Online	Small firms that want billing and trust accounting with three-way reconciliation and keep their general ledger in QuickBooks Online. [31, 32]

The table counts any plan with trust accounting, so the entries below say where three-way reconciliation starts.

What trust accounting software has to support

The duty to keep client money apart comes from each state’s rules, and they differ. The ABA’s model rule, binding only where a state adopts it, puts client funds in a separate account and calls for complete records of them ABA Model Rule 1.15(a) [33].

Separate client ledgers and journals

The ABA’s model records rules list a receipts and disbursements journal for the trust account ABA Model Trust Account Records Rule 1(a) [34] and a ledger for each trust client ABA Model Trust Account Records Rule 1(b) [34]. Florida requires a ledger page for each client or matter R. Regulating Fla. Bar 5-1.2(b)(7) [35], and Illinois requires contemporaneous ledger records Ill. RPC 1.15A(b)(2) [36]. This is the core of the software: every deposit and payment is tied to a client or matter, so each client’s balance is always visible.

Three-way reconciliation

A three-way reconciliation checks that the bank balance, the firm’s trust journal and the total of the client ledgers agree Ill. RPC 1.15A(c) [36]. Of the states cited here, only Illinois uses the term in its rule text, and it requires three-way reconciliation reports for every trust account at least quarterly Ill. RPC 1.15A(b)(7) [36].

Other states set a monthly check without the name. California requires a monthly balancing of client ledgers, account journal and bank records Cal. RPC 1.15, Standards (1)(d) [37], which the State Bar’s handbook calls a three-way reconciliation California, Handbook (2024) Section VIII 'Reconciliation', printed p. 36 (PDF p. 46) [38]. Florida compares reconciled trust balances with the total of the client ledgers each month R. Regulating Fla. Bar 5-1.2(d)(1)(B) [35], and New Jersey reconciles journal, checkbook, bank and client ledger balances at least monthly R. 1:21-6(c)(1)(H) (as reproduced in OAE outline, App. B) [39]. The ABA’s model treats quarterly as a minimum and monthly as preferred ABA Model Trust Account Records Rule 1, Comment (Rule 1(i) paragraph) [40].

Records a firm can produce years later

Retention periods differ. Florida keeps trust records for six years after a representation ends R. Regulating Fla. Bar 5-1.2(f) [35], Illinois for seven Ill. RPC 1.15A(a) [36] and Texas for five Tex. Disciplinary R. Prof'l Conduct 1.15(a) [1.14(a)] [41]. Florida and Illinois accept records kept digitally if they can be produced or printed R. Regulating Fla. Bar 5-1.2(b) (introductory text) [35]Ill. RPC 1.15A(b) (closing sentence) [36]. The ABA’s model records rules also call for a record of each electronic transfer out of trust, including who authorized it ABA Model Trust Account Records Rule 1(h) [34].

The seven products, in table order

CosmoLex

CosmoLex includes trust accounting and trust ledgers on every plan, with trust holds and automatic trust transfers [1]. Launch, the plan in the table, has neither bank reconciliation nor three-way reconciliation. The three-way reconciliation report starts on Core, at $5,940 a year for 5 users [1, 2] [2] [42]. See CosmoLex pricing and plans.

PracticePanther

Every PracticePanther plan keeps a trust ledger, runs a trust reconciliation and can show a three-way trust reconciliation report [4]. Below Business Pro, payments are marked as reconciled by hand [43]. Business Pro adds a guided three-way reconciliation, controls that stop trust overdrafts and help prevent commingling, and low-balance alerts, at $6,840 a year for 5 users [4, 7, 44, 45] [46]. See PracticePanther pricing and plans.

Clio

Clio Manage includes trust accounts, trust requests and trust reconciliation [47]. Clio Accounting, included on every current plan, runs a three-way reconciliation of bank records, client trust ledgers and the firm’s trust ledger [10] [8]. Only Starter has a published price. See Clio pricing and plans.

MyCase

All three MyCase plans keep trust ledgers and a trust reconciliation, with balances per client and per case and room for several trust accounts [11]. Three-way reconciliation is part of the MyCase Accounting add-on, sold only with Pro and Advanced, so Basic, the plan in the table, cannot have it [11]. That route costs from $6,468 a year for 5 users (MyCase Pro + 1 MyCase Accounting license) [11, 12, 48–53]. See MyCase pricing and plans.

TimeSolv

TimeSolv puts trust accounting, with automatic trust transfers and holds, in its Legal plan only [15]. Its trust accounting page says it performs three-way reconciliations automatically, without naming a plan [54]. Its pricing page lists no general ledger, and it connects to QuickBooks Online or Xero for the firm’s books [15] [55]. See TimeSolv pricing and plans.

LeanLaw

LeanLaw includes IOLTA trust accounting on every plan [17]. It records trust deposits and disbursements in a ledger for each client [56], and it handles evergreen retainers [57]. Its payment links can also request trust deposits from clients [58]. It posts the journal entries to the firm’s QuickBooks Online trust bank and liability accounts [59]. The monthly reconciliation is done mainly in QuickBooks Online, with LeanLaw’s trust data as one of the three figures compared [60]. See LeanLaw pricing and plans.

Smokeball

Smokeball’s trust accounting covers deposits, payments, transfers, protected funds, trust reports and bank reconciliation across several trust accounts [61]. It describes three-way reconciliation, and trust accounting is on every plan [31] [29]. On the Bill plan, the QuickBooks Online sync covers the general ledger but not the trust accounts [32]. Members of some state bars, such as the State Bar of Texas, get Bill free [62]. See Smokeball pricing and plans.

Why QuickBooks Online and LawPay are not in the table

Both describe trust handling only in part. Intuit’s help sets up client retainers as a liability account and does not describe client trust ledgers or three-way reconciliation [63]. LawPay keeps trust deposits apart and shows trust activity by client, but says reconciliation stays with the firm [64].

Trust accounting features compared

Trust accounting software: what each product includes

Trust accounting software: what each product includes

Feature	CosmoLex	PracticePanther	Clio	MyCase	TimeSolv	LeanLaw	Smokeball
Trust accounting	Yes [1, 2]	Yes [4, 46]	Yes [8, 47]	Yes [11]	Yes: TimeSolv Legal [15, 54]	Yes [17, 59]	Yes [29, 61]
Three-way reconciliation	Yes: Core, Pro [2, 42]	Yes [4, 43, 65]	Yes [8, 10, 66]	Extra cost [11, 48]	Yes: TimeSolv Legal [54, 67]	Partly [56, 60]	Yes [31, 62]
General ledger	Yes: Pro [1, 2, 68]	Yes: Business Pro [4, 44]	Yes [8, 69]	Extra cost [48, 70]	Not stated [15]	No [22]	No [31, 32]
Bank feeds	Yes: Pro [1, 3, 71]	Yes: Business Pro [72]	Yes [73]	Extra cost [48, 74]	Not stated [15]	Not stated [56]	Not stated [75]
Billing	Yes [1]	Yes [4]	Yes [8]	Yes [11]	Yes [15]	Yes: Core, Pro, Elite [22, 76]	Yes [29, 77]
Built-in payment processing	Yes [2, 78]	Yes [4, 79, 80]	Yes [81]	Yes [11]	Yes [15, 82]	Yes [17, 58]	Yes [83, 84]
QuickBooks Online integration	Yes [1–3, 85, 86]	Yes [4, 87, 88]	Yes: Core, Signature, Elite [8, 89, 90]	Yes: MyCase Pro, MyCase Advanced [11, 91]	Yes [15, 55]	Yes [20, 21]	Yes [29, 32]
Xero integration	Not stated [92]	No [93]	Yes: Core, Signature, Elite [8, 94]	Not stated [95]	Yes [15]	Not stated [21, 57]	Not stated [32]
Client portal	Yes [1]	Yes [4]	Yes: Core, Signature, Elite [8, 96]	Yes [11]	Yes [15]	Not stated [97]	Yes: Boost, Grow, Prosper+ [29]
Mobile app	Yes: Core, Pro [2]	Yes [4]	Yes [8, 98]	Yes: MyCase Pro, MyCase Advanced [11, 13]	Yes [15, 67]	Partly [99–101]	Yes: Boost, Grow, Prosper+ [29]
Free trial	Yes [1, 102]	Yes [4, 103]	Yes [8, 104]	Yes [11]	Yes [15]	Yes [17, 105]	Yes: Bill, Boost [30, 106, 107]

What drives the cost of trust accounting software

Where three-way reconciliation starts

The cheapest plan with trust accounting is not always the cheapest with three-way reconciliation. At CosmoLex and MyCase, the plan or add-on that includes it costs about twice as much as the plan in the table.

Plans that include three-way reconciliation: cost a year at three team sizes

Plans that include three-way reconciliation: cost a year at three team sizes

Plan	Cost a year, 1 user	Cost a year, 5 users	Cost a year, 20 users
Clio Manage Starter Published a,b	from $588 [8, 9]	from $2,940 [8, 9]	from $11,760 [8, 9]
PracticePanther Solo, billed annually Published c	$588 [4–6]	$2,940 [4–6]	$11,760 [4–6]
PracticePanther Solo, billed monthly Published c	$708 [4–6]	$3,540 [4–6]	$14,160 [4–6]
TimeSolv Legal, billed annually Published d,e	$696 [15, 16]	$3,480 [15, 16]	$13,920 [15, 16]
TimeSolv Legal, billed monthly Published d,e	$720 [15, 16]	$3,600 [15, 16]	$14,400 [15, 16]
CosmoLex Core, billed annually Published f	$1,188 [1, 2]	$5,940 [1, 2]	$23,760 [1, 2]
CosmoLex Core, billed monthly Published f	$1,308 [1, 2]	$6,540 [1, 2]	$26,160 [1, 2]
MyCase Pro + 1 MyCase Accounting license Published a	from $1,668 [11, 12, 48–53]	from $6,468 [11, 12, 48–53]	from $24,468 [11, 12, 48–53]
PracticePanther Business Pro, billed annually Published c	$1,368 [4, 7, 44, 45]	$6,840 [4, 7, 44, 45]	$27,360 [4, 7, 44, 45]
PracticePanther Business Pro, billed monthly Published c	$1,488 [4, 7, 44, 45]	$7,440 [4, 7, 44, 45]	$29,760 [4, 7, 44, 45]

Per-user pricing

Six of the seven products price per user per month, so the bill grows with every lawyer and staff member who needs a login. Smokeball prices only through sales.

A general ledger kept elsewhere

Trust ledgers are not the firm’s books. LeanLaw needs a QuickBooks Online subscription [20], Smokeball keeps the general ledger in QuickBooks Online [32], and TimeSolv connects to QuickBooks Online or Xero [55]. The law firm accounting software comparison counts that ledger in each product’s cost.

Moving trust records between systems

Switching software does not always carry the trust history across. Clio cannot import past trust transactions, only opening balances by matter or contact [108]. Smokeball’s migration does not bring over full trust transaction history [114]. TimeSolv charges for data conversion [112]. CosmoLex’s subscription agreement lets it delete a firm’s data 30 days after cancellation [113].