5 Min. Read

7 Best Legal Billing Software for Law Firms

July 31, 2024

If your law firm is still running its billing software on a local machine, you’re losing money. Legal billing is complex, with hours allocated to various clients, sometimes at different rates. Most law firms also accept a variety of payment methods. This can make it hard to manage everything smoothly on a local machine.

With cloud-based software, you can access your legal billing app from anywhere. This makes it easy to see where you stand with your clients, your partners, and your finances. It’s especially beneficial when you’re on the road or spending a day at court. You won’t have to stop into the office late at night just to log your hours.

Here are some of the most powerful, cloud-based tools for legal billing.

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

1. Clio

Clio is among the most popular legal billing software suites. It’s designed as a complete case management solution, and does a lot more than tracking billable time. To begin with, you can keep track of late payments and outstanding balances.

You can use Clio to sort all your cases, keep track of contacts, and maintain a schedule. This puts your billing in context, and helps you keep track of who to bill when. Not only that, but you can view detailed case information from anywhere in the world.

In addition to the legal billing software, the Clio suite also includes Clio Grow. This is a complete CRM system for intaking new clients. The licensing fee is $39 per user, per month.

2. MyCase

MyCase is another complete client portal with time entry and document management. Inside, you can store all your important case data, including related documents. You can even attach emails to your cases. If that’s not enough, MyCase even tracks your invoices within the same application.

MyCase costs a bit more than Clio, at $49 per user, per month. On the other hand, it also comes with a 14-day free trial for new accounts.

3. Smokeball

Smokeball is a law practice management software that records your time automatically. Since direct human input isn’t required, you won’t forget to bill a single dollar. This alone can significantly increase your law firm’s income. The smokeball can handle hourly, contingency, and flat fee billing, so all practices can benefit.

Smokeball also integrates with MS Outlook and Word. It includes more than 17,000 automated forms, including customizable invoices. You can access all of this from their smartphone app as well as from your browser.

4. TimeSolv

TimeSolv is a longstanding legal billing software that’s been around since 1999. The neat thing about TimeSolv is that it predates the cloud, so it can be used both online and off. You can access your time tracking from anywhere via the smartphone app, or work locally on an old-school laptop. You can also use LawPay and Client Portal to accept online payments.

TimeSolv comes with a 30-day free trial, enough for you to get a taste for it. After that, the normal licensing fee is $35.96 per user, per month. They also offer bulk discounts for larger law firms.

5. Zola Suite

Zola Suite combines automated billing with a full set of complementary front-office tools. This gives you a detailed view of your entire business, from expense tracking to accounts receivable. Instead of all this information being stored in multiple places, it’s all centralized.

You can automate a number of processes, including invoice creation. You can also create automated emails for billing, marketing, and other purposes. You can even store documents, assign them to particular cases, and manage your calendar.

The cost for Zola Suite depends on how you’re paying. If you’re paying monthly, it costs a cool $69 per user, per month. If you buy a whole year of service, that drops to $59 per month.

6. AbacusLaw

AbacusLaw is another legal billing software package. It offers case management as well as billing capabilities. You get an address book for your clients, along with secure online document storage. A calendar helps you track your time, and the software automatically bills all your logged hours. You don’t have to worry that a human accountant will forget to send client invoices.

The cost for AbacusLaw is $69 per user, per month.

7. SimpleLegal

SimpleLegal is one of the most versatile legal billing solutions. It includes online billing and credit card support. Not only that, but it provides vendor management tools, task management, and client management. This means you can take payments and pay your own bills within the same mobile app.

Key Takeaways

There’s a surprising amount of billing software for attorneys, and we’ve barely scratched the surface. From managing payment plans to trust accounting, these options cover a variety of needs. The important thing is to find one that meshes with your law firm’s billing process.

If you liked this guide and want to learn more, take a look at our resource hub. There, you’ll find a ton of articles to help you grow your small business.