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Accounting, Billing & Finance

Like it or not, a law practice, at its core, is a business. And businesses of all shapes and sizes need to perform general bookkeeping functions and track their finances. The easiest way to do this is to use law firm accounting software. Although it may seem like an unnecessary expense to some practitioners, this is not typically something your office can afford to go without.

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How to Choose Accounting, Billing & Finance

When choosing law firm accounting software, it can be challenging to know which specific features you need to keep your business running smoothly. We’ll try to make it easy.

4 Steps to Choosing Law Firm Accounting Software

1. Determine your law firm's accounting software needs

Some programs offer only accounting features, while others will allow you to accept credit card payments online, manage your payroll, and more.

2. Assess the available features

Read through our feature definitions list. Here, you will find the typical offerings of law firm accounting software, and be able to compare the features of each.

3. Research your options

Then, get more information about the software that most interests you by visiting the product page for each.

4. Try before your buy

Finally, sign up for a trial account with one or two likely software options, put them through their paces, and select the one that will work best for your firm.

Accounting, Billing & Finance Feature Descriptions

Basic Bookkeeping

This means simple double-entry bookkeeping.

Connect Bank Accounts

Link your bank accounts for up-to-date transaction information with little or no manual data entry.

Online Payments

This means the ability to accept credit card or echeck payments within your accounting software, either through its own payment portal or via a third-party integration like PayPal or Square. Most online payments involve a separate processing fee.

Mileage Tracking

Keep track of miles traveled visiting clients or heading to the courthouse, making it easier to tally for taxes or billing purposes or add to your expense reports.

Bill Payment

Pay your firm's bills without leaving your accounting software.

Statement Reconciliation

Helps with the complex task of balancing your business accounts. Does not necessarily include more advanced reconciliation features like three-way trust account reconciliation.

Payroll

Payroll includes automatically calculating employee taxes, printing checks, and paying by direct deposit.

Tax Preparation

Some accounting software can also be used to prepare taxes for your firm so you can review, approve, and even pay your taxes all in one place.

Reporting

Businesses need reports to help assess key business performance indicators like profit and accounts receivable. Some products have more robust reporting features than others.

Contact Management

Store contacts for invoicing or billing purposes.

User Management

User Management means the software allows your firm to differentiate between persons who have access to the information and adjust their levels of access based on their relevant users statuses.

Split Origination Reporting

This means that the product allows your firm not only to track where a file came from but also to allocate a percentage of the origination to individual users.

Recurring Payments

Some providers will allow you to set up recurring payments for your clients that will be automatically debited based on selections your clients make.

Trust Account Management

This means the product allows you to differentiate between client trust accounts and track them individually. It also means that the product helps you manage your three-way reconciliation.

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