The Top Legal Software Stacks: Law Firm Billing, Payment Processor, Practice Management, & Accounting Software Decisions

Summary: Legal software stacks must be structured logically around core functions: Timekeeping, Billing, & Document Management, Payment Processing, Expense Management, and Accounting. These stacks are based on direct, hands-on experience of each platform listed (and many not listed). The result is a holistic approach to the fundamental software stack that attorneys need.

Knight Lancaster specializes in operational accounting, legal accounting & software technology integrations, and tax. His credentials as dually licensed Attorney-CPA reinforce his expertise and authority in the matter. He focuses on ensuring the “first point of contact is handled consistently” and that “errors are affirmatively surfaced“.

The full presentation to his recent Continuing Legal Education Seminar to the American Academy of Attorney-CPAs can be found HERE.

Defining the Core Legal Software Stack Structure

The core components of a high-quality legal software stack are:

• Timekeeping, Billing & Document Management (normally the same product)

• Payment Processor

• Accounting

• Payroll

• Credit Card/Spending

Note: Software performs or assists with the practice of law or business function. Software is a tool, not a function.

Top 5 Suggested Legal Software Stacks

Stack Insights and Perspectives

Each of the stacks is a high-quality stack and what is right for you depends on your firm’s needs. The main items I consider for firms are (1) ease of use (2) services provided (3) turnkey vs. customizable, and cost.

• Ease of Use: There were a number of software platforms that did not make the list based on difficulty to use, and more importantly, difficulty to export data.
• Services Provided: Client file management, billing, timekeeping, integration with MS Office/G-Suite, and accounting software are required.
• Turnkey vs. Customizable: Are you buying a “shell” that you have to build out yourself or a turnkey solution with processes prebuilt that can be tweaked.
• Price: Most follow the same pricing model, but per user cost is addressed.

Smokeball

Smokeball is a consistently strong product that is improving quickly. It is characterized as a turnkey product. The individuals who were the builders of Smokeball were the people at Time Matters when it was considered a leading legal software product.

• Ease of Use: 9/10
• Services Provided: 9/10
• Turnkey vs. Customizable: Heavily structured as a turnkey product. This is a positive for 99.99% of firms.
• Price: Three tier subscription model with pricing in line with Clio and Filevine.

Standout feature: Smokeball has a desktop app feature that runs more quickly than the standard cloud site. It also has a trust accounting module that allows you to do the full trust accounting separate from your firm’s accounting software. This is beneficial for those who want to limit visibility for the individual handling trust accounting.

Biggest Weakness: The trust accounting module is not tied to the bank account via live feed. This is hardly a weakness considering LeanLaw is the only other product that offers this, but with the roll out of Smokeball Payments this summer, this is a very strong product.

LeanLaw

LeanLaw is the cheapest option primarily because it does not have a built-in practice management system (yet). For firms that do not want client file management, document storage, etc., (or already use NetDocs), this is a great solution.

• Ease of Use: 10/10
• Services Provided: 4/10
• Turnkey vs. Customizable: Heavily structured as a turnkey product. This is a positive for 99.99% of firms.
• Price: The cheapest of all options if you are not using NetDocs or other document storage/client file management platform. If you are using NetDocs, pricing is likely still slightly lower, but still less functionality.

Services provided receives a 4/10 because there is no document management system. LeanLaw is purely a billing, timekeeping, and trust accounting tool (and a very good one). If the timekeeping, billing, and trust accounting were the only offerings for all products, LeanLaw would be a 10/10 and likely top overall choice.

Standout feature: LeanLaw is the only product I am aware of that has a native 2-way QuickBooks Online integration. This means that changes in QuickBooks Online affect LeanLaw trust accounting and changes in LeanLaw, affect QuickBooks Online trust accounting. LeanLaw also provides a “live” view of whether your trust bank account and corresponding client trust liability account are in sync. All other platforms have a native 1-way sync where actions in the billing/trust accounting software affect accounting software, but actions in accounting software do not affect billing/trust accounting software.

Biggest Weakness: Services provided receives a 4/10 because there is no document management system. LeanLaw is purely a billing, timekeeping, and trust accounting tool (and a very good one). If the timekeeping, billing, and trust accounting were the only offerings for all products, LeanLaw would be a 10/10 and likely top overall choice.

Time Sensitive Note: Worldox will no longer be supported as of 12/31/2026. Firms using Worldox that want to keep using separate billing and document management platforms, I highly encourage you to look at NetDocuments (aka NetDocs), the parent company of Worldox.

Filevine

Filevine is heavily marketed towards contingency firms, but don’t marketing fool you. If you enjoy highly customizable products, Filevine should be on your list of platforms to use regardless of practice area.

• Ease of Use: 7/10
• Services Provided: 10/10
• Turnkey vs. Customizable: Heavily structured as a fully customizable product. For attorneys that prefer this, remember that it is a significant undertaking to customize a product from scratch than to tweak an existing structure or workflow.
• Price: Multiple tier subscription model with pricing in line with Clio and Smokeball.

Standout feature: The platform does have a very high level of customization across the board, but it does excel with contingency firms.

Biggest Weakness: Many attorneys hear the “You can build it out any way you want” in sales calls and demos. This is the biggest drawback because most attorneys do not realize the volume of work that goes into building out the system. In some ways, it feels like a high purchase price for a “shell” where you need to spend the time building it out how you want. I’ve never met anyone who said “Building it out was less time or work than I thought it would be”.

Clio

Clio is the most recognizable name on the list and you can’t open an ABA magazine without seeing it on multiple pages. It’s a very strong product everyone has at least heard of.

• Ease of Use: 8/10
• Services Provided: 10/10
• Turnkey vs. Customizable: Heavily structured as a fully customizable product. For attorneys that prefer this, remember that it is a significant undertaking to customize a product from scratch than to tweak an existing structure or workflow.
• Price: Multiple tier subscription model with pricing in line with Clio and Smokeball. However, beware of the “XYZ isn’t included in your subscription” that leads to what feels like never ending additional fees that make it the most expensive product (when it was pitched as less expensive).

Standout Feature: Clio has a high level of customization across the board and is arguably the most powerful “off the shelf” product. I highly encourage people considering Clio to take an “all in on Clio” approach when possible. For example, a firm currently using LeanLaw & Gavel currently because LeanLaw does not provide document drafting or E-signature feature. If you move to Clio, you can use Clio Draft for drafting and Clio Sign for signatures (and do not need Gavel). One exception to the “all in on Clio” suggestion is Clio Accounting (for now) because QuickBooks Online integrates with software that Clio Accounting does not and the lack of integration results in a highly limited ability to do much from a cashflow management or tax planning standpoint.

Biggest Weakness: Clio’s family of products can result in a “nickel and dime” cost feeling. There’s nothing more frustrating than making a decision on a practice management system and then realizing that one thing you wanted is not included unless you also purchase one of their other products (on a per user basis for all users). This sounds easy to avoid, but when you talk with salespeople that reference all the benefits of Clio,

MyCase

MyCase was once at the forefront of every list, but has fallen off considerably. Unlike other platforms that started with a billing system and grew outwards, MyCase had a trojan horse (or so it thought): LawPay.

• Ease of Use: 6/10
• Services Provided: 7/10
• Turnkey vs. Customizable: This product falls in the middle of turnkey and customizable.
• Price: Multiple tier subscription model, but cheaper than Clio, Smokeball, and Filevine.

Standout Feature: Price. It is cheaper than Smokeball, Filevine, and Clio (but you get what you pay for).

Biggest Weakness: The lack of improvement (presumably from lack of investment in the product) caused this product to fall behind. The heavy focus on LawPay now has a limited benefit as a standalone product as all other products on this list also have their own payment processors (and pricing is almost identical). This isn’t a review of LawPay, but many use LawPay as the “trusted name” for legal payment processing and then realize that if they want to push credit card processing charges to their clients or setup recurring payments, LawPay does not offer that functionality or it is highly limited unless you use MyCase for billing. The MyCase/LawPay (AffiniPay is the parent company) brand did a full rebrand in the summer of 2025 and is now known as “8am MyCase” & “8am LawPay”. Hopefully the rebrand included significant efforts towards in the product to bring it back in line with where it once was.

Conclusion

Smokeball, Clio, and Filevine are roughly the same price for the equivalent benefits. If you want a turnkey product, Smokeball is the strongest option and if you want a highly customizable product, Clio & Filevine are the strongest options.

If you need a lower price point than Clio, Filevine, and Smokeball and you still need document storage/client-matter file management, then MyCase is the next best option.

If you don’t want a full “practice management system” that has client management, document storage, or the ability to grow with building out forms that help increase routine document preparation, then LeanLaw is the best option.