To grow a stable and profitable practice, attorneys need accurate financial tracking, timely billing, and systems that keep them compliant with trust accounting rules.
Unlike general bookkeeping tools, legal-specific platforms are built to support the way law firms actually operate whether you charge flat fees, hourly rates, or work on contingency.
In this guide, we’ll break down the core law firm business models and recommend the best accounting solutions for each one.
This is part of our larger Legal Tech Guide for Solo Attorneys in 2025.
Law Firm Business Models: A Quick Overview
Before we dive into tools, it’s important we understand how your billing model shapes your accounting needs. Most law firms fall into one of three common categories:
Flat-Fee Model
You charge a set price for defined legal services (e.g. green card application, contract review). Billing is predictable, but you need systems to handle invoicing, payment tracking, and allocation of work over time.
Hourly Model
You bill clients by the hour, often with different rates for partners, associates, and paralegals. This requires time tracking, retainer management, and compliant trust accounting when funds are held in advance.
Contingency Model
You take cases (often PI, employment, or consumer) where you’re only paid if the case settles or wins. You may advance costs, track expenses, and split fees with co-counsel. Cash flow and clear reporting are critical.
Each model creates unique accounting challenges so the right software depends not just on your size, but how you get paid.
What to Look for in Law Firm Accounting Software
No matter your billing model, legal accounting software should support:
- Trust accounting with full IOLTA compliance
- Time tracking and billing
- Matter-based accounting to tie income and expenses to specific cases
- Reporting for revenue, expenses, outstanding invoices, and cost recovery
- Integrations with your practice management system and/or bank feeds
Now, let’s explore the best options for each model.
Best Accounting Tools by Law Firm Business Model
Flat-Fee Law Firms
These firms benefit from software that makes it easy to invoice once, collect payment quickly, and track costs across fixed-fee matters.
1. MyCase
MyCase offers strong billing features integrated with practice management, including flat-fee invoicing, online payments, and client portals.
- Why it works: You can create templates for common services, set payment plans, and track collections.
- Trust accounting: Built-in IOLTA tracking with safeguards.
- Pricing: $49–$89/user/month
2. Zoho Books (w/ customization)
If you're tech-savvy, Zoho Books can be tailored to support flat-fee billing and project-level tracking.
- Why it works: Great if you need granular control over invoices, taxes, or service-based reporting.
- Trust accounting: Not legal-specific, but can be configured with accountant oversight.
- Pricing: Starts at $20/month
3. PracticePanther
Offers flat-fee billing setups, integrations with LawPay for payments, and easy reporting.
- Why it works: Ideal for solo and small firms with repeatable service packages.
- Trust accounting: Native support, including three-way reconciliation reports.
- Pricing: $59–$89/user/month
Hourly Law Firms
Hourly billing firms need robust time tracking, invoicing by time entries, retainer management, and strict trust accounting controls.
1. Clio Manage + Clio Payments
Clio is one of the most established legal platforms with full hourly billing support.
- Why it works: Time tracking, invoicing, and trust accounting are deeply integrated.
- Trust accounting: IOLTA compliance with built-in safeguards and reporting.
- Pricing: $79–$119/user/month
2. CosmoLex
A true all-in-one legal accounting platform that includes general ledger accounting, billing, and trust accounting in a single tool.
- Why it works: Built for small law firms that need billing + bookkeeping + trust in one place.
- Trust accounting: Full compliance, including automatic three-way reconciliation.
- Pricing: Starts at $89/user/month
3. LeanLaw (with QuickBooks Online)
For firms that already use or want to use QuickBooks Online, LeanLaw adds legal billing, trust compliance, and matter-based reporting on top.
- Why it works: Combines the power of QBO with a legal-specific layer.
- Trust accounting: Supported via integrations and workflows.
- Pricing: ~$50/user/month + QuickBooks Online subscription
Contingency Law Firms
Contingency practices need tools to track case expenses, generate settlement memos, and support complex revenue structures like fee-splits.
1. CasePeer
Built specifically for personal injury firms, CasePeer helps you track medical records, liens, costs, and settlements throughout a case’s lifecycle.
- Why it works: Centralizes all the critical data that impacts settlement value and case profitability.
- Trust accounting: Integrates with QuickBooks or works alongside external bookkeeping.
- Pricing: ~$85/user/month
2. QuickBooks Online + Custom Workflow
If you’re operating lean or with fractional finance support, QBO can be customized for contingency reporting. You’ll need clear tagging, a settlement tracking process, and outside accountant help.
- Why it works: Flexible and widely supported, especially if you already work with a bookkeeper.
- Trust accounting: Needs to be set up carefully; not legal-specific out of the box.
- Pricing: ~$30/month + setup or advisory costs
3. Empower.com Settlement Dashboard
Empower.com’s dashboard helps contingency firms track and manage their settlement pipeline. It gives you real-time visibility into the total expected value of your active cases, projected timelines, and potential revenue.
- Why it works: Empowers PI and employment law firms to plan hiring, marketing, and cash flow based on upcoming settlements. Built for high-volume contingency firms managing dozens or hundreds of cases at once.
- Trust accounting: Works best alongside a general ledger or legal accounting tool like QuickBooks.
- Pricing: Typically custom based on firm size and needs
4. Smokeball (for hybrid models)
If your firm uses a mix of contingency and billable work, Smokeball can help track time, activity, and productivity even when you’re not invoicing by the hour.
- Why it works: Gives firm owners better visibility into staff workload and time spent per matter—helpful when calculating real case costs.
- Trust accounting: Integrated with Smokeball’s billing system or via accountant support
- Pricing: Custom pricing
Final Thoughts
Choosing the best accounting software for your law firm starts with understanding your business model. A flat-fee immigration firm has very different needs from a contingency-based PI shop or a litigation-heavy hourly firm.
No matter your model, trust accounting compliance and matter-level reporting are non-negotiable. Whether you go with a full practice management platform like Clio or CosmoLex, or build your own system using QuickBooks and LeanLaw, the right system should save you time, keep you compliant, and give you visibility into your cash flow.
If you're not sure what direction to take, we help law firm owners evaluate and implement billing and accounting tools that match their practice model.