We took at look at the G2.com, the software platform that ranks the top software tools by recommendation and satisfaction, to look at what the best legal billing software rankings are.
What IS Legal Billing Software?
Legal billing software is the software that – in essence – lets you get paid. Quite important, you may think (to say the least).
We took a look recently at some of the best legal software, but billing software for law firms is a sub-branch of practice management and something that we thought a major network like G2 would provide interesting insights into what receives the best reviews and feedback in the legal billing software marketplace.
Good legal billing software should have the capacity to do several things, including –
- invoice
- time tracking
- accounting capabilities
Different programs will do these and other roles differently and to different levels of capability, but the programs will also often integrate accounting platforms and case management systems with the program to properly permit billing for specific cases, tro permit debt reconciliation and so forth.
The G2 analysis requires the billing software to track, calculate, request and process legal fees, so the standard set is comprehensive.
What to Think About with Good Billing Software
Working out which legal billing program is best for your law firm requires a holistic look at what you actually require. The need to have payment options and timing options will help to get paid more quickly.
However, you will also have to consider putting together the tax information, receipts, expenses and automated follow-up notices among other matters.
The billing and invoicing software will permit you to track billing for your law firm, including who billed, what the fees ere and when you received payment. But it will also give you a path to record data in our accounting system.
Although smaller law firms may use spreadsheets or word processing options to do some of these functions, good billing software will have apps that let you do it faster and easier.
What Are the Top 10 Legal Billing Software Tools?
According to the measurement standards set by G2, the top 10 are listed below, based upon G2’s proclaimed unbiased reviews and user satisfaction ratings and reports.
To see how G2 handle their rankings you can see their scoring methodologies here.
- Clio
- Smokeball
- MyCase
- TimeSolv
- Zola Suite
- LawPay
- AbacusLaw
- PracticePanther
- SimpleLegal
- Sage Timeslips
The G2Legal Billing Software ’10 Best’ List
Clio – This is leading software that G2 class as their favorite with more 5-star reviews than any of the others. The software permits the storage of all case, contact, bill and calendar information in one location combined with unlimited document storage.
It also has the ability to permit case details to be accessed from anywhere – ideal in a remote-working world.
Smokeball – A cloud-based practice management software tool, Smokeball provides insights into practice management with around 17,000 automated forms and what G2 describe as ‘the most robust MS Word and Outlook integration in the industry’.
MyCase – a complete case management system with tools to improve efficiencies within the law practice and to enable the scaling of law firm operations. All information from documents, contacts, calendars, emails, tasks and invoices – are available in a single, organized location.
TimeSolv is the fourth on the legal billing software list and proclaims how it helps lawyers increase their billable time and get paid faster using an easy-to-use software system that has been around since 1999 (with over $5.3 billion billed).
Zola Suite is said by the company to be the legal industry’s only end-to-end practice management platform that connects front-office and back-office tools to deliver “a single source of truth.” The software uses management tools and billing, accounting and reporting systems to deliver the results.
LawPay was billing software developed specifically for the legal industry that has evolved over the past 15 years as a popular payment solution for law firms of all sizes. The software provides accounts receivable/collections departments with a simple way to accept online credit card and eCheck payments from clients.
AbacusLaw includes case management, time, billing, and full G/L accounting operations.
Practice Panther – Used by lawyers in over 170 countries use PracticePanther to automate firms using a highly user-friendly and powerful suite of tools to provide billing and overall practice management solutions.
SimpleLegal is an intuitive legal operations management solution that helps corporate legal departments optimize the way they work. Our solution helps in-house legal teams simplify their complex legal operations to streamline their processes, increase productivity, and make better business and legal decisions. We offer e-Billing and spend management, matter management, vendor management, and reporting and analytics in a configurable package that enables integrations with other systems the legalRead SimpleLegal ReviewsGet a quoteSage Timeslips(51)3.2 out of 5Favorite
Sage Timeslips is our number 10 in the G2.com list, designed to make it simple to capture billable hours and increase productivity.
The fact is, most legal billing software is designed to do similar – if not the same, things. Increased billing, increased productivity, increased profitability. Ease of use and other factors are obviously key, but remember that the G2.com rankings are based on satisfaction surveys and hence are valuable from that viewpoint alone.
But any legal billing software requires a careful look at your own firm’s size, requirements, budget and the functionality you seek from the billing programs you decide to go with.
