Clio Accounting vs LeanLaw
Clio Accounting
clio.com
LeanLaw
leanlaw.coSide by side
| Figure | Clio Accounting | LeanLaw |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $49/mo | $55/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 4 |
| Spec score · Trust Accounting Software | 9.2 (#1) | 8.9 (#3) |
| Spec score · Law Firm Accounting Software | 9.2 (#1) | 8.8 (#3) |
| Spec score · Legal Trust Accounting Software | 9.2 (#3) | 8.9 (#5) |
| Company legal name | Clio's website footer identifies the maker as Themis Solutions Inc. (Clio). | A funding database identifies LeanLaw's legal name as UserFirst Software Inc. |
| Documentation and support | Plans include a help center, online user community, virtual training, and 24/5 live chat, phone, and email support. | The knowledge base covers setup, clients, time, expenses, billing, payments, trust accounting, reporting, administration, integrations and API topics. |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, Canada | Boise, Idaho, United States |
| Integrations | Clio advertises more than 250 app integrations, including QuickBooks, Xero, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, NetDocuments, Gmail, Outlook, and Zapier. | LeanLaw describes its NetDocuments integration as syncing client and matter data, and its integrations page also names Confido Legal and Billables.ai. |
| Purpose | Clio Accounting is legal and trust accounting software built for legal professionals and law firms. | LeanLaw provides law firms with timekeeping, billing, trust accounting, payments, and financial reporting built around QuickBooks Online. |
| QuickBooks integration | The QuickBooks Online connector syncs contacts, bills, payments, trust transactions, and operating transactions to ledgers. | QuickBooks Online is LeanLaw's native general ledger, with invoices, payments and trust transactions synchronized in both directions. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | 4.8 out of 5 from 9K ratings for Clio for Law Firms and Lawyers. | 4.4 out of 5 from 16 ratings |
| Rating on Capterra | 4.7 out of 5 from 1,750 reviews. | 4.7 out of 5 from 92 reviews |
| Rating on G2 | 4.6 out of 5 from 1,052 reviews. | 4.5 out of 5 from 1 review |
| Rating on GetApp | 4.7 out of 5 from 1,700 reviews. | 4.7 out of 5 from 92 reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 3.6 out of 5 from 299 reviews. | 3.9 out of 5 from 43 reviews |
| Reporting | The product provides financial insights, cash-flow views, vendor and expense management, and tax-reporting outputs. | Lean Insights provides real-time realization, collection-rate, days-to-collect and lockup reporting from live ledger data. |
| Support | Every plan includes 24/5 live chat, phone, and email support, an online help center, user community access, and training. | LeanLaw lists phone support at 888.882.3017 and says it typically replies to email within one business day. |
| Trust accounting | It separates earned and unearned funds, reconciles trust and operating accounts, and provides trust ledgers and reconciliation reports. | The platform includes IOLTA workflows with three-way reconciliation, trust-to-operating transfers, sub-ledgers and audit-ready reports. |
Plans
Clio Accounting
- Starter$49 a month
- CorePriced on request
- ElitePriced on request
- SignaturePriced on request
LeanLaw
- Core$55 a month
- Pro$75 a month
- ContingencyPriced on request
- ElitePriced on request
In their own words
Clio Accounting
Clio Accounting is legal and trust accounting software for legal professionals and law firms. It provides a system of record for firm finances and automates financial workflows, transaction matching, and reconciliation. The software keeps earned and unearned funds separate, reconciles trust and operating accounts, and provides ledger and reconciliation reports. Financial features include accounts receivable and payable, vendor and expense management, cash-flow oversight, and tax reports; bank transactions are matched to the firm's books automatically. Accounting is included with Clio plans from Starter upward, but it cannot be bought on its own and requires a Clio Manage subscription. Starter is listed at $49 a month, billed per user, and includes Clio Manage, legal accounting, and trust and operating reconciliation. Clio supports more than 250 app integrations, including QuickBooks and Xero, and offers an API for custom integrations and workflow automation. It is available on web, Android, iOS, and through an API. Clio was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
LeanLaw
LeanLaw provides law firms with timekeeping, billing, trust accounting, payments and financial reporting built around QuickBooks Online. It supports hourly, flat-fee and contingency billing. Trust tools include three-way reconciliation, automated transfers from trust to operating accounts, sub-ledger management and IOLTA reporting. The Core plan costs $55 a month per user and includes time and expense tracking, e-payments, reporting, trust accounting, professional invoices and two-way QuickBooks Online sync. Pro costs $75 a month per user and adds custom invoice templates, LEDES files, user permissions and matter-based accounting. Contingency and Elite pricing is custom. An active QuickBooks Online subscription is required; QuickBooks Desktop is not supported. LeanLaw offers a 14-day trial without requiring a credit card, though migration and QuickStart onboarding begin with a paid subscription. The mobile app shows matter details but cannot create or edit matters. The public REST API supports programmatic access to clients, matters, time entries, expenses, invoices, users and codes.