Clio Payments vs LeanLaw

Clio Payments is an online payment processor built into Clio Manage for law firms. Clients can pay by credit or debit card, eCheck, digital wallet or Pay Later with Affirm through a firm website, secure client portal, text, tap to pay or QR code. Firms can set payment plans and recurring payments, store client card and eCheck details, and configure Autocharge triggers based on fee agreements. Payments are associated with client bills, recorded in Clio and synced to the firm's accounting platform. Clio says payments can go to trust or operating accounts, earned and unearned fees stay separate, and processing fees are not debited from IOLTA accounts. Listed transaction rates are 1% for eCheck and ACH, 2.95% for cards (3.75% for Amex), and 4.95% for Pay Later with Affirm. Online payments are included in Clio Manage subscriptions, with transaction fees applying. Availability is listed in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Puerto Rico; eCheck is limited to US customers. A seven-day trial is available.

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.