Bill every case the way it is actually paid, and see what is owed before it goes late.
Lawft is legal billing software built by practicing trial lawyers for solo, small and mid-sized firms. Hourly, flat fee, retainer, evergreen retainer, subscription and contingency matters all bill from the same system that holds the case file, so time, expenses, trust and invoices never live in separate tools.
Why Firms Bill in Lawft
One System for Every Fee Structure
Each case carries its own payment structure. Invoices pull from time entries, expenses, flat fees, retainers and subscriptions on that case, so a firm with hourly, flat fee and contingency work runs one billing process instead of three.
Bill the Whole Firm in One Run
Batch Billing generates invoices across every eligible case at once. Checks run before anything is created, so a bad deposit account or a missing recipient stops the batch instead of reaching a client.
See What Is Owed Before It Is Late
Invoices move through Sent, Viewed, Partial, Paid and Past Due on their own. Reminders go out by email or secure portal message, and the Past Due Report ages every balance.
How Billing Works in Lawft
- Capture time as you work. Start a timer from the navigation bar on any screen, or click it on a case to start timing that matter. Time rounds up to the next tenth of an hour and carries the billing code and rate for that case.
- Build the invoice. Invoice one case, or run Batch Billing across the firm. Include uninvoiced time, expenses and prior unpaid balances, then apply a discount, interest or tax adjustment.
- Send it and get paid. Create and Send emails the invoice as a PDF and shares it to the client portal. When you connect Confido for online payments, every invoice sent with a balance carries a payment link, and clients can pay by ACH bank transfer. Large balances can be split into installment plans.
- Follow up and reconcile. Scheduled reminders go to the client or billing contact. Payments post to the correct trust or operating account, and invoices and payments sync to QuickBooks Online.
Batch Billing
Month-end billing is where firms lose days and make the mistakes clients notice. Batch Billing turns it into one reviewed run.
- Choose the cases. Set the billing period and filter by practice area, lead attorney or paralegal.
- Choose what to bill. Include uninvoiced billable time, non-billable time, expenses and unpaid balances.
- Review before you generate. A summary of the full batch appears before a single invoice is created.
- Pre-flight checks. The batch is blocked, with the problem named case by case, if a case with trust funds has no operating account to receive them, a deposit account does not match the case default, or reminders have no recipient.
- No all-or-nothing failures. Invoices generate in the background, and one problem case does not stop the rest.
Built for Flat Fee, Retainer and Contingency Work
Most billing software is built around the hourly invoice. Firms that sell flat fees, retainers and contingency matters need different tools.
- Payment requests and installment plans. Request a set amount by a set date, into trust or operating, and split it into installments. The client sees only what is due today.
- Itemized bills. Show a flat fee, retainer, subscription or contingency client the work behind their fee. The bill is marked informational, so it documents value without creating a new balance.
- Flat fee payment splits. Record one payment and allocate it to trust, temporary funds and earned fees. Each part posts to its own ledger and its own QuickBooks Online account.
- Forwarded balances. Roll unpaid invoices into a new one. The originals are marked Forwarded, and QuickBooks Online is consolidated to match.
Guardrails on Client Money
- Deposit accounts lock after the first payment on an invoice or payment request.
- Payments on one invoice cannot spread across different trust accounts. Lawft blocks the payment and names the conflicting accounts.
- Applying trust funds to an invoice requires the trust and invoice accounts to match.
- Settlements post to trust in one step on personal injury cases. See the settlement workbook.
Billing Reports
| Report | What it answers |
|---|---|
| Accounts Receivable | What each case owes right now, with a revenue forecast |
| Past Due | What is overdue, aged 1 to 30, 31 to 60 and over 60 days, with the last payment date |
| Revenue | What came into and went out of operating for any period |
| Future Revenue | What is expected each month, by case, up to 13 months out |
| Hourly Case Collections | Hours logged, billed, invoiced and collected on retainer cases, by timekeeper |
| Invoice | Fees billed, collected, outstanding and past due across all invoices |
| Payments Received | Every payment in, split between operating and trust |
| Vendor | Expenses billed to each vendor |
Every report filters, sorts and exports to Excel. See all reporting.
What Your Clients See
Clients log in to the client portal and see billing built around how they are paying: flat fee totals and what is past, current and future due; retainer and trust balances; or the settlement statement on a contingency case. They view and download invoices, pay online or by ACH where it is enabled, and switch between cases with one login. Billing contacts see their invoices and payment requests, without access to trust or fee ledgers.
Connected to the Rest of the Firm
Time Management. Timers and time entries become invoice lines without re-entry.
Personal Injury. Contingency cases close out through the settlement workbook and post to trust in one step.
Business Insights. Billing data feeds the firm’s financial and team performance reports.
QuickBooks Online. Invoices, payment requests and payments sync from Lawft to QuickBooks Online, mapped to trust and operating accounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is legal billing software?
Legal billing software is the system a law firm uses to turn time, expenses and fee agreements into invoices, collect payment and track what clients owe. Lawft adds the pieces law firms need on top: trust and operating accounts, flat fee and contingency structures, and a client portal where clients view and pay their bills.
Which fee structures does Lawft support?
Lawft supports six payment structures: hourly, flat fee, standard retainer, evergreen retainer, subscription and contingency fee. Each case is set to its own structure, and invoices, payment requests, itemized bills and the client’s portal view all follow it. A firm can turn off the structures it does not use.
Can I bill every case at once?
Yes. Batch Billing creates invoices across all eligible cases for a billing period. You filter by practice area and attorney, choose what to include, and review a summary first. Pre-flight checks block the batch if a deposit account, trust setup or reminder recipient is wrong, and name the cases that need fixing.
Does Lawft sync with QuickBooks Online?
Yes. Once QuickBooks Online is connected, invoices, payment requests and payments sync from Lawft automatically, including batch invoices and flat fee payment splits mapped to trust and operating accounts. A payment that has synced is locked from editing so the two systems stay in agreement.
Can clients pay their invoices online?
Yes. Lawft processes online payments through Confido. Once a firm connects Confido, every invoice sent with a balance due includes a payment link tied to the invoice’s deposit account, and clients can pay by ACH bank transfer. Clients can also pay from the billing section of the client portal, where they see their balances and invoice history.
See Your Firm’s Billing Run in Lawft
We’ll walk through a month-end batch, a flat fee payment split and the Past Due Report using sample data.