The right practice management software for a small law firm keeps matters, deadlines, documents, time, invoices and client trust money in one system, so a firm of two to twenty lawyers does not pay for and reconcile five separate tools. It should be priced per user, include trust accounting on the entry plan, and let the firm test it on its own work before paying.
LawAOS is law office software built that way. Self-serve plans run $29-$119/user/month, every module is on every plan, and a 7-day trial needs no card and charges nothing automatically. The plans differ in the AI allowance, included storage and the custom workspace domain.
The Practice plan is priced for growing firms of 2 to 20 attorneys at $69 per user a month, and includes 2,000 AI actions a month, pooled across the firm. A partner who uses the assistant heavily and a colleague who rarely opens it share one pool, so nobody is stranded at a personal limit.
A small firm usually has no operations manager. The lawyers open files, record time, chase invoices and answer client emails themselves, so the software has to make each of those a short job and keep the record straight without a dedicated administrator.
- One record per matter
- The matter holds parties, deadlines, documents, tasks, time entries, invoices and messages. A lawyer covering for a colleague reads one page instead of searching an inbox.
- Time that survives a closed laptop
- Timers run on the server clock, so a timer started on the office desktop keeps running through a closed tab, a sleeping laptop or a switch to a phone.
- Trust accounting on the entry plan
- Client ledgers, cleared and uncleared deposits and guided three-way reconciliation are included on every plan, because a small firm holds client money too.
- A client portal clients can use
- Clients sign in with a magic link and see only what the firm has switched on for them: shared documents, messages, invoices with a Pay button when Stripe is connected, and matter status.
Solo is $29 per user a month with 200 AI actions per user a month. Practice is $69 with a pooled allowance and more storage. Firm is $119 with ai actions with no counted ceiling, under fair use and a custom workspace domain. Annual billing gives two months free.
Each plan includes a monthly allowance of AI actions; top-up packs are sold separately and a firm may bring its own provider key at any time. Provider availability, fair-use, rate and abuse controls apply.
Because modules do not change between plans, a small firm can start on Solo or Practice and move up only when the AI use or storage calls for it, without losing or gaining features it has already built its workflow around.
- Buying billing software and practice management software separately, then keying time twice.
- Leaving trust money in a spreadsheet because the trust module was a higher tier.
- Choosing on a demo instead of a trial with the firm's own matters and invoices.
- Assuming a switch moves every record: check what the importer brings across before cancelling the old system.
Take the enquiry
A public intake form collects the enquiry, the lead moves through Prospect, Initial Meeting, Proposal Sent and Negotiation, and a conflict check runs before the firm says yes.
See the moduleOpen the matter
Converting the lead opens the matter and reuses the existing contact, with the fee arrangement set per matter: hourly, flat fee, contingency, retainer, hybrid or pro bono.
See the moduleRecord time and expenses
Timers and manual entries carry activity codes and billable flags; expenses carry categories such as Filing fee, Courier and Expert fee.
See the moduleInvoice and get paid
Unbilled approved time and expenses become invoice lines; the invoice is emailed with a PDF and a portal link, and recorded payments move it to Partial or Paid.
See the moduleReconcile trust
Enter the bank statement closing balance and the database computes book balance, client ledger total and the difference, then files the reconciliation.
See the module
Stated plainly, so you can decide before you sign up rather than after.
- The LawAOS Switch importer brings contacts, companies and matters from Clio, MyCase or PracticePanther exports or a CSV; a general firm-data importer is not yet shipped, so documents are uploaded and time, invoices and trust balances are not imported.
- There are no native iOS or Android apps; LawAOS is a responsive web app that can be installed as a PWA.
- Invoices carry one tax percentage per invoice, and overdue invoices are flagged daily for staff rather than chased with automatic client reminder emails.
- There is no QuickBooks or Xero integration; the general ledger is inside LawAOS.
Anything the list leaves open, our team answers directly.