Software Comparison Chart – Law Society of Alberta

Choosing the right technology is one of the most important decisions a lawyer will ever make. It impacts how you deal with your clients, the type of work you do and how you manage your workload so you can go home at night.

To help you choose the option that is right for you, we compared the main features and costs of some of the most commonly used practice management/accounting packages currently on the market. The options included below meet the Law Society of Alberta’s trust safety filing requirements.

In creating this comparison, our goal is to place the choices on a level playing field and give you a starting point to choose the optimal product for your needs. The prices and feature noted are based on the best available information, are current as of the date of publication and are subject to change by the vendors.

Before making any purchase decision, you should reach out to the vendors or your IT consultant.

We’re also happy to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to contact us at any time.

Limitations and Qualifications

Best efforts were made to ensure that the information provided in this chart was accurate when it was assembled. Some limitations should be noted.

This is a quickly evolving area and some of the information listed may have changed since being included in the chart. Products and features many have been added or deleted.
The chart does not, and cannot, purport to be comprehensive. There are other offerings available in the marketplace that should always be considered before making any decisions.
Information in the chart was obtained from public resources. There may be additional information available from private sources or other public sources that has not been included.
We did not independently verify information that was provided about software or a service. If a website indicated that the offering performed a certain function in a certain way, we included this in the chart and did not independently confirm that it in fact performed as described. Similarly, we did not evaluate the quality or currency of the output provided by any of these offerings.
Inclusion in the chart did not depend on confirmation that the tool has reached any threshold of use by the public.

If you believe that any information should be added, deleted or otherwise changed, please contact us.

Using the Chart

To use the chart below, select the filters that apply to your firm and that you are looking for in a practice management software. This will narrow down the options to software that fits your requirements Please note that you may chose multiple items when filtering. For example, under “OS,” you may filter to display results for Mac and Windows.

Once you have filtered the software, explore each option by clicking the “+” icons to the left of the entries. This will display further details and specifications for each software option.

You can use the search bar to search for specific words within the chart entries. To clear your filters and start again, click the “x” icon at the right of the search bar.

Product Name	Description	Firm Size	OS	Server Location	Pricing Model	Cost	Discounts for New Users	Onboarding Assistance	Backup	Backup Retention	Data Retention Following Termination	Encryption	Mobile App	Email Integration	Calendar Integration	Online Payment	Client Portal	Multiple Currencies	Integrated Accounting
AbacusLaw	AbacusLaw is a comprehensive legal practice management solution with built-in payments and complete legal accounting – tailored for specific practice areas. AbacusLaw provides law firms with a holistic toolset, from client intake, calendaring, documents and emails, to billing, trust accounting and payments. Real time dashboard insights and robust reporting complete the picture.	Small Firm (1-10), Medium Firm (11-30), Large Firm (31+)	Windows, Cloud	Canada, USA, User's Desktop	Monthly subscription, Annual subscription	$69USD/user/month	Yes; Depends on number of licenses and other criteria	Yes, included	Daily	User Responsible	1 month	Built-in - data at rest / Built-in - Data in transit; Database encryption is included, both in transit and at rest when using Abacus Private Cloud.	Yes - iOS, Yes - Android	Outlook	Outlook	Yes; Abacus Payment Exchange	Yes - included	No	Yes, Full Legal Accounting (Trust & General)
Acumin	Acumin is software designed specifically for law firms. It is one fully integrated practice management, time, billing, accounting and reporting solution that responds to the needs of time keepers, accounting and other support staff.	Medium Firm (11-30), Large Firm (31+)	Windows, Cloud	Canada, User's Desktop	One-time purchase of software licence, Monthly subscription	One time costs start at $1,250USD/license. Subscription fees start at $50USD/month/user	Yes; Volume, originating software, features selected	Yes, for a fee; Custom deployment services are based on customer requirements, the level of user interaction and change management opportunities. Fees are quoted in CDN$.	User Responsible	User Responsible	User Responsible	Built-in - data at rest	Yes - iOS, Yes - Android	Outlook	Outlook	No	Yes - add-on feature; Price varies	Yes	Yes, Full Legal Accounting (Trust & General)
Brief Accounting	Brief Accounting is a fully integrated time, billing and accounting program custom-designed for Canadian law firms. The team at Brief Legal Software works closely with lawyers to provide high-level support. Brief Accounting has been operating as a solution for Canadian law firms for over 30 years.	Small Firm (1-10), Medium Firm (11-30), Large Firm (31+)	Windows, Mac	Canada, USA, User's Desktop	Monthly subscription, Annual subscription, Tiered pricing based on service level (Basic, Pro, Enterprise, etc.)	Starting at $89.95CAD/user/month	No	Yes, included	User Responsible	User Responsible	Other	User responsible for data security	No	Other	None	No	No	Yes	Yes, Full Legal Accounting (Trust & General)
Clio	Clio is a cloud-based legal software platform that is meant to simplify operations, grow businesses and allow legal professionals to work remotely from anywhere. Their Suite of products, including Clio Manage and Clio Grow, helps to manage everything from client intake to invoicing.	Small Firm (1-10), Medium Firm (11-30), Large Firm (31+)	Windows, Cloud, Mac	Canada, USA	Monthly subscription, Annual subscription, Tiered pricing based on service level (Basic, Pro, Enterprise, etc.)	$69USD/user/month for our most popular plan	Yes; New and existing users can use promo code: LSA to get a discount on all Clio products.	Yes, included	Daily	3 months	3 months	Built-in - data at rest / Built-in - data in transit; Clio ensures that your data is secure using bank-grade 256-bit SSL encryption. Clio’s infrastructure is hosted in physically secure data centers that meet rigid SSAE 16 specifications. Geo-redundant backups are performed daily, and site security and privacy are routinely audited by third parties.	Yes - iOS, Yes - Android	Outlook, Gmail	Outlook, Google Calendar	Yes; Clio uses Clio Payments which is an in-house payment processor built by Clio.	Yes - included	Yes	Yes, but only with third-party integration; QuickBooks Online, Zero
CosmoLex	CosmoLex gives Canadian legal professionals a total modern practice management solution. The software manages everything from tasks and docketing to general and trust accounting, invoicing, document management, compliance reporting and more. CosmoLex can improve speed, efficiency and accuracy in operations while maintaining high standards of compliance and security.	Small Firm (1-10), Medium Firm (11-30), Large Firm (31+)	Cloud	Canada, USA	Monthly subscription, Annual subscription	$79USD/user/month	Yes; LawPay monthly fee covered by CosmoLex. Free login for external bookkeeper or accountant		Daily	2 weeks	1 month	Built-in - data at rest / Built-in - data in transit; 256-bit SSL in transit & at-rest encryption. 2-factor authentication	Yes - iOS, Yes - Android	Outlook, Gmail, Other	Outlook, Google Calendar	Yes; LawPay	Yes - included	No	Yes, Full Legal Accounting (Trust & General)
GhostPractice	GhostPractice offers a new alternative to legal trust accounting with an all-in-one practice management software for law firms. GhostPractice is a completely integrated front-office/back-office program that provides modules that are specific to lawyers and legal assistants versus those for bookkeepers and admin teams.	Small Firm (1-10), Medium Firm (11-30), Large Firm (31+)	Windows	Canada, User's Desktop	Monthly subscription	$55CAD/user/month subject to $550CAD/month minimum.	Yes; Volume license discounts available.	Yes, included	User Responsible	User Responsible	User Responsible	User responsible for data security	Yes - iOS, Yes - Android	Outlook	Outlook	No	Yes - add-on feature; Cost subject to Web License	Yes	Yes, Full Legal Accounting (Trust & General)
PCLaw	For more than 30 years, PCLaw has been enabling firms to manage matter information, bill and collect client payments, pay vendors, manage trust accounts, and track calendar appointments, tasks, time, and expenses — all from a single source. The software is compliant with Canadian trust accounting requirements.	Small Firm (1-10), Medium Firm (11-30), Large Firm (31+)	Windows	User's Desktop, Other	Monthly subscription	$112CAD/user/month	No	No	User Responsible	User Responsible	User Responsible	User responsible for data security	Yes - iOS, Yes - Android	Outlook	Outlook	No	No	Yes	Yes, Full Legal Accounting (Trust & General)
Soluno	Soluno is a user-friendly, cloud-based software that empowers law firms to manage their legal business with ease. Features include matter management, time/expense entry, billing, accounting, trust banking and more. The software allows firms to monitor performance, find new growth opportunities and increase efficiency with a full suite of financial management features backed by Soluno's support team.	Small Firm (1-10), Medium Firm (11-30), Large Firm (31+)	Windows, Cloud, Mac	Canada, USA, Europe, User's Desktop	Monthly subscription, Annual subscription	$79USD/user/month billed monthly, or $71USD/user/month when pre-paid annually	Yes; 10% off MSRP and a free full matter-history conversion when users pre-pay for a year	Yes, included	Daily	User Responsible	1 month	Built-in - data at rest / Built-in - data in transit; 256-bit SSL in-transit and at-rest encryption; field-level data encryption; optional 2-factor authentication.	No	Outlook	Outlook	Yes; LawPay, Gravity Payments, Fattmerchant	No	No	Yes, Full Legal Accounting (Trust & General)
uLaw	uLawPractice includes all the features needed to help deliver a positive experience to clients, automate practice and be Law Society/CRA compliant. Features include simple legal accounting, actionable analytics, automated court forms, cloud integration and more.	Small Firm (1-10)	Windows, Cloud, Mac	Canada	Monthly subscription, Annual subscription	$34CAD/user/month	Yes; New Entrepreneur Discount, Student or Called to Bar discount and Annual Payment discount	Yes, included	Daily	3 months	3 months	Built-in - data in transit; 256 Bit Encryption	Yes - iOS, Yes - Android	Gmail	Outlook, Apple, Google Calendar	Yes; Nuvie Payments, LawPay, TD Payments, Global Payments and Moneris	Yes - included	No	Yes, Full Legal Accounting (Trust & General)