While previously, most small businesses handled their accounting manually and accounting software was left for larger enterprises, even smaller firms have realized the importance of streamlining their accounting.

If you’re running a law firm or even a solo practice, you may not have enough time to do your accounting. Even if you have time, doing your accounting manually leaves more room for error and can be time-wasting. 

But what is the best accounting software for lawyers? After all, you aren’t a large enterprise, and most small firms cannot afford complex or expensive accounting software.

Which Accounting Software is Best for Lawyers?

The type of accounting software for lawyers will depend on the nature of your law firm and the type of business you do. You may need more complex business accounting software if you deal with many smaller clients with complex payment structures and have several junior lawyers in your firm.

On the other hand, if you have a small solo firm and most clients deal in a direct payment method, you can use small business accounting software to handle your firm’s accounting.

Here are the types of accounting software that law firms can use:

1.  ERP Accounting Software

ERP software is usually used by larger businesses but can also suit medium-sized law firms. Most ERP systems are designed to calculate various expenses over several departments.

While the accounting of a small law firm is usually too simple for ERP, many larger firms have several departments, and the accounting of each needs to tie in with a single system for the business.

For this, an ERP system is ideal. However, you’ll need a separate employee or department to manage the ERP system, and employees will require additional training. Nevertheless, once ERP is integrated with accounting firms, it can be used to streamline most financial reporting.

2.  Online Accounting Software

While ERP sounds fancy and practical, it’s unnecessary and expensive for solo lawyers and small law firms. Usually, the best accounting software for lawyers is usually online, where the lawyer can easily track expenses, different clients, and monthly profitability.

This software is also easy to use and doesn’t require technical integration with existing business systems. It’s also very effective for service businesses and has a cloud-based interface that lawyers can use from anywhere.

Simply log into the system and update your costs as you receive client payments on the spot. Best of all, this accounting software for small businesses is more affordable for solo businesses.

3.  POS Accounting Software

While this type of accounting software is more suited to businesses that sell physical goods, it can also be used for service businesses. If you’re a lawyer, you may find the POS accounting software easy to use and ideal for recording monthly expenses.

This software is highly customizable, so you can change it to suit your clientele list and expected payment schedule.

However, as a whole, online accounting software is the best accounting software for lawyers.