CosmoLex is cloud-based legal practice management software with a built-in legal-specific accounting system. Some of its key features include law office accounting, bank reconciliation, document management, and legal billing and payments. CosmoLex costs $89 per user, per month, for monthly contracts. You can try it for free for 14 days before purchasing the program.
What We Recommend CosmoLex For
As one of our best law firm accounting software, we recommend CosmoLex for lawyers and law firms that need a single solution to manage their legal practice and accounting, instead of having to work with QuickBooks or any other bookkeeping program. CosmoLex claims to be the only legal practice management software with a fully integrated law accounting package. While you’ll find some form of trust accounting in other similar programs, they are often limited to tracking trust balances and usually require QuickBooks to manage other tasks like check printing and three-way bank reconciliation.
CosmoLex Is Especially Good For
- Lawyers needing a fully integrated legal accounting package: CosmoLex’s built-in law office accounting system lets you manage all your trust (IOLTA) accounting in real-time without the need to close the system.
- Law firms planning to scale up but can’t afford to upgrade to an expensive solution: With a single pricing plan, you don’t have to spend more as your firm scales up and requires more advanced features.
- Law firms accepting credit card payments: CosmoLex integrates with LawPay, so your clients can pay their invoices online through credit cards.
CosmoLex Is Not a Good Fit For
- Lawyers working with poor or limited internet connectivity: As cloud-based software, you can’t access CosmoLex without an internet connection. If you’re working in an area with a poor or limited internet connection, a desktop-based software like PCLaw is a good alternative.
- Law firms that want integrated payroll: CosmoLex has no built-in or integrated payroll system like TimeSolv. TimeSolv integrates with Xero to help you process your payroll.
- Law firms using QuickBooks Online: If you’ve been using QuickBooks for managing your books, you may want to keep QuickBooks and integrate it with LeanLaw instead of switching to CosmoLex.
- Lawyers that need client intake forms: Client intake forms are useful for generating new leads, but CosmoLex comes up short on that aspect. You may need to look for specialized practice management software that supports client intake forms like Clio.
Are you looking for something different? If you think general bookkeeping software might be right for your law firm, check out our guide to the best small business accounting software.
CosmoLex Pros and Cons
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Can manage trust accounts without subscribing to QuickBooks or other accounting software | Cloud-based program can’t be accessed without an internet connection |
| Offers all features at a single pricing plan | No integrated payroll system |
| Accepts online payments with LawPay | Doesn’t include client intake forms |
| Includes free unlimited training and customer support | Limited integration with third-party software |
CosmoLex Pricing
CosmoLex offers a single plan at $89 per user, per month, for monthly contracts, and $79 per user, per month for annual contracts. With every account, you’ll get free login for your accountant, unlimited file storage, unlimited training, free data migration, integrated credit card processing for no monthly fee, and an unconditional 90-day money-back guarantee. If your firm has more than 10 users, you can get tiered pricing to save some money.
CosmoLex Features
CosmoLex combines legal-specific accounting and practice management in a single platform. It provides lawyers a wide range of features and tools to help them manage different aspects of their firm, such as time and expense tracking, trust accounting, task management, and reporting. Below is a quick overview of some of its top features.
Dashboard
When you log in to your CosmoLex account, you will be greeted by a comprehensive dashboard with direct links to three tabs: Firm, Me, and Recent Activities:
- Firm: Shows firm-wide information, including top five clients, overdue and unpaid invoices, and billing activities
- Me: Provides information on practice management-related items like upcoming events and pending tasks
- Recent Activities: Displays recent activities by the user, such as logins, setup, matters, and transactions
Below is a screenshot of CosmoLex’s dashboard to give you a sense of its layout.
CosmoLex Dashboard
Built-in Legal Trust Accounting
CosmoLex’s main feature is trust accounting, which is built into the system alongside general accounting, legal billing, and practice management. With CosmoLex, you can set up and manage individual client ledgers, print disbursement checks, import bank, and credit card statements for automated data entry, and create a comprehensive set of trust accounting reports like trust ledger transactions and trust client balances.
Legal Billing
The program supports various billing methods, including fixed fees, hourly, and contingency billing. CosmoLex incorporates all Uniform Task Based Management System (UTBMS) codes to help make the billing process more convenient. You can create and customize legal-specific invoices, batch-generate invoices for all your clients with one click and print invoices in bulk.
Accounts Payable
CosmoLex allows you to record the expense first and then pay using your credit card or bank account. You can add and pay bills through CosmoLex from the Accounting module found on the left navigation panel. From the Accounting screen, click Accounts Payable, highlight the bill to be paid, and then click Pay from the toolbar on the top of the screen. The Pay Bills screen opens, requiring you to provide bill information, such as payment date, payment amount, and payment type. Click Pay, and then the system will mark the bill as paid automatically.
Paying a Bill through CosmoLex
You can track paid and unpaid bills easily from the Accounts Payable page. See the screenshot below for reference.
Tracking paid and unpaid bills in CosmoLex.
Time and Expense Tracking
Whether you are in the office or out on the road, you can enter your time and expenses using any mobile device. CosmoLex uses its built-in timekeeping system, called Global Timer, to track time across each matter. Note that you can only open a single timesheet at a time. The Money Finder feature notifies a firm of unbilled events and tasks where time has yet to be tracked.
Matter Management
CosmoLex allows you to manage all events and items related to matters and cases. You can create trust transactions, timecards, expense cards, invoices, and trust transactions. CosmoLex makes sure that every document, billable item, and task is tagged to the proper client matter. You can add, edit, delete, and copy a matter from the Matters tab.
CosmoLex Matter Management Module
Document Management
Designed with built-in storage, CosmoLex provides a single platform to manage all your files, documents, case information, and compliance requirements. You can create original documents. Because it’s cloud-based, you can locate and retrieve any file remotely. CosmoLex also integrates with third-party storage providers, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, NetDocuments, and OneDrive.
Client Portal
The client portal provides a two-way messaging system for you to communicate with your clients. Through this portal, your clients can send and receive files as well as view and pay invoices online through credit cards. Items that can be accessed through the portal include messages, notes, events, documents, invoices, and tasks. All documents are stored within your CosmoLex Matter Records account automatically.
Mobile Application
CosmoLex’s mobile application enables you to access and use its key modules remotely, including Contact Management, Calendar, Matter Management, Time and Expense Tracking, and Notes. You can download the app on Google Play and the App Store.
Calendar and Task Management
Lawyers need a streamlined calendar to manage and track important tasks and deadlines. With CosmoLex, you can create calendar events with descriptions and locations and invite firm members to add events to their calendars. You can also set up billing status, priority levels, estimated hours, and due dates for each task.
Reports
You can generate a comprehensive set of general accounting reports with CosmoLex, including profit and loss (P&L) statements, general ledgers, balance sheets, and accounts receivable (A/R). Trust reports include trust ledger balances, trust ledger transactions, trust ledger activity summaries, trust transfer records, and three-way reconciliations.
Customer Service and Ease of Use
One of CosmoLex’s strongest features is its simple user interface. I personally signed up for the program, and I find it a delight to use. From the dashboard, you can access all the essential modules instantly, including Matters, Activities, Accounting, Contacts, Setup, and Reports. All functions can be completed through pop-up screens, so you don’t have to exit or leave the main matter page. Even if you’re not tech-savvy or you don’t have experience with accounting, you can learn how to use the software easily.
You can seek help from CosmoLex’s support staff through phone or live chat support, or by submitting a support ticket request through its website. You can also browse its online knowledge base of how-to articles, instructional videos, and GIFs. If you have complex needs, you can enlist the help of a CosmoLex-certified consultant.
CosmoLex Alternatives
Bottom Line
If your firm has been used to tracking legal matters and doing bookkeeping using two different programs, it might be time to switch to CosmoLex. It combines practice management and accounting in a single solution that is moderately priced compared to similar programs. With CosmoLex, you get two for the price of one.
