The LeanLaw Blog
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- Contingency
Introducing SettleFlow
SettleFlow is LeanLaw's name for the settlement and contingent-fee workflow already built into the Contingency plan, because for a contingent firm the settlement is the one event that decides a month's margin.
September 8, 2026 - Trust Accounting
Can I Run a Report Showing One Client's Trust Activity — Money In, Money Out, and Balance?
What a defensible per-client trust report has to show, and a quick test you can run on your own system to see whether it does.
September 7, 2026 - Billing
What's the Difference Between LeanLaw's Core, Pro, Contingency, and Elite Plans?
LeanLaw publishes four plans, not three. Here's exactly what each one includes and what actually decides which one fits your firm.
September 7, 2026 - Trust Accounting
Does LeanLaw Actually Move Earned Funds from Trust to My Operating Bank Account?
LeanLaw records a trust-to-operating transfer as a ledger entry, but moving the money at the bank is still a separate step your firm has to complete.
September 7, 2026 - Law Firm Best Practices
Switching From Clio: What Moves, What Doesn't, and How the Cutover Works
What actually moves when a firm switches from Clio to LeanLaw, what stays exactly where it is, and why a parallel billing cycle is how a firm proves the cutover before committing to it.
September 7, 2026 - Quickbooks
Will My Invoice History Migrate Into LeanLaw?
No, invoice-by-invoice history isn't recreated inside LeanLaw. Here's why that's the right trade, and what actually carries forward when you switch.
September 5, 2026 - Billing
How Do UTBMS Task and Activity Codes Work for LEDES Billing?
UTBMS splits legal work into task codes and activity codes so e-billing systems can read invoices consistently. Clients requiring LEDES billing are the ones requiring the codes underneath it.
September 5, 2026 - Hourly
Can I set my own time rounding increment instead of the default?
Why the increment your time entries round to is a billing policy decision you set deliberately, how it interacts with realization, and what determines whether one increment should apply everywhere.
September 5, 2026 - Trust Accounting
When a Client Pays Online, Does the Processing Fee Come Out of Trust or Operating?
The processing fee comes out of operating, never trust. The full trust deposit has to land intact; how firms handle that in practice is explained here.
September 4, 2026 - Accounting
How Do Online Payments Reconcile With QuickBooks Online?
An online payment through LeanLaw generates three separate accounting events: a deposit, a processing fee, and an invoice application. Here's why keeping those distinct is what makes reconciliation actually work.
September 4, 2026 - Billing
What Is a LEDES File, and Does LeanLaw Support LEDES Billing?
A LEDES file is a standardized electronic invoice format many insurers and corporate legal departments require. LeanLaw supports LEDES billing on its Pro and Elite plans.
September 4, 2026 - Billing
What payment methods and discounts does LeanLaw offer?
What actually moves the price of a LeanLaw subscription — plan tier, user count, and term — and where published rates, terms, and fees live.
September 3, 2026 - Billing
Can I Put Multiple Matters for One Client on a Single Invoice?
Yes, and the reverse is also true. Whether you combine or separate matters on an invoice is a client-based vs. matter-based accounting decision, not a setting.
September 3, 2026 - Legal Practice Management
How Long Does It Take to Go Live With LeanLaw?
There's no published rollout timeline, because there shouldn't be one. Going live with LeanLaw is a billing-workflow change built on the QuickBooks Online file you already have, and the variables that set your runway are yours, not ours.
September 3, 2026 - Accounting
How Does LeanLaw Handle Vendor Advances and Reimbursable Client Costs?
A vendor advance is an asset until it's billed back, or an expense if the firm absorbs it. LeanLaw records that cost against the matter regardless of which system it starts in.
September 2, 2026 - Quickbooks
Will my existing QuickBooks Online clients and matters sync into LeanLaw automatically?
Whether existing QuickBooks Online clients and matters carry into LeanLaw, and why how cleanly that happens depends on how those records are already structured.
September 2, 2026 - Accounting
Seven Signs Clio's Accounting Is Costing Your Firm Money
Seven observable symptoms of an accounting layer that's outgrown a firm, and what each one is quietly costing beyond the time it takes to notice.
September 2, 2026 - Quickbooks
Do I Need to Buy QuickBooks Online Separately to Use LeanLaw?
Yes, QuickBooks Online is a required, separate subscription for LeanLaw. Here's why that constraint is the product, not a limitation of it.
September 1, 2026 - Billing
Does LeanLaw Send the Invoice, or Does QuickBooks Online Send It?
LeanLaw sends the client-facing invoice; QuickBooks Online holds the accounting entry behind it. Here's why firms mix up which system does what.
September 1, 2026 - Billing
What does LeanLaw charge for credit card and ACH payment processing?
Why card and ACH processing pricing are structured differently, why which account absorbs the fee matters more than the rate itself, and where to find published rates.
September 1, 2026 - Quickbooks
What Happens When Your Billing System and Your Books Disagree?
Month-end reconciliation between a billing system and QuickBooks Online is mostly a hunt for definitions. Where the hours go, and how to diagnose the gap.
September 1, 2026 - Quickbooks
Is the Sync Between LeanLaw and QuickBooks Online Two-Way?
LeanLaw's QuickBooks Online sync moves data in both directions, not just out. Here's what that means for your books and how it differs from a practice management connection.
August 31, 2026 - Legal Practice Management
Does LeanLaw Integrate With My Practice Management or Case Management Software?
LeanLaw connects to your practice management system one way, for billing and trust accounting. Here's what moves, what doesn't, and what stays duplicated.
August 31, 2026 - Trust Accounting
How do I apply trust funds a client already has on deposit to their invoice?
How applying trust funds to an invoice works as an accounting event, what happens when the trust balance falls short, and why the timing is governed by your jurisdiction's rules, not your software.
August 31, 2026