LawAccounting vs MyCase
MyCase and LawAccounting both handle trust accounting and keep a general ledger. The difference is how far the accounting goes. LawAccounting, with CaseQube for practice management, gives a finance team multi-entity accounting, payables controls and matter-level reporting on the same records as its matters.
Accounting at the core.
The general ledger, trust accounting and accounts payable are the core of the platform.
Built for firms with more than one entity.
Multi-office and multi-entity accounting with consolidated reporting in one system.
Reporting a CFO can use.
Profitability by matter, attorney and practice group, with WIP, realization and budget vs actual.
Two platforms with different starting points
MyCase started as all-in-one cloud practice management software for small and mid-sized firms. It's now part of 8am, alongside LawPay, CASEpeer and Docketwise. Over time it added MyCase Accounting, a module for trust reconciliation, bank reconciliation and financial reporting inside MyCase.
LawAccounting began as legal accounting software built on Salesforce, with the ledger, trust accounting and billing at its center. CaseQube adds intake, matters, documents and settlements on the same Salesforce records, so practice management and accounting are designed to work together.
Both platforms now keep matters and money in one place. Where they started still shows in how deep the accounting goes.
LawAccounting vs MyCase, feature by feature
How MyCase and MyCase Accounting compare with LawAccounting and CaseQube on the work a law firm's finance team does every month.
| Area | LawAccounting and CaseQube | MyCase |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Built on Salesforce. | MyCase's own cloud platform, part of the 8am group. |
| Accounting | The general ledger is the base of the platform. | MyCase Accounting, a module inside MyCase. |
| Trust accounting and three-way reconciliation | Yes. Client trust ledgers are created automatically, with three-way trust reconciliation. | Yes. Client trust ledgers are created automatically, with three-way trust reconciliation. |
| Trust safeguards | Overdraft and commingling alerts, with an approval trail on trust transfers. | Automated IOLTA safeguards. |
| LEDES and UTBMS | Yes. LEDES 1998B and XML. | Yes. LEDES 1998B with UTBMS codes. |
| Bank feeds | Yes. 15,000+ bank connections, with automatic matching. | Yes. Bank connections through Plaid, with automatic bank reconciliation. |
| Cash and accrual | Accruals, adjustments and revenue recognition on matter close. | Reports run on a cash or accrual basis. |
| Financial reports | Statements, trial balance, period comparisons and custom reports with drill-down to the source transaction. | Customizable reports, including a general ledger report. |
| Matter-level costs | Hard and soft costs and client cost advances, by matter. | Expense tracking, with expenses reassigned across matters. |
| Accounts payable | Vendor ledgers, approval routing, payment runs and 1099 tracking. | Spend management and expense tracking. |
| Profitability reporting | By matter, attorney and practice group, with WIP, realization, effective rates and budget vs actual. | Case revenue allocation and reporting. |
| Intake | Intake forms, branching questionnaires and conflict checks. | MyCase Intake, built in. |
| Documents and e-signature | Included, with OCR search, templates and built-in e-signature. | Document automation and e-signature. |
| Client payments | Card and ACH, posted to the right client ledger, with trust and operating kept apart. | LawPay payments, with next-day access to funds. |
Where LawAccounting goes further than MyCase Accounting
Firms looking for a MyCase Accounting alternative usually have the trust basics covered already. What they need next are the controls and reports a finance team uses once the firm grows past one office or one entity.
What MyCase Accounting includes
MyCase Accounting works inside MyCase. It reconciles operating and trust accounts, runs three-way trust reconciliation against automatically created client ledgers, connects bank accounts through Plaid and matches transactions automatically. It also covers case revenue allocation, expense reassignment across matters, role-based permissions and IOLTA safeguards. Reports, including the general ledger report, run on a cash or accrual basis.
Multi-entity law firm accounting
LawAccounting runs multi-entity and multi-office accounting in one system, with consolidated reporting across entities and offices. If your firm operates more than one entity, ask MyCase how it handles consolidated reporting before you decide.
Legal accounts payable with approvals and payment runs
In LawAccounting, vendor bills move through approval routing, payments go out in batch runs, and each vendor has its own ledger with payment history and 1099 tracking. Attorney expenses follow the same approval path, and every cost ties back to its matter, with hard costs, soft costs and client cost advances kept apart.
Matter profitability reporting
LawAccounting reports profitability by matter, attorney and practice group, along with WIP, realization, effective rates and originations. Partners can compare budget to actual and one period to another, drill from any number to the transactions behind it and export to Excel.
Accounting periods and month-end close
LawAccounting works in defined accounting periods with open and close steps for a controlled month-end. Accruals, adjustments and recurring or reversing journal entries are part of the close, and revenue can be recognized when a matter closes.
Trust accounting in the same ledger
MyCase and LawAccounting both reconcile trust accounts three ways. In LawAccounting, every client and matter has its own trust ledger, earned fees move to operating with an approval trail, and alerts flag overdrafts and commingling. Trust reports for bar reviews come from the same ledger as the rest of the firm's books.
Practice management software with built-in accounting
MyCase is an all-in-one platform as well. Intake, matters, documents, e-signature, time tracking, billing and LawPay payments all sit in one product, and its ease of use is a big reason firms choose it.
CaseQube and LawAccounting cover the same daily work on Salesforce, with a few additions that matter to larger and contingency practices:
- Settlements. Fee splits, lien and medical bill tracking and a client disbursement statement for personal injury and other contingency matters.
- Rule-based matter workflows. Stage-based workflows, with tasks created and assigned by rules you set.
- Intake with conflict checks. Branching questionnaires and conflict checks before a matter opens.
- Documents. Templates filled from matter data, OCR search, built-in e-signature and secure share links.
- One set of records. A payment, a trust transfer or a write-off shows up in the matter and the books together.
Which platform is right for your firm
Choose MyCase if you're a solo, small or mid-sized firm with one office, you want an easy platform your team can learn quickly, fast access to card payments matters to you, and your accounting needs are covered by trust reconciliation and standard reports.
Choose LawAccounting if your firm has a finance team, runs more than one office or entity, handles settlements, needs payables approvals and practice-group reporting, or already works on Salesforce.
A test worth running: ask both vendors to demo the same scenarios from your own firm, such as a trust transfer across several matters, a settlement disbursement, a split bill and a year-end close. Seeing the same work in both systems tells you more than a feature list.
Already on MyCase? How to migrate from MyCase to LawAccounting
LawAccounting includes migration support for firms moving from their current system. Tell us how your firm uses MyCase today, and we'll plan the move from there.
- Scope the move. Our team scopes your migration and quotes it before you commit.
- Move your data. We bring your accounting data into LawAccounting and set up your trust and operating accounts.
- Train your team. Training is part of the migration work, so your staff knows the system before you go live.
LawAccounting vs MyCase FAQs
Does MyCase have accounting?
Yes. Every MyCase account keeps a trust ledger for each client, and MyCase Accounting adds bank and trust reconciliation, expense tracking and financial reporting inside MyCase. Firms that don't use MyCase Accounting often send billing data to QuickBooks Online through a one-way sync.
What is MyCase Accounting?
It's MyCase's built-in accounting module. It covers three-way trust reconciliation, automatic bank reconciliation, Plaid bank connections, case revenue allocation, expense tracking and reports that run on a cash or accrual basis.
Does MyCase do three-way reconciliation?
Yes. MyCase Accounting reconciles trust accounts three ways, matching client ledger balances to bank activity. LawAccounting also reconciles trust three ways, with client and matter trust ledgers, overdraft and commingling alerts and an approval trail on trust transfers.
Does MyCase support LEDES billing?
Yes. MyCase produces LEDES 1998B bills with UTBMS task and expense codes. LawAccounting produces LEDES 1998B and XML files with UTBMS codes.
Does MyCase support accrual accounting?
Yes. MyCase reports, including the general ledger report, can run on a cash or accrual basis. LawAccounting handles accruals, adjustments and revenue recognition on matter close as part of the month-end close.
Do I still need QuickBooks with MyCase?
It depends on whether you use MyCase Accounting. Without it, many firms keep QuickBooks Online for the general ledger. LawAccounting includes the general ledger, trust accounting, accounts payable and multi-entity accounting, so it doesn't need QuickBooks alongside it.
Can MyCase handle multi-entity accounting?
Ask MyCase how it handles consolidated reporting across entities and offices. LawAccounting runs multi-entity and multi-office accounting in one system with consolidated reporting.
What reports does MyCase include?
MyCase reports cover time and billing, trust accounting, case details and the general ledger, with customizable financial reports on a cash or accrual basis. LawAccounting adds profitability by matter, attorney and practice group, WIP, realization, effective rates, budget vs actual and drill-down to source transactions.
Is MyCase good for mid-sized law firms?
MyCase serves small and mid-sized firms. A mid-sized firm with a finance team should test multi-entity accounting, payables approvals, month-end close and practice-group reporting in the demo, since those are where the two platforms differ most.
What are good alternatives to MyCase?
It depends on what you need most. Clio, Smokeball and PracticePanther are other practice management platforms for small firms. CosmoLex combines practice management with built-in trust and business accounting. LawAccounting, with CaseQube, suits firms that want full legal accounting and practice management on one Salesforce platform.
How do I migrate from MyCase?
Start with a scoped migration plan that covers your accounting data and trust records. LawAccounting includes migration support, quotes each migration before you commit and includes training as part of the work.
Make your firm's accounting easier to run
See the general ledger, trust accounting, payables and matter reporting working on the same records as your matters. Book a demo and bring the scenarios your current system makes hardest.