Budgeting software for law firms with a law firm budget drafted from your books
Budgeting software for law firms turns last year's books into next year's firm budget and tracks it every month. Budgeter.ai connects read-only to the firm's QuickBooks Online or Xero, drafts the budget by account and month, compares it with actuals after each close and forecasts cash around slow collections, so partners know what the firm can afford before they distribute.
Read-only connections. Encrypted data. Cancel anytime.
Columns show budget, then actual. Example figures for a fictional firm.
Why a law firm budget breaks in a spreadsheet
Most small and midsize firms build the budget once a year in Excel, usually from a law firm budget template, and stop opening it by March. The problem is not the template. It is that the budget never meets the actuals again unless someone exports the profit and loss every month and pastes it in.
Law firm cash also behaves differently from the budget. Fees are billed in one month and collected two or three months later. A contingency practice can go a quarter without a settlement and then collect a year of fees in one week. Partners who draw on billings instead of collections find out in October that the firm is short.
Budgeter keeps the budget connected to the books the bookkeeper already closes, and the cash flow forecast runs on collections, not on what was invoiced.
What stays in your practice software and what Budgeter adds
Budgeter plans the firm. Your practice management system keeps running the matters.
Stays in Clio, MyCase or PracticePanther
- Time entries, rates and matter budgets for clients
- Billing, invoices and payment collection
- Trust accounting, IOLTA ledgers and three-way trust reconciliation
- Utilization and realization reports by timekeeper
Runs in Budgeter
- The annual firm budget by account and month, drafted from QuickBooks Online or Xero
- Budget vs actual after every close, with notes on the large variances
- A 13-week and 12-month cash forecast based on collections, and runway
- Hiring plans and what-if questions answered from the firm's own numbers
Practice management tools already post invoices and payments into QuickBooks Online or Xero, so the operating books carry the collected revenue Budgeter plans from. Nothing is written back to either system.
What a law firm gets from Budgeter
Each feature works on the firm's real books. There is no import file to maintain.
A budget built from last year
Revenue, payroll, rent, research subscriptions, malpractice insurance and marketing are proposed by month from your actuals, seasonality included. You change what you know better.
Cash forecast on collections
See the cash balance week by week for the next 13 weeks and month by month for a year, with planned payroll and rent, so draws follow the cash.
Budget vs actual every month
After close, every line shows budget, actual and the difference. A jump in case costs or software spend gets a written note instead of a surprise at year end.
Practice areas and offices
Group accounts into departments such as litigation, estate planning or a second office, and give each practice lead a read-only view of their own lines.
Hiring questions answered
Ask what a third associate at $120K, a paralegal or a lateral partner does to cash and margin. The AI CFO answers from the firm's numbers and shows its assumptions.
A pack for the partners
Export the monthly pack as PDF on Growth and up, or the model as XLSX or CSV for the firm's CPA at year end. Partners can log in as viewers at no extra cost.
How to set up law firm budgeting in four steps
Most firms review the first drafted budget the same day the books are connected.
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01
Connect the operating books
Sign in to the firm's QuickBooks Online or Xero with read-only access. Budgeter reads the chart of accounts and the monthly profit and loss of the operating side. Trust and IOLTA ledgers stay where they are.
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02
Approve the drafted firm budget
Next year is drafted by account and month from 12 to 24 months of actuals, so the slow summer and the December collection push are already in it. Group accounts by practice area or office and approve the version.
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03
Review the month after close
Once the bookkeeper closes the month, budget vs actual, the 13-week and 12-month cash forecast and runway refresh on their own. Large variances come with a short note naming the accounts behind them.
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04
Decide with the partners
Ask what a new associate, a lateral hire or a quiet quarter on a large matter does to cash, and export the pack for the partners' meeting.
The details of each connection are on the QuickBooks budgeting software and Xero budgeting software pages. Both are read-only and encrypted.
A worked year for a 14-person firm
Take a hypothetical firm with three partners, five associates and six staff, a mix of business litigation and estate planning, on QuickBooks Online with Clio posting invoices and payments. Collected fees last year were about $4.6 million, with a soft July and August and a heavy December.
Budgeter drafts next year from those actuals: payroll with the January raises, a rent step-up in May, research and software growing with headcount. The partners approve it in one meeting and set quarterly draws at a level the forecast shows the firm can cover even if collections run 60 days behind billing.
In September, case costs advanced on two litigation matters run $9K over budget and legal research is $2.7K over after a new subscription. Both are flagged with notes the week the books close. The managing partner asks whether the firm can add a fourth associate in January. The answer shows the loaded monthly cost and that cash stays above three months of expenses through the following August, so the offer goes out.
The hiring side is covered in more detail on the headcount planning page, and the monthly review on budget vs actual.
Law firm budgeting software compared
Each option suits a different size of firm. Prices are those published or reported in October 2026.
Scroll sideways for all columns
| Option | Price | Plans from | Setup | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excel law firm budget template | Your time | Whatever you type in | Rebuilt by hand each month | Solo practices with very simple books |
| Practice management reports | Included in your Clio or MyCase plan | Time and billing data | None | Matter budgets and timekeeper reporting |
| BigHand Budgeting and Forecasting | Quoted after a demo | Practice management and timekeeper data | Implementation project | Large firms with a finance team |
| No-code app builders | Builder plan plus build time | Tables you design | You build and maintain it | Firms that want a custom tracker |
| Budgeter.ai | $74 a month billed yearly, Growth $299 | QuickBooks Online or Xero, read-only | Same day, no consultant | Firms of 5 to 100 people that want a firm budget and cash forecast |
If your firm bills by the hour across 200 timekeepers and needs realization by practice group inside the budget, an enterprise legal suite is the better match and we would say so. If you want the firm budget, the cash forecast and an answer on the next hire without a project, start with Budgeter. The small business budgeting software page covers the simpler setup for a solo or two-partner practice.
Who uses Budgeter as law firm budgeting software
The common thread is a firm big enough that the partners argue about draws and hires, and small enough that nobody's job title is CFO.
Outside accountants who run the numbers for several firms will find the multi-client setup on the fractional CFO software page.
- Managing partners of 5 to 50 lawyer firms Set draws, rates and hiring against a budget everyone can see, instead of a spreadsheet one person maintains.
- Firm administrators and office managers Track overhead lines monthly and explain variances before the partners ask.
- Contingency fee practices Forecast cash through long gaps between settlements and see how much case cost the firm can advance.
- Flat-fee and subscription practices Plan estate planning, immigration or business formation volume by month and the staff it needs.
- Firms opening a second office Budget the new office as its own department and watch when it starts to carry itself.
Questions firms ask about law firm budgeting software
Connections are read-only and encrypted, and firm data is never used to train public models. Full plan limits are on the pricing page.
What is the best budgeting software for a law firm?
For a firm of 5 to 100 people that keeps its books in QuickBooks Online or Xero, the best fit is a tool that drafts the budget from those books and tracks it monthly, such as Budgeter. Large firms with a finance department usually buy BigHand or CCH Tagetik, which plan timekeeper revenue and need an implementation project.
How do you create a budget for a law firm?
Start from last year's actual revenue and expenses by month, then adjust for known changes: new hires, rate increases, rent, case costs you expect to advance. Set collections, not billings, as the revenue line, keep partner draws below the cash the firm actually collects, and review budget vs actual every month after close.
What percentage of revenue should a law firm spend on overhead?
Many small firms run overhead, meaning everything except partner pay, at roughly 40 to 50 percent of collected revenue, though it varies by practice and location. The useful number is your own trend. Budgeter shows overhead as a share of revenue each month, so a creeping rent or software line shows up early.
Does Budgeter replace Clio or our practice management software?
No. Time entries, matters, billing, trust accounting and IOLTA stay in your practice management system. Budgeter reads the operating books in QuickBooks Online or Xero, where Clio, MyCase and similar tools already post invoices and payments, and plans the firm budget and cash from there.
Can Budgeter see our client trust account?
Budgeter connects read-only and plans from the operating profit and loss. Client funds held in trust are not firm revenue and should not be in the budget. If your trust bank account is also connected to the accounting file, keep it out of the cash forecast so client money never counts as firm runway.
How much does law firm budgeting software cost?
Enterprise legal planning suites are quoted per firm after a demo. Budgeter publishes its prices: Small Business is $149 a month or $74 a month billed yearly, and Growth, which adds headcount planning, spend limits and a board pack, is $599 a month or $299 billed yearly.
Related planning modules
- QuickBooks budgeting software How the budget is drafted from a QuickBooks Online file.
- Cash flow forecasting A 13-week and 12-month view of cash built on collections.
- Headcount planning Test the next associate or paralegal hire against cash.
- Budget vs actual The monthly review with notes on the large variances.
See how long your firm's cash lasts before you connect the books
Enter a few numbers to see runway and the month cash gets tight, then connect QuickBooks or Xero to get a drafted firm budget and a monthly review.
Forecasts and scenarios are estimates based on your data and assumptions, not financial, investment, tax or accounting advice.