Law Firm Management Software That Captures Every Billable Minute
Run each matter as a project, record time from any device and bill by the hour, fixed fee or retainer from one system. Clients get a free portal to approve estimates and pay invoices online.
4.6/5 on Capterra · 800+ verified reviews on
G2
Capterra
GetApp
Trusted by 70,000+ businesses in 150+ countries
Matters, Time, Disbursements and Billing in One Account
Avaza is legal practice management software that keeps the work and the billing together. Partners see where every matter stands, fee earners record time as they work, and the finance team bills from approved timesheets, disbursements and retainer credit instead of chasing spreadsheets. It suits a sole practitioner as well as a firm with dozens of fee earners, and client contacts join free.
Why Do Law Firms Choose Avaza for Practice Management?
Because nothing is re-keyed. An hour recorded against a matter already carries the right rate, waits for the supervising partner's approval and lands on the client's invoice with the disbursements — no copying between a case tool, a timesheet spreadsheet and an accounting package.
1. Run Every Matter as a Project
One project per matter, a section for each phase, and tasks owned by the responsible lawyer or paralegal, so the whole team sees what is due and how much of the fee estimate has been used.
Matter structure
A project per matter with sections for each phase — intake, discovery, drafting, closing — and tasks assigned to the responsible fee earner, in list, Kanban, Gantt or calendar view.
Your own task types and statuses
Define task types such as cases, filings or milestones, each with its own status workflow, priorities and colour-coded tags.
Matter details as custom fields
Add a matter number, practice area, responsible partner or key date as a custom field on projects and tasks, then filter, sort and group by it.
Documents with the matter
Drag files onto tasks and projects, preview them online and find everything from the project's Files tab.
2. Capture Every Billable Minute, Wherever the Work Happens
Time is recorded as the work is done — from a task, a phone or the weekly grid — rather than reconstructed from memory on the last day of the month.
Timers on any device
Start a timer from a task on your laptop or in the iOS and Android apps, and stop it anywhere. The entry lands on the timesheet with the matter and task filled in; pick the category when you stop it.
Billable and non-billable
Track both on the same matter, so write-offs and utilisation are visible instead of hidden.
Rates per fee earner or activity
Bill each matter at a project rate, a rate per timesheet category (drafting, court attendance, advice) or a rate per person — partner, associate or paralegal.
Six-minute rounding when you bill
Round to the nearest, or up to the nearest, 6, 15 or 30 minutes as time is added to an invoice, while the timesheet keeps the exact duration.
3. Review and Lock Time Before It Reaches a Client
Timesheet approvals give supervising partners a pre-bill review step without printing a pre-bill.
Approvers per matter or per person
Set a default approver for each fee earner, or nominate approvers per project and choose which members need approval at all.
Approve in bulk or line by line
Approve or reject a whole week, a single day or one entry, with email notifications keeping submitters and approvers in the loop.
Lock approved time
Optionally freeze approved entries so invoices and reports stay consistent after billing.
Client sign-off when required
Invite a client contact as a Timesheet Approver and they approve the hours before you bill them.
4. Pass Every Disbursement Through to the Client
Court fees, filing fees, expert reports, travel — capture them against the matter the moment they are paid, and bill them with the time.
Receipts from anywhere
Upload a receipt, photograph it in the mobile app, forward the email to your Avaza expense address or import a CSV.
Marked up and taxed correctly
Set a fixed or percentage markup per expense category and the right tax rate, and choose whether each expense is chargeable to the client.
Approved before billing
Route disbursements through an approval workflow with email notifications, lock them once approved and flag staff reimbursements.
On the invoice, not forgotten
Pull every unbilled expense onto the client's invoice with a click, grouped with subtotals alongside the time.
5. Bill by the Hour, Fixed Fee or Retainer — and Get Paid Online
Build the invoice from approved time, disbursements and fixed amounts, brand it for your firm and let Avaza chase the balance.
Every billing model
Add approved hours line by line, a fixed fee for the matter, or both, and group time by matter, fee earner, activity or task with as much detail as the client expects.
Branded, multi-entity invoices
Your logo, colours and labels, a template per language or jurisdiction, and separate businesses invoiced from one account.
Pay Now on every invoice
Clients pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or bank debit through Stripe, or via PayPal or Payoneer, with part payments and credit notes handled.
Reminders and Auto Charge
Schedule reminder emails around the due date, and on paid plans charge a saved payment method automatically for recurring invoices.
6. Retainers Held as Credit and Drawn Down as You Work
Retainer subscriptions issue the advance-payment invoice on schedule, hold each payment as retainer credit and apply it to the invoices for work delivered, with a statement the client can follow.
Set it once
Name the subscription, choose the frequency, start date and expiry, and let Avaza email each retainer invoice automatically or hold it for review.
Payment becomes credit
Each paid retainer invoice creates retainer credit, and Auto Charge can collect it from a saved payment method the moment the invoice is issued.
Draw down against the work
Invoice the period's time and disbursements, apply the available credit from the Actions menu, then bill the difference or carry unused credit forward.
Retainer statements
A PDF statement lists every retainer invoice, payment applied, credit drawn and credit expired in date order, ready to share with the client.
7. Keep Clients Informed Without Handing Over the File
Client contacts get a free portal login — unlimited, on every plan — and you decide exactly what each of them can see.
Estimates and invoices online
Clients approve or reject a fee estimate with comments, then see their invoice history, download PDFs and pay online.
Collaboration on your terms
Invite a client into a matter as a project collaborator, with task-level permissions on what they can view, create, update or comment on.
Internal stays internal
Post internal notes on tasks that clients never see, mark custom fields internal-only and keep sensitive discussions in private chat channels.
Role-based security for the firm
Give partners, fee earners, paralegals and finance staff the roles they need, and assign people to specific matters only.
8. Know Which Matters, Clients and Fee Earners Are Profitable
More than 30 reports run on live data, so the partners' meeting starts from this morning's numbers rather than last month's spreadsheet.
Staff Utilization
Billable versus non-billable hours for every fee earner, measured against their available hours, in one snapshot.
Project Profitability
Revenue from billable time and disbursements against cost rates, per matter and per person, with a budget threshold that warns before a fixed-fee matter overruns.
Receivables and unbilled work
Outstanding and overdue invoices in real time, plus every unbilled hour, expense and fixed amount before month end.
Saved and scheduled
Save a report with your filters, share it with the team, have it emailed as PDF or Excel on a schedule, or export to Excel.
Standardise the Work Your Firm Does Every Week
Templates, statuses and permissions turn a good process into the firm's default process.
Matter templates
Turn a standard engagement — a lease review, a company formation, an estate plan — into a project template with its tasks, estimates, priorities and assignments ready to go.
Custom statuses
Design the workflow each task type moves through — Drafting, Under Review, Filed, Closed — and colour-code tags to match.
Roles and permissions
Role-based security and task-level permissions control who can see, create, update, delete or comment on matter tasks, including client contacts.
What Makes Avaza Different?
Client contacts are unlimited and free on every plan, so every client can review estimates, approve time and pay invoices through the portal without adding to your bill.
Customer Support You'll Love
Our dedication doesn't stop once you've signed up. The support team is on hand 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday, ready to help with any query, big or small.
Ease Meets Expertise
Basic tools fall short as you grow, and advanced ones feel daunting. Avaza strikes the balance: an intuitive platform that doesn't skimp on powerful, high-level features.
Avaza Mobile Apps
Stay connected in the office or on the go. Track time and expenses and collaborate with your team and clients right from the palm of your hand.
Onboarding
Get up and running faster with personalised onboarding sessions tailored to your team.
“Great tool! The time management and reporting possibilities are just endless. For a very friendly price. Our Law firm's time-tracking challenge is completely solved, and we have more oversight on internal processes.”
Trusted by Teams. Recognized by Industry
Trusted by 70,000+ businesses
GDPR Compliant
Encrypted in transit and at restFrequently asked questions
How much does Avaza cost for a small law firm?
Start on the Free plan: one timesheet/expense user, one admin/finance user, five active projects, ten customers and five invoices and bills a month, with unlimited free client collaborators. Paid plans are $11.95, $23.95 and $47.95 per month, and additional timesheet or admin/finance users are $7 per user per month, so you only license the people who record time or run billing.
Can we bill in six-minute increments?
Yes. Turn on rounding in Timesheet Settings and choose to round to the nearest, or up to the nearest, 6, 15 or 30 minutes. Timesheets keep the exact duration; rounding is applied when time is added to an invoice and, optionally, in reports such as Timesheet Details and Project Profitability.
Can clients view and pay their invoices online?
Yes. Every invoice email and web view carries a Pay Now button, and clients can pay by Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay or bank debit through Stripe, or via PayPal or Payoneer. In the free customer portal they can also see their invoice and estimate history and download PDFs.
How do retainers work, and is this trust accounting?
A retainer subscription issues retainer invoices on a schedule, holds each payment as retainer credit and applies that credit to invoices for the work delivered, with a retainer statement you can share with the client. It is billing automation, not trust accounting: Avaza does not provide trust or IOLTA accounting, so client trust funds stay in your accounting or trust system.
Can we control who sees a matter?
Yes. Role-based security sets what partners, fee earners, paralegals, finance staff and clients can do, and people are assigned to specific projects only. Task-level permissions restrict who can view, create, update, delete or comment on tasks, internal notes are hidden from client contacts, custom fields can be internal-only and chat channels can be private.
Can lawyers record time from court or on the road?
Yes. The iOS and Android apps start and stop timers with a tap, capture expenses with a receipt photo and give access to tasks and chat. A timer started on the phone can be stopped on the desktop.
Does Avaza integrate with our accounting software?
Yes. Native two-way integrations with Xero and QuickBooks Online sync invoices, payments, contacts and taxes (and supplier bills with Xero), so billing done in Avaza lands in your books without re-keying. Zapier, webhooks and the REST API connect thousands of other apps.
Ready to bill every hour your firm works?
Start free, no credit card required, and move your first matter into Avaza today.