17 years helping Australian businesses
choose better software
About CosmoLex
CosmoLex is the only cloud-based, total practice management, billing, and accounting system (no QuickBooks® required).
We used another system before and Cosmolex is more economical and user friendly.
No way to track date of loss and statutes of limitation. Takes a great deal of time to manage task lists.
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Filter reviews (340)
Practice Management and Accounting in One
Comments: One of the biggest things Cosmolex has done for us is allow us to bring out bookkeeping in-house. We went through 3 bookkeeping firms in 2 years and spent huge sums of money for our accountants to undo the mess they made. Our first year end with Cosmolex and in-house bookkeeping was a little rough but that was mostly cleaning up past mistakes.
Pros:
The product is generally pretty simple to use. Sometimes you will encounter a quirk that makes you wonder "why did they do it like this?" but once you understand the logic behind it you pick up quickly. The software is updated quite regularly.
Cons:
They were purchased by Tabs3 about a year ago and the fact that they are not independent is a little concerning.
Alternatives Considered:
Outstanding Practice Management Software
Comments: The greatest benefit is the inclusion of accounting functions such that the we can readily prepare the necessary reports for our CPA.
Pros:
The software is intuitive and straightforward. All necessary options are readily accessible from a simple menu structure, and the inclusion of detailed accounting functions is truly unparalleled.
Cons:
The only difficulty our firm has had has been in discerning how to remove or amend charges to clients once they have been billed and once payment has been received. However, via help and reading on the forums, we now understand this process and it is not difficult.
Duped by Cosmolex - Only Cost-Efficient if Solo
Comments: I initially recommended CosmoLex because even with the lack of integrations, I found it user friendly. And I still would recommend it to solos who know they will never expand because of ease of use. But if you are a solo who aspires to add staff, a larger or growing law firm, or someone who uses an outside accounting firm, I would say to just use Quickbooks. Transferring after a year because CosmoLex decided to jack up the price considerably is such a hassle, and we want to continue to grow without continuing to worry that we'll outgrow CosmoLex's functionality or that the price will continue to unexpectedly go up. Additionally, our accountant struggled with it, and urged the switch to Quickbooks.
Pros:
I actually liked this software for the most part in my first year of use. There were a lot of bugs. For instance, the email linking doesn't actually do anything, you have to manually sort and link emails. This is disappointing because it was basically sold to me as something that you could customize by adding rules like emails from x email address should be sorted to x client. But I otherwise found it fairly easy to use and I liked the functionality of invoicing, etc.
Cons:
I am giving this a poor review for the following reasons: (1) Cosmolex is really only price-efficient if you are a solo attorney. When I added a staff member and tried to add another timekeeper, I was told my price was going to effectively double!! As a result I am now trying to switch programs which is a huge headache, but the added costs made Quickbooks actually cheaper and Quickbooks has way more integrations and a payroll feature. (Plus you can find email archiving for FREE if you are a small business that takes care of that functionality for Cosmolex.) (2) They were not upfront about the pricing issues. I was told that the reason it cost money to add this timekeeper was because my previous timekeeper had been "grandfathered in" and that I should have learned about this pretty drastic change in an "update section." First, why wouldn't I have received this in an email? Changing the price and price structure of a product should require actual notice! Second, when I chatted someone to find this "update" they could not find it or direct me to it. (3) The lack of integrations (and the integrations they are getting) is really problematic. For instance, they now integrate with Net Documents, which is pretty expensive. For a product that must be targeted almost exclusively to solos as a result of the pricing structure, that doesn't make sense. Why not integrate with Box or Dropbox? And to not have a payroll integration or to work with existing payroll companies is difficult.
ProfitSolv Response
5 years ago
Hi Samantha, We're sorry to hear that your experience with CosmoLex was poor, but we appreciate your feedback. Please let us know if we can be of any help during your transition process. We regret that our support and training teams were unable to show you our long-standing integrations with Box, DropBox, OneDrive, etc. In regard to our pricing, our customer base ranges from solos to 50-lawyer firms. We respect your opinion and will pass your comments for improvements on to our Client Communications department. We wish you the best.
Alternatives Considered:
Impressed by Customer Service
Comments: Much more intuitive than our previous program.
Pros:
I like how easy it is to get help (by phone, email, live chat, or leaving a ticket). I am still in the "learning" phase of using the software, but the customer service team has walked me through each stumbling block and taken time to show me in detail how all the features work. I'm most impressed by how they seem to anticipate my future questions and address those as well as whatever concern I originally contacted them about.
Cons:
Nothing yet as far as functionality. Wish the data migration services were more affordable.
Integrated law firm software
Comments: This is a great replacement for PCLaw, with none of the installation issues.
Pros:
Cloud-based, good interface. The program integrates with OneDrive and other vendors' products
Cons:
Client disbursements don't allow for entering an item list - you have to write it out in one paragraph in the comments box.
Alternatives Considered:
Overall, I enjoy using Cosmolex.
Comments: Superb. I definitely have and will continue to recommend cosmolex to my colleagues.
Pros:
On a lighter note, aside from the very important features. I like the soft display interface. It is easy on the eyes, the monthly graph and pie chart is very great for keeping track of income.
Cons:
Accounting, but that was an issue with my personal knowledge rather than the software itself. Cosmolex care assisted.
The best legal accounting software I've ever used
Comments: Been working with Cosmolex for 2 years now. It is great and easy to use. I wouldn't ever go back to PCLaw.
Pros:
It is great and easy to use. It's simple to navigate.
Cons:
There is nothing about the software that I don't like.
Alternatives Considered:
Best product
Comments: CosmoLex has been a great product for Bing Law. Customer service is beyond helpful.
Pros:
Bing Law loves this program. User friendly and easy to navigate through. Beyond helpful for accounting.
Cons:
Bing Law would like to see more options in the pull down menus for billing matters and for the case matters.
Still new to the software but really happy with it!
Pros:
I like how easy it was to integrate into my business. I was using a different software before and it was very easy to make the switch.
Cons:
I currently have not come across anything that I wish were different.
CosmoLex for Law Firms
Pros:
CosmoLex is a very helpful software to have in a law firm. It has been perhaps my favorite software throughout the handful of law firms I have worked at. The case management feature is great as is keeping tasks available to see in order to follow up on time-sensitive items.
Cons:
There really is not much I dislike about CosmoLex.
2 Years Wasted
Comments: Cosmolex ended up being a major disappointment. Too many of the supposedly great features turned out to be practically useless. Clients can only upload one document at a time and then only if the name is 64 or less characters. Clients can only download one document at a time. The API is closed so automation is much more difficult and expensive. Email communications cannot be shared through the portal. The platform whereby custom invoices are created/modified is archaic and difficult to use.
Pros:
Document Integration with OneDrive and integrated billing
Cons:
The most important components of the software were rendered useless due to lack of most obvious features.
Alternatives Considered:
Great for small firms, not so great if scaling up
Comments: We've been using CosmoLex for 2+ years so they haven't scared us away...yet.
Pros:
Client portal is a terrific feature (when working), the ease of time entries is terrific. Very simplistic interface for invoicing and collecting fees. Integration with LawPay is cool.
Cons:
There's lots of bugs and seemingly easy fixes that get overlooked and/or ignored. The portal will shut down unexpectedly and/or clients cannot access multiple matters without additional email addresses. There is no function for recurring billing (i.e., ongoing or payment plan clients). Customer service is a nightmare to deal with and takes weeks to complete simple tasks.
Overall Review of Product- Our THoughts
Comments: Pros: One program for almost everything. Cons: No document assembly; you can only link one person to the client portal; glitches in program- the program emailed an invoice to the wrong person; can not email through program; glitch- I had to give access to everyone for everything because the limited access features did not work; customer service is not the best; calandar portion has glitches when it interfaces with gmail and office 365.
Pros:
It is a comprehensive software. Its like having Quickbooks and a practice management program in one. This is the best feature.
Cons:
Lots of glitches: (a) it emailed an invoice to the wrong person; (b) user restrictions do not work in my office; (c) calendar is not on the main page- usability is difficult for some tasks; (d) you can only have one person assigned to the client portal. Does not have email capabilities Does not have document assembly Does not have automatic assignment of matter numbers. Limited reporting features- you can not tailor reports (financial)- very limited.
ProfitSolv Response
8 years ago
Hi Michele, We appreciate your feedback related to your experience with CosmoLex. In regards to the issues you are having, please reach out to our support team directly at 732-595-9015 so that they can see first hand the issues you are experiencing, and assist with resolving. I will be entering the requests you have made as well, so that we can keep you up to date on their progress. As an additional note, we will be releasing Document Assembly within the next few months and are always open to hear your suggestions on improving our current reporting. Thank you again for your feedback, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Alternatives Considered:
Great for Small Firms
Comments: Very satisfied.
Pros:
Comprehensive client management, including accounting.
Cons:
Sometimes a little hard to use some of the features, but they are always listening to feature requests.
They are always innovating
Pros:
I wanted something that combined both the accounting and matter management in one place. What I like the most is the Customer Support. If I'm having a problem with taking a payment from a client, I can get on the phone and have them resolve the issue without delaying the client. I also like that they constantly ask us what other new functions we'd like to see. They are always innovating, and don't "drop" you once they've got your payment.
Cons:
I wish it would remember matter names and auto-populate that when adding a new client--then i'd like to be able to run reports based on the kinds of matters. I'd also like to be able to bulk mail using our clients' mailing addresses. Finally, I'd like to be able to add in court dates to the matters so that when I run reports, I can filter and organize them according to court dates, rather than client name. I like Cosmolex, but it's clearly set up for civil or other slow-moving firms, and not for traffic, which adds up to 10 clients a day and has many matter subject options.
Cosmolex has reduced the time for billing clients...
Comments: Cosmolex has reduced the time for billing clients down from 2-3 days to 2-3 hours.
Pros:
The ability to add charges on the go is a huge plus for the attorney. He can bill his time while in court.
Cons:
Old client invoices, there needs to be a way to unlock invoices to allow payment on outstanding debt. I've contacted customer service and we had a backdoor way of doing it but the newest update to CL has erased that ability. So now old clients who have no active charges are inconvenienced and must come into the office to pay. Would love to see more functions for old accounts!
ProfitSolv Response
7 years ago
Hi Alyssa. Thank you for your feedback. I am not sure I understand the issue you are having. Bills become locked for edits once a payment is received (which can be lifted), but future payments can still be applied, as long as there is a balance. You can resend old, open invoices which have a balance and then apply a payment to those whether by retainer, check or credit card. It does not matter how old they are. If there is something I am missing, or you have additional information which can assist, please email [email protected] and we will be happy to look into this further.
Love it!
Comments: Very well. Customer service is excellent. Very user -friendly.
Pros:
We swapped from Abacus to Cosmolex a few years ago and its a MAJOR improvement. I love how it is continuously updated to better the program. It is very user-friendly and I love how customizable it is. I also LOVE the upgrade with the new spell check!
Cons:
Nothing right now. We are loving the latest updates!
The accounting is very easy to use which saves time.
Comments: It helps all of our staff stay on the same page and everyone knows what is happening in each case.
Pros:
I like that the program has both accounting features and has the ability to hold all of our client's information in one. The accounting features are very easy to use. The support videos are very easy to use and if I need to speak to anyone they usually call the very same day.
Cons:
I would like the calendar to be able to send emails to all of the attorney's as right now when I calendar an event in one attorney's calendar it will not let me send him/her a reminder unless you put the event on another person's calendar. The point of putting stuff on the calendar is so they see the event and they have reminders
ProfitSolv Response
5 years ago
Hi Wendy, thank you for your feedback! We appreciate your comments.
Accounting is more precise and up to date.
Pros:
I chose CosmoLex primarily because it is both a client management system and accounting system in one solution. Additionally, CosmoLex pays my monthly LawPay access fee. All of this really helped my small, but growing practice save some money, while getting all the tools I need.
Cons:
I had to take down my website credit card payment link, but CosmoLex "prefers," and everything is recorded easier when, you process credit card transactions through their portal. There should be a way for me to accept credit cards on my website, like through native LawPay, or on the app.
ProfitSolv Response
5 years ago
Thank you for your feedback, Carlo! It's great to hear that you're enjoying all of our practice management and accounting features, as well as taking advantage of our LawPay offering. We really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review; understanding the pros and cons of our solution from a user's perspective is invaluable in our efforts to constantly improve.
2 year Cosmolex User
Comments: Having a cloud based system during Covid and into the future allows our firm to be flexible and current. Although pricey, the value is still there and we enjoy using this software.
Pros:
Cosmolex integrates the accounting software and features we needed with the management of our law practice. Support takes care of any issues that arise quickly and efficiently.
Cons:
Some parts of customization are not intuitive and assistance from customer support is sometimes required. Luckily, customer support is quick and easy to access.
Excellent Law Practice Management App
Comments: have been using Cosmolex since its introduction and am very happy with the application. I started using the software just for trust accounting, but found its easy-to-navigate interface so easy to use that I started keeping time and expenses and using the billing function as well. Then Cosmolex added full back-end accounting functionality and I ditched my QuickBooks app altogether. Cosmolex continues to add functionality and compatibility. It's a great app for managing your law practice.
Pros:
Easy-to-use interface Accurate trust accounting Broadening functionality Complete integration of functions Growing compatibility with other class-leading applications
Cons:
The only thing I am wishing for is the ability to generate documents from the Cosmolex database, but this is coming I am told!
Very great Practice Management software
Comments: It has been very easy for me to create a matter, do my billing and invoicing, and the client portal is a nice touch that makes my clients believe that our office is sophisticated.
Pros:
I love the instant live support chat function. It helps a lot when i have absolutely no idea how to navigate
Cons:
The pricing is very high compared to the Canadian counterparts
Switched from PC Law in December of 2019 and never looked back.
Pros:
Integration with other software is key to its value.
Cons:
As they roll out new features, I sometimes encounter bugs. They've got a great response time and great customer service though when that happens.
The ideal system for my purposes
Pros:
Cosmolex is a web based system that gives me full flexibility of where I work and on what device I access my data. Moreover, the fact that Cosmolex is a fully integrated billing, accounting and trust accounting system makes it the ideal system form my purposes
Cons:
I would like to see a more robust program for the migration of all of my prior accounting data - at least for the current C/Y of conversion so that I will have a full. accurate and consistently organized set of reports to submit to may accountant at year end. I would also like the migration to cover all of the detail for all of my Trust Accounts from day one forward to date of conversion to Cosmolex. This will facilitate any and all client or other audits of each Trust Account
ProfitSolv Response
7 years ago
Hi Robert. Thank you for your review and feedback. In regards to your note about migration. Financial Migration is never an 'easy' process. While most firms choose to migrate balances from a particular cut off date (we supply many automated tools to assist with that), you absolutely can migrate all previous transaction history. For your taxes, the current tax year is most relevant, but for your trust account you may wish to import past history. That does require additional time and labor, and cost if outsourced, but it is definitely doable. Any questions, please let me know.
Essential
Comments: Again, it's essential to my practice, and the built-in accounting is fantastic.
Pros:
I was reluctant to subscribe to a practice management solution, but now can't envision getting along without it. It has everything I need from time tracking to accounting right at my fingertips.
Cons:
I occasionally run into accounting difficulties in terms of writing off charges or editing past transactions, but I'm not sure that's a drawback of CosmoLex as much as it is my ignorance of accounting best practices.