Software for law firms: time, billing and matters in one Odoo

Software for law firms

Tracking billable hours, invoicing on time and keeping sight of revenue per matter - usually spread across a timesheet, an accounting package and separate folders. Odoo brings hours, billing, matters and accounting into one system.

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Where law firms get stuck

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Billable hours leak away
Billing on hours is laborious
Matters apart from the administration
No view of revenue per matter or lawyer

What Odoo solves for a law firm

Where law firms get stuck

Billable hours leak away. Hours are entered later from memory or loose notes. What is not captured directly is rarely billed.

Billing on hours is laborious. Collecting hours, applying rates and specifying neatly per matter takes a lot of manual work at month end.

Matters apart from the administration. Matter information and documents sit in separate folders or tools, apart from who worked on them and what they earned.

No view of revenue per matter or lawyer. Without a link between hours, invoices and matters, you do not know which matters and which people are profitable.

What Odoo solves for a law firm

Odoo connects matters, hours, billing, documents and accounting on one database. You capture hours where the work happens and bill on them directly.

Matters as projects. Manage each matter as a project with people, tasks, documents and budget, so everything around a case sits in one place.

Billable hours, straight onto the matter. Lawyers log hours on the matter - at the office or on the road - so nothing falls between work and invoice.

Billing on hours and rates. Turn logged hours with the right rates into a neat, itemised invoice per matter in one click.

Documents and accounting in one. Documents hang off the matter, and billing flows into accounting in real time - including revenue per matter and per lawyer.

From billable hour to invoice, without leakage

At a law firm the billable hour is the main source of revenue, and that is exactly where money leaks away: hours that are not captured straight away are rarely billed. In Odoo every lawyer logs hours directly onto the matter, with the matching rates and any client-specific arrangements. That work in progress is visible at any moment, so you do not have to reconstruct at month end what was done. The monthly billing run turns approved hours into neat, itemised invoices per matter in one go, including any fixed prices or tiers. Because hours, rates and invoices sit in the same system, the manual work of collecting and retyping disappears - and with it the errors and forgotten hours.

Matters, documents and the business side of the firm

Beyond the hours, a firm runs on matters, documents and new clients. In Odoo you manage each matter as a project with people, tasks, deadlines and documents in one place, and keep sight of new matters and referrers through CRM. The financial side - billing, costs, and reporting per practice area or per lawyer - runs in real time, so you see which matters and which people are profitable. Be honest about the limits, though: Odoo has no built-in features for client trust accounts, anti-money-laundering client due diligence or conflict checks. For those practice-specific parts you keep a specialised legal package, or we set up a controlled process - and let Odoo link underneath it as the financial and operational foundation.

Our own time tool: Updoo Timesheets

Because billable hours are the heart of a firm, we built Updoo Timesheets: a fast, low-friction way to capture hours on top of Odoo, so less time leaks away and more actually gets billed.

Is Odoo the right choice for your firm?

Honestly: Odoo has no built-in legal module with fixed matter templates, conflict checks or links to court systems. If your firm runs purely on such practice-specific features, a dedicated legal package fits better. Odoo wins on the business side - hours, billing, matters as projects, CRM and accounting in one - and can be linked to a legal package if you want. We say honestly what is smarter in your situation.

Alternative software for law firms

Odoo is not the only option. Legal packages are strong on practice management but often stand apart from the wider business. An honest overview - follow the links for the comparison. Price is an indication per user per month: € low, €€ medium, €€€ high.

Software	Strong at	How Odoo differs	Price
BaseNet	Legal practice management (NL)	Practice-specific; Odoo is broader on hours, billing, CRM and accounting	€€
Legalsense	Time and billing for legal	Standalone; Odoo brings matters and back office onto one platform	€€
Fidura	Office automation for law firms	Odoo also does projects, CRM and full accounting	€€
Odoo (via Radical Fanatics)	Hours, billing, matters and accounting in one	-	€€

Frequently asked questions about software for law firms

Is Odoo suitable for a law firm?

For the business side of a firm - billable hours, billing, matters as projects, CRM and accounting in one system - Odoo is strong. Odoo has no built-in legal practice module; firms that run purely on practice-specific features combine Odoo with a legal package or choose a specialised solution. We are honest about that.

How do you track billable hours in Odoo?

Lawyers log hours straight onto the matter, at the office or on the road, with our Updoo Timesheets as an extra low-friction time tool. Those hours turn into an invoice with the right rates in one click.

Can you see revenue per matter and per lawyer?

Yes. Because hours, invoices and matters sit in the same system, you see in real time which matters and which people are profitable.

Can Odoo link to an existing legal package?

Yes. If you want to keep a legal package for practice management, Odoo links underneath it as the financial and operational foundation, so you avoid double entry.

What does software for a law firm cost?

It depends on the number of users and the apps you switch on. Odoo charges per user per month plus a one-off setup. Ask us for an estimate based on your firm.

See Odoo on your firm's processes

In a 30-minute demo we show time tracking, billing and matter management live - on your situation, by a senior consultant.

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