8am™ LawPay vs. QuickBooks Payments

LawPay

• Designed exclusively for legal professionals, with IOLTA-compliant payment processing and trust account management built into the platform.

• Offers legal-specific billing, invoicing, and reporting tools alongside payments—enabling firms to accept credit cards, eCheck, and ACH, and access funds quickly.

QuickBooks Payments

• A general business payment solution that integrates with the broader QuickBooks accounting ecosystem, offering basic invoicing tools and support for credit/debit card and ACH payments.

• While it can be used for certain law firm workflows via integrations or custom setups, it does not include trust account tools or IOLTA compliance features out of the box.

Lawyers often choose LawPay because it was built specifically for legal practices and supports key requirements such as IOLTA/trust account compliance, next-business-day deposits, and flexible payment methods, all in one solution. 

While QuickBooks Payments offers robust accounting and general-business payment tools, it was not created to comply with legal trust accounting guidelines, requiring law firms to build custom workflows or use additional software to bridge the gap. 

LawPay tools include:

• Legal-specific workflows, including IOLTA-compliant trust accounting (automatic separation of earned vs. unearned fees)

• Support for payment methods, including credit and debit cards, eCheck, and scheduled payments

• Built-in time tracking, invoicing, and reporting tools

• Seamless integration with 70+ software applications 

• Next-business-day funding with no extra charge

• Pay Later legal fee financing that lets clients pay in installments while your firm receives full payment upfront

• User access controls and PCI Level 1 & SOC 2 security

QuickBooks Payments tools include:

• Online invoice payments by credit card or ACH

• Integration with QuickBooks Online for bookkeeping and reconciliation

• Mobile payment acceptance and recurring billing

• Automated bank syncing and transaction categorization

• Access to 700+ third-party business apps

LawPay offers a user interface tailored for attorneys, with multiple reviewers from G2 highlighting “ease of use and user-friendly navigation” and how well it integrates with legal case management tools.

QuickBooks Payments benefits from its tie-in with the broader QuickBooks ecosystem and familiar tools for small-business owners. However, some G2 users have reported issues with unreliable customer support, payment holds, and limited capabilities for specialized workflows. 

LawPay includes features tailored for legal professionals—such as automated fee separation for trust accounts, legal fee financing, and specialized workflows—making it easier to stay compliant and get paid faster without the need for manual workarounds. Many attorneys who switch from QuickBooks to LawPay are seeking a reliable solution that enables them to run their practices more efficiently, with U.S.-based customer support from a team that understands legal billing.

LawPay is a strong choice for solo attorneys. It’s easy to set up, requires no custom development, and comes with built-in billing and payment tools that help streamline daily operations. Solo practitioners and small firms also benefit from features like next-business-day funding, surcharge support, and responsive U.S.-based customer service—making it easier to manage payments without extra staff or complicated systems. As firms grow, LawPay scales with them, offering advanced features, robust integrations, and dedicated support for small, mid-sized, and large practices.

QuickBooks Payments charges 2.99% per transaction for credit and debit card payments, including invoices and digital wallet transactions. ACH bank transfers are billed at 1% of the transaction amount, and in-person payments using a QuickBooks card reader are charged 2.5%.

LawPay offers a no-contract $19 monthly price for unlimited users. There are no hidden fees to use all of its tools, including online payments, trust account protection, PCI compliance, billing and invoicing, custom reporting, integrations, and more. Visit our pricing page to learn more about processing fees.

Switching to LawPay and migrating your data from QuickBooks Payments is a straightforward process. You can connect your LawPay and QuickBooks Online accounts and import historical transactions in minutes. LawPay support specialists can assist with setup, ensuring minimal downtime.