Smokeball Review: Unlock $135K More Billable Time for Your Firm

Is manual time tracking holding you back?

If you’re researching platforms like Smokeball, you’re probably frustrated with lost billable hours, disorganized documents, or slow billing processes that eat into your real client work.

Here’s what’s really happening: Every missed entry is lost revenue, forcing you to work late—or worse, miss deadlines—with clients feeling the impact.

Smokeball tackles these issues with always-on time capture, robust document automation, and built-in AI matter assistants, so you can reclaim hours, bill more accurately, and spend less time on repetitive admin.

In this review, I’ll show you how Smokeball simplifies firm management from intake to invoice with features you can actually use daily.

Throughout this Smokeball review, you’ll discover in plain language how its AutoTime, document workflows, billing tools, and AI stack up against competitors and if it matches your needs.

You’ll find the features you need to decide with confidence—and see if this really fixes your law firm’s day-to-day problems.

Let’s get started.

Smokeball Overview

Smokeball has been dedicated to legal practice management since their founding in 2010. Operating from Chicago, I’ve seen their mission remain consistent: helping smaller law firms improve profitability.

What I find most compelling is their sharp focus on small to medium-sized law firms. This specialization means the platform feels genuinely tailored to the daily billing and workflow frustrations that I know smaller, busy practices face.

The recent introduction of their Archie AI assistant is a key development. As you’ll learn through this Smokeball review, this move is a smart investment that deepens their core automation promise.

Unlike many cloud-only competitors, Smokeball’s key differentiator is its automatic time and activity tracking. This core feature feels built by lawyers who truly understand the frustration of losing billable hours to manual entry.

They work with thousands of solo and small firms across North America, especially those in document-heavy fields like real estate and litigation that absolutely depend on robust workflow automation.

From my analysis, their strategy is clear: be a profitability engine for your firm. This focus moves beyond simple case management to address the core business need for sustainable efficiency and growth.

Let’s dive into the features now.

Smokeball Features

Lost in a sea of disconnected legal software?

Smokeball features offer an integrated solution to manage your law firm efficiently. Here are the five main Smokeball features that can transform your daily legal practice.

1. Automated Time Tracking (AutoTime)

Tired of manually logging every minute?

Forgetting to record time means lost billable hours and inaccurate client invoices. This directly impacts your firm’s profitability.

AutoTime automatically captures every second you spend in Smokeball, Word, and Outlook, so you’ll never miss a billable moment again. From my testing, this feature is a game-changer for capturing revenue, seamlessly converting tracked activity into billable entries.

This means you can reclaim hours previously spent on billing, boosting your firm’s revenue and productivity significantly.

2. Document Automation and Forms Library

Struggling with repetitive document drafting?

Manually creating legal documents introduces errors and consumes valuable time. This can delay case progress and frustrate your team.

Smokeball’s robust document automation leverages a library of over 20,000 legal forms, automatically populating them with matter details. What I love about this feature is how it eliminates manual data entry and ensures consistency across all your documents.

The result is your team can generate accurate, client-ready documents in minutes, freeing up time for higher-value work.

3. Case/Matter Management

Is your case information scattered everywhere?

Disorganized case files lead to missed deadlines and difficulty collaborating with your team. This creates unnecessary stress and inefficiencies.

Smokeball centralizes all your case-related information, from documents to communications, in one easy-to-access hub. This is where Smokeball shines; you get a complete overview of every case, allowing you to assign tasks and track progress effortlessly.

So you can maintain meticulous organization, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks and your team stays on top of every case.

4. Legal Billing and Trust Accounting

Are billing and trust accounts a constant headache?

Managing billing and trust accounts manually is prone to errors and can consume countless hours. This risks compliance issues and client trust.

The integrated billing features streamline invoice creation, trust account tracking, and financial reporting directly within Smokeball. This means you can ensure precise trust accounting and faster payment collection, integrating smoothly with LawPay and QuickBooks.

This helps you maintain financial integrity and transparency, leading to healthier cash flow and greater confidence in your firm’s finances.

5. Client Communication and Portal

Worried about secure client communication?

Exchanging sensitive information via insecure email risks data breaches and erodes client confidence. This can damage your firm’s reputation.

Smokeball Communicate offers a secure client portal for conversational messaging and encrypted document sharing. From my testing, this feature provides a safer alternative to email for sensitive exchanges, complete with two-factor authentication for peace of mind.

This means you can easily keep clients informed and share confidential information securely, fostering trust and improving client satisfaction.

You’ll actually appreciate how these Smokeball features work together to create a cohesive practice management ecosystem rather than disparate tools.

Smokeball Pricing

What’s the real cost of legal software?

Smokeball pricing uses a tiered structure, but higher plans require direct contact for a quote, blending transparent entry-level costs with custom enterprise solutions.

Plan	Price & Features
Smokeball Bill	Starts at $49/user/month • Invoicing • Time & expense tracking • Online payments • Trust accounting & reporting • Accounting integrations
Smokeball Boost	Starts at $89/user/month • All Bill features • Client & matter management • Document & task management • Secure client portal • Customizable dashboards
Smokeball Grow	Custom pricing – contact sales • All Boost & Bill features • Practice area templates • Advanced document automation • Word & Outlook integration • Communicate powered by Smokeball AI
Smokeball Prosper+	Custom pricing – contact sales • All Grow, Boost & Bill features • Lead & client intake • Advanced matter intake • Smokeball AI & AI Matter Assistant • Profitability & firm insights reporting

1. Value Assessment

Smart investment for growth.

From my cost analysis, Smokeball’s tiered pricing means you only pay for what your firm needs right now, with clear pathways to scale up. What impressed me is how the per-user pricing model offers predictable monthly costs, helping your finance team budget efficiently without worrying about surprise fees down the line.

This means your budget gets a legal software solution that grows with your practice, offering value at every stage.

2. Trial/Demo Options

Try before you buy.

Smokeball offers a 30-day free trial for their Boost package, giving you ample time to evaluate core features and workflows. What I found valuable is how this trial period allows you to experience actual productivity gains through automated time tracking and document management before committing to full pricing.

This helps you assess the fit and potential ROI for your firm, ensuring confidence in your investment.

3. Plan Comparison

Choosing the right fit.

The Bill and Boost plans offer transparent pricing for essential and comprehensive features, respectively, suitable for many small firms. However, what stands out is how the Grow and Prosper+ tiers introduce advanced AI and automation for larger, more complex practices seeking maximum efficiency and deeper insights.

This tiered approach helps you match Smokeball pricing to your actual usage requirements and long-term strategic goals.

My Take: Smokeball’s pricing strategy balances transparent entry points with custom enterprise solutions, making it a flexible choice for law firms looking to scale efficiently.

The overall Smokeball pricing reflects scalable value without hidden surprises for growing law firms.

Smokeball Reviews

What do real customers actually think?

This section provides an analysis of real Smokeball reviews, offering balanced insights into what customers actually think about the software, drawing from various user feedback sources.

1. Overall User Satisfaction

Users seem generally satisfied.

From my review analysis, Smokeball generally receives positive feedback, maintaining strong ratings like 4.4/5 on G2 and 4.7/5 on Capterra. What I found in user feedback is how users consistently highlight efficiency gains, particularly through automated features, which significantly boost their productivity and save time.

This indicates you can expect a positive impact on your firm’s day-to-day operations.

2. Common Praise Points

AutoTime is a consistent favorite.

Users consistently praise the AutoTime feature for automatically tracking billable hours, significantly reducing manual effort. Review-wise, the extensive document automation library and responsive customer support are frequently lauded, as they streamline workflows and provide quick assistance when needed.

This means you can expect to save significant time on billing and document creation.

3. Frequent Complaints

Some interface and mobile limitations exist.

While overall positive, some Smokeball reviews mention the user interface could be more intuitive initially. What stands out in customer feedback is how mobile accessibility and robust reporting functionality are perceived as areas for improvement, particularly for on-the-go users or those needing deep data analysis.

These issues might be minor inconveniences or depend on your specific needs.

The overall Smokeball reviews reflect a strong positive sentiment with specific areas for potential enhancement.

Best Smokeball Alternatives

Which legal software truly fits your firm?

The best Smokeball alternatives include several strong options, each better suited for different business situations and priorities, from budget to cloud accessibility.

1. Clio

Your firm seeks maximum cloud accessibility?

Clio excels as a fully cloud-based solution offering broader integrations (over 250) and superior remote access from any device. From my competitive analysis, Clio offers more flexible pricing options and a larger user base, making it a highly scalable alternative for growing firms.

Choose Clio if your firm prioritizes extensive integrations, cloud accessibility, and a more flexible, scalable platform.

2. MyCase

Prioritizing an intuitive interface and client communication?

MyCase is known for its user-friendly design and robust client portal, emphasizing simplicity and ease of use for small practices. What I found comparing options is that MyCase prioritizes intuitive client communication at a competitive, often more affordable price point for solo or very small firms.

Consider this alternative if you need an intuitive interface, strong client tools, and a budget-friendly solution.

3. PracticePanther

Looking for robust custom reporting and eSignature?

PracticePanther is fully cloud-based with a strong focus on CRM, billing, and native eSignature capabilities. Alternative-wise, PracticePanther provides more robust custom reporting, offering transparent pricing similar to or slightly lower than Smokeball’s total cost.

Choose PracticePanther for enhanced custom reporting, native eSignature, and strong client relationship management.

4. Zola Suite

Do you prefer an all-in-one platform with native accounting?

Zola Suite stands out by including native accounting, email, and calendaring within a single platform, reducing reliance on third-party integrations. From my analysis, Zola Suite aims for true all-in-one functionality, offering competitive pricing for firms looking to minimize integration complexities.

Choose Zola Suite if your firm desires a single platform with built-in core functions like accounting, email, and calendaring.

The best Smokeball alternatives depend on your firm’s specific operational needs and priorities beyond core features.

Smokeball Setup

Is Smokeball setup a headache?

Smokeball’s deployment is generally described as straightforward, offering dedicated support to ease your transition. This Smokeball review section breaks down what to expect for a smooth implementation.

1. Setup Complexity & Timeline

Not a difficult deployment at all.

Smokeball implementation is typically streamlined, with dedicated support assisting throughout the onboarding and initial setup phases. What I found about deployment is that users appreciate having a dedicated contact who provides prompt assistance, rather than navigating complex setup alone.

You’ll need to plan for initial training time, but expect a generally efficient process with vendor guidance.

2. Technical Requirements & Integration

Consider your current IT infrastructure.

Smokeball operates as a hybrid desktop and cloud-based solution for Windows, so you’ll want to ensure your computer equipment is compatible for optimal performance. From my implementation analysis, upgrading older hardware might be necessary to fully leverage the software and avoid performance issues during daily use.

Prepare for their team to assist with integrating scanners, printers, and existing computers into your new workflow.

3. Training & Change Management

User adoption is key for success.

While generally easy to use, some users report a slight learning curve, especially during the initial transition period. From my analysis, their customer service is extremely helpful during this learning phase, guiding your team through new processes rather than leaving them to figure it out.

You’ll want to prioritize active participation in training and leverage their support to ensure your team adapts quickly.

4. Support & Success Factors

Vendor support makes a big difference.

Smokeball consistently receives high praise for its responsive and helpful customer support during implementation and beyond. What I found about deployment is that their 24/7 Support Hub is a significant asset, offering reliable technical assistance and workflow guidance whenever your team needs it.

For your implementation to succeed, leverage their strong support system and ensure clear internal communication about new workflows.

The overall Smokeball setup process is generally straightforward, with dedicated support crucial for success, allowing your firm to quickly realize its benefits.

Bottom Line

Is Smokeball the right fit for your law firm?

This Smokeball review provides a decisive final assessment, outlining who benefits most, the software’s strengths and limitations, and my clear recommendation.

1. Who This Works Best For

Small to medium-sized law firms.

Smokeball is ideal for solo practitioners and firms seeking to automate tasks, improve time tracking, and centralize case information efficiently. What I found about target users is that firms generating high volumes of documents benefit significantly from its robust automation and forms library.

You’ll find success with Smokeball if your goal is to reduce manual effort and maximize billable hours through technology.

2. Overall Strengths

Automatic time tracking is a game-changer.

The software truly excels with its AutoTime feature, automatically capturing billable hours and its extensive document automation capabilities, acting as a virtual paralegal. From my comprehensive analysis, the ability to save hours on billing translates directly into increased profitability for your firm.

These strengths mean you can focus more on practicing law and less on administrative burdens, boosting your firm’s efficiency.

3. Key Limitations

Hybrid model presents some accessibility considerations.

While powerful, Smokeball’s hybrid desktop/cloud nature might not appeal to firms seeking a purely browser-based solution, and custom reporting options can be limited. Based on this review, some users report performance issues when switching between desktop and cloud components, affecting fluidity for some workflows.

I’d say these limitations are important to consider, but often manageable trade-offs given the significant automation benefits you receive.

4. Final Recommendation

Smokeball earns a strong recommendation for legal firms.

You should choose Smokeball if your law firm prioritizes efficiency through automation, accurate time tracking, and comprehensive case management. My analysis shows your success hinges on leveraging its core automation features to transform your firm’s daily operations and overall productivity.

My confidence level is high for firms aiming to modernize and significantly streamline their practice management.

This Smokeball review demonstrates significant value for law firms seeking efficiency gains, making it a compelling choice for modernizing legal operations.