Lawcus versus Smokeball

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• Smokeball

• Workflow Automation
• Lawcus workflows start from triggers such as a new matter, a submitted intake form, a completed task, a booked appointment, a signed document or a received payment. Actions include creating tasks, sending emails and texts, generating documents and intake links, and creating invoices. Workflow Automation is included on the Elite plan and above.
• Smokeball Workflows are chains of tasks. A task's due date can be set from a key matter date or from the completion of another task, and a workflow can be applied automatically to a matter type. Workflows are included in Prosper+ and sold as a paid add-on on Grow; they are not available on Boost. Sending emails or texts from a workflow is not a documented action; firms can set this up as a workaround through Smokeball's Zapier integration.

• User Experience
• Lawcus is a browser-based cloud application, so it runs the same way on Mac, Windows or Chromebook with nothing to install. A mobile app is also available.
• Smokeball Bill and Boost run fully in the browser. Grow and Prosper+ add a native desktop application, which runs on Windows only, alongside a web app.

• Task Management
• Lawcus tasks support multiple assignees, tags, start dates, due dates with due times, recurrence and subtasks. Tasks can depend on other tasks, send email, SMS or pop-up reminders, and be tracked in a Delegated view.
• Smokeball tasks support multiple assignees, categories, due dates, reminders, details, estimated duration and subtask checklists. Grow and Prosper+ add a task list with up to 10 saved views and filters by creator and assignee. Tasks use a due date only, with no separate start date or due time. Recurring tasks are not available, per a Smokeball team reply that was still being requested by users in 2026; repeating task sets can be built with Workflows.

• Intake Forms
• Lawcus intake forms support conditional logic on questions and pages, multiple pages, website embedding and sending through workflows. Intake Forms are included on the Elite plan and above.
• Smokeball's drag-and-drop intake builder supports If/Then conditional logic, repeating field groups, sections, a payment component, appointment booking, voice-guided and translated forms. Intake is included in Prosper+ and sold as an add-on on Boost and Grow.

• Customization
• Lawcus offers custom fields and practice-area defaults on Growth and above, and role-based permissions and a custom report builder on Elite and above. Custom feature development is available on Enterprise.
• Smokeball offers practice-area templates, branded intake forms, and staff permission levels: Full Access, Read Only or No Access for invoices and accounts, and Full Access or Read Only for expenses.

• Billing
• Lawcus includes billing, invoicing, trust accounting, bulk invoices and online payments on every plan. LEDES/UTBMS, QuickBooks and Xero, and invoice approval start on Growth; batch invoicing with reminders starts on Elite.
• Smokeball includes trust accounting on every plan, LEDES 1998B with UTBMS codes, QuickBooks Online, and its own payment processor, Smokeball Payments. Xero is available to Australian and UK firms only. Automatic time capture (AutoTime) is included in Prosper+ and a paid add-on on Grow.

• Pricing
• Lawcus publishes per-user pricing: Essential $39, Growth $59 and Elite $79 per user per month billed annually ($49, $69 and $89 billed monthly). Enterprise is quoted, with a 10-user minimum.
• Smokeball's US pricing page lists four plans (Bill, Boost, Grow and Prosper+) with no published price; pricing is quoted based on users, plan, contract term and add-ons. Several features, including Archie AI, AutoTime, Intake and Workflows, are sold as add-ons on some plans.

• Support
• Every Lawcus plan includes training and 24/7 access to help resources and AI support. Phone and email support, premium support and on-demand training are included on Elite and above.
• Smokeball offers US phone support Monday to Friday, 8 am to 7 pm CST, plus support tickets, remote assistance, a community forum and Smokeball Academy training. Every plan includes onboarding.

• Integrations
• Lawcus integrates with Gmail, Google Calendar, Microsoft 365 and Outlook, QuickBooks, Xero, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Box on Growth and above. Zapier and API access are available on Elite and above.
• Smokeball integrates closely with Microsoft 365, including Outlook and Word add-ins, and with InfoTrack for eSignature and e-filing, QuickBooks Online and Zapier. Its Gmail add-on and one-way Dropbox integration are available on Boost only.

• Data Migration
• Lawcus's migration team imports data from your existing software. Basic migration is included on the Enterprise plan; larger or more complex migrations are quoted separately.
• Smokeball provides a self-serve Data Import tool for CSV and Excel files covering staff, contacts, matters, opening balances, unbilled time and expenses, and invoices; tasks, memos and calendar events can also be imported on every plan except Bill. Assisted migration services and costs are confirmed in each firm's quote.

• AI
• Nova AI helps draft emails, text messages, notes, tasks and matter descriptions. Nova AI is included on the Growth plan and above.
• Archie AI answers questions about a matter, drafts and reviews documents, and works inside Word and Outlook. Archie Apps add tasks such as legal chronologies and audio transcription. Archie AI is a paid add-on on Boost, Grow and Prosper+.

• Mobile
• The Lawcus mobile app gives access to matters, contacts, tasks, documents, notifications and time entries.
• Smokeball's iOS and Android app covers matters, contacts, tasks, events, time entries, notes and files on Boost, Grow and Prosper+. Documents cannot be created in the mobile app.