NetSuite for Law Firms

Optimized Operations, Always Compliant

Industry: Legal / Professional Services
Service: NetSuite ERP Implementation|NetSuite SRP for Services|Multi-Currency & Tax Configuration|Retainer & AR Workflow Design

Overview

Legal aid, public defenders, lawyers, and attorneys — for the most part, they are like any other professional-services business. Because they mostly require their clients to pay a fee upfront before any work begins, law firms pose numerous accounting challenges. Accounting software such as QuickBooks, Sage, or Xero may be insufficient to fully support these business needs.

Compliance, tax regulations, and different currencies all play a role in selecting the proper accounting software — and in this engagement, they were the deciding factors.

Why Legal Accounting is Hard

Retainers and Deferred Revenue

Law firms accept retainers, which means revenue is often recognized at a future date — long after the cash arrives. Recognizing it correctly without manual juggling is non-trivial.

Manual Reconciliation Risk

Transactions paid in advance and tied to future expenses make reconciliation a nightmare in legacy accounting tools, with manual interventions creating audit risk.

Compliance Across Jurisdictions

Tax nexus, multi-currency operations, and state/federal regulations vary by matter and client — and they have to be right every time.

How We Solved It

By implementing a combination of NetSuite ERP and SRP, NetSuite makes optimizing accounts receivable and controlling cash flow far easier. Configurable subsidiaries, tax nexus, currencies, and exchange rates let the firm stay compliant with all relevant state and federal laws — automatically.

1. NetSuite ERP for the Books
NetSuite ERP became the system of record for the firm — replacing QuickBooks/Sage/Xero with a platform built to handle deferred revenue, retainers, and multi-entity reporting natively.
2. NetSuite SRP for Services Delivery
Services Resource Planning (SRP) connected matter delivery to financials, so revenue recognition follows actual work performed rather than ad-hoc spreadsheets and end-of-month catch-up.
3. Subsidiaries, Tax Nexus, and Currencies
Configured subsidiaries, tax nexus, currencies, and exchange rates to match the firm’s footprint — so compliance with state and federal laws is enforced by configuration, not by manual review.

Key Outcomes

Time Saved Daily

A robust, scalable solution like NetSuite saves time and effort across day-to-day accounting work — minutes back across every transaction.

Lower Operating Cost

Reduced cost on a daily basis from automated workflows and consolidated tooling.

De-risked Compliance

Manual interventions on tax compliance and regulations were eliminated — drastically reducing the chance of errors that lead to audit findings.

Built-In Cash-Flow Control

Optimized accounts receivable and cash-flow controls keep the firm’s working capital healthy without spreadsheet acrobatics.

The Results

With a robust, scalable solution like NetSuite, the firm saves time and effort, reduces costs on a daily basis, and de-risks errors by eliminating manual intervention with tax compliance and regulations — turning legal accounting from a recurring fire-drill into a routine, compliant operation.

Organizations around the world trust us

Hear from

our clients

Hear from our clients

Lee Ebreo

VP of Engineering at Credit Ninja

These things would not have been achievable if we did not build our own in-house system and if we did not partner with Sphere to help us achieve our goals.

Selah Ben-Haim

VP of Engineering at Prominence Advisors

Our experience with Sphere and their team has been and continues to be fantastic. We keep throwing new projects at them, and they keep knocking them out of the park (including the rescue of a project that was previously bungled by another vendor).

Ben Crawford

Senior Product Manager at Enova Financial

I would expect to be delighted. It's been a really positive experience, working with Sphere, and I would expect you to have the same.

Mark Friedgan

CEO at CreditNinja

Sphere consistently prioritizes the needs of their clients, demonstrating both agility and teamwork. As an offshore team, they have been an integral part of our organization and we plan to continue growing with them.

René Pfitzner

Co-Founder at Experify

Sphere provided excellent full-stack development manpower to augment our team and help push our product forward. They are easy to work with, tech-savvy and proactive.

Bruce Burdick

Chief Information Officer at Integra Credit

We've been working with Sphere and its excellent consultants since our founding. I've found that they are true partners in the success of our business.

Jemal Swoboda

CEO at Dabble

The resources and developers that Sphere Software provides are skilled and have the required technical expertise, but more importantly, they have helped us build a culture of excellence within our team.

Arthur Tretyak

Founder and CEO at IntegraCredit

With Sphere, we were able to migrate in half the time it would take to train an additional FTE… and for a fraction of the cost. Our experience with Sphere has been exceptional.

Lee Ebreo

VP of Engineering at Credit Ninja

These things would not have been achievable if we did not build our own in-house system and if we did not partner with Sphere to help us achieve our goals.

Selah Ben-Haim

VP of Engineering at Prominence Advisors