Accounts payable for law firms

Accounts payable is every payment your firm sends out, including payments for court reporters, expert witnesses, process servers, translators, malpractice premiums, software subscriptions, and even rent and utilities. 

In a law firm it matters more than in most businesses, because a lot of those costs get advanced on behalf of clients and then recovered, so accounts payable for law firms requires expense tracking as much as a way to pay. Otherwise you risk strained relationships with the reporters and experts you depend on, cash tied up unpredictably, and costs that never make it onto a client invoice. 

Vendor payment automation for legal professionals can help manage these things as well as invoice processing and payment reconciliation.

Yes, and it’s why a lot of firms start using us. You pay with your credit or debit card, and your vendor receives a check or an ACH deposit. We also offer wires and single-use virtual cards if your vendor prefers that.  

Your expert witness who only takes checks doesn’t need to know anything changed, and you never have to open a conversation about payment terms. Card payments submitted before 2:00 PM ET go out by ACH the same business day.² 

For law firm cash flow management, the float from your card keeps more cash in your account while a matter is still open, and you can earn card rewards on costs you were paying regardless.

When you pay a bill in Melio, the transaction syncs to QuickBooks Online or Xero with the right vendor, category, and date, so payment reconciliation is faster. Our Xero and QuickBooks integration for law firms runs both ways: open bills come in from your accounting software, so whoever handles AP is working from the same list your bookkeeper sees. 

QuickBooks Desktop syncs on the Boost plan and above. Accounting sync is included from the Core plan up.

At Melio, approval workflows are not one size fits all, so you can set different rules and flows based on different thresholds. 

For example, you can set payments below $500 to go straight to your office manager who can pay it and move on. Meanwhile, payments above that amount can be routed to a partner who can avoid being a bottleneck by approving from our mobile app. Add more layers for a partnership, or skip approvals entirely if you’re solo. 

What makes a law firm payment approval workflow worth setting up is the record it leaves: every bill shows who approved it, when, and how it was paid so you’ll have answers for client questions six months later, or for your accountant when it’s time to close out the year. 

Custom approval workflows are available from the Core plan up.

Yes. One login covers the firm’s PLLC or PC, a property LLC, or any other entity you’re responsible for, and each keeps its own books, approval rules, and user permissions. You switch between them in a couple of clicks rather than logging out and back in. Perfect for firms that own their building through a separate LLC, or when partners run a second business alongside the practice.

No. Your vendors never create a Melio account, download anything, or change how they get paid. A court reporter who’s been receiving paper checks for fifteen years keeps receiving paper checks. Vendor management gets easier on your side and stays exactly the same on theirs.

Melio sends USD to more than 80 countries and pays in 30+ local currencies, so a translator in Madrid or an investigator in London is about as much work as a court reporter across town. They don’t need a Melio account either. International payments carry their own fees, listed on our pricing page.

Every payment carries its own record who scheduled it, who approved it, when it went out, how it was sent, and what the memo said. At year-end you can collect W-9s and handle 1099 filing in the same place you pay, and export the full payment history for your accountant. Audit trail documentation is the part firms underrate until a client disputes a cost.