Overview

MatterX is a legal practice and finance platform built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. It suits Australian and New Zealand firms that want matters, trust accounting and financial workflows tied into Microsoft services. The free option is tightly capped; firms needing a full practice platform should expect custom pricing.

Key features

Legal Finance brings client and matter management together with time recording, billing, diary management, safe custody records and financial reporting. That connected scope suits firms looking to manage operational and financial work in one platform, rather than those seeking only a trust ledger.

Trust accounting includes three-way and bank reconciliation, statutory deposits, controlled money handling, disbursement approvals and compliance reports. MatterX describes the service as NSW Law Society certified. Dual payment authorisation, access controls, a ban on backdating, audit trails and compliance exception alerts are practical safeguards for firms responsible for client funds.

MatterX connects with Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Power BI, Power Automate, Power Apps, Copilot and Dataverse. SharePoint-based document management adds automatic matter folders, version control, full-text search and granular security. This is a strong fit for firms already invested in Microsoft; firms that keep Xero for general accounting can instead use MatterX's configuration to sync matters, billing and trust accounting bidirectionally.

Frontdesk, an Outlook add-in that syncs emails, meetings and calls to matters and SharePoint, is in preview. Crew, a suite of eight AI agents that can take actions in Business Central, is also in preview. Treat both as emerging options rather than established foundations for a firm's workflow. Contra, Fresh Press, SharePoint, Dot to Dot and Word Up are marked as coming in 2026, so they should not drive a purchase decision today.

Pricing

MatterX uses a freemium model, but its firm plans are tailored by size and offered by personalised quote, with custom pricing rather than published rates. Plans are month to month and include implementation, training and free data export at any time.

Good Minutes: Free. It allows up to five matters and includes automatic activity capture, six-minute billing increments and privacy controls. This is a useful low-commitment option for a very small workload, but the matter cap makes it unsuitable as a growing firm's long-term platform.
Base: custom pricing for solo practitioners and small firms with 1–5 lawyers. It includes unlimited matters and clients, certified trust accounting, SharePoint document management and Microsoft 365 integration. This is the entry point for firms that need the full system, though there is no published rate to compare against a budget.
Professional: custom pricing for growing firms with 5–30 lawyers. It adds the Frontdesk preview, Contra, Fresh Press, eight Crew AI agents, priority support with an 8-hour response and quarterly business reviews. The support commitment and added tools may suit firms scaling their operations, but several features are previews or marked as coming in 2026.
Premium: custom pricing for mid-market and enterprise firms with 30+ lawyers. It includes everything in Professional, plus SharePoint DMS, Dot to Dot, Word Up, managed services, custom integrations, a dedicated account manager and custom Power BI dashboards. This is the tier for firms needing tailored services and reporting, not smaller practices looking for a simple fixed-price package.

Base includes Australian-based support; Professional specifies priority support with an 8-hour response. The plans' month-to-month terms and free export lower switching friction, while quote-based pricing makes cost comparison harder.

Platforms

MatterX is available on the web. Its foundation in Dynamics 365 Business Central and integration with Microsoft 365 make it most compelling for firms already working in that ecosystem.

Who it's for

MatterX is aimed at Australian and New Zealand law firms, with tiers spanning solo practices through enterprise firms. It is particularly relevant to firms that need trust controls and want legal finance connected to Microsoft tools or a Xero general-accounting setup. Firms outside that regional focus, or those wanting published per-user pricing, should compare other options before committing.

Pros and cons

Pro: Trust accounting combines three-way reconciliation with approval controls, audit trails and compliance safeguards, which is valuable for firms handling client money.
Pro: Matter management, billing, reporting and Microsoft integrations form a broad connected workflow, with a Xero sync option for firms that retain that accounting system.
Pro: Month-to-month contracts and free data export preserve flexibility if a firm's needs change.
Con: The free tier stops at five matters, so it is a trial-sized fit rather than a viable option for many active practices.
Con: Firm plans have custom pricing, which makes upfront budget and competitor comparisons difficult.
Con: Frontdesk and Crew are previews, while several other named products are marked as coming in 2026; firms should not rely on them as current capabilities.

Alternatives

For a wider comparison, browse Trust Accounting Software.

CosmoLex is worth considering for firms seeking a paid web and mobile option with trust accounting and ledgers in its $49.00 USD per month Launch plan.
LeanLaw may suit firms that want paid time and expense tracking, e-payments and IOLTA trust accounting, with a $55.00 USD per month Core plan.
LexNebulis is an alternative for firms seeking free, open-source, self-hosted software.
MyCase Legal Accounting may fit firms already using MyCase that want accounting as an add-on, with three-way trust reconciliations in its $39.00 USD per month plan.
Smokeball is another paid option; its Bill plan starts at $59.00 USD per month per user, excluding GST.
Clio Accounting is worth comparing for firms seeking legal accounting built into Clio Manage, with a $49.00 USD per month Starter plan.
LegalClaw is a free, self-hosted alternative.
PracticePanther is another paid practice-management option to compare.

Verdict

MatterX is a strong candidate for Australian and New Zealand firms that need controlled trust accounting and want legal finance integrated with Microsoft services, while retaining a Xero option. Its broad workflow and flexible monthly terms are appealing, but the five-matter free cap, unpublished firm-plan prices and preview-stage tools make it a weaker fit for buyers who need predictable pricing or mature availability across every feature. Choose it for the Microsoft-centred legal finance and trust controls; look elsewhere if price certainty is the priority.

	LegalClaw	MatterX
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No
Paid from	Free	Free
Platforms	api, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web	Web
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Three-way reconciliation	Yes	Yes
Trust ledger types	individual
Bank reconciliation	Yes	Yes
Compliance reports	Yes	Yes
Disbursement approvals		Yes
Matter limit		5 matters

LegalClaw vs MatterX

LegalClaw

MatterX