The verdict in three sentences
A custom matter management platform for a Paris law firm costs 40,000 to 110,000 EUR in 2026, France-based hosting (OVH, Scaleway) and GDPR + professional-secrecy compliance included. A vertical vendor (Secib, Kleos, Jarvis) runs 60 to 150 EUR/seat/month, i.e. 7,200 to 27,000 EUR/year for 10 lawyers. Custom pays off as soon as you want to industrialise time entry and recover the 4 to 8 % of billing lost today in spreadsheets.
Line items of a legal software quote
A serious quote breaks out every module. Here is a 2026 order-of-magnitude split for a full matter/time/billing platform.
| Quote line item | Effort (person-days) | Budget EUR |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping + functional specs | 8 - 12 | 6,000 - 10,000 |
| Matter and party management | 15 - 25 | 12,000 - 20,000 |
| Time entry + timers | 10 - 18 | 8,000 - 15,000 |
| Billing + reminders + VAT | 12 - 20 | 10,000 - 17,000 |
| Secure client portal | 8 - 15 | 7,000 - 13,000 |
| GDPR + secrecy compliance | 5 - 8 | 4,500 - 8,000 |
| Data migration + UAT | 6 - 12 | 5,000 - 10,000 |
| Total | 64 - 110 | 52,500 - 93,000 |
Custom vs vertical vendor over 3 years (10-lawyer firm)
| Line item | Vertical vendor | Custom |
|---|---|---|
| Initial build | 0 EUR | 70,000 EUR |
| 36-month subscription (110 EUR x 10 x 36) | 396,000 EUR | 0 EUR |
| France hosting 36 months | Included | 10,800 EUR |
| 3-year maintenance (15 %/yr) | Included | 31,500 EUR |
| Training + configuration | 5,000 EUR | 7,000 EUR |
| 3-year total | 401,000 EUR | 119,300 EUR |
At 10 seats and 110 EUR/month, the gap exceeds 280,000 EUR over three years. Below 5 lawyers, the vendor stays cheaper.
Mini case study
Me Lefevre runs a 9-lawyer firm in Paris 8th. Revenue is 2.4 M EUR, but the internal audit shows 6 % of hours worked are never billed for lack of reliable entry, i.e. 144,000 EUR/year left on the table. A custom platform at 72,000 EUR with built-in timers and daily reminders cuts that loss rate to 2 %. Recovered billing: 4 % x 2.4 M EUR = 96,000 EUR/year. The project pays back in under 10 months of recovered billing, before even counting saved admin time.
FAQ
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Why host in France rather than the US cloud?
Lawyer confidentiality and GDPR demand strict data control. France-based hosting (OVH, Scaleway, HDS where relevant) reduces extraterritorial-access risk and reassures institutional clients. Budget 200 to 600 EUR/month depending on redundancy.
Can matters be migrated from a legacy tool or spreadsheet?
Yes. Data migration is 6 to 12 person-days (5,000 to 10,000 EUR) depending on source quality. Active matters and billing history are prioritised; cold archives can stay separately searchable.
How long to deploy?
Five to eight months for the full platform. A first batch (matters + time) can ship in 12-14 weeks to start capturing lost billing quickly.
Does custom handle 2026 e-invoicing?
Yes if it's in the spec. Flows go through an approved platform; a recent build embeds the e-invoice format and lifecycle, including for corporate clients.
What annual maintenance budget should we plan?
Between 12 and 18 % of the build, i.e. 8,400 to 16,500 EUR/year for a 70,000 EUR project. It covers security, regulatory updates and recurring small requests.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of lawyers, current tool and priorities (time, billing, client portal) and we'll price each module. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
