The verdict in three sentences
A firm loses money less from a shortage of matters than from unrecorded hours and invoices sent too late. A vertical solution (Secib, Kleos, Jarvis) starts at 50-90 EUR per user per month; a custom build of 45,000 to 110,000 EUR pays off once you want granular time tracking, a digital vault and GDPR reinforced by professional secrecy. The return is measured in recovered billable hours, not licence savings.
Vertical or custom: the real trade-off
The deciding factor is not the monthly price, it is control over time tracking and confidentiality. 2026 orders of magnitude for a 12-lawyer firm.
| Item | Vertical solution | Custom |
|---|---|---|
| Licence/user/month | 50-90 EUR | 0 + hosting |
| Annual cost, 12 users | 7,200-12,960 EUR | 4,000-7,000 EUR hosting |
| Automated time tracking | Standard | Custom (per matter/client) |
| Digital vault | Option +2-5 EUR/user | Integrated, encrypted |
| Billing customisation | Limited | Full (hourly, fixed, success fee) |
| Initial development | 2,000-6,000 EUR | 45,000-110,000 EUR |
| Sovereign hosting | Publisher-dependent | Your choice (EU) |
Over three years, the vertical for 12 users costs 22,000 to 39,000 EUR excluding options. The custom build pays back once the billable-hours gain exceeds that threshold — which happens fast, see the case below.
The ROI reads in billable hours
The true value of legal software shows in two metrics: hours captured and billing lead time.
| Metric | Before tool | After custom |
|---|---|---|
| Billable hours captured | Baseline | +12 to 18% |
| Average billing lead time | 45-60 days | -30% (30-42 d) |
| Administrative entry time | Baseline | -25% |
| Forgotten invoices/year | 3-6% of revenue | < 1% |
| Client payment delay | 55 days | 40 days |
For a firm billing 2.4M EUR/year, recovering 12% of uncaptured billable hours represents nearly 290,000 EUR of potential revenue — without a single extra client.
Mini case study
Ms Lefèvre, managing partner of a 12-lawyer firm in Lyon, estimated losing 15% of billable time to late entry. A custom build at 68,000 EUR with a per-matter timer, encrypted vault and multi-model billing. Estimated gain: +14% of hours captured on 2.4M EUR = 336,000 EUR of potential additional revenue, of which 50% actually billed in year one = 168,000 EUR. The investment is covered in under 5 months.
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FAQ
Does custom software guarantee professional secrecy?
It reinforces it: sovereign EU hosting of your choice, document encryption, per-matter access partitioning and logging. You control data location, which a shared SaaS does not always allow.
What does a custom build actually cost?
Between 45,000 and 110,000 EUR depending on scope: time tracking, vault, advanced billing and client portal. A first functional tier around 45,000-60,000 EUR covers most firms under 15 lawyers.
What is the concrete billing gain?
On average -30% billing lead time and forgotten invoices falling below 1% of revenue. For a firm at 2.4M EUR that frees tens of thousands of euros of cash.
How long to deploy?
Expect 12 to 18 weeks for a full custom build, including migration of open matters and training. A vertical solution deploys in 4 to 6 weeks but offers less control.
Can you migrate from an existing tool?
Yes. Migration of matters, contacts and time history is scoped from the start; allow 2 to 3 weeks of migration and a data-quality audit before cutover.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of lawyers, revenue and priorities (time tracking, vault, billing) for an indicative budget between 45,000 and 90,000 EUR. 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.
