September 25, 2026

Clio Accounting vs QuickBooks Online: Does Your Canadian Law Firm Need Both?

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You’re paying for Clio. You’re paying for QuickBooks. Now Clio includes accounting. Naturally, you’re wondering: am I paying for the same thing twice?

Especially if you’re still spending evenings sorting out the books.

Before cancelling anything, let’s look at what each system does and whether switching would solve what’s frustrating you.

First, which “Clio accounting” do you mean?

Clio Manage handles matters, documents, time tracking and billing. Clio Accounting adds broader bookkeeping functions, including expenses, bank transaction matching and financial reporting.

On September 23, 2026, Clio launched legal accounting within Clio Manage for Canadian law firms. So if you’ve heard it’s only available in the US, that information is now out of date.

This gives Canadian firms another option for managing their books. Before changing anything, check what’s included in your subscription and whether it meets your firm’s needs.

Can you stop using QuickBooks?

Possibly. Clio now promotes Canadian accounting features including trust transactions, three-way reconciliation and sales tax tracking. Keeping more work inside Clio may suit your firm. Clio’s Canadian accounting introduction

You can also use Clio Manage with QuickBooks Online. That’s Deximal’s established approach: Clio handles the practice and billing side, while QuickBooks holds the firm’s accounting records.

If that arrangement isn’t working, we’d first look at why. Sometimes the setup needs attention, or nobody has time to keep the books current.

What does the integration do?

Connecting Clio and QuickBooks reduces duplicate entry. Approved bills, recorded payments and configured trust transactions can flow into QuickBooks. Certain client expenses can come back into Clio for billing, depending on your plans and settings. Clio’s integration guide

The accounts need to be connected correctly, and your team needs to know where to enter transactions. Otherwise, you can still find yourself chasing missing entries.

Our Clio and QuickBooks overview for BC law firms explains more of the benefits.

Why do the books still need attention?

The software is connected. Lovely. Unfortunately, it still doesn’t know what that receipt from three Tuesdays ago was for.

Someone needs to check expense details, match deposits and investigate anything that doesn’t add up.

Trust reconciliation also checks that bank records, trust accounting records and individual client balances agree, with timing differences explained. Your process must support your provincial law society’s requirements.

Software helps. Someone still needs to review the records and resolve discrepancies.

Before switching, consider the historical records, unpaid invoices and trust balances involved. A better setup and consistent bookkeeping may save you the trouble of moving everything.

Let Deximal take the books off your plate

You’ve already got a profession. You don’t need an evening career in bookkeeping.

Deximal helps Canadian law firms connect Clio and QuickBooks and build a paperless workflow. Snap a photo of an expense receipt with an app, and we’ll help keep the supporting documents organized electronically. That supports CRA recordkeeping requirements and makes records easier to find if your firm is audited.

Our flat-rate monthly package brings it together:

• Monthly bookkeeping and trust reconciliation, with financial statements you can use.
• GST and PST filings and remittances, including setting up payments to CRA and the applicable provincial authority.
• Corporate tax year-end preparation and the owner’s personal tax return, included in your monthly price.
• Advice throughout the year, helping you understand your financial statements and talk through business decisions.

Have employees? We can also manage payroll, employee direct deposits and CRA payroll remittances. We’ll confirm the payroll scope in your monthly quote.

You’ll know what’s included and what it costs, with one team looking after the books, tax deadlines and questions along the way.

Book a consultation with Deximal. Tell us what’s taking up too much of your time. We’ll walk through what we can take over and give you a clear monthly price.