Frequently Asked Questions
Getting Started#
How do I get started with Lawzana Flow?#
Sign up at flow.lawzana.com with your name, email and firm name, or with your Google or Microsoft account. You start on the Free plan and land on Home, where a short checklist suggests your first steps. If your firm is on the Lawzana Directory, click Open in Flow on a lead in your Lawzana dashboard instead; that creates your workspace and signs you in. See Getting Started for a full walkthrough.
Is there a free trial?#
There's no trial because there's a Free plan: 2 team members, 50 AI credits a month and 2 GB of storage, with no card and no time limit. Upgrade to Essentials or Advanced when you need more. See Billing & Plans.
Can I invite team members on the Free plan?#
Yes. Free covers 2 team members in total, yourself included, so you can invite one colleague. Paid plans have no member limit, and firms connected to the Lawzana Directory may get extra seats through their Directory plan.
Which languages is Lawzana Flow available in?#
English, Spanish and French. Change it from your account menu in the sidebar, under Language.
Leads & Matters#
How do I convert a lead to a matter?#
Open the lead and click Convert. Enter a matter title, optionally pick a practice area, matter type and the lawyer it's assigned to, then click Create Matter. Flow checks for conflicts first, and the lead's client details and key facts carry over to the new matter.
Can I customize the pipeline stages?#
Yes. Go to Settings → Matter Stages (or Lead Stages) to add, rename, reorder, or delete stages. Matter Stages offers ready-made templates with Apply Template (Litigation, Transactional, Family Law or Custom); Lead Stages has its own templates.
What's the difference between a lead and a matter?#
A lead is a potential client who has shown interest but hasn't been retained yet. A matter is an active case or engagement. Convert leads to matters once the client has been retained.
Documents#
What file formats can I upload?#
Almost any file: PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, email files (.eml, .msg), text files, ZIP archives and photos. HTML and SVG files are not accepted. Clients uploading through the portal can send PDF, Word, Excel, text files and images. Maximum file size is 25 MB for team uploads and 10 MB for client portal uploads.
Why isn't AI analysis available for my document?#
Check that:
- The format is one the AI reads: PDF, Word (.docx), plain-text files, or photos and scans (JPEG, PNG, WebP). Excel, PowerPoint and email files are stored but not read by the AI.
- Your firm still has AI credits left this month (see Settings → Subscription)
Can I organize documents into folders?#
Yes. Both matter documents and standalone files support folders. Create folders and subfolders, and move files between them.
AI Features#
What AI features are available?#
Each document has an AI panel with Summary, Facts, AI Assistant (chat with the document), Review (playbook reviews) and Entities (people and companies). At the matter level, you have Ask AI and the Fact Grid. On leads, you get an AI brief and Ask AI. The standalone AI Assistant answers general questions, and the drafting editor can write and edit drafts with you.
How many AI credits do I get?#
Free includes 50 credits a month, Essentials 500 shared by the firm, and Advanced 1,500 per seat, pooled. Firms connected to the Lawzana Directory get whichever is higher, their Directory allowance or their Flow plan. See Billing & Plans for credit cost per operation.
Is my data used to train AI models?#
No. Google does not use your content to train its models, and request logging is off on our project. Google may keep requests in memory for up to 24 hours for caching, and may log them to detect abuse. Lawzana Flow itself stores your AI chat history, summaries and extracted facts as part of your matter.
Client Portal#
How do clients access their portal?#
Clients receive a magic link via email — no password or account creation needed. They click the link to access only the documents and information you've shared.
What can clients see in the portal?#
Only what you explicitly share. Depending on access level:
- View: Shared documents
- Upload: View + upload documents + timeline
- Full: Upload + messaging + milestones + AI assistant
You can adjust these permissions on each portal link.
Can I revoke client portal access?#
Yes. Open the matter, click Share with Client and choose Revoke access on the link. The revocation is immediate: their magic link stops working.
Team & Permissions#
What are the user roles?#
| Role | Access Level |
|---|---|
| Owner | Full access, including the subscription and audit logs. One per organization. |
| Admin | Manage team, settings and workflows. Can't change the plan or payment method. |
| Member | Work on leads, matters, documents and drafts. Can't change firm-wide settings. |
| Viewer | Read-only access. |
See Team & Roles for what each role can see.
How do I invite team members?#
Go to Settings → Members and click Invite Member. Enter their email and choose a role. They'll receive an invitation email.
Can I change someone's role?#
Yes. Owners and Admins can change a member's role from Settings → Members, using the More options menu next to their name.
Billing Your Clients#
Where do I set up invoicing?#
An owner or admin fills in Settings → Invoicing & rates: currency, default hourly rate, staff rates, tax, invoice number prefix, your tax ID and payment instructions. Do it before anyone logs time. The Set up invoicing step on the Home page's Get set up card opens it. See Invoicing.
Why is my time not on the invoice?#
Check, in this order:
- Needs rate: no rate was found, or your rates are in another currency than the matter. Set a rate: saving Settings → Invoicing & rates, or a client's Billing rates, prices the waiting entries. Then build the invoice again
- Another currency: the entry was recorded in another currency than the matter's. The draft says how many entries were left out
- Already billed: the entry is on an issued invoice
- Not billable: the Billable switch was off
- Fee arrangement: flat-fee and contingency matters don't bill time
Can I bill a client in another currency?#
Yes. Each matter bills in one currency. Set the client's currency in the Billing details card on their contact page (or one matter's currency in that matter's Billing details), and give the client rates in that currency in the Billing rates card beside it. Flow never converts between currencies: invoices, payments and reports stay in each matter's currency, and your accountant books any exchange difference. See Billing in Another Currency for a step-by-step example.
Why can't I change a matter's currency?#
The matter has unbilled, priced time or expenses, or a draft invoice, in the current currency, and changing would leave them behind. Bill that work (or delete the drafts and entries that were wrong), then change it. Switching to the currency the work is already in always works.
Can I edit an issued invoice?#
No. Once finalized, an invoice is locked so the client's copy and your records match. An owner or admin voids it (only possible while no payment is recorded), you fix the time, expenses or billing details, then click New invoice again. The voided invoice keeps its number and the new one gets the next number.
Who can record payments?#
Owners and admins record payments, write off and void invoices. Members can build, finalize and email invoices and send payment reminders. See Team & Roles.
Can clients pay online?#
Not yet. Clients pay using the payment instructions printed on the invoice, usually by bank transfer, and an owner or admin records the payment in Flow.
Can I issue a credit note or an advance invoice?#
Not yet. For an unpaid invoice, void it and issue a new one. For a credit after payment, add a negative adjustment line on the client's next invoice. Each invoice has one tax rate; if two rates apply, issue two invoices.
How do I bill an advance or a retainer?#
Advance invoices and retainers that are drawn down automatically aren't supported yet. Two ways to manage today:
- Hold the money in trust. Record the client's deposit in a trust account. When you invoice, record the payment on the invoice and a matching Disbursement from trust (Flow doesn't link the two, so record both), within your bar's rules. See Trust Accounting.
- Bill the advance as a flat fee. Set the fee arrangement to Flat fee for the advance amount and invoice it. When the work is done, switch the arrangement to Hourly, click New invoice, and add an adjustment with a negative amount, for example "Less advance paid, invoice INV-0007". Ask your accountant how advances are taxed.
Can I send my invoices to my accountant?#
Yes. On the Billing page, Export for accountant downloads an Excel workbook, or CSV files, of the invoices, invoice lines and payments for any dates. See Billing Dashboard.
Billing & Subscription#
How does the Flow subscription work?#
The Free plan costs nothing. Essentials ($29) and Advanced ($79) are priced per active team member per month, with AI credits included. Billing is handled through Stripe.
What happens if I run out of AI credits?#
AI pauses until your credits reset at the start of the next month. On Essentials and Advanced, an owner or admin can turn on overage in Settings → Subscription with a ceiling of extra credits; it's off by default and AI never goes past the ceiling.
Can I cancel my subscription?#
Yes. The Owner clicks Cancel subscription in Settings → Subscription. You keep your paid plan until the end of the period, then move to the Free plan. Nothing is deleted.
Security#
Where is my data stored?#
Uploaded files are stored in one region: United States (Iowa), Europe (Belgium) or Asia Pacific (Singapore). Firms that sign up on flow.lawzana.com get the Europe region; firms that start from the Lawzana Directory choose theirs when the workspace is created. The rest of the service (database, search, background jobs and application servers) runs on DigitalOcean in the United States.
Where does AI processing happen?#
AI runs on Google Vertex AI, using Google's global endpoint. Requests are not limited to your file storage region.
Is my data encrypted?#
Yes. Data travels over HTTPS, and our cloud providers encrypt it at rest. Documents are stored with server-side encryption in Google Cloud Storage.
Can I get a data processing agreement, or have my data exported or deleted?#
Yes. We sign data processing agreements on request, and we export or delete your data when you ask. Email [email protected].
Integrations#
Does Lawzana Flow integrate with Zapier?#
Yes. Generate your API key in Settings → Zapier, then open the Lawzana Flow app in Zapier and accept the invitation: the app is invite-only for now. Use it to create leads from web forms, email and other tools, and to start a Zap when an invoice is issued, a payment is recorded, an invoice is paid or an invoice is voided. The billing triggers work once an owner or admin turns on Allow integrations to read billing data. See Integrations.
Can I embed a contact form on my website?#
Yes. The lead capture widget can be embedded on any website. The Owner generates the widget key in Settings → Website Widget; then choose the widget mode and styling, and copy the embed code. You can also publish a hosted contact page from Settings → Contact page. See Integrations.
Support#
How do I contact support?#
- Email: [email protected]
- Live Chat: Click the chat button in the bottom-right corner of the app
- Help Center: Visit lawzana.com/flow/support
I found a security issue. How do I report it?#
Email [email protected] with details.