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Legal · head to head

Smokeball vs Tabs3

Smokeball logo

Smokeball

Legal

Practice management for small law firms with automatic time capture

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tabs3 logo

Tabs3

Legal

Billing, trust and general ledger accounting for small and mid-sized US law firms

From
$69/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Smokeball requires a Windows desktop component for automatic time capture, so it is not browser-only like its competitors; Tabs3 the interface follows Windows desktop conventions from an earlier era, so new fee earners and staff take longer to train than they would on a browser-based competitor.
  • They diverge on capability: Smokeball covers Automatic time capture, Tabs3 covers Tabs3 Billing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Smokeball and Tabs3 actually diverge.

Attributes where Smokeball and Tabs3 differ
AttributeSmokeballTabs3
Starting priceOn request$69/month
Pricing modelquotePer user per month

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Windows, Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Legal).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Smokeball

  • Automatic time capture
  • Matter management
  • Document automation
  • Billing and trust accounting

Only in Tabs3

  • Tabs3 Billing
  • Trust accounting
  • General ledger and accounts payable
  • PracticeMaster
  • On-premises or cloud subscription

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Smokeball

  • Firms billing hourly that lose revenue to unrecorded timenot Tabs3
  • Small practices replacing paper matter files and spreadsheetsnot Tabs3
  • Firms needing court form automation for high-volume matter typesnot Tabs3

Tabs3

  • Small firms billing hourly that want billing and the firm general ledger in one system rather than reconciling twonot Smokeball
  • Practices that must run three-way trust reconciliation without a separate bookkeeping packagenot Smokeball
  • Firms that need an on-premises deployment because of client or insurer restrictions on cloud-hosted matter datanot Smokeball
  • Long-established practices replacing a decades-old billing system while keeping accounting in housenot Smokeball

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Smokeball

  • Requires a Windows desktop component for automatic time capture, so it is not browser-only like its competitors
  • Quote-only pricing with no published rates
  • Aimed at small firms; larger practices with complex billing arrangements generally outgrow it

Tabs3

  • The interface follows Windows desktop conventions from an earlier era, so new fee earners and staff take longer to train than they would on a browser-based competitor.
  • On-premises deployment puts backup, disaster recovery, server upgrades and patching on the firm, which small practices without IT support routinely underestimate.
  • It is built around hourly and flat fee billing, so a contingency practice tracking case costs and settlement disbursements will find the case financial model a poor fit.
  • PracticeMaster case management is priced separately from billing, so the advertised per-user rate is not what a firm wanting matter management actually pays.
  • Choosing the on-premises option no longer avoids a subscription, because it is billed per user per month like the hosted version.

Pricing, plan by plan

Smokeball

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Smokeball review.

Tabs3

$69/month
  • OnSite Subscription$69/month
    • Deployed on the firm server
    • Billing, trust accounting and general ledger
    • PracticeMaster add-on at 32 USD per user per month
  • Tabs3 Cloud$89/month
    • Hosted by the vendor
    • Billing, trust accounting and general ledger
    • PracticeMaster add-on at 35 USD per user per month

Which should you pick?

Choose Smokeball if

  • You need automatic time capture.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want matter management.
Smokeball review

Choose Tabs3 if

  • You need tabs3 billing.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want trust accounting.
Tabs3 review

Questions people ask

Is Smokeball or Tabs3 better?
Neither clearly leads. Smokeball starts at On request and Tabs3 at $69/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Smokeball or Tabs3?
Smokeball starts at On request and Tabs3 at $69/month.
Does Smokeball or Tabs3 run on more platforms?
Both run on Windows, Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Smokeball best used for?
Smokeball is most often used for firms billing hourly that lose revenue to unrecorded time, small practices replacing paper matter files and spreadsheets, firms needing court form automation for high-volume matter types. Of those, firms billing hourly that lose revenue to unrecorded time and small practices replacing paper matter files and spreadsheets are not what Tabs3 is typically brought in for.
What can Smokeball do that Tabs3 cannot?
Smokeball covers Automatic time capture, Matter management, Document automation, Billing and trust accounting. Tabs3 covers Tabs3 Billing, Trust accounting, General ledger and accounts payable, PracticeMaster.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Smokeball: What does Smokeball cost?

Pricing is quoted per firm and not published.

Tabs3: Is Tabs3 right for a personal injury firm working on contingency?

No. It is built for hourly and flat fee billing with a firm general ledger. A contingency practice needs case cost tracking and settlement disbursement handling, which is what CASEpeer and Filevine are built around.

Smokeball: How does automatic time capture work?

A desktop application observes work on matters and turns activity into billable entries, rather than depending on someone remembering to start a timer.

Tabs3: Can I still buy Tabs3 as a perpetual licence?

No published perpetual price exists. The on-premises option, called OnSite Subscription, starts at 69 USD per user per month, with the hosted Tabs3 Cloud starting at 89 USD per user per month.

Smokeball: Does it run on Mac?

The automatic time capture component is Windows-based, which is the main platform constraint.

Tabs3: Does it replace QuickBooks?

For most firms yes. It includes a double-entry general ledger and accounts payable, which is the usual reason firms choose it over billing-only products.

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