Centerbase Pricing and Centerbase Cost per User for Midsize Law Firms
Centerbase is quote only. Its pricing page prints no subscription price, no plan names and no minimum, and it has printed none since 2022. The last public list was $59, $79 and $99 per user a month, billed annually, with a 5 license minimum and implementation on top. Its contract says that if you leave early you still pay for the rest of the term.
Staff
$59
Timekeepers
$79
Billing and accounting
$99
Last published list, per user a month billed annually, May 2020 to March 2021. Quote only today.
Centerbase quote checker
Put your quote in and see what the term really commits you to
The rate starts at $99, the last published billing and accounting price. Replace it with your quote. Payments is the printed $19 monthly fee plus the $4.99 pass-through, before card and ACH fees.
Committed over the term
Paid for months you will not use, leaving after month
Effective cost per user a month over the term
Year one for the same team, at each vendor's published price
Subscription only, before implementation, payments and add-ons. Centerbase uses your quoted rate.
One plan, one quote, and the price lives in a sales order you have not seen yet
Centerbase sells a single plan to midsize firms. Everything that decides your cost (the per user rate, the term, renewal, any yearly increase and the implementation package) sits in a sales order that is not public. The public Master Subscription Agreement only governs what happens around it, and it says one thing clearly: the term is paid in full whether you use it or not.
What the pricing page does list is what the plan includes. That matters, because older reviews still describe accounting as an extra fee. It is bundled now.
Matters and documents
Case and matter management, document management, calendaring, client portal and intake.
Billing and accounting
Billing, trust and business accounting, profitability reporting, ePre-bill automation.
Time capture
Automated time capture is in the plan. In 2020 it was a $50 add-on per extra user.
Onboarding
Migration, configuration and training over 12 to 14 weeks, in a package priced to your firm.
Sales Order
Subscription Services, governed by the MSA
- Licensed users
- __ users
- Rate per user a month
- $ __
- Term
- __ months, paid in full (MSA 4.2)
- Renewal and increases
- only here, ask
- Implementation package
- $ __ once
- Payments
- $19 + $4.99 a month
- Data return on exit
- add it, MSA says destroy
The three highlighted lines are the ones the public agreement leaves to the sales order or decides against you.
Wayback Machine captures of centerbase.com, 2018 to 2026
From $52 a user to quote only
Centerbase used to print its prices. A firm that signed in 2019 paid $52 per user a month for firm management or $62 with legal accounting, billed annually. In May 2020 the list became three role based prices, $59 for staff, $79 for timekeepers and $99 for billing and accounting users, with a 5 license minimum and implementation excluded.
The prices disappeared between March 2021 and August 2022, a window that includes the Mainsail Partners growth equity investment of August 2021. Since then the page has offered a quote, a free starting balance migration for a while, and since 2026 "flexible, user-based pricing".
That history explains the numbers you see on directories. SelectHub's "starts at $59" is the 2020 staff price. Software Finder's $40 to $110 and ITQlick's $125 are labelled estimates. Capterra, GetApp, Software Advice and Lawyerist print no figure at all.
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January 2018
Standard $52 per user a month, Standard plus Accounting $62. "Centerbase bills all plans annually."
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July 2019
Firm Management $52, Legal Accounting $62. "All plans are billed annually."
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March 2020
Same prices, plus "Minimum 5 licenses."
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May 2020 to March 2021
Staff $59, Timekeepers $79, Billing and Accounting $99, billed annually, 5 license minimum. Automated Timekeeping $50 and ePrebill $15 per extra user. "Implementation costs are not included."
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August 2022
Prices removed. "Pricing plans for midsize law firms" and a free starting balance migration. Talk to sales.
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2026 to today
One plan, no figure. Onboarding included, implementation packages "scoped to your firm's size". Payments priced separately.
centerbase.com/legal, read in full
What the Centerbase Master Subscription Agreement says about cost
The public agreement has no price, no term length and no renewal clause. A word search finds no "renew", no "increase" and no "suspend". Those terms are in your sales order, and the agreement ranks the sales order above itself. Here is what the agreement does decide.
| Clause | What it says | What it means for your budget |
|---|---|---|
| Definitions, Term | The term is "as specified in the Sales Order". | Read the term length on the order before anything else. It sets the whole commitment. |
| 2.2, Sales Orders | "All new subscriptions shall negotiate new pricing and fees, and run concurrent with the existing Subscription Service." | Adding a practice group or more seats later is a new negotiation, not a price you already hold. |
| 3.9, Data backup | "Centerbase has no obligation to backup or archive any Customer Data." | Keep your own copy. Budget for an export routine or a backup tool. |
| 4.1, Breach | 60 days to cure a breach, but five days for a missed payment, and Centerbase may terminate at once for a breach of the payment terms. | A failed card or late approval matters more here than with most vendors. |
| 4.2, Refunds | No refund of "prepaid, unused Services fees", and the customer must "promptly pay ... all Subscription Services fees ... for the remainder of the then-current Term". | Leaving early costs the full term. Only an uncured breach by Centerbase or force majeure changes that. |
| 4.2, Your data | Centerbase will "destroy (or, at Customer's request, return then destroy)" all copies of customer data. | Return is on request only, with no format or window. Write both into the order. |
| 9.2, Collection costs | The prevailing party, including in efforts to collect amounts due, recovers its costs and attorneys' fees. | A disputed invoice can grow. Raise disputes in writing early. |
| 9.5, Amendment | Prior sales orders are "subject to the current form of this Agreement which will be available online". | The agreement you signed can change under you. Save a dated copy. |
| Payments terms 2.2.1 | "We reserve the right to change our Fees at any time". | Card and ACH rates are not locked by the subscription term. |
Governing law is Texas, with courts in Dallas (9.12), and section 9.11 bars the customer from making disparaging remarks about Centerbase in any public or private forum. Neither changes the price, but both belong in the review your firm gives any contract before signing.
Pricing page, payments page and the support policy
The fees around the subscription
Centerbase Payments
- Monthly
- $19
- Pass-through
- $4.99 a month
- Consumer debit
- 1.99% + $0.30
- Consumer credit
- 2.99% + $0.30
- Commercial card
- 3.50% + $0.30
- American Express
- 3.99% + $0.30
- ACH
- 1%
The pricing page footnote says Payments has no monthly platform fee; the payments page prints the $19. Ask which applies to you.
Consulting billed by the hour
The support policy lists work "billed at Centerbase's then current rates" on top of the subscription, with no published rate:
- changing the standard bill template and eBilling setup
- designing or fixing your own workflows and reports
- imports and import templates
- setting up Outlook 365, LawToolBox, QuickBooks Online or NetDocuments
- user training, restoring deleted items, support after hours
Fourteen weeks to go live
- Weeks 1 to 5Foundation and preparation, data migration with full history.
- Weeks 6 to 10Core training and refinement.
- Weeks 11 to 14Go-live and adoption.
If your old system renews in the meantime, you pay both for those months.
Each vendor's own pricing page
Centerbase against practice management suites that print a price
Centerbase competes for billing heavy firms of roughly 10 to 100 people. The fair benchmark is the suites those firms shortlist, priced from their own pages, with the contract point that matters most for each.
| Product | Per user a month | Accounting | Contract point to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centerbase | Quote only; last list $59 / $79 / $99 annual, 5 license minimum | Built in, trust and general ledger | Rest of term due on exit (4.2); renewal terms only in the sales order |
| CARET Legal | $79 / $99 / $119 annual, plus implementation | Built in | No cancellation for convenience; 60 day non-renewal notice |
| CosmoLex | $49 / $99 / $129 | Trust built in, general ledger on Pro | Plan level decides how many bank feeds and features you get |
| Tabs3 | Cloud billing $89, with PracticeMaster $124 | Built in (Tabs3 Financials, trust and firm accounting) | Annual commitment, non-refundable |
| MyCase | $50 / $100 / $130 annual, $60 / $120 / $150 monthly | $39 per user add-on | Monthly billing exists; free trial without a card |
| PracticePanther | $49 / $69 / $89 / $114 annual | Trust built in | Monthly prices $10 higher if you want out sooner |
| CaseAgent | Per firm: $74 / $199 / $449 a month billed yearly, up to 15 users | Not an accounting system | Monthly option at $149 / $399 / $899; no setup fee |
Read the table honestly. Centerbase's strength is the combination of matter management, timekeeping, ePre-bill approval and full trust and business accounting in one system for a firm with a real finance function, plus integrations with NetDocuments and iManage that small firm suites mostly lack. If that is your firm, the comparison that matters is Centerbase against CARET Legal and Tabs3, and the deciding factor is often the contract rather than the rate. If your firm is under five people, our guide to legal practice management software covers suites built for that size.
Negotiation checklist
Six lines to get on the Centerbase sales order before you sign
01
The rate by role
Centerbase once priced staff, timekeepers and accounting users differently. Ask whether your quote does, and price your real mix of roles.
02
Term length and renewal
The public agreement has no renewal clause, so the order decides it. Get the renewal length, the notice date and any renewal increase in writing.
03
Implementation package by name
"Included" and "scoped to your firm" appear on the same page. Ask which package, what it covers and its price as a separate line.
04
A block of consulting hours
Bill templates, workflows, reports and integrations are billable work. Ask for the hourly rate and a prepaid block at a fixed price.
05
Data return on exit
Section 4.2 destroys data unless you ask. Name the export format, the delivery window and that it is free.
06
Seats you can remove
New subscriptions are new negotiations (2.2), and the term is due in full (4.2). Ask for the right to drop seats at each anniversary.
Answered first, then explained
Centerbase pricing questions buyers ask
How much does Centerbase cost?
Centerbase does not publish a price today; its pricing page asks you to request a quote. The last prices it printed, from May 2020 to at least March 2021, were $59 per user a month for staff, $79 for timekeepers and $99 for billing and accounting users, billed annually with a minimum of 5 licenses and implementation extra.
Does Centerbase publish its pricing?
No. Prices came off the Centerbase site between March 2021 and August 2022, and no capture since then shows a dollar figure for the subscription. The only prices centerbase.com prints today are for Centerbase Payments: $19 a month, card fees from 1.99% plus $0.30, ACH at 1% and a $4.99 monthly pass-through fee.
Is there a minimum number of users for Centerbase?
The last published price list said "Minimum 5 licenses", from March 2020 to at least March 2021. The current pricing page states no minimum, but Centerbase describes itself as built for midsize law firms and reviewers such as Lawyerist list it as not for solos, so expect the quote to assume a team.
How much does Centerbase implementation cost?
Centerbase does not publish it. The pricing page says onboarding is included in every subscription and, in the same section, that implementation packages range from quick start to full service with pricing scoped to the size and needs of the firm. Ask for the package name and its price as a separate line on the sales order.
How long does Centerbase onboarding take?
Onboarding typically spans 12 to 14 weeks, according to the Centerbase pricing page: weeks 1 to 5 for foundation and preparation, weeks 6 to 10 for core training and refinement, and weeks 11 to 14 for go-live and adoption. The team named is a project manager, a data migration specialist, a trainer and a customer success manager.
Can I cancel Centerbase before my contract ends?
You can stop using it, but you still pay for the term. Section 4.2 of the Centerbase Master Subscription Agreement says that on termination, other than for an uncured breach by Centerbase or force majeure, you get no refund of prepaid fees and must promptly pay all subscription fees for the remainder of the then-current term.
What happens to my data if I leave Centerbase?
Section 4.2 of the Master Subscription Agreement says Centerbase will destroy all copies of customer data, or return and then destroy them at your request. Section 3.9 says Centerbase has no obligation to back up or archive customer data. Ask for the return in writing before the term ends, and name the format.
How much does Centerbase Payments cost?
The Centerbase payments page prints $19 a month, plus 1.99% and $0.30 on consumer debit, 2.99% and $0.30 on consumer credit, 3.50% and $0.30 on commercial cards, 3.99% and $0.30 on American Express and 1% on ACH, plus a $4.99 monthly pass-through fee. Foreign cards add 1.75%. You are not required to switch processors.
Does Centerbase integrate with QuickBooks?
Yes, with QuickBooks Online, although Centerbase also has its own trust and business accounting with a general ledger. Note that its support policy lists setting up third party integrations, QuickBooks Online included, as consulting work billed at Centerbase's then current rates, on top of the subscription.
Is Centerbase good for small law firms?
It is not aimed at them. Centerbase says it is built for midsize firms that are too complex for small firm software, its onboarding runs 12 to 14 weeks, and its last public price list had a 5 license minimum. A firm of one to four people usually gets a faster start and a printed price from MyCase, PracticePanther or CosmoLex.
Case management with a printed price and no fourteen week rollout
CaseAgent keeps each matter in one place and puts an AI agent inside it: it reads filings and records as they arrive, drafts letters, pleadings and discovery responses with citations back to the page, and keeps court deadlines current. Solo $149 a month, Firm $399 for up to 5 users, Practice $899 for up to 15, or $74, $199 and $449 a month billed yearly, with no setup fee and no per user charge.
See every plan on the pricing page.
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