The Deadline Before the Renewal

Disclosure: this episode’s hosts, Mia Hale and Mark Dawson, are AI-generated voices. The script is written and fact-checked by the AI Tools For Law team.

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Stories and sources

Vendor claims are attributed to the vendor; we note what each announcement did not disclose.

Knackly: the deadline that counts

Main segment

Knackly's pricing page lists Starter at $250 a month ($209 paid yearly), Done For You at $500 ($417) and Professional at $1,000 ($834), with 4, 4 and 12 users included and caps of 400, 400 and 600 new records or clients a month. Its pricing FAQ says "cancel anytime," but its terms of service say cancellations need to happen 20 days before the next renewal date, and subscriptions renew automatically. Prices as Knackly's pricing page showed them; confirm with Knackly before you buy.

• AI Tools For Law: Knackly review

How to read a software pricing page

Buyer's guide

Per user per month means every person with a login. Billed annually means twelve months up front. Quote-only vendors usually price by users, contract length and modules. Watch add-ons, setup and onboarding fees, and migration, and get the answers to our question list in the quote itself.

• AI Tools For Law: How much does legal practice management software cost?

When the notices you rely on stop arriving

Buyer's Take

General steps, not advice about your case: check the docket directly on a schedule, add a calendar backstop, name an owner and a backup, list the matters that depend on mailed or outside notices, decide who tells the client, and reconcile when notices resume. Your court's own orders and rules govern.

Terms explained in this episode

No-code

Building templates with point-and-click logic instead of programming. It still takes work.

API (application programming interface)

A way for your other software to talk to a tool directly.

Auto-renewal

The subscription renews each billing cycle on the same conditions unless you cancel in time, and "in time" is whatever the terms say.

Per user per month

You pay that amount for every person with a login, every month.

Billed annually

The monthly figure is real, but you pay all twelve months up front.

Trust accounting / IOLTA

Tracking client money you hold before you've earned it, often in an IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts) account. Rules vary by state; check yours.

Quote-only

A vendor that doesn't publish a price. Get the per-user price, term, add-ons and setup fee in writing.

Migration

Moving your clients, matters, documents and billing history from your old system to a new one.

Transcript

Cold open

Mia: A document automation tool's pricing FAQ says you can cancel anytime.

Mark: Its terms of service say twenty days before renewal. Guess which one counts.

Mia: Plus how to read a software pricing page, and the questions to ask before you get a quote.

Mark: And what to do when the notices you count on stop arriving.

Mia: This is Legal AI This Week, from the AI Tools For Law team. I'm Mia Hale.

Mark: And I'm Mark Dawson. We look at what law firms actually pay for software, read the fine print, and translate the buzzwords.

Mia: Sources are in the show notes. And a quick welcome to Mark, who joins as co-host.

Mark: Happy to be here. I'll be the one asking what things cost.

Mia: Good, because that's most of the show.

Main segment

Mark: We start all the way down in the fine print. Knackly.

Mia: Knackly is document automation software, for firms that produce the same kinds of documents again and again.

Mark: Define document automation for us.

Mia: A guided interview collects the facts a document needs, and then the software assembles the document. Knackly also has client-facing questionnaires, so clients enter their own information, and it automates PDF documents.

Mark: And Knackly calls it no-code, which means you build templates with point-and-click logic instead of programming.

Mia: Which is not the same as no work. Someone still builds the interviews and the template logic.

Mark: Knackly publishes its prices. Starter is two hundred fifty dollars a month, or two hundred nine a month paid yearly. Done For You is five hundred, or four hundred seventeen paid yearly. Professional is one thousand, or eight hundred thirty-four paid yearly.

Mia: Starter and Done For You include four users. Professional includes twelve. Extra users are forty dollars a month on the first two plans and fifty on Professional.

Mark: Knackly's pricing page calls yearly billing two months free.

Mia: What do you get for the difference between plans?

Mark: Starter includes one expert consultation a month, one-on-one, and Knackly automates your first document for you. On Done For You, Knackly's team does the automation: three hours a month on monthly billing. Professional adds API access.

Mia: API, application programming interface. It's a way for your other software to talk to Knackly directly.

Mark: Now the part we'd circle in red.

Mia: Knackly's pricing FAQ says you can cancel anytime. Its terms of service say cancellations need to happen twenty days before the next renewal date.

Mark: Those two sentences are not on speaking terms.

Mia: They are not. Under the terms, your subscription renews automatically at the end of each billing cycle, under the exact same conditions, unless you cancel. So treat the twenty days as the deadline that counts. On a yearly plan, missing it can mean another full year.

Mark: So the calendar entry isn't the renewal date. It's twenty days before it. Put it in the day you sign.

Mia: Two more terms worth knowing. Refund requests are considered case by case, at Knackly's discretion. And Knackly can change subscription fees at any time, effective at the end of your current billing cycle, with reasonable prior notice.

Mark: The other number to check is the records cap. Each plan caps new records or clients a month. Four hundred on Starter and Done For You, six hundred on Professional. Check that against how many new clients you take on.

Mia: And if you only produce a few documents a month, the entry price is steep. Knackly's FAQ offers a live demo, so ask for one before you commit.

Mark: Last tips from our review. Keep copies of your templates outside Knackly, and ask how your logic exports if you ever leave.

Mia: And on Done For You, ask whether unused hours roll over, because the terms of service don't say. The full review is linked in the show notes.

Buyer's guide

Mark: Segment two. How to read a software pricing page. This comes from our guide to what practice management software costs, but the habits travel.

Mia: Quick definition first. Practice management software is the system a firm runs on. It holds your matters, which is the legal term for cases or client files, plus your calendar and deadlines, your documents, your time entries and your bills.

Mark: Two pricing phrases come up constantly. Per user per month means you pay that amount for every person with a login, every month. Five people on a fifty-dollar plan is two hundred fifty dollars a month, not fifty. So multiply by everyone who needs a login, including staff.

Mia: Second phrase. Billed annually. The monthly figure is real, but you pay all twelve months up front. The monthly price on many pricing pages is that annual rate divided by twelve, which is why it looks cheaper than month-to-month.

Mark: Annual billing is usually cheaper per month, but you're committed for the year. And read the cancellation and refund terms before you sign, since some vendors don't refund annual plans.

Mia: Then there are vendors that don't publish a price at all. They usually price by the number of users, the contract length and which modules you add, and many negotiate.

Mark: So the first number you hear is a starting position. And watch the costs that aren't on the plan line. Add-ons, setup and onboarding fees, and migration.

Mia: Migration means moving your existing clients, matters, documents and billing history out of your old system and into the new one. Ask whether it's included, and what format your old data needs to be in.

Mark: Questions to ask before you get a quote. Is the price per user or per firm, and who counts as a user? Is it billed monthly or annually, and what's the month-to-month rate?

Mia: Which tier includes trust accounting? That's tracking client money you hold before you've earned it. What costs extra? Is there a setup, onboarding or migration fee, and how much?

Mark: What will the renewal price be, and is any increase capped? And how do we export our data, in what format, and for how long after we leave?

Mia: Write the answers down, and get them in the quote itself. The full guide is linked in the show notes.

Jargon jar

Mark: Jargon Jar. First, IOLTA. It stands for Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts, the pooled trust account most small firms use for that client money.

Mia: Trust money has strict handling rules, and they vary by state, so check yours.

Mark: Second, quote-only. A vendor that doesn't publish a price. Ask for the per-user price, the term, every add-on and any setup fee in writing.

Mia: Because "contact us" is not a price.

Buyer's take

Mia: Buyer's Take. When the notices you rely on stop showing up, what does a firm actually do?

Mark: First, don't treat silence as good news. If notices usually arrive on their own and then they stop, assume something upstream changed, and check the docket directly, on a set schedule, for every active matter where you'd normally be waiting on a notice.

Mia: Second, a calendar backstop. Any deadline that normally starts from a notice gets a second, independent reminder that doesn't depend on the notice arriving.

Mark: Third, name an owner. One person on staff owns the docket check, and one person backs them up. If everyone owns it, nobody does.

Mia: Fourth, list your exposed matters. Which ones depend on notices that come by mail, or that go to people outside your office? Start there.

Mark: Fifth, decide ahead of time who tells the client, and when, if a delay touches their matter.

Mia: And when notices start arriving again, don't just switch the backstop off. Compare what came in against what you found on the docket, and close any gaps.

Mark: Your court's own orders and rules govern what any of this means for a given case. We're not telling you what your case requires.

Mia: We're telling you to check.

Mark: That's the show. The review, the guide and our free newsletter are in the show notes.

Mia: This isn't legal advice. Spotted an error? Email hello at aitoolsforlaw dot A I.

Mark: Check your docket, and calendar your cancellation dates. We'll see you next time.

About the show

Not legal advice. Corrections: hello@aitoolsforlaw.ai.

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