Summary and recommendation
CosmoLex user management can be run manually, but complexity usually increases with role models, licensing gates, and offboarding dependencies. This guide gives the exact mechanics and where automation has the biggest impact.
CosmoLex is a cloud-based law practice management and accounting platform used by small to mid-size firms. It covers matters, time tracking, billing, document management, and trust accounting in a single environment.
Like every app that lacks automated provisioning, user management here is handled entirely through a manual admin UI - there is no SCIM provisioning or SSO integration publicly documented for any plan.
Quick facts
| Admin console path | Settings → Staff & Permissions (accessible only to Administrator-role users) |
| Admin console URL | Official docs |
| SCIM available | No |
| SCIM tier required | $89-129/user/month |
| SSO prerequisite | No |
User types and roles
| Role | Permissions | Cannot do | Plan required | Seat cost | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Full access to all firm settings, billing, user management, trust accounting, reports, and all matters. Can add, edit, and deactivate staff members. Can configure firm-wide permissions. | Any plan (Standard or Elite) | $89–$129/user/month depending on plan and billing cycle | At least one Administrator must remain active; you cannot deactivate the last Administrator account. | |
| Attorney | Access to matters, time tracking, billing, trust accounting, and documents. Scope may be limited to assigned matters depending on firm-level permission settings. | Cannot manage firm settings, add/remove staff, or access billing configuration unless granted additional permissions by an Administrator. | Any plan (Standard or Elite) | $89–$129/user/month depending on plan and billing cycle | Matter-level access restrictions are configured per staff member by an Administrator; default may be broader than intended. |
| Staff | Configurable access to matters, time entry, documents, and calendaring as granted by an Administrator. Typically does not include trust accounting or billing by default. | Cannot access trust accounting, firm billing settings, or user management unless explicitly granted by Administrator. | Any plan (Standard or Elite) | $89–$129/user/month depending on plan and billing cycle | All seat types (Attorney, Staff) are billed at the same per-user rate; there is no reduced-cost seat for non-attorney staff. |
Permission model
- Model type: role-based
- Description: CosmoLex uses a role-based model with three primary roles: Administrator, Attorney, and Staff. Within each role, Administrators can toggle granular permissions per staff member, including access to specific modules (trust accounting, billing, reports) and matter-level visibility (all matters vs. assigned matters only).
- Custom roles: No
- Custom roles plan: Not documented
- Granularity: Module-level and matter-level toggles per individual user, configured by an Administrator. No ability to create named custom roles; permissions are adjusted per-user within the fixed role framework.
How to add users
- Log in as an Administrator.
- Navigate to Settings → Staff & Permissions.
- Click 'Add Staff Member'.
- Enter the new user's first name, last name, and email address.
- Select the staff role (Administrator, Attorney, or Staff).
- Configure module-level permissions and matter access scope.
- Set an hourly rate if applicable for time tracking.
- Click 'Save' or 'Send Invitation'. The new user receives an email invitation to set their password and activate their account.
Required fields: First name, Last name, Email address, Role (Administrator, Attorney, or Staff)
Watch out for:
- Each added user immediately counts as a billable seat; the subscription cost increases upon adding the user.
- The invitation email may land in spam; users should be advised to check junk folders.
- Permissions must be configured at the time of creation or revisited afterward; defaults may be broader than intended for Staff roles.
- No bulk/CSV import option is available; each user must be added individually.
| Bulk option | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CSV import | No | Not documented |
| Domain whitelisting | No | Automatic domain-based user add |
| IdP provisioning | No | Not documented |
How to remove or deactivate users
- Can delete users: No
- Delete/deactivate behavior: CosmoLex does not allow permanent deletion of staff member accounts. Users can only be deactivated. Deactivated users lose login access but their historical records, time entries, billing data, and matter associations are retained for audit and compliance purposes.
- Log in as an Administrator.
- Navigate to Settings → Staff & Permissions.
- Locate the staff member to be deactivated.
- Click on the staff member's name to open their profile.
- Select the option to 'Deactivate' the staff member.
- Confirm the deactivation when prompted.
| Data impact | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Owned records | All time entries, billing records, and matter work product created by the deactivated user are retained and remain accessible to active users. |
| Shared content | Documents, notes, and calendar entries associated with the deactivated user remain in the system and are accessible to Administrators and other authorized staff. |
| Integrations | No documented impact on third-party integrations specific to the deactivated user; firm-level integrations (e.g., payment processing, accounting sync) continue unaffected. |
| License freed | Deactivating a user removes them from the active seat count, freeing the billable seat. The reduction is reflected at the next billing cycle. |
Watch out for:
- You cannot deactivate the last remaining Administrator account.
- Deactivated users cannot be permanently deleted; their data persists indefinitely in the system.
- Reassigning open matters or pending tasks from the departing user must be done manually before or after deactivation; there is no automated reassignment workflow.
- Billing cycle timing for seat reduction may vary; confirm with CosmoLex support whether the seat credit applies immediately or at the next renewal.
License and seat management
| Seat type | Includes | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Seat | Full access to practice management, time tracking, billing, document management, and accounting features at the Standard plan level. | $89/user/month (annual billing) or $99/user/month (monthly billing) |
| Elite Seat | All Standard features plus advanced workflow automation, custom templates, and additional reporting capabilities. | $109–$129/user/month (annual billing; exact price varies by contract) |
- Where to check usage: Settings → Staff & Permissions (shows list of all active and inactive staff members and their roles)
- How to identify unused seats: Administrators can review the Staff & Permissions list to identify active accounts. Last-login timestamps are not prominently surfaced in the UI per available documentation; identifying unused seats may require reviewing activity reports or contacting CosmoLex support.
- Billing notes: CosmoLex is priced per user per month. All seat types (Attorney, Staff, Administrator) are billed at the same rate regardless of role. Pricing has increased incrementally over time. A 14-day free trial is available. Annual billing provides a discount over monthly billing. Seat count changes (additions or deactivations) affect the next billing cycle; confirm exact timing with CosmoLex support.
The cost of manual management
Administrators must add each staff member individually - no bulk or CSV import exists - which compounds the burden for firms onboarding multiple users at once. Deactivating a departing user does not trigger any automated matter or task reassignment; that work falls entirely on the Administrator.
Identifying unused seats is also friction-heavy: last-login data is not clearly surfaced in the admin UI, meaning license audits may require a support call rather than a self-serve report.
What IT admins are saying
Practitioners and firm administrators have flagged several recurring friction points with CosmoLex's user management. The flat per-user pricing model - where paralegals and assistants cost the same as attorney seats - is a consistent complaint, particularly for firms with large non-attorney headcounts.
The absence of SSO and SCIM documentation is noted as a gap by firms evaluating identity governance requirements. Pricing increases over time since 2017 have also drawn sustained attention from existing customers.
Common complaints:
- Limited public documentation on enterprise identity features such as SSO and SCIM provisioning.
- No bulk user import (CSV) capability; each staff member must be added individually, which is burdensome for larger firms onboarding multiple users.
- All staff seat types are billed at the same per-user rate regardless of role, meaning non-attorney staff (paralegals, assistants) cost the same as attorney seats.
- Pricing has increased multiple times since 2017, with users noting approximately $10 increases every few months.
- No automated matter or task reassignment workflow when deactivating a departing staff member; reassignment must be done manually.
- Last-login or activity data for identifying unused seats is not clearly surfaced in the admin UI, making license audits difficult without contacting support.
The decision
Every app a firm relies on for legal accounting and matter management needs a clear provisioning story, and CosmoLex's story is fully manual. The role-based model (Administrator, Attorney, Staff) with per-user module and matter-level toggles offers reasonable granularity without custom role creation.
Firms with frequent staff turnover, large non-attorney teams, or identity governance requirements should weigh the manual provisioning burden and flat seat pricing carefully before committing.
Bottom line
CosmoLex delivers strong legal-specific functionality - trust accounting, matter management, and billing in one platform - but its user lifecycle management is entirely manual. No SCIM, no SSO, no bulk import, and no automated offboarding workflow are publicly available.
For firms where provisioning accuracy and speed matter, that gap requires a deliberate operational process to compensate.
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