Do Law Firms Get a Positive ROI From CollBox?

Yes. Every law firm that has been live on CollBox for at least 90 days has recovered more money than it has paid us: 47 out of 47. Across all 56 law firms currently live through Clio, MyCase, or Smokeball, the typical firm (the median) has a 24x ROI, and 15 firms are above 50x.

This post walks through how we measured that, what the spread of results looks like, how quickly ROI shows up for new firms, and five anonymized examples from firms on all three platforms.

How did we measure ROI?

We pulled every live law firm client connected to Clio, MyCase, or Smokeball as of October 26, 2026, along with the date each one signed up and went live. For each firm we compared two numbers:

• Recovered: payments received on invoices the firm submitted to CollBox.
• Spent: everything the firm has paid CollBox, including setup.

ROI is what the firm recovered minus what it spent, divided by what it spent. That is the same way we report ROI to our clients. A 10x ROI means a firm got back everything it paid us, plus ten times more. We counted invoice recoveries only, so the figures below are the conservative version.

We also left out businesses that use CollBox through QuickBooks, Xero, or other accounting systems. This is a law firm number.

What does the spread of results look like?

ROI	Number of law firms	Share of firms
Positive ROI	55 of 56	98%
10x or more	47 of 56	84%
20x or more	32 of 56	57%
50x or more	15 of 56	27%
100x or more	5 of 56	9%

The median ROI is about 24x. Among firms that have been live for 90 days or more, the median rises to about 35x.

The one firm below break-even went live six weeks ago. Firms on Clio, MyCase, and Smokeball all appear in the top tier.

How quickly does ROI show up?

Faster than most firms expect. Nine law firms have been live with CollBox for less than 90 days, and eight of them have already recovered more than they paid. One firm that went live in late September recovered about $117,000 in its first month, a 31x ROI.

Firms that signed up in 2026 tell the same story: 24 of 25 are already positive, with a median ROI of about 18x, and that number keeps climbing as they stay.

The reason is simple. Most firms come to us with past-due invoices that are still within reach. Once those balances get consistent follow-up, a lot of that money comes in during the first weeks and months.

What do individual firm results look like?

Here are five firms from that list, anonymized. Each one has its own full write-up.

• A family law firm in Chicago (Smokeball), with CollBox since January 2025: about $1.4 million recovered, a 118x ROI.
• A Tennessee law firm (Clio), with CollBox since June 2024: about $2.5 million recovered, a 140x ROI.
• A New Jersey law firm (Clio), with CollBox since March 2026: about $921,000 recovered on about $4,800 in total spend, a 191x ROI.
• A family and immigration firm in Miami (MyCase), live since spring 2026: about $365,000 recovered, a 43x ROI.
• A family law firm in Colorado (Clio), with CollBox since October 2024: about $169,000 recovered, an 11x ROI.

Notice the Colorado firm. At 11x, it sits below our median, and it still earned an 11x return on what it paid. That is what “below average” looks like with CollBox.

Why is the return so high?

Most law firm AR does not go unpaid because clients refuse to pay. It goes unpaid because nobody follows up consistently. Attorneys do not want to chase their own clients, and staff who handle billing are usually juggling it alongside everything else.

CollBox fixes the follow-up problem. Invoices sync from the firm’s practice management system, and our AR team works every eligible balance with consistent, client-friendly outreach until it is paid. Payments land in the firm’s account, not ours.

“Firms always ask me what the catch is. There isn’t one. Most of the money we recover was always going to be owed to the firm. The difference is someone is finally asking for it, every time, in a way that keeps the client relationship intact.” Matt Darner, Co-founder and CEO, CollBox

Because the subscription is a flat, predictable cost and the recoveries scale with the firm’s own billing, a firm with steady invoicing tends to see the ratio climb every month it stays.

Which firms see the best results?

The firms at the top of our list share a few traits:

• They run billing through Clio, MyCase, or Smokeball, so invoices sync automatically.
• They bill clients on an ongoing basis (hourly, flat fee, or retainer replenishment), which creates a steady flow of invoices to work.
• They hand balances to CollBox early. We work balances up to 180 days past due, and younger balances are far easier to collect.

CollBox is a weaker fit for a few situations. Firms that only need help with one or two very old balances, firms on practice management systems we do not currently integrate with, and firms looking for a traditional collection agency to pursue litigation-level recovery are usually better served elsewhere. We would rather tell a firm that on the first call than take its money.

Frequently asked questions

Does every law firm get a positive ROI from CollBox?

Every law firm that has been live with CollBox for 90 days or more has, 47 out of 47. Across all 56 live law firms, 55 have recovered more than they paid, and the one exception went live six weeks ago.

What is a typical ROI for a law firm using CollBox?

The median law firm has a 24x ROI, and about 35x for firms live 90 days or more. Results vary with billing volume and how quickly balances are handed off.