MatterFirst vs Smokeball

MatterFirst and Smokeball,
compared honestly.

Known for AutoTime automatic time capture and a large library of automated Australian legal forms.

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Encrypted at rest and in transit Australian data residency Hosted on AWS No lock-in contracts Guided setup available Your data exportable on request

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MatterFirst vs Smokeball: what is the difference?

Smokeball's strength is AutoTime, which captures billable time in the background, plus a library of over 20,000 Australian legal forms. MatterFirst's is document extraction: reading a contract and filling matter fields from it. Smokeball prices per user on 36-month terms; MatterFirst prices per workspace with no lock-in.

MatterFirst and Smokeball, side by side
MatterFirst Smokeball
Origin Australia (NorthCape Technology, Melbourne) Australia and United States
Status Active Active
Pricing Per workspace from $149/month, users included Four plans, per user per month ex GST on 36-month terms: Bill from $49, Boost from $99, Grow from $189, Prosper+ from $239. AutoTime is $39 per month extra on Grow and included in Prosper+.
Data residency Your chosen AWS region, including AI inference Not published. Ask the vendor where inference runs, not only where files are stored.
Client portal Included on every plan, no per-client charge Not published
AI document extraction Included, with a monthly credit pool on every paid plan Not published
Contract term No lock-in Published pricing is based on 36-month terms

Smokeball details are drawn from the source linked at the foot of this page and were checked on 28 July 2026. Where we have not verified something, this page says so rather than estimating.

What Smokeball is good at

  • AutoTime captures time in the background rather than relying on memory
  • Library of over 20,000 standard legal forms and documents
  • Deep Microsoft Office integration

Things to weigh

  • Published pricing is per user per month on 36-month contracts
  • AutoTime, its best-known feature, is an add-on below the top tier

MatterFirst is a legal practice management platform for Australian law firms, built by NorthCape Technology, covering matters, documents, trust accounting, billing and a client portal, with data hosted in the AWS region the firm chooses.

MatterFirst suits Australian firms up to about twenty seats wanting AI document extraction with onshore processing and per-workspace pricing. Firms that bill hourly and want time captured automatically, and who are comfortable with a multi-year term.

FAQ

Questions firms ask

How does MatterFirst pricing compare to Smokeball?
MatterFirst prices per workspace from $149 per month with users included, rather than per seat. Four plans, per user per month ex GST on 36-month terms: Bill from $49, Boost from $99, Grow from $189, Prosper+ from $239. AutoTime is $39 per month extra on Grow and included in Prosper+.
Can MatterFirst import my data from Smokeball?
Yes. We offer a Migration Package for firms moving matters, contacts, documents and templates into MatterFirst, scoped per firm. Smaller teams can also start manually and add migration support later.
What does MatterFirst do that Smokeball does not?
The honest answer is that we can only speak to what we have verified. MatterFirst runs Document AI extraction and matter Q&A inside the AWS region your firm chooses, includes the client portal and automations on every plan rather than metering them, and prices per workspace. We do not publish comparisons of features we have not checked on the other platform, which is why several cells in the table above read 'not published' rather than carrying a claim.
Where is my data stored?
In the AWS region your firm chooses. Sydney (ap-southeast-2) is the default for Australian firms. Matter data, documents and Document AI processing all stay in that region: documents are not moved to another region to be OCRed or analysed.
How much does MatterFirst cost?
Pricing is per workspace rather than per seat, starting at $149 per month for Solo. Each plan includes a set number of users, a monthly pool of Document AI credits, the client portal and automations. Extra users are billed only past the included seats. Full plan inclusions are on the pricing page.
Can I get my data out if I leave?
Yes. Your matters, contacts, documents and time records are exportable on request, and there is no lock-in contract. We would rather you were able to leave and chose not to.
Is there a free trial?
Yes, a seven-day guided trial on Solo, Practice or Firm. It is guided rather than self-serve because a practice management system tells you very little until it has your real matters in it, and we would rather help you load them than leave you looking at an empty workspace.
Who builds MatterFirst?
NorthCape Technology, a Melbourne-based software company. MatterFirst is built in Australia for Australian legal practice, which is why trust accounting and Xero are first-class rather than regional add-ons, and why PEXA and InfoTrack are on the roadmap rather than absent from it.
Is MatterFirst suitable for a firm of my size?
It is designed for solo practitioners up to firms of roughly twenty seats. Below that, Solo carries the full platform for one user. Above it, the platform works but you should expect to talk to us about migration and rollout rather than signing up online.

Weighing MatterFirst against Smokeball?

Seven-day guided trial with your own matters, and a migration conversation if you need one.

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