A Liscio alternative for firms that want the portal, not the inbox
Liscio is built around client communication and, lately, reading and filing documents for you. FirmHello is built around the checklist of what each client still owes.
No card and no sales call. Your portal carries your firm's name from the first client you add.
Quarter-end bookkeeping
5 of 7 received1 item overdue — FirmHello is chasing
- Bank statements, quarter Received 2 Oct
- Card statements Received 2 Oct
- Payroll summary Reminder Friday
- ! Supplier invoices over 1,000 Overdue
- Management accounts sign-off Approved 29 Sep
Castell Ward's portal, as their client sees it.
We make a competing product, so read this as an interested party's comparison. Liscio has changed a lot recently: it now describes itself as a file intelligence platform for accounting and bookkeeping firms, with software that reads, classifies and renames client documents, alongside messaging, texting, organizers and e-signatures. Much of what is written about it elsewhere describes the older product.
FirmHello is a narrower tool with a different centre. There is no inbox and no texting: clients get a list of what you need, on your own domain, and the portal follows up until it arrives. The table below is the honest version of that difference.
Liscio and FirmHello, side by side
Liscio's side is taken from its public home and pricing pages. Where a feature depends on the plan, the plan is named.
| What you are comparing | Liscio | FirmHello |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Liscio Client communication and document intelligence: AI that reads and files documents, plus messages, texts, organizers and e-signatures. | FirmHello A client portal built around requests, approvals and a per-client vault. |
| How it is priced | Liscio Per user, billed annually: $19, $49 or $99 (USD) per user a month depending on the plan, with some items charged per use. | FirmHello Per firm, by storage: from $79 USD a month, with unlimited staff seats on every plan. |
| Messaging and texting | Liscio Messages, texts and emails with clients on one timeline. | FirmHello None. Notifications point clients to the portal. |
| Document requests | Liscio Requests and organizers with automatic follow-up. | FirmHello Request lists with automatic chasing on your own schedule. |
| Signatures | Liscio E-signature, billed as used, with optional identity checks. | FirmHello Approvals on the record: who agreed, to which version, when and from where. For e-signatures, bring the signing provider you already use. |
| Branding | Liscio A custom-branded login in your firm's colours, on the Platform plan and above. | FirmHello Your own domain, logo and colours, with notifications from your address. |
| Practice management | Liscio None. Liscio says it is designed to run alongside one. | FirmHello None. The same is true of FirmHello. |
Liscio details checked against liscio.me and liscio.me/pricing on 23 September 2026, in US dollars. Liscio is a trademark of its owner; this page is not affiliated with or endorsed by it. Prices and plans change — check theirs before you decide.
How to choose between them
The question is where you want the client relationship to live: in a conversation, or in a list.
When Liscio is the better choice
If your clients prefer to text, and your team wants every message, text and email with a client on one timeline, Liscio is built for that and FirmHello is not. The same goes for automatic reading and renaming of the documents clients send, and for e-signatures on returns.
- You want to message and text clients from the same system.
- You want software to read and file incoming documents for you.
- You need e-signatures, including on tax returns.
When a request-first alternative fits better
If you would rather the client relationship did not turn into another inbox, a checklist is a quieter tool: the client sees what is outstanding, sends it, and the reminders stop. It suits firms that want fewer conversations about documents rather than better ones. The product tour shows that list from the client's side and from the firm's.
- You want the portal on your own domain, not the vendor's.
- You would rather not pay per user for staff who only look things up.
- You want every approval recorded against the version the client saw.
What to check before you switch either way
Moving portals means moving years of client documents and, in Liscio's case, message history. Ask how you get all of it out again, per client, before you put anything in.
- Can you export every client's documents yourself, without support?
- Can you export message history, and in what format?
- What happens to client access the day you stop paying?
What the request-first alternative does
Every featureRequest lists
A named checklist per client: files, typed answers, confirmations and approvals.
Automatic chasing
Reminders on your schedule, from your firm's address, until each item arrives.
Your brand, your domain
Clients log in at your own domain and never see our name.
Approvals on the record
Who approved which version, when and from where, recorded rather than signed.
Client documents are the most sensitive thing a firm holds
So the portal is built to hold them properly: encrypted, access granted one client at a time, and every action recorded. Nothing travels as an email attachment.
How FirmHello is built- Encrypted in transit and at rest
- TLS 1.3 on every connection and AES-256 encryption for stored documents, with keys managed separately from the data they protect.
- Access is per client, not per firm
- A client can only ever load their own space. Staff access is granted per client, so a junior can be given three files and nothing else.
- No documents in email
- Notifications tell a client that something is waiting and link them to the portal. The material itself never leaves it as an attachment.
- Complete audit trail
- Views, uploads, downloads, approvals and permission changes are all recorded with actor, time and IP, and the log is exportable.
- Retention you control
- Set how long documents live per client or per matter, and hold or purge on request, so the portal matches the retention policy you already have.
- Hosted in your region
- Choose United States, Canada, the EU or the United Kingdom, and your firm's data stays in that region.
Questions about Liscio alternatives
Does FirmHello have client messaging or texting?
No. FirmHello sends notifications that point the client to their list in the portal; it does not host conversations. If messaging is the part of Liscio you rely on, FirmHello will not replace it.
Does FirmHello read and rename documents automatically?
No. Documents arrive against the item on the request list they answer, so they are already labelled by what they are for, but FirmHello does not read their contents.
How does the pricing compare?
Liscio charges per user, with some items billed per use. FirmHello charges per firm by storage, with unlimited staff seats and unlimited client logins on every plan.
Can FirmHello run alongside practice management software?
Yes. Like Liscio, it is not a practice management system, and it is designed to sit alongside the one you already use.
Related
Where to go next
Every page on the site, grouped by the question it answers.
- TaxDome alternative
- SmartVault alternative
- Liscio alternative — you are here
- ShareFile alternative
Ready when you are
Put one client's list on your own domain and see what comes back without a conversation.
No card and no sales call. If you would rather tell us about your firm first, use the longer form.