Migrate from LawPracticeZA to Twenty CRM

LawPracticeZA clients map directly to Twenty People. The client name splits into firstName and lastName on the Twenty People record. If LawPracticeZA stores a company name instead of an individual name, the record maps to a Company in Twenty and a People record is created as the primary contact within that Company.

When a LawPracticeZA client record represents a law firm or corporate entity rather than an individual, the name maps to Twenty Companies. The People record created from the same client row becomes the primary contact linked to that Company via the People.companyId relation. This split is resolved during the mapping phase using the client name format and presence of an email address.

LawPracticeZA matters have no direct Twenty equivalent. We map each matter to a Twenty Opportunity, capturing the matter name as Opportunity.name, the matter reference number as a custom field (Matter_Reference__c), and the matter status as a custom select field (Matter_Status__c). The Opportunity Stage in Twenty is set based on the LawPracticeZA matter phase — active matters map to an open stage, closed matters map to a Won or Lost stage depending on outcome.

LawPracticeZA matter phases (Intake, Instruction, Drafting, Negotiating, Settlement, Trial, Closed) map value-by-value to Twenty Opportunity stage values. We create a stage-mapping table during discovery. Firms can rename Twenty stages to match their matter phases before migration so the import lands with correct labels.

LawPracticeZA fee earners are attorneys and staff who bill time to matters. Twenty has no native fee-earner object — workspace members are regular Twenty users. We resolve each LawPracticeZA fee earner by matching their email address to a Twenty workspace member. If no match exists, the fee earner is flagged before migration and can be invited to Twenty first. Unmatched fee earners are assigned to a fallback Twenty user for time-tracking continuity.

LawPracticeZA trust accounts have no Twenty equivalent. We create a TrustAccount custom object in Twenty (available on Professional and Organization tiers, or self-hosted) with fields for account number, bank name, opening balance, and running balance. Trust transfers between clients are stored as TrustTransaction records linked to the TrustAccount and to the People record.

LawPracticeZA invoices are legal billing documents. Twenty has no invoice entity. We export invoice PDFs from LawPracticeZA, re-upload them as Files attached to the relevant Opportunity record in Twenty, and create an Invoice custom object capturing invoice number, date, amount, and status as read-only fields. The invoice PDF is linked as an attachment to the Invoice custom record.

LawPracticeZA fee entries record billable time against matters. We export fee entries as a FeeEntry custom object in Twenty — capturing date, hours, rate, description, and linked Opportunity. The original fee entry text is preserved as a Note on the Opportunity. Fee entries are not recreated as billable records in Twenty since Twenty has no native billing engine.

LawPracticeZA files attached to matters are downloaded and re-uploaded to Twenty's file storage, then linked to the corresponding Opportunity or People record. File names are preserved. Inline images embedded in documents are extracted and re-hosted as Twenty File attachments. The original document link URL from LawPracticeZA is stored in a custom text field on the Twenty record for traceability.

LawPracticeZA activity logs (recorded time entries, ad hoc notes) map to Twenty Tasks for calls and general activities, and to Twenty Events for meetings with a start/end time. The original timestamp, fee-earner owner, and linked matter are preserved as fields on the Twenty record. If LawPracticeZA stores email body text, it maps to a Note on the related People or Opportunity record.

LawPracticeZA firms operating multiple branches store department assignments on staff and matters. Twenty has no native branch object — we create a Branch__c select field on People and Opportunity, populated from LawPracticeZA's department_id. Branch-level reporting is then achievable using Twenty's existing filter and grouping views on the custom field.

LawPracticeZA records client payments against invoices. Twenty has no payment tracking entity. We export payment records as structured CSV and attach them as Notes on the related Opportunity, capturing payment date, amount, method, and reference number. Firms using dedicated accounting software (Xero, Sage) for payment tracking should continue that workflow post-migration — Twenty is not a legal accounting system.