AbacusLaw Reviews

Pros

Everything is in one program and able to access it all easily

Cons

We always have problems with our updates each year. Abacus is really good about fixing it but still a pain to have to call tech support to get it fixed.

Pros

I have worked for two separate law offices since 1998. My first time using Abacus in 1998 (we call her "ABBY") I felt a little overwhelmed- but as I learned HOW the system worked- I LOVED it! I rely on ABBY for everything! I like knowing WHERE the client's file is, whether it is on someone's desk or in the attorney's briefcase, or tucked away in the filing cabinet- it saves time when searching a large or even small office for a file- just click on the client's Matter and look for "LOCATION" and BAM! it tells me the last entered location! ABBY keeps track of notes, events, tasks/to-do's, court hearings, appointments- anything that is important to your office. When a client comes in to the office or calls, I can easily pull up ABBY and see what notes or tasks that others have placed in the system for that client, then I can easily help the client do what they need to do, like print out documents for them to sign - or maybe collect a payment for something- I can help the client without having to pull others away from what they are doing. I have found ABBY to be an AWESOME TOOL for the law office- ABBY is right up there with the scanner, copier and telephone! Cannot run a business without any of those!!

Cons

the ONLY 'bad' thing, is if the HUMAN does not enter their tasks or to-do's, or utilize ABBY as intended. ABBY is like a car, she is not going to go anywhere unless you put the tasks, to-do's, hearings, location of a file, etc. in her. Train the employees to utilize ABBY for your office's needs, and there will be no 'negative' anything regarding ABACUS.

Pros

I really have not found anything I like about this software. If I had to pick something, I would say the timer function works fairly well.

Cons

This software is the worst case management software I have used. The software repeatedly freezes and it is not intuitive or user friendly. Billing, which ties into AbacusAccounting, is extremely difficult to use. Unlike in other software, you cannot just edit a pre-bill with ease. It also lacks the integration that other software has. When you take into account the long term contract of five years, the inability to terminate that contract without buying it out, and the terrible customer service, the product actually costs you more than any time you would theoretically save using it. Furthermore, you are permitted to add users but never to cancel a user, effectively meaning if your Firm face a downturn, you would still be locked in to pay for users no longer with the Firm.

Pros

The Abacus software, now on Abacus Private Cloud, almost always is functioning properly, and is accessible from anywhere, anytime. After our experience, we would now not use anything that is not cloud-based, particularly being in a city highly prone to power-outages, floods, and hurricanes.
We have found the software to steadily improve in features and speed. The customer service is the best I have experienced very particularly in the software industry. The techs are all very knowledgeable and carefully resolve every inquiry. They are also available very quickly, an absolute anomaly in the software business.
The calendering component, as others have observed, is a key strong-point. The linking in of all events, documents, e-mails, and notes into one accessible electronic folder provides the convenient efficiency that you will frequently use.
It is possible to scan documents directly to the cloud case file from your local computer - an important step-saver.
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, when installed, functions on the APC desktop.
You will need reasonably strong, consistent Internet connections. Airport terminals are mostly unusable work locations even with a "jet-pack" or cell-phone "hot-spot."

Cons

This is a powerful software tool. As such, except for the calendar, it is not a "plug & play" system, except for the most computer-fluent users. To fully utilize its comprehensive features will take a commitment to initial as well as ongoing learning while taking the daily, time-consuming steps to precisely link all activities back to the case file. However, the added work will and must obviate the paper file.
The queries, forms, and reports functions are all very valuable but are far too complex to user-initiate, and each requires ongoing custom installation by the provider.
Cost-effective file collaboration with outsiders is not possible, therefore an added cloud account and the expense is required along with the time of copying and moving sizeable files.
Changing accounting from existing into the integrated system is a major transition to be carefully evaluated in advance. Maintaining the current accounting system, at least temporarily, will be required.
This software must be your primary organizational tool as it will grow into a weighted expense that is justifiable only if it is the key resource.
The software does crash daily when trying to interact with Outlook for file linking of e-mails. It can usually be resolved with a quick re-start.
Initiating printing is quite slow and getting slower but understandable with a remote server.
Microsoft Office, Adobe Pro, and Reallegal depo transcription all work very well here. Some other applications do not at all.

Pros

Because I am a power user, I am able to make it do everything I want . There is not any other PM software out there that is as customizable. However, that comes with a cost in usability (more on that below).

However, I have had excellent technical support. I had an issue that I could not solve on my own. I called CS and, although they were not able to resolve it in that session, I was impressed with the thoroughness of the work and the help offered. They went above and beyond to to try to ID the issue. After tinkering around more, I called back with more info and was connected to another tech who was able to resolve the issue. Both had excellent professionalism and telephone demeanor.

I was very impressed by these two experiences and with the quality of the technicians. This was much better service than I expected and there are only a few companies who have provided this quality of support.

Cons

There is a cost to customizability. That is that it can be quite difficult for a non-computer-guy to set up beyond basic calendaring and contact tracking. The workflow and database relationships are not particularly intuitive. Even simple things like creating a search query take more computer knowledge than most attorney will have. Setting up reports or calendar rules is extremely user-unfriendly. Without my computer background I could never have done it.

Because I'm a power user, I can adapt it to meet all of our needs. But out-of-the-box, it's a little too generic to be really useful for most attorneys, even with the "Special Editions." The attorney who referred me to Abacus uses it as nothing more than a calendar and client contacts and it's too expensive to use it that way.

Pros

Searchability of contacts and communications

Cons

Clunky web functionality and user experience.

Pros

Their support is absolutely the best. In the very unusual event that I need support, they always remember me, are friendly and super knowledgeable. Usually I am asking for a workaround to make their program do something it isn't designed to do. They could just impress me off, but they really try to make it work the way I need it, and they usually find a way. Having client info at my fingertips makes me look very efficient and very competent.

Pros

I really enjoy how easy this software is to use by everyone in the office, attorneys. paralegals, and assistants. The software enables our office to keep our clients' files very organized and easily accessible. The calendaring is essential to our litigation practice as everything is streamlined and managed in a very logical manner. I am an attorney and the technology is geared for all of the legal professions and types of practices.

Cons

It has so many great features that i have not been able to utilize it to its full capacity as of yet.

Pros

The software sounds amazing when described by the sales team. Unfortunately they are overpromise and under deliver.

Cons

The cloud functionality does not work, the billing program glitches. It does not sync with outlook. It is a horrible process to be released from the contract. We paid $5,000 for upgrades and customization but never received them. We are now being charged $750 to get our data out after we switched.

Pros

Completing forms and inputting data is easy and intuitive. Being able to keep track of events in AbacusLaw is so much easier than with other programs i have used (like Outlook).

Cons

Some forms are not compatible with Dragon Naturally Speaking which is frustrating.

Pros

I liked that it could integrate with our business systems as they are.

Cons

The add-ins do not work consistently and have more cons than pros. The reporting is not very good and making deposits that are not client checks makes no sense. The system is good for basic legal clients, but anything more complex and there's issues. You can't just double click on a number in a report to get more information on it like many other software programs. If you print a check, you can't change anything about it with an edit; you have to delete the entire thing to make small changes. There is also no way to track time reductions truly. Entering time takes forever because you have to go into each matter separately and enter your time instead of a large platform to enter time for each matter on one sheet. Editing bills takes so much longer than it should because of how it has to be done.

Alternatives Considered

CosmoLex and Clio

Reasons for Choosing AbacusLaw

The software was never setup right from the beginning and it had been too long running it at about 25% of what it was worth.

Reasons for Switching to AbacusLaw

I thought it was the best product for it's money at the time.

Pros

The bottom line is that Abuscu does everything that I need and has added bells and whistles that would be valuable in my practice. Once I figure out how to use a function it works well for me. Learning how to use most functions easy. Beyond basic time tracking, adjusting my working style to Abacus Law has been an obstacle. The problem is mine than the software. I've learned to use certain functions that would be valuable to me, but I have not been able to adopt them. I don't think another application would be better. The bottom line is that Abuscu does everything that I need and has added bells and whistles that would be valuable in my practice.

Cons

The software feels like it was written 20 years ago and not updated to a better user-interface. I wish that there were a simple to use app for my smartphone. Abacus may have that for its cloud product, but the cost difference made me lose interets. The online help is daunting, but the telephone support is terrific. It's an adequate balance. I wish there was a way to export billing data to Quickbooks. My accountant knows QB. I can't impose on him to learn Abacus accounting. I'm using a program that tracks my computer use by app and even collects screenshots. Something like that would be a wonderful addition.

Pros

Deadlines are a big and important part of our every day function. Abacus calendaring makes it easy to keep track of the deadlines and also important hearings and meetings.

Customer service is always very helpful.

Cons

Abacus Knowledge Base does not always have helpful information when I need to figure out something new.

When adding a new attorney the last name box is highlighted, when you tab to the next box it is the ID box instead of the first name box or another box that you actually need to add information. This is frustrating because an ID number is not something you change or add each time you add a new name.

When adding a "bill to" person, an accounting screen for the billing is opened. When you click the box next to Open Advanced Billing Options on save, then done, extra steps have to be taken to actually get to the billing screen to enter additional information.

We don't us Abacus forms because they are not easy to set up. With the forms we do have set up, many times we have to make adjustments each time we use them so it is not worth the time or hassle to do so and we end up creating the document with out using Abacus forms. It costs extra for any help to create these forms.

Pros

I like the ease of making documents and templates with Abacus. It is very customizable and easy to use. I like having the matters and names databases and being able to cross reference cases with people. The reporting is good, but could use some work so that you can pull reports from 2 different databases at once (i.e. the addresses of all of the clients or providers for all active matters).

Cons

The draw back with Abacus is that it doesn't give you check lists or ways to case manage very well. It's easy to use and customize, which is good, because their customer services is slow and not great.

Pros

It is a comprehensive software product for a law office, with case management, document management and billing. Our firm has been using it for 12 years.

Cons

The original founder of Abacus had very high standards. Tech support was very good. You could always connect quickly with a knowledgeable tech support specialist. In addition, for the first 7 or 8 years we used it, it was virtually bullet proof. It rarely, if ever, had a crash or issue of any kind. In more recent versions, you started to see more crashes or technical problems. But, at least the support was good when needed. The founder sold the company a couple of years ago. They acquired Amicus, several other products and most recently HotDocs. The quality of their tech support has significantly deteriorated. For example, we had a crash using the billing component, with a window that popped up with an error code this morning at roughly 9:00 a.m. Called tech support, was on hold for ten minutes, then prompted to leave a message. Left message at 9:10 a.m. this morning. In fact, both I and the user of the workstation left messages. It is 3:15 p.m. and Abacus has not called back.

Pros

Great sales pitch. If the program worked, it is a lawyers dream. It doesn't.

Cons

The program does not connect and shuts down. Then you cannot do anything. It does not operate.

Pros

I like the ability to track action and save emails and contact for each client. Also, to track deadlines and tickles on the calendar.

Cons

Use of the reports (figuring out correct useful report or creating report), integration with merging letters and documents, and customizing the screens is extremely cumbersome, difficult, time consuming and is not intuitive. I spent several hours as well as time on the phone and on the learning video figuring out merging form letters and documents. However, when I did figure it out, I found out that some of the Word Documents will not work with abacus. I am still not able to determine why some work and some don't. I don't have time to spend on additional document creation.

I also had a deadline not show up on the DEADSOL report because it was coded slightly differently. This is major problem if minor coding error makes the deadline invisible.

Pros

Our needs were minimal and this software met most of those minimal needs.

Cons

Screens are not customizable. We asked repeatedly for the ability to make custom buttons so that we could execute tasks on each Client without going through their rigorous protocols. After several years and release updates, custom buttons never made it. It seems they don't want users to alter the product so that it best fits the users needs. They are very rigid. At the term of our contract they began billing me at 4 times our agreed rate with no notice. Not once did they disclose the amount they were going to charge and it cannot be found anywhere in their emails, website, etc. For that matter, they could have charged me $1 million a month. In any event, when I told then I did not want do business with such a dishonest company and cancel any service agreement with them, they kept charging my bank card. I finally had to cancel my bank card to stop the charges. Worse than AOL and Comcast.

Pros

I like the fact that Abacus Law and Abacus Accounting work so well together. Everything integrates nicely which saves me a lot of time. I also like the fact that tech support is local (in San Diego), speaks English, and is (almost) always available.

Cons

Our software developed a "glitch" quite some time ago and neither tech support, nor the engineering staff, were able to resolve it. It's still there, and it keeps throwing me error messages, but the program works in spite of it. Our main complaint is that we would like to upgrade to the new version of Abacus, but it does not work offline, so we've had to stay with the older version. (Internet in our area of town goes down frequently, and our practice is very Abacus-dependent.)

Pros

It is easy to learn and the customer service/software support people are very knowledgeable if something doesn't make sense. The software is very intuitive and saves lots of time. Saving time means getting more work done in a day. It is reasonably priced for the initial investment, and the support is a considerable value when softwares other than Abacus update and functionality changes. We moved our office 2 years ago, and taking Abacus along and getting us set up in our new location was EASY! Adding and replacing equipment has been seamless, like new PCs, phones, and/or laptops. The Abacus team is amazing!

Cons

Sometimes the updates come at the most inopportune times. It would be better if we could chose when to update things more in coordination with IT personnel for major updates.

Pros

Abacuslaw is easy to use (even for lawyers), easy to setup and provides a central case management solution incorporating everything our practice needs from document generation and management, diary/calendar (rules-based features too to help with case workflow), email integration, etc. It is versatile enough to keep us on top of our litigation work (95%) of our practice, but we can also customize its features to handle our estates/real estate files. Keep up the good work.

Cons

I generally hate software that requires an ongoing subscription or nickels and dimes you for every added feature, but Abacuslaw is tolerable in that regard.

Pros

Adding billing entries to a client's account is easy and very user friendly.

Cons

There are issues with the accounting features, and sometimes adding a credit or correcting a mistake made in prior billing cycles compounds past issues.

Pros

With APC I can work from home in the morning, go to the office and log in again right where I left off without having to maintain expensive servers. Tech support has been very responsive and always available whenever we have a problem, which is not very often. The features of Abacus Law are completely customizable to suit the needs of my practice. There are lots of great tutorials and other online resources to help us get the most from Abacus Law.

Cons

We had used Amicus Attorney for many years but wanted a full featured program that integrated case management with accounting. The transition to Abacus Law was not as easy as I had hoped and took a considerable amount of time. However, the transition team was great to work with and stayed with the project until they were able to successfully convert my data.
Also, compared to Amicus, the user interface with Abacus Law is not as intuitive and has a bit of a learning curve. However, overall it is a more robust and feature rich product.

Pros

I work for a small firm, so we only using the calendaring system. I do like the ease of going into the calendar and just clicking on a particular day to enter my calendar event. I especially like the software for preparing trial calendars.

Cons

When I print my weekly calendar and there is a holiday that week, I have to remove "holiday" in order to print the full information for the holiday event (i.e., Court and Office Closed), otherwise it cuts it off. Once I print the calendar I have to go back in to add the holiday back, so it will continue to show up for the following year. Not a major problem, just a little inconvenient.