AbacusLaw Erfahrungen

AbacusLaw User

Kommentare: This program has been very user friendly. Info is easy to add or delete from a file in this program. It keeps issues very organized. Tabs can be customized to your firm.

Vorteile:

This software allows us to keep our client's files organized. We can tailor this program to what we need in our client's files based on what out firm does, and/or what type of case it is. We can keep up with our calendars and everyone can log in from wherever they are and see the daily organizer for all or individuals. It allows us to keep notes in files, monitors for conflicts, and is very useful for setting ticklers to use as reminders. I find it very useful that it keeps up with all the players and their info under "linked names". Also keeps up w/ events, docs, & emails in one place.

Nachteile:

If things are moved on the main drive, it breaks the links in abacus and they are no longer able to be found or traced if whomever moves the doc or breaks the link doesn't make a new one at that time.

This Saved My Business

Vorteile:

As a small law firm you would think that software and a private cloud are luxuries reserved only for "big" firms but you are wrong. To be efficient, organized, avoid malpractice, and spend more time billing and less time on admin, a small firm needs legal software like AbacusLaw. When I wanted to add staff, the Abacus Private Cloud let all of my team utilize the AbacusLaw software with ease, from home and from other states where I am also licensed. And when COVID-19 hit, it was the AbacusLaw software and the Abacus Private Cloud that let us continue work uninterrupted, serving clients and not having to lay off a single person.

Nachteile:

I wish there was a way to keep two separate books of business in AbacusLaw's accounting software since many small law firms are not "traditional" firms but several separate solo practitioners working together but with different accounting. The only "bad" part about having such a versatile and essential piece of software is on the occasion where it isn't working life seems to end. It has become indispensable. If that is a "con" that would be the biggest one!

Do not buy AbacusLaw Case Management Software

Kommentare: Abacus is a disappointment and I strongly recommend against using it. The support blames its customer and Microsoft Abacus' failures. Our program crashes constantly and the supposed case management and document management features are too complicated to use. The phone calendar and contact updates no longer work, which was a major purchase consideration when we purchased Abacus. Now the company will not support its outdated system and is using its failure to extort upgrades from its long-term customers. We started using Abacus over five years ago and experienced many headaches thought that term. Now the system constantly crashes. As an example, for the past week or so we have not been able to add new client contacts or calendar events. Imagine trying to run a law office and you cannot open a file or put an event on the calendar. Abacus support was rude and cavalier about our problems and tried to put the blame on Microsoft Windows 10 and blamed our office for deleting something on our computer -- an utter impossibility. I cannot strongly impress upon anyone considering teaming up with Abacus my disappointment and hope you will steer clear of AbacusLaw.

Nachteile:

The company seems to have abandoned us. We purchased AbacusLaw five years ago and now the program keeps crashing and the rude support personnel blame us for using an outdated version which Abacus says it is trying to faze out an no longer support. We bought the program because it offered case management and document management capabilities, and automatically updated contacts and calendar on the phone. Over the years, we constantly needed to contact support because the calendar and contact update functionality constantly broke down. Now the software crashes all of the time. I could not enter new clients nor could I make calendar entries for the past five (5) days. I called support and they complained that Abacus no longer wants to support this version and claimed my staff must have "deleted something" -- which is an impossibility! and the support blames Microsoft updates. We are beyond frustrated with Abacus. The program is so poorly designed there is no way to utilize many of the features it claims to have. Frankly we gave up on linking documents, producing case management reports, etc. because the software is too complicated to understand. Abacus now wants to up-sell us on its new software products and the pricing could not be more noncompetitive. I sincerely discourage anyone from using Abacus Law and this is the advice from a long term user who gave Abacus an honest and fair chance.

All the Bells and Whistles

Kommentare: I have been an AbacusLaw users since I opened my own firm in 2006. I have used the software and switched to APC. I went briefly with a competitor for four months because of the cost difference and learned quickly: you get what you pay for. I promptly switched back to Abacus and determined that the APC was worth it.

Vorteile:

The ease of use, the triple reconciliation feature, and the linking items to client matters.

Nachteile:

I wish the calendar syncing feature with Google calendar/Outlook was easier and not manually required. I also wish the price point was lower for small firms. It's just me and a paralegal.

Abacus Law - A Year In

Kommentare: We wanted a product that allowed us to have a 360 view on our productivity, profitability, case management and accounting software. Abacus has provided us with this in one package.

Vorteile:

The time ticket and notes functions have increased our accuracy and efficiency in billing, and provide attorneys and partners with the ability to provide clients with accurate status reports on their matters. The document management function mean that teams can access all information quickly. The software allows partners to track their teams productivity and evaluate work in progress.

Nachteile:

The software does not provide for multiple currency databases - although Abacus built several for us. The outlook function is not so stable and with us use several currency databases, you have to keep switching the outlook function in each database. The reports format takes some getting used to - they would be easier to use if they could be downloaded as excel spreadsheets.

Mixed Bag

Kommentare: It's a mixed bag. It could be great software if the people who developed it had real experience using it in a practical environment. And if they spent more time testing stuff to make sure it worked. And if their tech support people were more helpful and less evasive.

Vorteile:

Part of what attracted us to this software was that it advertised that it allowed us to integrate WordPerfect forms that we already had into the document preparation feature. We also like the group calendar that allows us to color-code each attorney making it easy to determine who is where. They also did a fairly decent job of integrating old data from a previous practice management software to allow more thorough conflict checking. The interface for most things is reasonably intuitive. It has features that can make it a good all-around practice management program if you use all of them.

Nachteile:

Technical support is sad. So many of the people we get have no idea what the problems are or why the program is doing something it should not be. Correcting an error often becomes a lengthy boondoggle that takes ridiculous amounts of time. Features that they promise are part of the software are often not fully or properly functional, or the support staff seems to have no idea how they actually work. When trying to work with WordPerfect integration, for example, they did not seem to have any tech support personnel who actually knew how to use the program or how it was supposed to integrate and could not answer questions about it, so we were on our own. It does integrate, for the most part, but some things we try to ask about they just don't know an answer for . They promised us integration with LawPay and then backed out instead pushing a program they had developed to take payments. After seeing how they have been with other features, I don't want them to experiment on me and my clients with some "new" software they have halfway developed. We sometimes found that we knew more about the program than some of the tech support folks we were on calls with, and quite frequently we never receive explanations for why something was not working right, even though we WANT to know so we can avoid the issue in the future. I suspect sometimes it's a bug on their end that they do not want to confess to. It also does not double-check deletions and changes-leading to lost data.

Good not Great, but what is...

Kommentare: Our billable hours have increased, due to the ease of use of the timekeeper processes.

Vorteile:

Linking ability between names, matters, the calendar and to email.

Nachteile:

Least favorite is so ironic. In Abacus Accounting retainers are painstaking and excruciatingly burdensome to keep track of and requires manual allocation to timekeepers.

Abacus Review

Kommentare: I like most of the features and options, but have concerns about time issues. It really concerns me that employees could potentially "create billing time" when there is no client work being prepared.

Vorteile:

The ability to locate a client and find all the information needed in one place and the ability to use the portal with ease.

Nachteile:

Three things: 1.I don't like that employees can just input time. We want the timer used but this allows them just to input time. 2. Billing and Invoicing - We don't bill our clients for phone conversations, but for our records we need to keep track of time. If we don't bill them, but have time entered for it, the invoice is gapped and looks unprofessional. 3. The calendar not allowing recurrences to sync with Outlook. We have had several issues with this and it is a concern when scheduling if employees are out of the office and are not able to sync.

Support going down hill

Kommentare: I've been 10 year plus user and beta tester; support was excellent before they become AbacusNext. Now they have so many products to support that the level one folks just don't have answers to anything but simple questions. Also you cannot get them on the phone in most cases or if you do it is after a very long wait (up to 30 minutes).

Vorteile:

Full featured product with links to Outlook.

Nachteile:

Support used to be excellent when you had a question; due to company growth and buying other business it is no longer possible to get phone support in a timely manner. When you get it and it is complicated issue level one isn't able to solve the problem as in the past.

Straightforward legal calendaring software

Vorteile:

Simple calendaring software, which is all I need to schedule upcoming hearings and deadlines. I don't really use the bells and whistles beyond that.

Nachteile:

No real cons. My use isn't that in depth, but it works well for the simple calendaring that I use it for.

Hands down would NOT buy

Kommentare: I would highly recommend choosing a different case management software. The program does not feel like it was designed by attorney's, and the company clearly wants to lock users in to a long term contract because they know their product is inferior and it is the only way they can retain their customer base.

Vorteile:

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.

Nachteile:

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.

You Really Don't Want to Know!

Kommentare: It was great until we were forced to upgrade.

Vorteile:

Ease of use. Accessibility for all paralegals and attorneys for file information.

Nachteile:

After we upgraded, AbacusLaw has been terrible! It changed the decade from "19" to "20" in all client birth years, which will have to be corrected manually. It now locks people out on a frequent basis, occasionally limits their access (will not let them edit notes they have already entered). I was told by an Abacus Support Tech and our company's IT person that Abacus is not meant to be opened and left open. We have been told we need to only open it to do what needs to be done, then close it back out. To leave it open (and we are not even talking about overnight), will cause it to lock up and refuse to allow anyone but the administrator (me to get into it.) I then have to contact our IT guy and spend time that I don't have to get it closed down and re-opened. It is so frustrating on the part of every one of us who uses it!! It is a pain to have to log into Abacus just to check an address, get a telephone number, etc., then log out, only to have to log back in a little later, and on and on.

The program has become worst than ever!

Kommentare: The program always had issues but over the last year or two, the customer service has been dismal and the problems have been increasing. When the problems have to do with accounting records, it is very impactful and time consuming to fix. It has been a disruption to our daily work without any resolution to the existing issues.

Vorteile:

The program strives to assist with case management, billing and accounting - all within one program, but falls VERY short of achieving its intended goals.

Nachteile:

It is the worst time-consuming inefficient and ineffective program I have had to work with. I've dealt with them for over 12 years and it is getting worst rather than better. It has cost me more money in lost time than I have paid for the program itself. Customer service is also horrible, with no responses being received as to emails, calls, scheduled appointments being missed, etc. The program glitches are a daily issue that slows down work productivity. Unfortunately having all of our records in the program makes the jump to another program complicated so best advice: do not use ABACUS!

Easy to use and customize, terrible customer support

Kommentare: I've enjoyed using Abacus for many years. I used the cloud based option which was really great aside from the cost for storage space and it's limitations. I'm not crazy about their support team, but it wasn't a huge problem because it usually worked fine on it own. There are limits to the reporting, but they are also very customizable within those limits. Creating custom mail merge documents is a breeze.

Vorteile:

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).

Nachteile:

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.

Problems with Support

Kommentare: Three of four years ago, I would have given five stars on all categories. Things have changed. In addition, the new owners increased annual license fees 40% last year.

Vorteile:

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.

Nachteile:

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.

Great Salesmen, Terrible Service - a business liability

Kommentare: Time capture for billing, full accounting software.

Vorteile:

Strong database with a lot of features and the unique Outlook add-in to bill emails straight into the integrated accounting software. The add-in will make you very dependent really quickly if you bill for time reading and responding to emails.

Nachteile:

Horrible support and inaccurate sales information. Each time there is an update, we had to end up calling in to fix the problem. If we were lucky, we got an experienced tech. Otherwise we ended up going through several until the problem was fixed. We would spend hours on the phone each time for days in a row and the problems would completely prevent us from working for a day or more. The down time was costing us too much money and client retention issues. Finally after 5 years we had enough and cancelled the program based upon the original salesman's representations that we paid for the program for 2 years, then after that we could pay for maintenance but we would have a usable stand alone program. We found out that is untrue when we cancelled. We were not given the opportunity to retrieve our information, billing or financials unless we paid for a month-to-month account and tech fee. In response, the company would not return our phone calls.

AbacusLaw is Essential for Saving Time and Money

Kommentare: Our experience with AbacusLaw has been very beneficial in keeping matters organized and running smoothly. And also, knowing that if any issue should arise, it will be promptly seen to by their very capable IT team, which may be what makes AbacusLaw essential. Their team is always courteous and ready to serve you in a timely manner. As far as the software itself, there is rarely a problem.

Vorteile:

Organization is key, so being able to link matters with the calendar and pull up events with so little effort makes my job much easier. I cannot imagine running a law firm without this program. It makes all the difference when you are in the business of billing clients based on time spent on their particular matter. The full scope of events, dates, time and time spent are at the ready, saving a tremendous amount of time. AbacusLaw is incredibly functional. This software has it all, and I feel that our small firm isn't implementing the software to it's fullest capabilities. This is apparent as there are helpful suggestions each morning when I login and go to my calendar.

Nachteile:

There is little to not like about the software. I suppose if it were free and could read my mind, but...

Everything was fine until we went to the Abacus Private Cloud

Kommentare: Check out other options if you want a cloud bases case management program before going with APC. I am waiting for my 5 year contract to expire and then reevaluate my options. I would like to have more control over "my cloud" and have local, on the scene tech support like we used to enjoy before we were forced to upgrade to APC, or else pay a high price for non-supported, prior versions of the software.

Vorteile:

It is nice to be able to access the case management software through the cloud. It allows you to take you work with you where ever you go - which can be a good thing or a bad one.

Nachteile:

Abacus Private Cloud does not play well with anything but MS Office 365. I had to buy a more expensive version of Dragon Naturally Speaking Legal and there is such a lag between dictation and text, that the Dragon software never gets used. We also use Essential Forms for our Judicial Council Forms in CA. APC tech support has left me hanging for over 2 weeks, and countless hours trying to figure out software that they had previously installed on their server for our use. It also seems like every time I call support to change something, there is a horrendous charge.

Mediocre at best. Don't waste your TIME and your $$

Kommentare: I would not suggest Abacus to anyone and tell everyone NOT to buy it. I have had it for 1 1/2 and I have to say I am disappointed and exhausted with having to use it.
Before I did buy it, I had done much research on the software out there and for my solo practice, the price and the fact that they offered client and accounting made a lot of sense. So, I bought it. I can write about 10 pages of information as to why you should NOT get it. Here are a few:
1. They removed the payroll option and actually blocked you from using entirely (meaning that you could not manually punch in the information) and made you pay their payroll affiliate. Completely unfair and uncalled for. There was no warning that they were going to block you from using the existing payroll features. Only that they were not going to support it. Support and block are completely 2 different things.
2. To run a bill, you need to go or click at 15 places. Isn't that ridiculous.
3. I was able to email bills from abacus accounting. That stopped working and they could not fix it.
4. They do monthly training on separate issues (like billing, entering date, etc.). It sounds all easy at first, but when you actually start doing it yourself, oh boy. Good luck to you.
5. If you search for a client, after his name comes up, you can't click enter to open up his matter. You actually have to click on the name. Imagine doing that 50 times a day.
6. Even though you can create abbreviations on the billing so it types it for you, e.g., RAR, it types out Receive and review, you can't do the same when you are typing notes in the client's matter. You have to type it all out. Makes no sense.
7. Learning curve is HUGE. It takes forever to learn how to use. Time you don't have.
8. You can't email a batch of bills at one time. You have to click in a few places, type your client's name, find the bill, and then click email. Can you imagine doing that for 30 or 100 bills a month.
9. Everything is SO LABORIOUS. It takes 5x more work to just get one thing done than it should.
10. In certain screens, you can't maximize the view. It is locked so it is a small screen. I have to say that but for one rep, they are very professional. But honestly, who cares. If I have to spend hours on the phone to fix issues, what does it matter that they are nice. I am a solo and I don't have time to waste with Abacus. I wish you luck but consider my review before you start down a nightmare of issues.

Buggy Software, Bad Tech Support, Expensive

Kommentare: Absolutely do NOT sign a contract with Amicus. The company is the worst sort of "bait and switch" you can imagine. And you will be stuck with a contract and poor software/poor support and nothing you can do about it. When my users went down from 4 to 2 they refused to adjust and am forcing me to pay for 2 licenses I don't need. This is outrageous, especially considering how poor the product is.

Vorteile:

Claims to let you run lawyer practice management software. Usually has a technical or sales problem. See "dislike" below as comments hard to separate.

Nachteile:

Support not knowledgeable and very slow. Sales are greedy and will not adjust contracts based on your needs. In concept this is a good software, but the execution is miserable and the company always makes excuses for their poor product but takes forever to fix them, if they even do.

My experience with Abacus

Kommentare: Generally Abacus suits my purposes well. I cannot imagine the effort it would take to switch to another system, there is so much critical information in my system that has accumulated over the years and which I can, and do, access.

Vorteile:

I have been using this software since 2000, I think. I don't know all the tricks, but to manage time and client information it is wonderful.

Nachteile:

When not updated regularly it doesn't function as well. Sometimes updating can be a nightmare.

Longtime user very satisfied

Kommentare: My experience with Abacus has been great, so I'll very likely continue to use it until I retire, probably within the next ten years.

Vorteile:

The close coordination of the client management software with the accounting software is very nice... I've used Abacus for close to eleven years and like it very much.

Nachteile:

There are a few little quirks here and there, but not serious, and if I did a little more research or asked for help I could probably figure them out, like how to automatically put my letterhead on invoices printed from Abacus.

Help received

Kommentare: To whom it may concern,
I just had to take a moment to send an email to thank Dean for his invaluable, over and beyond customer service, he is a true asset to your company, and I hope that Abacus customer service management knows what a devoted, knowledgeable employee you have. I attended Dean's webinar on Mail Merge in Abacus on Wednesday on 12/16/2015, which was great, and a real informative webinar, that was well planned, easy to follow, and full of useful information. However, I am writing this email to acknowledge what Dean did for me afterwards. After the webinar, I had emailed Dean asking if he could help me create a query to generate a client list, (past, and current), that have an email address, with their phone number's and if he could help me make a excel spreadsheet with this information, which was not something my employer had paid for, but we desperately needed. She had been asking me to generate this list for the past two weeks, and despite my endless attempts, I could not figure out how to generate a query that would do this correctly. Within minutes Dean had generated a query, showed me how to use it, how to modify it, and how Abacus could assist our office in the future to generate letters, emails and help turn potential leads into paying clients. I was amazed, and so completely grateful, I joked with him that he single handily may have saved my job! I had to take this time to send this email because it is not often that I come across someone that is so good at their job, not to mention completely dedicated, with such excellent customer service skills. I will be recommending to the attorney I work for that we attend more webinars, and utilize Abacus and all its features for her practice, and as a tool to run a smooth, successful law firm. Again, thank you Dean, I cannot express my gratitude to you for going over and beyond to help me help my employer!!! Have a great holiday, and a Happy New Year!

AbacusLaw

Vorteile:

For me, the software runs without a hitch. There are many functions, some of which I haven't yet fully utilized.The scheduling tool is fantastic and very flexible to my needs. Most functionalities are simple to learn how to use. You can carry your job everywhere you go thanks to it.Additionally, the application has a fantastic client database with notes .

Nachteile:

This software usage is effective. apart from The only drawback I can mention is that updating can occasionally be a horrific experience.

Abacus Law has its ups and downs.

Kommentare: I do not think I would recommend it. I would change software but for the time consuming nature or changing billing software.

Vorteile:

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

Nachteile:

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