Abacus Private Cloud

ABACUS PRIVATE CLOUD - EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY, RELIABILITY & SERVICE

Kommentare: This platform outsources office computing (in my case, for a law office) to a proven, trusted vendor that provides excellent customer service, reliability and stability. This enables smaller companies (like mine) to take advantage of economies of scale; and achieve levels of quality, security and dependability in their computing network that otherwise would be to costly if done with local servers and IT support. This is a truly game-changing platform; professionally implemented
by a company of top notch network and data center experts. I am completely satisified with Abacus Private Cloud.

Vorteile:

I have used Abacus Private Cloud since 06/14. Reliability, connectivity, uptime, and customer support are excellent. I eliminated local server hardware, local IT support, and local backups. My decision to go with with Abacus Private Cloud was the best decision I have made in 20 years of using computers in my law office.

Nachteile:

Seriously, i have not found any downsides to this platform.

A Robust solution for today's mobile office needs

Kommentare: Customer rep went above and beyond for me. He did the following for me: He helped me update a laptop running remote access to the APC Cloud so the toolbar could be updated to include a size retractable feature; reinstalled the Message Slips icon; updated java; and created access in the APC to scan folders located on the local computer for 2 laptops accessing the APC. He also recommended the use of micro SD cards to expand storage capabilities for the laptops included in our Abacus subscription. This was really important because these laptops have limited resources and performing Windows updates was becoming impossible. Rep did all of this without missing a beat. Our lives were made a whole lot easier today because of rep' diligent help! Thank you so very much!”

Vorteile:

The software has a wealth of features that can make tracking cases and billing so much easier.

Nachteile:

It does take a while to learn most of the features but it is worth the time.

Abacus Law Software is awkward to use, missing features, full of errors and the Cloud does not work

Kommentare: The first 1 1/2 years of Abacus Private Cloud was fine. Then they changed my "private server" or reduced allocated RAM memory, resulting daily crashes. Avoid all Abacus products. They refused to let me out of the last year of my three year contract. They also lied about backup (only 30 days of back up unless you pay them more). They do not let you add any third party cloud based backups except Dropbox if you can get it to work. The customer rep does nothing to help.

Vorteile:

It allows easy remote access through remote desktop

Nachteile:

Avoid all abacus products. The Abacus Law software practice management is clunky, slow and counterintuitive. It also uses outdated judicial council forms, has spelling errors, the billing and accounting is awkward and not designed how a lawyer thinks to bill a client. The Abacus Private Cloud is NOT private, but a shared server, which is a lie when they sell it to you. The APC will not work well and crash almost daily. They try to upsell you more "allocated memory" after they change the settings to make your "private cloud" not work well. The Customer Rep service is non-existent. However, the individual IT techs are extremely nice, they vary in abilities, but they also express they are hampered by what they can do. It also seems that after Abacus was sold last year, they reduced services and even if you have a contract they want to provide less service and charge more.

Lifesaver billing and calendaring program

Kommentare: The billing program pays for itself in less than an hour.

Vorteile:

With the recent pandemic, I had to act fast to get up and running my own firm. Having Abacus Private Cloud in place allowed me to bill on time and accurately.

Nachteile:

I had this software and was not using it adequately.

Abacus us excellent

Kommentare: Great Service. Cost is high but the staff is good. NO need for internal IT people

Vorteile:

Always up. I am fully Protected. Friendly Knowledgeable Staff.

Nachteile:

Cost is high. No Administration rights.

You don’t matter to Abacus

Kommentare: If your business has been running too smoothly amd you’re just tired of it. If you’re looking to rack up countless hours hours and lost productivity. If you’re blood pressure is just too low and you love feeling helpless as your employees sit around the office for days waiting for access to your software, then Abacus is for you!

Vorteile:

Everything about this hosting service is inferior from a user interface standpoint compared to cloud9.

Nachteile:

“Let’s take all the software and data that are vital to our business and place them at the mercy of Tier 1 techs who will never have any idea how to install/update or repair anything ever but will excel at wasting your time. Also let’s make sure it’s borderline impossible to get the time of day from the upper lever techs or management team if/when you manage to get your problem elevated,” said no one ever. I have sent hundreds of emails amd spent hundreds of hours on tech support issues over the last 16 months. Switching to Abacus was easily the worst business decision I have ever made.

The MOST HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE

Kommentare: OVERALL IT IS NOT WORTH THE MONEY

Vorteile:

I utilized Abacus for my law firm for over 20 years and so 2 and 1/2 years ago I decided to try their private cloud solution. When it work it is great but when it does not work IT IS ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE AND YOUR ENTIRE OFFICE IS SHUT DOWN

Nachteile:

YOU CAN NEVER GET CUSTOMER SERVICE. YOU ARE ON HOLD FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR WHENEVER YOU CALL

They corrected my issues quickly and efficiently.

Vorteile:

I can use the software anywhere and it is in real-time with updates from my staff. We can all work on the same document from different areas!

Nachteile:

There is nothing worse than when the cloud goes down. The loss of connection can be either the internet or the cloud server but either way it is annoying!

Not worth the money or effort

Kommentare: Pretty abysmal.

Vorteile:

It can do nearly everything you need, but the time investment to get it to work is daunting.

Nachteile:

High-level technical support. I had Abacus on a local server for about 20 years and moved it to the cloud in 2016. After the move, I learned that my accounting was off - way off. Cases, timeslips, invoices and deposits disappeared. Despite their efforts - and a substantial amount of my time - it was never fixed. Despite this, they would not let me out of my contract. The "best" they could do was offer to let me out for half of the contract term so long as I did not let people know about the accounting snafu.

Poor Support for Accountants

Vorteile:

At this moment I can’t think of much of anything that would allow me to say that I like this service. They are not in the accounting field and thus do not understand the requirements or deman during tax season.

Nachteile:

My cloud won’t work! I’ve been calling since 9am and keep getting voicemails. It’s currently 1232pm. Cloud9 NEVER LEFT ME HANGING! This is ridiculous. How do you buy out a company double the price and provide less than half the service

Easy file sharing and information retrieval

Kommentare: Positive. It allows us to keep records on a large number of clients and files and to allow anyone in the office to retrieve the file. We are now able to retrieve 12 years of file information at the click of a mouse. Being able to view the calendar and files when we are cut off from the physical office is a wonderful perk.

Vorteile:

We started with Abacus back in 2008 and switched to the Private Cloud about 4 years ago. Our office is on a barrier island in Florida so the Cloud made sense to us. We are able to work from home after evacuation orders are in place (until we loose power and internet) and don't have to worry about whether our backups are in a safe place -- all our information is safe and available to us through remote access. We love the fact we can open any client's file from any workstation and answer their questions. No more running around looking for a physical file before we can help them.

Nachteile:

Lag times. On a normal in-office day everything usually runs fine. Except when the internet is down. Then all work grinds to a halt. When working offsite there can be a lag or delay that can get irritating. We also have several office staff members who are resistant to training and do not use it to its full ability. The same staff members are highly critical when glitches occur.

IT IS BETTER THAN CLONING A LAWYER

Kommentare: I am a solo attorney with a multi-state practice. APC has allowed me to automate my practice, from client intake to document production. I have used the Abacus products for over 13 years now and am very satisfied.

Vorteile:

I have been an Abacus user since 2007 and on the Cloud ever since it was a little puff of smoke. The ability to have all my software managed and updated at one source, on a secure server with almost immediate access to an IT person everyday has turned out to be WAY more cost effective than a piecemeal approach to buying Office 365 here, a case management system and accounting program there, and PDF software at a third place... It not only saves me money, but also tons of time.

Nachteile:

Way way back when Abacus went online with the Cloud, there were speed bumps (and I apologize for all the 4-letter words in those early emails), but the past few years, it has been very smooth sailing. I like the convenience of having my office EVERYWHERE that I am.

Great Service - but it’s getting pricier

Kommentare: I think it’s a great product. With great functionality. Overall it’s a must have product. There are some areas that could be improved, but I have always felt like Abacus was always self evaluating and continually improving functionality and features. They listen and problem solve whenever you have problems.

Vorteile:

The front and back office functionality is great. The abacus system and matters combined with the accounting piece is huge.

Nachteile:

When it crashes, it gets frustrating. Sometimes the accounting software boots you out mid billing and that is extremely frustrating. And after hours, it isn’t as easy as it used to be to get assistance, so we find ourselves waiting until normal business hours, which impacts our ability to be in court as we are sometimes dealing with abacus issues instead.

Highly recommend Abacus Private Cloud

Kommentare: Very positive, most importantly the support team is quick to respond and always able to help.
I recommend APC highly.

Vorteile:

The most important feature of the Abacus Private Cloud is the safety of the product. No fear of our computer being hacked. Everything thing is on the cloud. The software program keeps us organized, every matter is linked with names, notes, e-mails, documents and billing. It saves time and actually pays for itself in making sure all the work you do gets billed.

Nachteile:

We initially purchased the Abacus software approximately 10 years ago. We switched to APC approximately 6-7 years ago, and have never regretted our decision.

Still working out problems 4 years later

Kommentare: Technical Support is usually difficult to connect with (1-2 hour wait for a call back). Would like to say they are excellent, but reliable is the best I can say.

Vorteile:

APC is not software, but a cloud server. It has been convenient being able to access our files remotely.

Nachteile:

Implementation did not start for 9 months after signing agreement. Implementation was forced to happen by us.

Cloudbased for Times Such as These

Vorteile:

Fully mobile cloud base and exactly the same no matter where you use it. I love the feature that prompts you to bill.

Nachteile:

It can be glitch-y and hard to get a person to understand the issues when you call customer service. It is expensive.

APC is a User Friendly Cloud Environment

Kommentare: Very positive so far, although we did get hit with about a 25% price hike when I renewed for another 3 years last month (albeit with more features and memory, more secure email and storage space)

Vorteile:

Remote access is very reliable. Creating a ticket for repair or upgrade is easy and straight forward and they respond fastest this way. I also like how they remote in to solve problems with my individual machines.

Nachteile:

Several times per day, the APC will black out if resources on my computer are being stressed. Wait times for customer service are sometimes long.

AbacusLaw has Grown with my Firm!

Kommentare: Exceptional! Despite some internet connectivity challenges in our small rural state, the Abacus Private Cloud implementation team were exceptionally patient, creative and persistent. They went above and beyond for our firm. We are now into our second year of Abacus Private Cloud, and I am not sure how we survived without it for so long. We love it!

Vorteile:

The shared network allowed my small firm to group from one attorney to three attorneys efficiently. We can all enter our time for billing on the shared accounting platform, which saves me huge time as the firm billing attorney. I know that our firm's work product is in a secure cloud and that it is being backed up continuously.

Nachteile:

I practice in a small rural state. Our internet connectivity has challenged that posed problems in implementation and installation. We still run a little slower than most, I am sure, because of connectivity challenges. Nonetheless, I would not go back to our prior system ever. I am extremely pleased with the software and with Abacus Private cloud.

Abacus Private Cloud and Abacus Law have case management figured out.

Vorteile:

Abacus Law gives me the tools I need to carry out my practice efficiently. Calendaring, Accounting, Contacts, Matters, Form Production, and Conflict Management are in use constantly in my office. The software works great with the original default settings. But, it is very flexible in allowing a practitioner to mold the software to fill specific needs. Furthermore, using Abacus Private Cloud means I have a highly skilled tech team constantly monitoring all aspects of the software, the server, encryption, and off-site back-up of my data.

Nachteile:

I would like to see the program develop a more robust word processing capability. It's very good as it is. But, I use MS Word extensively and would love to see some of the functionality of Word be available when entering data into Abacus.

Still being held hostage by Abacus

Kommentare: Great for remote access, but then it is always slow, NO MATTER WHAT INTERNET CONNECTION I USE.

Vorteile:

The software works great when you keep it local. Do not go to their cloud! You lose all control and every task is an act of Congress to get it going.

Nachteile:

Every time we need to update another program, like Essential Forms, it takes weeks to get to someone in tech support who then has to confer with someone from Essential Forms. I get a different person every time I call. By the time they get back to me via their email help request, I have forgotten the details of the problem

Poor Customer service and always tried to upsale me as a client

Kommentare: Very poor!

Vorteile:

They did integrate the software for use, however the software never has functioned well.

Nachteile:

Software has constant lags in printing, switching display modules, and pulling reports. The Software also has not allowed our admin team to add or delete users or even change passwords for users when these got locked out.

Worth Peace of Mind

Kommentare: I researched several IT options when setting up my accounting firm, and Abacus Private Cloud kept coming up as the overall best solution. My entire team can securely work anywhere there is an internet connection. The set-up was smooth and the professionals at APC were super patient and helpful. Four months later when COVID-19 hit, we were ahead of our peers when offices shut down and folks scrambled to work remotely. So thankful I made the right decision to go with Abacus Private Cloud.

Vorteile:

As a CPA, I can not put a price tag on the IT security of my accounting practice. With Abacus Private Cloud, I have peace of mind knowing that the best IT professionals and security are protecting my livelihood. The fact that we have support 24/7 works great with our long hours, too.

Nachteile:

Expensive but worth it. Once I analyzed the cost of an in-house IT professional on payroll, Abacus Private Cloud was clearly more affordable.

Debilitatingly slow performance

Kommentare: We are very disappointed in the failure of APC to consistently operate as promised.

Vorteile:

When this software works, it's great. If it operated consistently and in "real-time", I would highly recommend it.

Nachteile:

In over a year of using APC, we have had regular, recurring, serious connection issues. I calculate an average of 5 hrs/wk in lost productivity per user over the last year. As indicated above, when functional, the system is great; the problem is, you never know whether you'll show up for work and be able to work, or whether you'll spend half the day on the phone with tech support trying to figure out why the system is lagging.

Private Cloud is secure but expensive

Vorteile:

The private cloud with document storage is essential.

Nachteile:

We experience severe latency. Little bugs from time to time with check writing and printing.

Great Software

Kommentare: Overall satisfied.

Vorteile:

Lots of great features. Great organization of client info.

Nachteile:

Tends to disconnect on a daily basis. Not out for very long but still frustrating.