AbacusLaw reviews

Customizable Software and Amazing Support

Opmerkingen: Every single person I've dealt with at Abacus, from initial sale to professional services to tech support, has been patient, professional, knowledgeable, and effective. I've dealt with too many companies who virtually disappear after making the sale. The people at Abacus are nothing like that; their service and support are first rate.

Pluspunten:

The software uses a customizable database structure, so you can create or modify forms and fields to make them relevant for the types of cases you handle. In areas where aspects of the program are not wholly intuitive, Abacus's knowledge base and online instructional videos are very helpful. Abacus tech support is amazing.

Minpunten:

AbacusLaw links to MS Outlook, but not to any other email/calendar client (and I had to quit Outlook for another more reliable email/calendar solution because Outlook is extremely problematic in key, basic areas). I feel like I should be able to drop an email message from any email application -- or any file, for that matter -- into an AbacusLaw matter. I do wish the client portal (for exchanging documents with clients) were available.

All the Bells and Whistles

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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.

Do not buy AbacusLaw Case Management Software

Opmerkingen: 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 Now the company will not support its outdated system and is using its failure to extort upgrades from its long-term customers.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.

Minpunten:

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.

Abacus Law - A Year In

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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.

Minpunten:

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.

Good not Great, but what is...

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

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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

Thought it would be better

Opmerkingen: I really thought Abacus was a better product than it has turned out to be. It can't do basic things that an accounting system can do. It's a so-so product.

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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.

Abacus Can Help

Pluspunten:

We have used Abacus since 2010, so 10 years. Abacus helped us to automate law billing. The program also features an excellent data base for notes as well as emails per client. It is fast in terms of locating electronic documents. Its technical support is also helpful.

Minpunten:

The biggest feature to improve would be Abacus message slips. I have been trying for over a year to fix the app's propensity to suddenly disappear and then, days later, inform me of the number of messages I have received. BIlling software can be improved dramatically to make it more user friendly.

Legal Software Tracker

Opmerkingen: Since using AbacusLaw calendaring for trials and deadlines is much easier than before

Pluspunten:

Relatively easy to use and set up. Calculates trials, deadlines for various reports and court filings

Minpunten:

The thing I dislike the most about AbacusLaw is the creating of new reports takes more computer knowledge then it should.

The Goods and the Bads of Abacus

Pluspunten:

On the law side of Abacus it is substantially a good system to use. The organization, ease of use, and the multiple tools allow the law side to run smooth and easy with little to no problems. Things such as client entry, event posting, and much more have become much easier over time with the multiple updates and fixes. Overall the law side software is a well created system.

Minpunten:

The Accounting side of Abacus has many little problems within it that overall cause the functionality of abacus to become less effective. Things such as tables not communicating with each other and the software crashing due to simple tasks such as voiding checks are some of the many problems that occurs. Without fixing these issues, the overall effectiveness and efficiency of abacus accounting will only continue to diminish.

DO NOT BUY THIS SOFTWARE - HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Opmerkingen: It was a horrible experience. I am happy that we are finally out of AbacusLaw. If you are considering this software please reconsider.

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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.

Have a law office? you need ABACUS!

Opmerkingen: I feel that if you are an attorney, or work for one, you need AbacusLaw. They have pre-created tasks that you can begin with, or you can create your own specific guidelines for whatever type of law you practice. I had created a timeline that was "to-the-day" for bankruptcy documents to be filed in the Federal Court, and other tasks with clients to complete and file in a timely manner- it was a well-oiled timeline! If somebody practices family law, ie: divorces, child custody, child support- you could create a timeline to file documents as required. Personal Injury attorney or Estate Planning- Criminal law, so many options - Abacus is the program (tool) that helped me to get my jobs done, on time!

Pluspunten:

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!!

Minpunten:

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.

Solo practitioner using Abacus

Opmerkingen: When I consistently enter time, the software works smoothly for me. Creating invoices is easy, as is correcting time entry errors. If I fall behind the software has no impediments to catching up on time entries. I've looked at switching to another program and concluded that the benefits of functionality I will not use are not worth the learning curve.

Pluspunten:

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.

Minpunten:

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.

You Really Don't Want to Know!

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

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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.

AbacusLaw is the heart of my practice.

Opmerkingen: I have been an AbacusLaw customer since 1998. I believe I was the first accountant to try and adapt your matters based program to a client based usage. We spent many hours adapting your improvements every year to insure that I could continue to manage my accounting practice through your program. It was a challenge, but the results are well worth it. I have a data file that has a record of every appointment, every phone call, what IRS agent is assigned to what case, etc., since 1998, for over 5500 tax clients.I have a record of every bill sent to our business clients since we started using Abacus Accounting to manage our receivables. I believe so strongly in this program that, when I joined H&R Block 3 years ago, I demanded a clause allowing me to put this program on their computers. After investigating your program, their tech team recommended that the clause is allowed in my contract, a very rare concession by H&R Block. They have since designed a program for appointments, which is free, and which I am required to use. So we make our appointments in AbacusLaw first then input them into the AM. It takes a little more time but it is worth it. When a client says they have not heard from us, I print out the Abacus record of contact, showing the date and time calls were made and what messages were left. It immediately tames the angry beast and I usually get an apology. This program is the heart of my business. I would be lost without it.

Pluspunten:

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.

Good if you make additional significant investment into tailoring it to your firm's needs.

Opmerkingen: Abacus is probably best for an office with existing procedures and forms that is willing to make a significant investment into customizing and maintaining Abacus, including having at least one Abacus-designated point person who develops intensive understanding of Abacus. A point about customization: you need to think through your process. For some, a more "plug and play" program may help you to figure out your process.

Pluspunten:

Potential flexibility because of many functionalities. We use it every day to track matter activity, coordinate schedules, meet deadlines, retrieve critical information, and bill clients.

Minpunten:

Cannot use many features without hiring expensive Abacus professional because program is not intuitive. Numerous online resources, including knowledge base and trainings, but difficult to find what I need when I need it. Reports and queries: Odd that in our present "plug and play" world, reports are poorly formatted and queries difficult to use. Email integration: Does not integrate with our google suite, only Outlook. Customer Support: Expertise and availability has declined, although still reasonable, if more time consuming.

I love Abacus!

Pluspunten:

I was first introduced to Abacus at my prior law firm. I was familiar with a different case management software from another law firm. I was happy to be able to convince my current employer to obtain this very useful tool for our firm. I use it daily and am nearly lost without it. The main function for our office is the calendaring system which is amazing and is easily customizable for our needs. I am aware that the software does 80% more; however, it is an excellent value just the way we utilize it.

Minpunten:

The only negative thing I have to report is, years ago for some odd reason, the customizing I had done to the trial calendar disappeared. Customer service individual who was extremely patient and knowledgeable, was able to correct it and return it to my customized settings.

Problems with Support

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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.

Minpunten:

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

Opmerkingen: Time capture for billing, full accounting software.

Pluspunten:

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.

Minpunten:

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.

Would like more training (i.e. a weekly "how to" e-mail that is short and sweet with something abacus offers curtailed to how company uses the product would be nice.

Opmerkingen: The out of the ordinary task I was assigned frustrated me for several hours before I reached out for assistance. But when I did reach out, the assistance was there. It was something I could do, I just needed guidance. The executive from Abacus not only guided me through the process, but he explained what I was doing as we worked through to completion of the task and how it worked so I could easily do on my own the next time. Today, I had to go back in and add another search element and was able to do so without the frustration as before. I understood how it worked, and to clone what was already working so I didn't lose what had been done but improved upon it. Thank you very much for the help AND suggestion to clone before editing!

Pluspunten:

It combines calendar (both legal and non-legal), accounting and legal / case management into one area. Legal forms are updated regularly. Notes can be made addressing each case progress and conflict of interest checks are easily manageable. Automatic population is convenient when working on new matters under regular clients. The help line has always been quick, easy and convenient. Every person I have ever spoken with has been of great assistance, without hesitation. Thank you.

Minpunten:

It is difficult (for me) to figure out the help through the on line directions to complete an out of the ordinary task.

Abacus Law Is an Excellent Software Program that Enables Users to Link Important Information

Opmerkingen: Abacus Law is an important tool that assists with making certain there are multiple ways o access and check information that has been entered. It allows for quick search methods due to various features. Last names care linked to matters, so a potential client file may be entered in names prior to being entered a client in the matters feature. Any entity or person associated with a case can be linked, also providing another method of cross referencing other people associated with an individual case. Linked emails provides another easy way to check emails sent regarding a specific client.

Pluspunten:

Once client information is entered, other information may be linked and is very helpful when looking up a memo, phone message , email etc. for each client. Once an appointment is scheduled, it also is linked to the events feature, so the program allows for multiple ways to check that important information is stores and is accessible.

Minpunten:

At this time the features provided are working well to allow for ease of sending messages, linking client information and researching stored client information.

Do NOT BUY IT

Opmerkingen: I am in the process of finding a different database. I pay almost money per month for technical support. I have been waiting for a week for an answer back from them currently. When they did the update it converted all the date of births to 2000 .... so if you were born in 1995 it shows your date of birth 2095. They tried to tell me a year ago that my contract had expired and wanted me to sign another 5 year contract. I was willing to sign a 3 year and they refused. They continued to charge my credit card for their support after that date. Turns out I did have another year with them and my contract was not expiring. They are HORRIBLE!!!

Pluspunten:

It's a database. It does what it is supposed to do... when it is working. However, it is impossible to get technical service.

Minpunten:

Technical support is non-existent. I have tried multiple times to get an answer to a simple problem, and have been told everything from I don't have a contract with them to it's not their problem. Instead of attempting to help, they smart off and are rude and ridiculous in their responses. My IT people were working with abacus to install an update. It did not work and abacus did not respond to calls or emails for a full week. Then after refusing to get off the phone until someone spoke to me, the guy said they just needed to do a couple things and would I like him to do it then. Thirty minutes later it was working. We spent an entire week without it because they simply would not respond to us. They kept saying someone else had our account but that person was always on the phone with another customer, Managers did not return my phone call either.

Worst Customer Service Ever. Overcharged me. Kept charging me after I cancelled service.

Opmerkingen: It allowed us to move from a paper calendar to a electronic one. I cannot think of anything that is an upgrade from paper files except that.

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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.

Abacus

Opmerkingen: Great case management solution. Makes practice automation much easier. I've been a user since 2006 because it works!

Pluspunten:

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.

Minpunten:

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.

Been with them for almost 10 years and each version gets better and better

Opmerkingen: Most important... CONSOLIDATION! Abacus Law integrated the case management, "tickler" by rule, forms, contacts, matter, ACCOUNTING AND BILLING, all into a single easy to use and learn package. Changes in one area and iterated throughout the software. We almost never and disparate or duplicate data. Well Done!

Pluspunten:

Ease of use, consistency in operation, great support. In nearly our entire use, different versions and our transition to the "cloud" last year, our up-time has been nearly 99%. I was worried about transitioning to APC (cloud), but the support and transition and setup was painless and well executed. Our employees barely noticed the difference, but for, the Remote Desktop link... Very well done!

Minpunten:

There are a few very minor custom things, but overall, nothing worth mentioning. As I said, I have been a happy customer for about 10 years, seen the growing pains, and various upgraded and improvements, each being better than the previous. We've been quite pleased.

Abacus makes accounting easy.

Pluspunten:

Abacus has everything we need for our daily functions and makes basic accounting easy. We can access our client's many different ways (i.e.: name, matter, ID). I love the way the top bar is set up. The icons are used daily. I can print out reports for the partner within seconds. Easy transfer of funds from one client to another.

Minpunten:

Sometimes when updates are made, there are problems with the monthly billing and client payments. After inputting the time tickets, sometimes the program freezes up and we need to shut down the system a couple of times and even need to call customer services for help. Also, when printing the invoices, even though I put them in alpha order, when they print out, they print out numerically or even one time recently just printed out (255 bills) in no methodical way. The same thing happens when inputting client payments. Instead of allowing me to input what I want to input, if I mark an invoice or invoices.