Avaliações do AbacusLaw

Customizable Software and Amazing Support

Comentários: 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.

Vantagens:

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.

Desvantagens:

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.

Have a law office? you need ABACUS!

Comentários: 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!

Vantagens:

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!!

Desvantagens:

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.

Hands down would NOT buy

Comentários: 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.

Vantagens:

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.

Desvantagens:

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.

Great legal software

Comentários: It's been very good for our firm, as it really has great calendaring and reminder features. The user interface is very easy to understand and assists all of us with keeping the pleadings, documents and correspondence well-organized. I had one issue and the tech support assisted me immediately and then followed up to make sure my issue had been resolved.

Vantagens:

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.

Desvantagens:

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

Abacus Review

Comentários: 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.

Vantagens:

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

Desvantagens:

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.

Straightforward legal calendaring software

Vantagens:

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.

Desvantagens:

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

DO NOT BUY THIS SOFTWARE - HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SUPPORT

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

Vantagens:

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

Desvantagens:

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.

Long Time AbacusLaw user

Comentários: The flexibility in creating rules for events is a great tool. For a solo practitioner AbacusLaw is a godsend.

Vantagens:

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).

Desvantagens:

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

Support

Vantagens:

We got hit by the Microsoft update. Their executive knew what the issue was and the solution right off. He did a good job of scheduling the fix; offered alternatives; and got the problem fixed.

Desvantagens:

Number of passwords needed to obtain support; but that is for my protection; but still annoying to have to go over them all the time

Abacus review

Comentários: It's nice to always have our contacts and cases in one place. There are still many things we need to learn to use this program to its full potential.

Vantagens:

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

Desvantagens:

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.

Thought it would be better

Comentários: 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.

Vantagens:

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

Desvantagens:

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.

You Really Don't Want to Know!

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

Vantagens:

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

Desvantagens:

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.

Abacus Law is not a good product

Comentários: Really terrible. We have had an unworkable system and yet we are expected to still pay $860 a month and they have our prior cloud services and files held hostage and refuse to release files. DO NOT USE ABACUS LAW!

Vantagens:

We have had the worst customer service. The program has constant problems (not synching, billing is a nightmare, lost entries) and it has cost my firm $100k in lost billing and administrative time on hold trying to reach the support team.

Desvantagens:

Billing, mobile app, customer service,. In fact, I can’t think of a single aspect of this program that has worked well without issue or that I would say I liked.

Good but could be improved in certain areas

Comentários: We need to store a lost of data related to the health care sector. Abacus was not designed for our specific needs but we have incorporated our needed information into your field ranges. Its not perfect but works.
We bought your product mostly because of the email feature. That has not worked well.

Vantagens:

It captures all of the data we need. The queries work well. Your support team is fairly fast to respond and when they do respond most of the people we have dealt with speak English quite well. As a person with hearing issues, this is extremely important to me.

Desvantagens:

The emailing feature needs to be improved. Constant issues with trying to add links, photos, logos or graphics, can't add attachments. We do a mass newsletter monthly and almost always have issues. We want our newsletters to look better more eye catching but with this program we can only send boring basic emails with little chance of catching the readers attention. If we want to do something with graphics, logos, links, or add attachments we have to do a query and export the email addressing into an excel spreadsheet then do batches of emails in Outlook. This is our biggest complaint with Abacus.

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.

Comentários: 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!

Vantagens:

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.

Desvantagens:

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

DO NOT FALL FOR THIER EXCELLENT SALES PITCH

Comentários: This was probably the worst decision I have made in my 38 year career. Our firm is still not operational and we've been working with them for six months. The main issue is that Abacus will not connect from San Diego to Colorado: the internet based program shuts down suddenly and your work is missing if you have not saved it on your server (outside of the Abacus program). This is a problem if you are on a deadline. When we brought that to Abacus attention, they blamed a third party connection. We had our IT guy call the third party but because we are not customers of the third party, they would not talk to us. So basically we are paying for a program that does not work AND Abacus wont fix it or even contact the third party with whom they contract for the connection. Furthermore, the migration of my billing program to Abacus billing was a nightmare as Abacus loaded the trust account into the operating account as a credit, i.e. zero in trust. Once they sorted that out, the billing program would not accept payments from clients. My bookkeeper was on the phone with Abacus techs for countless hours trying to work that out to no avail. Finally I sent them a certified letter terminating the contract for cause and guess what? Action! now I had ten technicians working on the multiple issues trying to get it all resolved. But that took time and my attorneys were required to spend literally hours on the phone with these guys. Billable hours lost, meant they did not get their bonuses this month, as well as the firm lost revenue. To make matters worse, the response from Abacus was that it was our fault because our attorneys were non responsive: a complete lie, unless you want to complain that sometimes our attorneys are in court handling actual client matters and cannot be on the phone with them while they are doing actual attorney work. Emails are still floating in cyberspace, not received. Printers don't work. etc etc. My choice is to litigate in another state -- completely untenable. Don't be stupid. Upgrade your server and stick with your current billing program.

Vantagens:

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

Desvantagens:

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

Very disappointing experience with Abacus

Comentários: Abacus Law in the Abacus Private Cloud is the 4th practice management software that I have used over the past 20 years. Far and away is the worst experience that I have had with practice management software. Many everyday functions take multiple steps where they need only take one. Some features, especially search features, just don't work. In two years I have seen no meaningful improvements in the software. Abacus makes its real money selling you their cloud services and once you commit to putting your data on their Cloud, it gets very hard to move away. I considered transitioning to Amicus Attorney because Abacus has recently merged with Amicus and I was assured for months that a migration was doable, only to learn months later that Abacus will not provide migration to Amicus. The two camps definitely have not gotten on the same page.

Vantagens:

At this point, nothing.

Desvantagens:

APC is a problematical environment to have to work in all day. Abacus Law and especially Abacus Accounting are primitive, highly inefficient.

Abacus Law is not user friendly, but it is very usefull

Comentários: Overall, I use it daily and rely on it. I have had some frustrations with it's interaction with outlook and emails. I have had frustrations as outlined above. I do like it, but wish it were more intuitive and usefull in that way.

Vantagens:

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

Desvantagens:

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.

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

Comentários: 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!

Vantagens:

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!

Desvantagens:

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 - a comprehensive program

Comentários: Overall Abacus has saved me a tremendous amount of time. Prior to its use, we were using three programs to do the work of Abacus, which meant entering basic information in three different programs and inputting data from one program into another to run reports, do billing, etc. Abacus has saved us a great deal of time.

Vantagens:

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.

Desvantagens:

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.)

We feel very supported with Abacus and enjoy glitch free work days 99% of the time.

Comentários: It saves time and makes the coordination of tasks among staff more efficient. The database organization is simple to use and explore.

Vantagens:

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!

Desvantagens:

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.

AbacusLaw Review

Vantagens:

I appreciate that the court rules are listed/referenced in the events. I have found the program fairly easy to use; however, other staff in the office have struggled with it over the years.

Desvantagens:

As stated above, several staff in my office have found the software confusing and difficult to use. I've found some court rules in the software program do not match current laws - most specifically within the local court rules.

Abacus Law has grown with my business!

Comentários: Exceptional. The software is useful, practical and designed specifically for attorneys. The customer service is unparalleled across the board. Fast, efficient, professional, knowledgeable. Always there, always helpful and always cheerful (no matter how many times I call!).

Vantagens:

I love the format and the ease with which I can create new matters, organize my contacts and bill my matters. I started with AbacusLaw as a solo practitioner and have grown my firm to include two other attorneys and an admin. The attorneys are all networked in the cloud now, and Abacus was able to grow with me and provide additional support solutions for our small firm. The Abacus Accounting has given me great billing capacity and kept my accounts in order.

Desvantagens:

I have not found the forms functionality very accessible. I was an experienced attorney when I signed on with AbacusLaw, so this is not something that I particularly need.

Abacus Law with APC lets me work anywhere with complete control of my office and my cases.

Vantagens:

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.

Desvantagens:

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.

AbacusLaw Review

Comentários: We have used AbacusLaw for at least the 18 years I have been employed and are very satisfied with the product. Helps to keep our office on top of calendaring events for our litigation cases, i.e., meetings, discovery deadlines, depositions and trials.

Vantagens:

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.

Desvantagens:

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.