# AbacusLaw Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is AbacusLaw the right Law Practice Management solution for you? Explore 371 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/18374/AbacusLaw/reviews --- AbacusLaw 3.9 (371) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/18374/AbacusLaw/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of AbacusLaw Ease of use 3.7 Customer Service 3.9 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Intuitive and simple workflow 89% positive reviews out of 37 Most users report ease of use, highlighting straightforward navigation, minimal learning curve, and accessible case management features. Persistent technical problems 83% negative reviews out of 72 Most users comment on bugs and issues, mentioning unresolved errors, integration failures, and recurring software malfunctions disrupting workflow. Centralized client information system 88% positive reviews out of 33 Most reviewers find client management effective, allowing quick access, organization, and streamlined handling of client data and matters. Frequent slowdowns and lag 87% negative reviews out of 31 Most users report performance and speed issues, including slow response times, frequent crashes, and delays impacting daily productivity. Comprehensive legal calendaring tools 91% positive reviews out of 22 Most reviewers describe deadline tracking as efficient, enabling organized scheduling, reminders, and easy management of court dates. Difficult billing and contract terms 87% negative reviews out of 30 Most reviewers indicate payment and charges are problematic, citing inflexible contracts, unexpected fees, and ongoing unauthorized charges. Richard K Partner/Owner, 2 - 10 employees. "Ultimately, I emailed to see if I could stop the charges to my credit card. When I finally got an email response--I have NEVER been able to get anyone at Caret on the phone--I was told I did not give notice far enough in advance to cancel my subscription and that I'd be charged for another year." ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 371 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use J. Michael G. Trial and Appellate Lawyer - Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Legal Services Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Customizable Software and Amazing Support" August 7, 2018 5.0 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. Pros 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. Cons 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. Review Source WN Waringa N. Partner Law Practice Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Abacus Law - A Year In" March 30, 2020 4.0 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. Pros 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. Cons 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. Alternatives considered [Amicus Attorney](https://www.capterra.com/p/80199/Amicus-Attorney/) Reason for choosing AbacusLaw Abacus bought Amicus Attorney just as we were beginning to review it. Review Source TR Thomas R. Attorney Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Program for the 1970s law firm - Garbage if you are practicing law in present era!" January 17, 2017 1.0 Forced subscription model on an outdated program. The program had difficulty with a 4-person law firm. There were numerous issues with duplicate contacts, duplicate emails, multiple scheduling issues, and failed to easily integrate with other applications such as Outlook 2016. We also were forced onto a subscription model, costing approximately $300/month. We received zero updates during that time, despite numerous complaints to the sales team. We purchased a high-end server ($4,000) to run Abacus, thinking the hardware was the cause of the latency issues. This solved nothing. At the end of our contract, our salesperson told us that the software would continue to function, but support would be terminated. This was a lie. The software was restricted to read-only mode and we were locked out of our data. We were then given the option of paying a $275 reinstatement fee, plus increased monthly fees to get the software up and running on our own server again. This was the last straw and we migrated to a much better solution. Abacus is an outdated system that requires significant upkeep. The hardware requirements are not included in their pricing model. Their hosted solution was also garbage, as it failed to integrate with the local programs. Their software is incredible slow and simple tasks (such as printing an invoice) takes 5-10 minutes to accomplish. I would stay away from this product at all costs. One final warning, because their system is so outdated, once you start entering data, it cannot be exported to be migrated to a new system. Their poor design forces you to remain on their system or feel the pain of a weeks long migration system. Again, stay away from this outdated system at all costs. Pros Nothing. It is complete garbage. It is outdated and shouldn't be on the market. Cons Poor design, simple tasks are overly complicated, they force an over-priced subscription model, doesn't integrate with other programs, does not integrate directly with phone calendars, created duplicate entries for contacts, cannot migrate data. Review Source Response from CARET January 24, 2017 Capterra is a distinguished platform for users to share reviews of software products, and we respect the forum as a place for serious technical reviews made without self-interest or aggrandizement. The tone and tenor of your review indicates that you are very unhappy with our product, and while we would love to have you stay with us, we want you to make the best decision for your firm. We would be happy to help remedy your situation. At your earliest convenience, please contact us at 858-882-1794F. Cheers, Abacus LC Laurie C. Law Office Administrator Law Practice Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Good not Great, but what is..." May 5, 2020 4.0 Our billable hours have increased, due to the ease of use of the timekeeper processes. Pros Linking ability between names, matters, the calendar and to email. Cons Least favorite is so ironic. In Abacus Accounting retainers are painstaking and excruciatingly burdensome to keep track of and requires manual allocation to timekeepers. Reason for choosing AbacusLaw There are not many to chose from, that include accounting, but Abacus seemed to be the best fit for us. Unfortunately, it is lacking greatly in it's accounting features. Abacus was supposed to be developing an updated version, but that has not been rolled out yet. Review Source LD Lauren D. Office Manager Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Legal Software Tracker" December 3, 2021 5.0 Since using AbacusLaw calendaring for trials and deadlines is much easier than before Pros Relatively easy to use and set up. Calculates trials, deadlines for various reports and court filings Cons The thing I dislike the most about AbacusLaw is the creating of new reports takes more computer knowledge then it should. Alternatives considered [Amicus Attorney](https://www.capterra.com/p/80199/Amicus-Attorney/)[Sage Timeslips](https://www.capterra.com/p/114210/Sage-Timeslips/)[Lexis for Microsoft Office](https://www.capterra.com/p/157351/Lexis-for-Microsoft-Office/) Reason for choosing AbacusLaw Seamed easier to use and more cost efficient for our practice Review Source Susan D. Director of Operations Law Practice Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "The Goods and the Bads of Abacus " August 15, 2018 5.0 Pros 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. Cons 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. Review Source Patricia V. Attorney at Law Legal Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "DO NOT BUY THIS SOFTWARE - HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SUPPORT" May 18, 2021 1.0 It was a horrible experience. I am happy that we are finally out of AbacusLaw. If you are considering this software please reconsider. Pros The software sounds amazing when described by the sales team. Unfortunately they are overpromise and under deliver. Cons The cloud functionality does not work, the billing program glitches. It does not sync with outlook. It is a horrible process to be released from the contract. We paid $5,000 for upgrades and customization but never received them. We are now being charged $750 to get our data out after we switched. Review Source Tele J. Paralegal Legal Services Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "No cancellations. Bad Software. Do not install locally." August 28, 2020 1.0 When you resort to "we have a contract" with dissatisfied customers, you step decades in the past of bad business practice. I soon as I saw an issue, I addressed it and requested cancellation. No buyers remorse, just bad software. Pros The sales presentation and the installation technician was very knowledgeable. Cons The installation of the software was very time consuming and complicated. The technician had to make several changes to my system to make it work. Software corrupted multiple files and made my MS Office and Norton Antivirus inoperable. Mobile app inoperable. As soon has my MS Office and Norton Antivirus stopped working after the installation, I requested to cancel. The salesperson said ok. After a month, nothing happened and now I am told that "we have a contract". Wow. Reason for choosing AbacusLaw I used to use it 15 years ago. Review Source Response from CARET September 24, 2020 Hi Tele, I'm sorry for your experience. It looks like the team is currently working to resolve the issue that arose with installation of your PALs package. I'm hoping this sets you up for success in the future. Sincerely, The AbacusNext Team Sharon M. Legal Assistant Paralegal Legal Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Long Time Abacus User" October 9, 2018 5.0 We have been using this software to keep track of our cases, clients, experts, schedules, to-do lists, court deadlines and documents for over 15 years. It's been extremely helpful to our law firm. Pros It's extremely easy to use, update and share. Cons I haven't had any problems using Abacus. It's easy to customize for our use and has been very helpful. Review Source betsy G. Office Administrator Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Love Abacus!" September 13, 2018 5.0 I love Abacus and use it every day. I rely on it to keep me on top of things. Pros The ability to enter notes no matter how far in the future; the ease of finding names of attorneys and the cases we have worked with them on. Cons Setting up rules has always given me a bit of a problem. Review Source ES Eric S. Managing Director Legal Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "We have relied on this software as one of our primary organizational tools for over five years." April 1, 2018 5.0 It is a mostly comprehensive business-management tool Pros The Abacus software, now on Abacus Private Cloud, almost always is functioning properly, and is accessible from anywhere, anytime. After our experience, we would now not use anything that is not cloud-based, particularly being in a city highly prone to power-outages, floods, and hurricanes. We have found the software to steadily improve in features and speed. The customer service is the best I have experienced very particularly in the software industry. The techs are all very knowledgeable and carefully resolve every inquiry. They are also available very quickly, an absolute anomaly in the software business. The calendering component, as others have observed, is a key strong-point. The linking in of all events, documents, e-mails, and notes into one accessible electronic folder provides the convenient efficiency that you will frequently use. It is possible to scan documents directly to the cloud case file from your local computer - an important step-saver. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, when installed, functions on the APC desktop. You will need reasonably strong, consistent Internet connections. Airport terminals are mostly unusable work locations even with a "jet-pack" or cell-phone "hot-spot." Cons This is a powerful software tool. As such, except for the calendar, it is not a "plug & play" system, except for the most computer-fluent users. To fully utilize its comprehensive features will take a commitment to initial as well as ongoing learning while taking the daily, time-consuming steps to precisely link all activities back to the case file. However, the added work will and must obviate the paper file. The queries, forms, and reports functions are all very valuable but are far too complex to user-initiate, and each requires ongoing custom installation by the provider. Cost-effective file collaboration with outsiders is not possible, therefore an added cloud account and the expense is required along with the time of copying and moving sizeable files. Changing accounting from existing into the integrated system is a major transition to be carefully evaluated in advance. Maintaining the current accounting system, at least temporarily, will be required. This software must be your primary organizational tool as it will grow into a weighted expense that is justifiable only if it is the key resource. The software does crash daily when trying to interact with Outlook for file linking of e-mails. It can usually be resolved with a quick re-start. Initiating printing is quite slow and getting slower but understandable with a remote server. Microsoft Office, Adobe Pro, and Reallegal depo transcription all work very well here. Some other applications do not at all. Review Source mM mary M. Attorney Legal Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The program has become worst than ever!" June 14, 2023 1.0 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. Pros The program strives to assist with case management, billing and accounting - all within one program, but falls VERY short of achieving its intended goals. Cons 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! Reason for choosing AbacusLaw I am stuck with Abacus Law because of the volume of data already in the system. Review Source Response from CARET August 2, 2023 Hi Mary, we're very sorry to hear that your experience with AbacusLaw is not living up to your expectations. We will be sure to pass along this feedback to our team and use it to continuously improve our services. LC Lindsey C. Managing Attorney Legal Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Hands down would NOT buy" November 14, 2019 1.0 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. Pros I really have not found anything I like about this software. If I had to pick something, I would say the timer function works fairly well. Cons This software is the worst case management software I have used. The software repeatedly freezes and it is not intuitive or user friendly. Billing, which ties into AbacusAccounting, is extremely difficult to use. Unlike in other software, you cannot just edit a pre-bill with ease. It also lacks the integration that other software has. When you take into account the long term contract of five years, the inability to terminate that contract without buying it out, and the terrible customer service, the product actually costs you more than any time you would theoretically save using it. Furthermore, you are permitted to add users but never to cancel a user, effectively meaning if your Firm face a downturn, you would still be locked in to pay for users no longer with the Firm. Reason for choosing AbacusLaw At the time, we did not know of many other options that were available. Review Source Response from CARET November 15, 2019 Hello Lindsey, We're sorry to hear you're experiencing issues with AbacusLaw. We want every user to see the benefits of our products and design our offerings with your interests in mind. One of the best ways to make the most of your technology and see positive ROI is to invest in product training. Your customer success manager will be reaching out to you soon to check in and escalate any issues to our Support team. All the best, The team at AbacusNext DA Debbie A. Legal Assistant Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great calendering program." May 11, 2020 4.0 Abacus if the only legal software I have used. it was is in place when I started with the firm and I have never had any formal training. There is so much more to Abacus than we utilize but to get the help I need, it costs extra. I was not at the firm for the initial set up so if there was any training offered, i did not get it. We briefly switch from Abacus to another produce but it did not meet our needs so we switched back. Pros Deadlines are a big and important part of our every day function. Abacus calendaring makes it easy to keep track of the deadlines and also important hearings and meetings. Customer service is always very helpful. Cons Abacus Knowledge Base does not always have helpful information when I need to figure out something new. When adding a new attorney the last name box is highlighted, when you tab to the next box it is the ID box instead of the first name box or another box that you actually need to add information. This is frustrating because an ID number is not something you change or add each time you add a new name. When adding a "bill to" person, an accounting screen for the billing is opened. When you click the box next to Open Advanced Billing Options on save, then done, extra steps have to be taken to actually get to the billing screen to enter additional information. We don't us Abacus forms because they are not easy to set up. With the forms we do have set up, many times we have to make adjustments each time we use them so it is not worth the time or hassle to do so and we end up creating the document with out using Abacus forms. It costs extra for any help to create these forms. Review Source AS Amanda S. Attorney Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy to use and customize, terrible customer support" April 5, 2019 4.0 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. Pros I like the ease of making documents and templates with Abacus. It is very customizable and easy to use. I like having the matters and names databases and being able to cross reference cases with people. The reporting is good, but could use some work so that you can pull reports from 2 different databases at once (i.e. the addresses of all of the clients or providers for all active matters). Cons The draw back with Abacus is that it doesn't give you check lists or ways to case manage very well. It's easy to use and customize, which is good, because their customer services is slow and not great. Review Source Response from CARET April 9, 2019 Dear Amanda, Thank you so much for taking the time to review AbacusLaw. At AbacusNext, providing excellent products is very important to us, so it's good to hear we're delivering on that promise. I'm sorry our client service hasn't met your expectations; please feel free to get in touch with me if I can help. On behalf of all of us at AbacusNext, thank you for your patronage. We look forward to being of service for many years to come. All the best, Katie Ternes Marketing Coordinator AbacusNext (858) 882-4882 KS Kayle S. Admin Assistant Law Practice Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Support is nothing short of phenomenal! We switched from Amicus to Abacus and are very happy." June 20, 2017 4.0 We did the switch because of the buy-out of amicus but have been very happy with the change. We are doing everything through the cloud and it has been seemless. Pros Probably the most is the support. I put off my first support call for a long time--waited until I had a good chunk of time because I assumed I would be on hold forever. Not the case. The person that answered the phone (no hold time) was the person that solved my problem with ease. They explained what they were doing so that I could handle the next time if there was a next time and they haven't treated anyone in our office like they were dumb--even when they had no idea what they were doing. This has been the case each time we have called support. The transition, once all of our data was converted went smoothly and even our limited computer users had little problems from day one. Cons The least are probably things that I just don't understand how to do yet. We have only been using the software since January, so I try to spend a little time weekly learning a new aspect of the program. The one thing I wish it would do that amicus did, was in events, I could schedule events that would be added in once another even was completed. In abacus I can set dates out in advance, but they are not contingent on when something was completed. Hope that is something they are looking at for future upgrades. That is probably the only thing I miss from amicus. Review Source Response from CARET June 21, 2017 Kayle, We are tremendously glad to hear that the transition has been a good one! To take a deeper dive into the features of AbacusLaw, we recommend joining our weekly half hour "Free Training Friday" webinars. You are also more than welcome to contact our support team at any time who will be more than happy to impart some tips so you can fully take advantage of our software. Watch past webinars and register for future ones here: https://www.abacusnext.com/webinars Best, AbacusNext SS Shar S. Paralegal / Office Administrator Legal Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I love Abacus!" December 11, 2020 5.0 Pros 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. Cons 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. Reason for choosing AbacusLaw I was familiar with the program from another law firm and found it to be superior to other case management software programs I had used over the years. Switched from [Amicus Attorney](https://www.capterra.com/p/80199/Amicus-Attorney/) Ease of use and functionality. Review Source NK Norm K. Managing Member Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Problems with Support " February 15, 2019 3.0 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. Pros It is a comprehensive software product for a law office, with case management, document management and billing. Our firm has been using it for 12 years. Cons The original founder of Abacus had very high standards. Tech support was very good. You could always connect quickly with a knowledgeable tech support specialist. In addition, for the first 7 or 8 years we used it, it was virtually bullet proof. It rarely, if ever, had a crash or issue of any kind. In more recent versions, you started to see more crashes or technical problems. But, at least the support was good when needed. The founder sold the company a couple of years ago. They acquired Amicus, several other products and most recently HotDocs. The quality of their tech support has significantly deteriorated. For example, we had a crash using the billing component, with a window that popped up with an error code this morning at roughly 9:00 a.m. Called tech support, was on hold for ten minutes, then prompted to leave a message. Left message at 9:10 a.m. this morning. In fact, both I and the user of the workstation left messages. It is 3:15 p.m. and Abacus has not called back. Review Source BS Barb S. Owner/Paralegal Legal Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Salesmen, Terrible Service - a business liability" September 20, 2017 2.0 Time capture for billing, full accounting software. Pros 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. Cons 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. Review Source JL Julie L. Paralegal Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "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." August 29, 2018 5.0 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! Pros 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. Cons It is difficult (for me) to figure out the help through the on line directions to complete an out of the ordinary task. Review Source LG Lauretta G. Legal Assistant/Intake Specialist Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Abacus Law Is an Excellent Software Program that Enables Users to Link Important Information" May 11, 2021 5.0 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. Pros 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. Cons At this time the features provided are working well to allow for ease of sending messages, linking client information and researching stored client information. Review Source EAT E. ALLAN T. Principal Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Longtime user very satisfied" March 24, 2020 5.0 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. Pros 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. Cons 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. Reason for choosing AbacusLaw Most recently when I considered alternatives to upgrade my old Abacus software, I concluded that the "new" Abacus software was easiest to use and did the best coordination of the accounting software with the practice software. Review Source Response from CARET March 25, 2020 Hi E.Allan, Thank you so much for the wonderful review! We would love to feature you as a customer of ours if you are interested? Please let me know! Natalie Lara AbacusNext Marketing Team EK Enita K. Used the software for: ### "Mediocre at best. Don't waste your TIME and your $$" April 15, 2016 1.0 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. Review Source CB Candice B. Legal Assistant Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "AbacusLaw is a essential tool for Offices" May 18, 2020 5.0 My over all experience has been great. I can see the work staff on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule and assign task with ease. Pros The ease of use for this software makes it a wonderful program to use with our company. Cons Too many steps to edit some entries, and also if someone adds a change to the schedule, you may not see the update quick. You have to refresh the program and maybe if there was a flashing icon that lets you know there was a change in the schedule it may be easier to see it. Review Source Response from CARET July 7, 2020 Hi Candice! My name is Natalie and I'm on the Marketing Team at Abacus. I wanted to reach out and say thank you for the feedback! It's great to hear that AbacusLaw has been a great resource for you during this crazy time. I wanted to reach out to see if you would be interested in being one of our first customers to film a video review? We'd love to include you in this cool new project! Please let me know if you are interested! Thank you, Natalie SG Sharon G. Paralegal/Office Manager Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Essentially a very good product!" March 20, 2020 4.0 Generally, Abacus is a very good program for our needs. We are able to keep client/matter information in one location that can be accessed by everyone offsite. Recently, I was involved in a trial in Federal Court and it was very helpful to be able to access our file without delay. Pros Generally Abacus Private Cloud is easy to use and is fairly intuitive to move around. Setting up new files, adding and/or linking appropriate parties/individuals, attaching emails are all very simple. Cons Fairly frequently the system slows down such that you type ahead of the action on the screen. This can be frustrating and annoying. When updates are made, we are not notified of the changes and must learn how to use or work around those changes. Sometimes it feels as if changes are made without talking with users to see if the change will help or hurt. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Related categories [Legal Billing](https://www.capterra.com/legal-billing-software/)[Law Practice Management](https://www.capterra.com/law-practice-management-software/)[Legal Calendar](https://www.capterra.com/legal-calendar-software/) ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.