I can't live without it.

The best.

Pros

There is nothing I don't love about this software. My first cloud-based firm management system went unsupported after a couple of years, and I could understand why. I stumbled on Smokeball (an excellent, perfectly persistent and not annoying sales rep), and I have never looked back. The AI for time and billing is exceptional; the choices made when partnering with services are well-considered and launched, and the customer service is fabulous. And they keep making integration and start-up even simpler.

Cons

There is genuinely nothing I don't like about the software. I suppose, in an ideal world, there would be a partnership with Westlaw, but that's not a criticism.

Fantastic CRM

Awesome!

Pros

The tech support is spot-on and extremely reliable. The integration of Word & Outlook is very user-friendly. I became very familiar with the Automation, so I was able to modify my own forms very easily. The only downside to the software is that it is expensive and the price rises each year. The price goes up because there are so many new features that are added each year. We don't use most of the new features because our firm doesn't use many of the features for our area of law. The software that I do use is very reliable.

Cons

The only downside to the software is that it is expensive and the price rises each year. The price goes up because there are so many new features that are added each year. We don't use most of the new features because our firm doesn't use many of the features for our area of law.

Smokeball does not have legal forms as advertised; and does not interact with G calendar

I foolishly jumped in and signed up for a one-year deal with Smokeball. After I explained the shortcomings of their product and my need to buy additional software to make their software work, I asked to be released from my one year contract. Somkeball denied the request. I would strongly look for a product that is less expensive and has some type of money back guarantee.

Pros

The staff is friendly and tries to assist.

Cons

I bought the software for the forms library that you could use in your practice. I am a small practitioner in Oklahoma. However, the forms library for Oklahoma, and most states, is non-existent. Smokeball costs more than other practice software packages. I purchased it for these forms, but had to buy forms elsewhere. Smokeball does not interact with Google products including Google calendar even with work-arounds. My work was all automated through Google calendar. I worked with trying to use the work-around recommended, but none worked. To use Smokeball, I would have had to buy additional soft-ware. This made the one stop shop advertised by Smokeball not work for me at all.

Smokeball is great

Pros

It’s robust and had a lot of tools to help manage your law office from automated forms to billing to filing

Cons

In the automation screen I would like a search button so I can’t watch for the input would like to add

Great product but still lacking in essential features!

I have really enjoyed using this product and a have been a strong advocate from day one; however, I am concerned that they have not fixed this problem and I do not have the one capability that I need which is being able to get my emails and task while I’m in the car.

Pros

This software is easy to use and all of my staff love it! It improves our workflow, makes us more efficient and makes every day more enjoyable!

Cons

This software is lacking in one essential area – – you are unable to get your emails and task while on the go on your phone. I was told this app and feature works when I signed up for three years only to find out later that it does not work and the calendar is not very good either

GREAT product with ease of use!!

Overall, it's been great! Such an easy program to use and very thorough!

Pros

The ease of use is awesome! Document automation is also great!! It's easy to track nearly everything. In essence, it does the job and more!

Cons

It's difficult to switch from Plaintiff to Defendant if you open a case the wrong way, especially if you already have a lot of information in the case.

Financing Scam

They appear to have changed their business model from one that provides software to once that makes money off "lending money." The first account managers were amazing. Once we transferred all of our stuff and got used to the software. They started asking us for 3-5 year contracts paid up front with personal guarantors under the guise of them having to finance the contract. In other words even if you stop using their service you will personally have to still keep paying. They appear to have changed their business model from one that provides software to once that makes money off "lending money." Beware. I would stay away especially if you are a small firm.

Pros

User interface, Ease of Use, Accessibility

Cons

Customer support is lacking. Incompatible with VPN and other security software. They seem unconcerned about security issues that result. Fixing invoices is problematic.

A Good Investment

We are moving toward a paperless office, and have a better sense of organization, because with Smokeball, we know where everything is, and it's easy to find.

Pros

That it is cloud-based makes is usable anywhere: home, office, while traveling. That's especially important now, given the limitations imposed by Covid 19. I appreciate the ability to have all emails related to a case appear in the same place. I like the automation features, particularly for drafting quick letters.

Cons

There are still technical issues involving the relationship between Smokeball and Outlook, and even when everything works smoothly, which is most of the time, the loading of both programs takes a while.

Associate Attorney

Just about the time we got Smokeball we reduced our secretarial staff, so I was forced to prepare most of my own pleadings. Smokeball has made it possible for me to do so. I am always anxious to find out more about what Smokeball can do as, I suspect that I am only using a portion of the total functions available.

Pros

I like the fact that you can click on a file and easily find the document you are looking for; that it tracks your time and can easily be entered into Smokeball billing; that you can find documents by doing a search; that there is assess to the court forms of other jurisdictions and when opened, they are populated with the information in the file; that I am reminded daily about the tasks that I entered; I also like the communicate function which I just found.

Cons

I wish that I could print the memos that I prepare (although I found that I can send them through communicate); I wish there was more training with the pi functions (although I may have missed them); also I wish that I could print the task pages because I often make lists in the "Detail" box.

Great product

Smokeball makes my legal work flow more smoothly and efficiently. It is like having another assistant at the office, but who is available 24-7 and by mobile.

Pros

Smokeball is terrific at combining the various aspects of my law practice into one, easily reachable and organized place. It has greatly improved the office's efficiency in responding to clients, getting work out the door, and staying organized.

Cons

The product was a great eye-opener in what could be accomplished. I am really am pleased and have no complaints.

Great high tech automation but misses on basic options

I have gained a lot from using Smokeball, but I have had to give up things that I view as basic and simple needs in exchange. The company is open to hearing suggestions, but they are not quickly implemented. They are aware of the complaints that new users have, but they still don't discuss them in the sales demo. I would suggest buying one license only if you decide to try the software. You can add more later if you find that it works for you, but really use the software before adding more as it will take you a minute to realize all of the simple tasks it can't perform. If you have used other major software programs like Abacus or Practice Panther, you may not feel like the benefits are worth the hassle of the change. If this is your first case management system, you will be happy.

Pros

The integration with Microsoft Word and Outlook are great. Unlike other software programs, they work all the time and are easy to use. The templates and automation features help you save tremendous amounts of times doing routine work. The software does not crash and have bugs all the time like the previous software I used.

Cons

This is an out of the box, canned solution. Even on simple requests, ZERO customization is allowed. Also, they are HORRIBLE with allowing you to import data from other software systems. They basically expect each firm to just start over from scratch, other than importing contacts. This is crazy and unrealistic for small or large firms. Smokeball is a one size fits all tool that frequently falls short. It is very difficult to run reports. You have the ability to add labels and input data, but extremely limited ability to run reports to transform the data you have collected into useful information. During the demo, they show you nifty features like automated time keeping, but they neglect to tell you that if you turn on that feature, your invoices will get all messed up. You won't have the ability to itemize or discount each line item of work performed on the case, instead they group them together with a list of daily worked. There is a reason why they do not offer a try before you buy option or a month to month option. You have to sign up for a full year and then you are locked in.

Execellent Case Managment System.

Since I started using Smokeball, my profitability has increased by almost thirty percent. It keeps everything in one place and can make even a complex practice more manageable. The customer service is very responsive and Smokeball is constantly evolving new features and products to facilitate the needs of their customers.

Pros

I have been using Smokeball for almost four (4) years now. The document assembly and integration with Microsoft Office are fantastic. It stores everything about the case, contacts, documents, emails all in one place. Since I have been a user, they have added a billing program, which has increased our profitability.

Cons

Some of the billing features can be cumbersome at times, but if you train your staff to work within the parameters of the program, (i.e. making sure that payments on invoices are actually applied to the invoices), these minor issues can be managed.

An Invaluable Tool for Lawyers

Smokeball has increased my firm's ability to organize our client database and keep it updated and available on a moments notice.

Pros

The organization and accessibility Smokeball provides for my practice is invaluable. The integration of Word, Outlook, and the Smokeball overlay keeps all client matters easily organized and accessible from the cloud. Smokeball was integral for my practice to transition from paper heavy documents to a digitally based system. The ease of access provides on the spot support and client records by laptop or phone when at court or remote locations. As a bonus Smokeball integrates automatic billing through calendar and email events to help me keep track of billable hours. I am, and will continue to be, a dedicated and satisfied user.

Cons

The only con is the necessary time to input basic information on a client and client matter. However, once the initial input is complete it is transferable to new client matters.

Most complete case management program available.

Pros

The software is easy to use, intuitive, and loaded with features that are easy to customize to practice needs, the billing integration, with the recently added auto activity trackers, make billing simple. Just when they make an improvement, they add additional improvements and enhance,ents with integrations to make practice management even more efficient. Example, they just added law pay and QuickBooks integrations to the Boost billing portal, making accounting, and collections easier and faster. The support team is responsive, and is always looking to learn from customers how to make the program better. Just spent have an hour with them on a call in which they were looking for suggestions on how to make the mobile app better. Whenever they make enhancements, they provide support instantly to train, if necessary, but usually the changes are so intuitive, that very little training is ever needed. I can't say that I have experienced better customer service. Well worth it.

Cons

My only complaint would be price, but that is really a nominal complaint. I have paid so much more, per month, for other types of software, research and other types of programs and services, that the pricing really isn't bad at all.

Good Product - Very customizable

Generally speaking, no serious problems.

Pros

We have access to all of our files during this remote work period. It is easy to scan & add documents to the files and keep them organized. The system syncs with Outlook and Word in order to communicate through E-mail and create documents. The feature to create letters with our letterhead pre-loaded is great. The overall system give us a lot of options. We do not use the billing features because of our contingency-fee work. And I think we could use it more for client expenses if we work to train everyone and implement that. It is a good system.

Cons

It is expensive. I believe that it's worth what we pay, but it is not inexpensive.

My Smokeball Experience

Simplicity of creating documents, ease of tracking deadlines with reminders

Pros

Several features: Self populating documents, ability to download any document to my, responsive customer service.

Cons

Sometimes WORD interferes with the software.

Absolutely the best!

This software enables me to run my business much more efficiently and accurately.

Pros

Smokeball is really wonderful and made a positive impact on my practice! The automation function is perfect. The auto time tracking and boost billing functions take Smokeball to the next level. It is hard to identify just one thing that I like most because everything about this software is amazing. It really has made my practice run smoothly and increased efficiency in my office. I converted from MyCase to Smokeball and the process was simple and relatively fast. I am so much happier with Smokeball! The customer service is out of this world as well. My account administrator took care of me every step of the way and made sure that I understood the process. She checked in on me to see how the conversion was going and did not hesitate to help me in any way.

Cons

I cannot think of anything I do not like or that I like least. Every once in awhile, the system runs slowly and it seems that my documents do not sync quickly. But, that is really it. There is nothing to complain about because this software is so intuitive and easy to use.

Makes work easier

Overall, my experience has been good. I would highly recommend this system to any office. It really does help keep files and documents organized and is easy to use.

Pros

This is a great system. It's easy to use and has a lot of useful features. What I really like is once you have entered a contact for one matter, it's in the system and you don't have to re-enter the same information again. Merging several documents into one large document is made simple too. Also, editing PDF documents is super easy.

Cons

Getting started with this system can be time consuming. Having to enter in all the information from each case took a long time.

Real Estate Review

I have never had a software program like this, it is invaluable and I hope whereever I go in law, they have it.

Pros

The features in real estate are extremely helpful. The searching feature in the tab bar in the matter saves me every time. When I am on the phone with a client, I can look up information as they are asking me for it. It makes our office act compteley and fast. The formatting for letters or orders that I have made for ordering title, well and septic or addendums, etc. is truly amazing. In 2 seconds I can have an order out or an email sent with attachments.

Cons

Sometimes smokeball will glitch up with Word or take a while to respond but it's only a few seconds; I am spoiled with how fast smokeball is.

Excellent producet

The customer service is excellent. I am better organized and more efficient using Smokeball than previously.

Pros

Everything is in one place and easily tracked for billing.

Cons

I wish that other e-mail tools were available other than Outlook as I really dislike Outlook.

Utilization

We are very pleased!

Pros

Smokeball is a part of my everyday business and has been a key part of my businesses ability to perform at an optimal level. We've had a few hiccups adjusting to the software updates but were able to reach out to customer support and receive help quickly. [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] has played a large role in continuing to help us adjust to the changes Smokeball integration.

Cons

The continuous updates, although appreciated, sometimes wipe out our formatted documents to a default setting.

BEST PROGRAM EVER!!

I love all the features- especially the AI feature, it has helped our attorneys to make sure they do not complete something but forget to bill for it. All of our firm's contacts are stored in one place, making everyone's address book on point for everyone to contact anyone, even if someone else added the contact I can still find it. I also love being able to search for a document by typing anything that you remember is in the document and it will search all the documents for that phrase.

Pros

This program has made my job soo smooth. The ease of use and all the different features work together great. It has made me more organized and efficient in my job.

Cons

If your internet goes out, you cannot access files.

Effective/Efficient/Excellent

Wonderful and easy

Pros

The ease that the system provides with day to day functions makes all of our employees far More efficient and proficient at their jobs.

Cons

Some things would be helpful to customize to our specific practice and less so generalized for the containers and fillable options. I would love an intake that we can customize and open incoming potential clients to track specifically within its own feature.

Best case management software ever!

We were fairly early users of Smokeball and we could not be more pleased. Their software makes it so easy to write letters (which can be done off templates) and create standard documents. It's very easy to send them out, and organize them per file. It even links to email so emails can be similarly organized. Accessibility is the best part, as you've always got all the paperwork at your fingertips as long as you have a smartphone. The app is fantastic and makes it easy to make calls, email documents, etc. customer support literally responds within minutes and are the nicest folks ever. It's a great company and we couldn't be happier.

Pros

Accessibility, great app, immediate customer support.

Cons

No billing feature yet! :)

Best Practice Management Software for Small Firms

Pros

The multiple software integrations, unlimited, secure cloud storage and AI time tracking make his program second to none. I have used Clio, Practice Panther and custom case management software at a large firm, and Smokeball is vastly superior to all of these options.

Cons

The initial setup is time consuming especially if you have an existing practice with a lot of data.

Smokeball- we'd be lost without it!

It's a part of our firm that we cannot operate without, it's as important as email and the phone!

Pros

Features, features and more features. They never stop adding new things or tweaking things for ease of use. Every update either has a feature we suggested or a feature that make us say "wow, that's going to make things easeir!"

Cons

As with any software, getting the templates and data the way we like them is time consuming, but I think that's just the nature of any case management software.

Love Smokeball!

Pros

I love how easy it is to teach others how to use Smokeball, and how we are able to add certain things to our own SB system to personalize it for our firm's use! I also love how they listen to their users, and are always adding new and better features! It is also great how easy they are to get in contact with should we ever have a problem.

Cons

One of the only things that I don't really like about Smokeball is that it can sometimes take longer than I would like to load. Switching between tasks and matters also sometimes takes a minute, and it will freeze for 30 or so seconds before actually switching.

I love Smokeball

Smokeball makes organizing our client matters simple. The automation of forms makes drafting quick and easy.

Pros

Smokeball is user-friendly. If you cannot figure something out Smokeball support is prompt in replying and assisting with the request for support.

Cons

I know there are parts of Smokeball that we do not utilize or fully utilize that could make our office more efficient.

Nice functions, too expensive for our little firm

Pros

the workflows and automation are great, the product was easy to use and we generally liked it. IN fact, I recommended it to several friends and they liked it as well.

Cons

After a year of beta testing, requesting and getting new features, the company raised the price subscription price 40%. This was too much for us to bite off, especially with no protection in the future. Some of the features like billing and accounting drove the price up but are of no use to our contingent fee based practice. In addition, my client data was on their server, not mine. The company was good to give quarterly backups on request but if the internet connection fails, which happens a couple times a year, we could only work on recently saved documents or from the last backup.

Review

Pros

There is not a specific feature that makes Smokeball so useful, it is that it is a comprehensive software that we run our entire practice through--from new contact intake, calendaring, file management, and billing.

Cons

There are some issues with billing, such as when a client pays a portion of a past invoice and a portion of a current invoice, the new invoice generated only reflects the current payment.

Smokeball review

Much better product that what we had before. Excellent staff training. Our staff likes it and that is what matters!

Pros

Fairly easy but I am still learning as support staff usually handle for me. Ease of entry of contacts to each matter. I read the info given to us and it helps me to read on paper! I am very busy with working on the "legal" end of cases so my time is limited as to all entries. I just add as I can.

Cons

It is meeting the needs of our firm except for the daily printing of a calendar that would show what all attorneys are doing. So far we are only able to print one day at a time.

Excellent software management tool for small firm.

One company provides four different services: Software management/document sharing, cloud-based back-up, billing software, and website support/creation!

Pros

It is intuitive and works seemlessly with Microsoft Word and Outlook; it provides excellent customer service; it is accessible from one's phone. I like all the automation features, particularly the way contacts will automatically update through all applicable matters when changed in just one location.

Cons

Not all aspects of litigation are cookie-cutter and sometimes some of the of the automation features don't quite fit with the case's subject matter and/or content. However, customer service is quick to help resolve any issue and to help customize their product to fit one's business needs

Our firm use to use timematters, but this is way better. It's like driving a chevy vs. mercendes!

This software makes our office more efficient which means I need one less secretary. I have access from my phone and tablet which makes it easier for me to work outside of the office.

Pros

It's very integrated for every need possible as a small law firm. This software links all my emails into the file. It's just a powerful system.

Cons

Since I'm a baby boomer, it's too much to remember, but that's my fault and not the software. I wish every time I get a phone message, a separate window would pop up to call instead of me looking for it or getting it thru email.

Great at what is goes well

Pros

The program acts as a central hub for the entire firm. Storing all client contact information, case information and uploaded documents. The direct integration with Office 365 for document creation and editing as well as email tracking makes the product what it is.

Cons

There are several features that are subpar (billing) or unnecessary (complimentary website) that have made the price double yet go unused. In the case of the billing program it is very basic and limited with bugs that make it unusable.

Helpful Case Management Software

Pros

Ease of use, the Smokeball Team is very helpful and responsive.

Cons

You cannot link emails to a matter from the mobile app.

Best Practice/Case Management Software for small firms

Can overstate the quality of the program, the ease of use, and the customer service and support.

Pros

Cloud and local functionality, form creation, storage, automatic billing and time tracking, email integration, integration with word and outlook

Cons

ios application can use improvement, but works decently well.

One of the best legal practice management software tools!

Pros

From the automated forms, document management, or the time tracking functionality, this software is perfect for any law firm looking to take their firm to the next level. The goal is to help attorneys run a more profitable law firm and that's exactly what you can expect when using it!

Cons

It is not cheap, but you get what you pay for - so that shouldn't be a deal killer for the firm that is looking to get the right pieces in place.

Smokeball

Pros

Smokeball is amazing. It is user friendly and makes things so much easier. If you are an attorney, Smokeball is definitely the best case manager out there.

Cons

Nothing!! That is odd for me to say, but i cannot say enough good things about Smokeball

Excellent practice management software

Pros

Quite an intuitive platform with easy to use features. Time recording and billing are our favourite features! Smokeball allows easy file access in an organised platform.

Cons

Cost, however that's a pretty standard dislike for any legal software.

Administrator for law firm using this program.

Helped organize client files and made it easier to track and save emails to and from clients.

Pros

It is quite easy to save emails and documents to various clients and to search matters quickly. I like that I can pull up documents while on the phone with clients.

Cons

If not careful, it is easy to overlook tracked changes to documents. It is also occasionally difficult to remove clients who have been twice entered.

SMOKEBALL REVIEW

OVERALL I REALLY LIKE IT AS IT DOES MAKE MY JOB EASIER.

Pros

THAT IT PULLS & SAVES ALL CLIENT INFORMATION TO MANY DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS.

Cons

WHEN YOU CHANGE DATES AFTER PREVIOUS CALCULATIONS IT DOES NOT UPDATE THE CALCULATION AUTOMATICALLY

I love the customer support. If there are any issues, they will work with you until they are fixed.

Linking everything together is great

Pros

I love that it links together everything I need to do in a day: ie: My cases with my calendar, my emails, etc.

Cons

I think there aren't many forms I use, and the ones I need, aren't in the library. I also think there are some gliches that need to be ironed out- sometimes my word documents wont open- i have to export them and save on my desktop and then open them.

I really like smokeball

I came from a paper office. This is so much easier and keeps everything in one place. It is easy to track what has been done to a file and what needs to be done.

Pros

I love the customer support for smokeball. They are always there to walk you through things and help create a better system.

Cons

The automation of documents is cumbersome.

Ambitious integration

I have been using Smokeball for several months. It's amazingly powerful, integrating emails, documents, forms, and workflows. It has an activity tracker and allows you to create invoices, but billing/accounting integration is still weak. It may be too ambitious - one needs a powerful computer and for me sometimes fails to pull up Word. But customer service is very responsive and I'm impressed by their vision.

Pros

Emails and documents all in one place.

Cons

Still buggy from time to time.

Impressed

Pros

Feature rich client and document management system integrates with office for document automation and email tracking

Cons

Poor billing program. No accounting or linking with QuickBooks. The offered document template set ups by their staff are poorly executed.

Smokeball is a great asset to my solo practice

It's easy to use - the fields are layed out in a way that makes sense. The support is phenomenal - I usually get a response within a couple hours. It helps me track data - it has all the key data points I need. It helps me stay on top of tasks - I set up dates/reminders with ease.

Pros

The customer support and its user-friendly design.

Cons

That it doesn't have email workflow capabilities (not campaigns, but workflows based on a client's status or stage in the process).

Does Not Deliver on its Promises

Very Poor.

Pros

The software was not set up for California Family Law. As such we were constantly having to find work around for things we had done with Practice Panther.

Cons

It did not deliver. When it didn’t work for us they refused to cancel or assist me in any way. I was never given a support person to launch the product. The cost for setting up the program through a third party provider ( given to me by the company) was twice what the sales rep told me it would be. The auto billing feature double billed in many cases making more billing work not less.

Awesome software!

Pros

Smokeball has so many great capabilities and it pretty easy to use. Their customer service and team are great and very helpful if you ever need anything.

Cons

So far I have not found anything I don't like.

Smokeball changed my life for the better.

Pros

Ability to easily and accurately keep track of my legal billing.

Cons

The program seems to be very RAM intensive. It ran a bit slow, but I then expanded my computer's memory and it alleviated the problem.

Smokeball Makes It Easy

I have used Smokeball for about four years. There are a lot of positive parts to this program - the ease of using Word documents; the templates for the various practice areas; the speed of finding documents, correspondence, and emails to name a few. Recently I was representing the sellers of a Chicago condominium. For some reason the attorney, lender, and both real estate brokers found emails easier than phone calls. An issue arose about seven days prior to closing which caused a flurry of emails (17) to be exchanged in about 35 minutes. Smokeball grouped and filed these emails in the proper client folder and allowed me to watch from the sidelines until the activity ceased. Once I saw that the parties had run out of responses, I reviewed the last email in the chain, initiated a conference call, and resolved the problem with a three minute phone call. Smokeball allowed me to keep an eye on developments while working on other pressing matters. One last note. I have had judges comment on the Word documents I've used and how easy it is to read the insertions and presentations of documents like the Cook County Memorandum of Judgment and the Illinois business forms.