Worst business decision of my career

ABACUS PRIVATE CLOUD - EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY, RELIABILITY & SERVICE

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Fantastic cloud product

I am very pleased with this product.

Pros

I was worried about transitioning all of our data to the cloud but could not be more pleased with this product. I especially love the ability to work from any computer anywhere. The product is stable and reliable.

Cons

There were some things that did not transfer from our prior legal software but the important things all transferred.

Poor experience(s), plural, long support waits, inflexibility, you have better solutions for Lacerte

I could see a 20 CPA firm who are growing and need the CRM to track clients and contacts using this and it not being too costly, but it is to costly in both price and downtime due to long support hold time to be a good partner for 1 to 10 CPA/tax preparer businesses.

Pros

Years ago OfficeTools was a way to share client contact information with employees, and integrate a billing system and CRM, but now there is much better competition out there for the cost they charge. Now I will use Right Networks' secure hosting solution for Lacerte, combined with SmartVault for storage for a one-stop cloud based remote work environment with 24 x 7 live support compared to AbacusNext.

Cons

Wow, where do I start? It is NOT meant for very small businesses like mine as I have downsized over the years, and AbacusNext has proven very inflexible with my request to terminate a very short time after an unannounced autorenewal. I asked to terminate and they said I had (unknown to me) just autorenewed and there was "nothing they could do," I would be forced to pay for a full year of full service. I mentioned an employee told me in writing I could change my service lineup slightly and save $200-$300/month just a few months earlier. Very boor business policies from sales. Prepare yourself for very long support hold times which will be interruptive to doing business, and then long times on the phone with tech support while they try to handle your issues. If you use Lacerte and host it with them, the cost of the time you will lose to waiting while your system access is down for any reason, or to sit through a Lacerte update at a busy time, as just two examples, will outweigh any benefit compared to their competitors. It is awful. You, you will spend 20 minutes to sometimes 45 minute to work with IT once you reach them. The IT personnel are great, they are not the issue, once you get them "live" on the phone (for 20 to 45 minutes).

Private cloud for a business

Pros

The critical thing for us was that our consumers could quickly enter into the Cloud and retrieve their program - and that we can log in and see what they're doing if they get stuck. We don't have to go to each client location. The tech support staff is fantastic and delightful!

Cons

When our clients are unable to log in, we appear to be experiencing the same issue. The Cloud becomes frozen and can't even open for anybody if enough of our customer's log out incorrectly. This problem appears to be solvable in some way. In addition, the Cloud seems to be a little pricey.