Customer rep went above and beyond for me. He did the following for me: He helped me update a laptop running remote access to the APC Cloud so the toolbar could be updated to include a size retractable feature; reinstalled the Message Slips icon; updated java; and created access in the APC to scan folders located on the local computer for 2 laptops accessing the APC. He also recommended the use of micro SD cards to expand storage capabilities for the laptops included in our Abacus subscription. This was really important because these laptops have limited resources and performing Windows updates was becoming impossible. Rep did all of this without missing a beat. Our lives were made a whole lot easier today because of rep' diligent help! Thank you so very much!”

The software has a wealth of features that can make tracking cases and billing so much easier.

It does take a while to learn most of the features but it is worth the time.

I like the product very much. I compared it recently to other legal software programs that have similar functions and I think this one with all the additional features works the best for my office.

I like the integration of the court forms with the client base. The calendaring is excellent. If one uses the notes it is easy to keep track of the clients' information and keeps them updated. The ease of logging on from off-site is easy. We were able to have everyone work from home within 2 days of implementation. We don't need physical files and can put the clients' entire file on a dvd for storage. Service has always been very good. They walk you through what they are doing so you know how to do in in the future if necessary.

It is a bit expensive, and I would like them to give us a break on the price when we add users. Some part time users cost the same as full time. I would like it to integrate with an accounting program like QuickBooks.

The first 1 1/2 years of Abacus Private Cloud was fine. Then they changed my "private server" or reduced allocated RAM memory, resulting daily crashes. Avoid all Abacus products. They refused to let me out of the last year of my three year contract. They also lied about backup (only 30 days of back up unless you pay them more). They do not let you add any third party cloud based backups except Dropbox if you can get it to work. The customer rep does nothing to help.

It allows easy remote access through remote desktop

Avoid all abacus products. The Abacus Law software practice management is clunky, slow and counterintuitive. It also uses outdated judicial council forms, has spelling errors, the billing and accounting is awkward and not designed how a lawyer thinks to bill a client. The Abacus Private Cloud is NOT private, but a shared server, which is a lie when they sell it to you. The APC will not work well and crash almost daily. They try to upsell you more "allocated memory" after they change the settings to make your "private cloud" not work well. The Customer Rep service is non-existent. However, the individual IT techs are extremely nice, they vary in abilities, but they also express they are hampered by what they can do. It also seems that after Abacus was sold last year, they reduced services and even if you have a contract they want to provide less service and charge more.

Fully mobile cloud base and exactly the same no matter where you use it. I love the feature that prompts you to bill.

It can be glitch-y and hard to get a person to understand the issues when you call customer service. It is expensive.

The billing program pays for itself in less than an hour.

With the recent pandemic, I had to act fast to get up and running my own firm. Having Abacus Private Cloud in place allowed me to bill on time and accurately.

I had this software and was not using it adequately.

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.

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.

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).

A roller coaster ride. There are good and bad things about this set up and company. I know they went through some growing pains themselves and we road along with them. I fee like they are heading in the right directions and making progress.

It is cloud based Uses the remote desktop system Creates a remote environment to function in. Security Support response has been getting better each year.

The overall cost is twice as much as everyone else. The control over the Office 365 account makes it difficult to efficiently function with our growing company. There have been features with the office 365 account that we would like to explore but can't because of the lack of control we have over the account. The constant issues that come up where the issue is tied to server resources or the lack there of. After two years I would hope the server needs were more dialed in. I also don't get the feeling that anyone takes the time to understand a 3rd party software. We use Lacerte, along with "1000" other clients, and there doesn't seem to be a Lacerte expert nor is there a partnership with Intuit to install it correctly in a terminal server environment. I have had 4 different people install lacerte it different ways (on the X drive, on the C drive, on a separate SSD drive,)

It used to be a responsive tech provider.

I have used Abacus software for about eight years, and Abacus Private Cloud/Next since it began. Until yesterday, I have received good technical support. I have now called eight times in the last 24 hours, and no one will return my call. I did receive an email from someone - once - who said he had called and left a message, but no call or message was received on my phone. I even used a separate phone on one call, in case they were blocking my number for some reason, but still no call back. I emailed the person who emailed me, and still no response. I cannot have my law practice shut down for a day - or more - just because some sharp MBA manager outsourced their tech support to ... god knows where!

It is vastly to complicated to use for any law firm smaller than 50 lawyers.

Overall, I like the remote access capability far more than services like Logmein or PC Anywhere. The screen quality (size and pixels) is so much better, and so much easier on the eyes. Access to scanner, fax and printer all seem to work well, too.

The advantage to the system for me is the ability to log into my desktop when at a client's location. It allows me real time access to the tax and accounting software, documents in our client management system, email and my calendar.

When the system is down, you are dead in the water. You loose access to everything!! No client phone numbers, email, your calendar, etc, in addition to the various software programs. The frequency of service interruption - I loose connection at least once a day. During the peak periods in tax season, it happened many times a day. It also happened routinely at the same time every evening. Customer service said they would track to figure out why, but it never happened after repeated requests. Customer service has been very responsive lately, but previously, if you called after about 11 AM EST, you never heard back and would need to recall the next day. Once you get a hold of someone, they are very helpful.

No problems at all and have great user interface. We have not had any privacy issues with maintaining our files on the cloud. In addition, it has saved our firm thousands of dollars in IT management fees.

Our firm has a multi-area practice such as real estate, probate, estate planning and family law. Our storage requirements are very high and our needs are met through the use of the Abacus Private Cloud. The clients' documents are accessible and organized. No need to keep unnecessary papers in our office since they can be accessed from anywhere at anytime. It's great to be able to access any document during a meeting or an arbitration.

We have to evaluate how much storage we need and sometimes that needs to be expanded. Although it is easy to do, it is just something that needs to be handled by our office administrators.

I am a solo attorney with a multi-state practice. APC has allowed me to automate my practice, from client intake to document production. I have used the Abacus products for over 13 years now and am very satisfied.

I have been an Abacus user since 2007 and on the Cloud ever since it was a little puff of smoke. The ability to have all my software managed and updated at one source, on a secure server with almost immediate access to an IT person everyday has turned out to be WAY more cost effective than a piecemeal approach to buying Office 365 here, a case management system and accounting program there, and PDF software at a third place... It not only saves me money, but also tons of time.

Way way back when Abacus went online with the Cloud, there were speed bumps (and I apologize for all the 4-letter words in those early emails), but the past few years, it has been very smooth sailing. I like the convenience of having my office EVERYWHERE that I am.

I think it’s a great product. With great functionality. Overall it’s a must have product. There are some areas that could be improved, but I have always felt like Abacus was always self evaluating and continually improving functionality and features. They listen and problem solve whenever you have problems.

The front and back office functionality is great. The abacus system and matters combined with the accounting piece is huge.

When it crashes, it gets frustrating. Sometimes the accounting software boots you out mid billing and that is extremely frustrating. And after hours, it isn’t as easy as it used to be to get assistance, so we find ourselves waiting until normal business hours, which impacts our ability to be in court as we are sometimes dealing with abacus issues instead.

The main benefit is the safety and security of our data. Knowing it won't be lost no matter what happens to my computer, and knowing there are smart tech people a phone call away to fix whatever goes wrong, is invaluable to me.

We've been using the Abacus Private Cloud for about a year now and it has been an excellent service. Very easy to use and adaptable to the programs we use. What I like most though is that our client data is safe. We share office space with a firm that does not use Abacus Private Cloud and they recently were the victims of a ransomware attack where all of their data was seized. They elected not to pay the ransom and subsequently lost ALL of their data. While no system can ever be totally secure, I sleep much better at night knowing that our data is as secure as it can be. I purchased a new computer two weeks ago and called the Abacus support to get my new computer onto the cloud network. They had me installed and up and running in about 2 minutes. I really couldn't ask for better service.

I don't have any cons worth mentioning right now. No software is perfect for every application but abacus does everything I need right now.

Technical Support is usually difficult to connect with (1-2 hour wait for a call back). Would like to say they are excellent, but reliable is the best I can say.

APC is not software, but a cloud server. It has been convenient being able to access our files remotely.

Implementation did not start for 9 months after signing agreement. Implementation was forced to happen by us.

Abacus Law gives me the tools I need to carry out my practice efficiently. Calendaring, Accounting, Contacts, Matters, Form Production, and Conflict Management are in use constantly in my office. The software works great with the original default settings. But, it is very flexible in allowing a practitioner to mold the software to fill specific needs. Furthermore, using Abacus Private Cloud means I have a highly skilled tech team constantly monitoring all aspects of the software, the server, encryption, and off-site back-up of my data.

I would like to see the program develop a more robust word processing capability. It's very good as it is. But, I use MS Word extensively and would love to see some of the functionality of Word be available when entering data into Abacus.

The private cloud with document storage is essential.

We experience severe latency. Little bugs from time to time with check writing and printing.

OVERALL IT IS NOT WORTH THE MONEY

I utilized Abacus for my law firm for over 20 years and so 2 and 1/2 years ago I decided to try their private cloud solution. When it work it is great but when it does not work IT IS ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE AND YOUR ENTIRE OFFICE IS SHUT DOWN

YOU CAN NEVER GET CUSTOMER SERVICE. YOU ARE ON HOLD FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR WHENEVER YOU CALL

I now have a secure form of communication with my clients and one stop place to work and deliver my work to clients as well.

I needed an IT service that provided security and complete resources for my business and they provided an excellent comprehensive package with security.

The learning curve was the hardest to get used to but I found it very fluid once I got the hang of all the integrations.

Abacus Private Cloud was easy to navigate, and easy to customize to your needs. I preferred it over some other companies legal software. I would recommend it for someone who wants more detailed file keeping.

I liked that we could customize the fields. When working on a file, we could have all important details on the first page of the matter and retrieve the information fast.

Saving documents to the cloud was often time consuming. You would have to save it and pull it into the matter. It also wasn't as advanced as some of the other products I've seen. It did it's job though.

I love love love the NOTES section. When I do anything at all I put them into notes. Therefore my attorney can actually see what exactly is going on in the case. She does not have to ask about status nor do I have to remember.

I have used other programs throughout the years and feel this program actually connects all issues together. From Outlook to calendaring to matters, etc. it flows easily.

That is truly one of the only issues I have with the software plus I do not feel getting the correct department on your telephone lines user friendly.

We are so unhappy about this situation that it erases anything positive we could say if there was something nice to say.

It's not about their software, its about Abacus not honoring their contract and responsibilites.

Abacus is paid for our contract monthly, with our credit card that is on file. They failed to pay Intuit/Quickbooks and when I tried to forward the emails from Quickbooks suggesting lack of payment will result in them turning off our access to QB, I got no responses from my sales rep at Abacus. I called, made a case and am now 3 days waiting for them to resolve it. QB says it's simply a payment they need to turn it back on and Abacus isn't paying the fee so we are without our company file now.

I have increased productivity by using the cloud. Having all information stored and readily accessible has saved time which in turn makes money. Customer service is typically very good but occasionally I have been dissatisfied at hold times.

I like the idea of having all my information in one place and an immediate backup in case of a catastrophe.

The connection is to slow. There is a delay in typing a document in my word processing. I have to wait several minutes at times for programs to open. I do not like that there is an expiration of connection throughout the day when idle. I have already exceeded the storage package I purchased, so cost continue to rise.

Occasionally it has worked as intended.

Right now I can't think of a single one. The Cloud 9 functioned well until the September ransomware attach that took it down. We were then compelled by Abacus to move, yet again, to another server for "improved" security. We have two months in two conversions at this point.

We converted ourselves and multiple clients we host to Abacus "Secure" Hosted Quickbooks solution and in the last month we have not gone a single day without access problems. We run the risk of losing ten of thousands of dollars in customer relationship due to our selection of this provider.

Overall, we are pleased and would recommend the software to our colleagues.

We were a very complicated law practice and Abacus worked diligently with us to get the system to meet our needs and they got it up and running in little time. We love the customer service. They either answer immediately or return our call very promptly.

We operate in their cloud environment. Occasionally, it moves slower than my fingers type and it plays catch up for a few moments.