Clio Erfahrungen

Vorteile

The Clio platform is not intended to be a closed, proprietary system. Instead, it forms the foundation for the day to day management of leads, clients, time, documents, and billing, supplemented by almost 200 third party integrations, with new offerings coming on line each month. Clio offers unlimited cloud storage and IOS/Android apps making all of your firm information, clients, and documents available 24/7. Clio continues to innovate and as the leading provider to small/medium law firms throughout the world, I don't worry about whether they will be in business a few years from now. Finally, all, yes all, of your data saved in Clio is easily exportable should you decide to change to a different vendor.

Nachteile

Clio's growth means that feature changes must be more fully vetted as they are used by more than 150,000 legal professionals. As they broaden their perspective to encompass larger firms, the pace of change may continue to be more deliberate. The movement and management of files without a third party integration, such as FasterLaw, is cumbersome. Clio's own integrations with Office365 for emails and calendaring remain a work in progress.

Vorteile

Easy to use - there is almost no training needed for onboarding. Everything is user-friendly and help is just one click away! The questions and suggestions are passed along to Clio employees effortlessly.

Nachteile

It is a bit pricey for a firm of over 20 people.

Vorteile

The best thing about Clio is its ability to stay organized and track cases throughout its lifetime. Other competing software can make it difficult to easily search and open case files.

Nachteile

The space where clio starts to lack is smaller quality of life issues. 3 way reconciliation is still not a thing, building custom documents or invoice templates is tedious and yields sub par results, you can do things like automated expense creation, and the client portal isn't always easy for clients to figure out.

Vorteile

The ability to integrate other software enable using other software to address aspects of Clio which are good, but not great. As an example, Clio Management's task management is good, but there is not a kanban or gantt feature, but I can easily integrate with Asana, Monday.com, etc.

Nachteile

Some aspects address needs in a basic manner, but are not as robust as software which is specifically designed for a single purpose. Using the same example as mentioned in the "Pros" - the task management works and can be automated, but it does not have highly specific features such as kanban or gantt.Additionally, the syncing between Clio Grow and Clio Manage could improve. The two do not sync completely - certain items (ex. emails, I believe) do not sync.Lastly, when trying to export specific sets of data, Clio is time-consuming. We had an attorney who left our firm, and providing her the information from her clients required going to each client and selecting "export" for each aspect of the clients' data (such as, emails, documents, contacts, transactions, etc.)

Vorteile

How easy it is to bill. I love the dashboard. I love how easy it is to set up.

Nachteile

I wish it would integrate with OneDrive where if i saved something to OneDrive, it would automatically update the document in Clio.

Vorteile

Clio Suite is an all-inclusive product that has assisted my firm from start to finish with client files. Clio also integrates other business functions to make it smooth.

Nachteile

It would be nice to have manage and grow all in one area. Having to switch back and forth between the two, or having two tabs open is annoying at times.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

MyCase, 17hats und ClickUp

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Clio

Had everything I needed for a price I was willing to spend.

Vorteile

The task assignment, and email reminders are a life saver.

Nachteile

I wish that there were a few less clicks on some things.

Vorteile

I like that after one training I'm able to do everything I need to do, including issue bills and collect payments.

Nachteile

It's web-based, but that's also kind of a plus, if I think about it.

Vorteile

Clio is the center of our law practice management universe. It is our single source of truth and a trusted and dependable confidant for our robust case management needs.

Nachteile

Clio (Manage) could benefit from enhanced features for CRM purposes. Clio's companion product, Clio Grow, is intended as a standalone offering--with limited integration between the two platforms--to satisfy those needs, but the disconnect between the respective platforms is a difficult bridge to gap. Other areas in which Clio could use some enhancement--but nevertheless hits the mark--are billing functions (invoice generation, external sharing, etc.) and document management.

Vorteile

I like the ability to quickly start and assign timers to track what I'm doing. I also like the Windows desktop integration to open and save files on my machine that live in the cloud.

Nachteile

Some clients have expressed difficulty navigating the portal. I also wish that user intake forms came with more dynamic options. The lawyer mobile app is also sometimes difficult to navigate to my client portals.

Vorteile

Clio provides an all in one suite of applications that are necessary for my law firm to operate. We used to rely on a stand-alone billing software program for our billing and time-tracking. Of course every computer or user we added cost us more money on top of the software itself. When the software became outdated and no longer supported, we had to purchase the latest version. We also relied upon emails to assign tasks, and give each other messages about the cases we were working on together- without a centralized location for the team to track and review each other's notes and progress, each member had to rely upon their own notes, memos, emails, etc. This was inefficient and time consuming. Another fun part of my day was searching for contact information of opposing counsel on particular matters. Often times I would search emails, review the documents on a case, or review documents in the file to get the contact information I needed. Calendaring was also an administrative hurdle. Entering dates in a separate software system led to disorganization, and required jumping around from one program to another to manage information and learn where attorneys were supposed to be.
Clio puts all of these functions , and more, under one roof. It has made the work flow in my law firm seamless, efficient, easy, and organized. Clio does it all, and I am truly grateful for this product.

Nachteile

I would like it to be easier to review the billing entries of other users in real time.

Vorteile

As a solo practicing attorney for almost a quarter century, tracking time, preparing and sending out bills has been my least favorite activity, and the place where I have lost revenue and had upset clients. My experience is that clients don't appreciate it when bills are sent timely or when they receive billing after six to twelve months of work - they really prefer regular billing.

Clio has revolutionized the billing and collection part of my solo practice environment. Now that I have learned how to create clients and matters and to input time, it is a simple once a month task to create professional monthly client bills which I can print and snail mail, email, or send with the LawPay connection and the client can "click through" the email bill to pay with credit card.

Nachteile

I cannot figure out how to set up or use the form template function. When I have tried it does not really work and I have stopped trying to use this. I would very much like to create some form engagement letters.

My work is mainly transaction, not so much litigation. At first it was difficult to figure out how to prepare a nice looking flat-fee for a project type bill. However, with the updates I have been able to customize bills to have both hourly fee bills and flat-fee bills.

Vorteile

Clio is very user-friendly and intuitive. Even if you do not have experience or training on Clio, there is a certain about of functions which you can work out how to use but by having a play with the system. Time recording is very straightforward and it makes our billing easy.

Nachteile

Downsides are: there is no currency conversation; cannot split invoices on one matter (e.g. we have to 2 or more entities responsible for payment say, 50/50, but there is no way of automatically splitting the invoice; no summary front sheet for an invoice.

Vorteile

Initially it was a better system overall than the systems we were trying to make fit our needs (Timeslips and Sharepoint). Subsequently, the updates that are implemented by the development team when there is an obvious need or lack identified.

Nachteile

I did not like that the billing of outstanding balances was not automated during billing runs to capture all outstanding balances so anyone who does not have a current bill still gets a bill when I do not enter a start time as a filter option. I also do not like that I have to clean up so much on the Quickbooks Online end of a Retainer transfer, especially after a billing run when its many clients at once, it creates a lot of work in the Retainer in Trust register in QBO.

Vorteile

Easy to use, customer support is awesome, helpful tutorial videos and great client experience. I have received multiple compliments on the style and ease of paying on-line.

Nachteile

It was not syncing with QuickBooks when posting to CLIO but that may have been addressed recently. I need to check with my bookkeeper.

Vorteile

What I like most about Clio and it's developers is that when there is a feature you believe would be a great enhancement and you suggest it to them, it seems like not long thereafter you have that enhancement.

Nachteile

I cannot think of anything I don't like, honestly.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

MyCase

Warum Clio gewählt wurde

Abacus was too burdensome and very expensive for what you got with the software in my view.

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Clio

We were invited to their annual conference the year before we purchased it so we could speak to others using it and speak to the developers of the software. We've been back to their conferences several times thereafter!

Vorteile

Why I find a Clio essential Is as a sole proprietor of a small business, Clio operates as my check and balance. The small law firm I was at prior to going on my own used Clio and while I do not use all the features because I do mostly appointed work, the features I do use are essential on assuring me I am on top of my game 99.44% of the time.

Nachteile

As a very busy person, what I like least about Clio is it operates as a reminder to me that I could probably do a lot more if I ever took the day or two to get all the educated on how to do some of the things I do in a rather long handled manner. I am 60 years old and have been a lawyer for 33 years. I recommend Clio to many of the young lawyers I know just starting out or only a few years in the practice to help them ensure themselves they’re keeping track of their time, their appointments, their clients etc. I point out any problem I’ve ever had with Clio was quickly addressed and fixed and that I couldn’t be happier. I have to tell them that if I was them and had their computer skills and knowledge this thing would operate all necessary prompting for me I have to tell them that if I was them and had their computer skills and knowledge this thing would operate all necessary prompting for me.

Vorteile

Clio software is comprehensive and covers everything that I need as a solo attorney to keep my practice running smoothly and efficiently. Clio Grow is a new feature that helps me track leads, lead sources, the intake process, etc. It is very comprehensive and is easily merged with Clio Manage. The Clio help desk is excellent. Answers are always spot on. If they cannot fix my problem, they will honestly tell me that Clio does not have the capability that I'm looking for and they will offer to submit a request for that capability to be considered in the future. Clio is always looking to address customer needs.

Nachteile

Does not have all of the capabilities that I need but has most of them. Sometimes the queue for the help desk/chat is rather long.

Vorteile

Clio integrates with so much other software to make your life easier that is just can't be beat. Saving emails via Outlook, generating document templates, collecting e-signatures on engagement agreements—whatever you need, Clio has it.

I can also run billing, monitor bill payments, and overall run the entire law firm with minimal effort, minimal time commitment, and with confidence that everything is running smoothly.

Nachteile

There are some smaller points that can drive you insane. For example, you cannot customize the look of the emails that go out when you share matters, bill, etc. with your clients. If you—like me—transition from a solo practitioner to running a small law firm, you will eventually need to open new bank accounts. Clio will not let you eliminate the old bank accounts and start from scratch. You can't even force the old bank accounts to be otherwise "invisible" to the system so that you cannot accidentally record money moving into a defunct account. This is a minor complaint, but man does it drive me insane.

I also still want to see a task assignment that allows me to set a supervisor for each assigned task.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

MyCase

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Clio

Much better integrations with 3rd parties and a willingness to continue adding new integrations.

Vorteile

I like the fact that there are different levels of cost for the need of your business. I started with one user on the lower tier, then moved up to include more options and added a user. I like the fact that not only does it provide billing and payment integration, but, at the time I upgraded, it included the monthly cost to use Law Pay (which I have also found helpful).

Nachteile

I feel there are some personal preferences I would like to use in my reports viewing and accounting. But there was a recent revamp rolled out a few months ago that did address some of my needs. Admittedly, although I have used the product for almost 4 years now, I have not watched all the tutorial videos or called with all of my specific questions, even though with the boutique package there is a dedicated help line.

Vorteile

Having direct access to the company, and the developers is a huge benefit to using Clio. If there's something that's not quite right, there's usually an easy fix or workaround, and you don't have to wait around for days or weeks to get a response from support. As far as the software itself, we love the nearly limitless integration ability of Clio, and the fact that they're always adding/improving features, like CourtRules, which is essential to our litigation practice.

Nachteile

We've been powered by Clio since 2011, and at the time, subscription software was a new concept, which took me a while to warm up to. Eight years later, however, everything requires a subscription, so this is a non-issue. I can only think of two things that I wish Clio would come up with a fix for: (1) ability to merge duplicate contacts; and (2) bring back the ability to have a less expensive subscriptions for non-attorney users.

Vorteile

I loved Cleo from the moment a representative gave us an overview of the software and what it had to offer. After that demonstration I couldn't wait to try the software. I love that Cleo allows you to customize the program to your specific law firms needs. There is an enormous amount of ability to customize clients billing and matters. I've never found a software like this one before nor one that allows you so much freedom to make it your own. There are two sections to Cleo Cleo grow and Cleo manage. Cleo grow allows you to enter potential new clients and track their progress as to whether they hire the law firm get referred out or don't hire the law firm. It has saved me from keeping up with two separate spreadsheets which allows me more time to work on important tasks. Once in Cleo grow you can move a client over to Cleo manage once they hire you. Once in Cleo grow everything about your client and their case is all contained on their own individual dashboard. Within that dashboard you can store communications their documents their payment transactions emails billing their time they're expenses etc. And because of the categories you can customize I'm able to enter the important information needed for their particular case and it's no farther than one click away. I have to say the Cleo support and help section is spectacular and one of the best I've ever come across. They have a clear academy which offers training on specific things you can do in the software.

Nachteile

The only thing I found so far that I'm not fond of with the software is the flat rate billing. Our Law Firm wants to keep track of the time spent on a case even if it's for flat fee. I'm still trying to find a way to best show this on an invoice and after researching Cleo help section they don't seem to have a real clear method of doing it.

Vorteile

Easy to use -- calendaring, opening new matters, time entries, notes, billing. I like the interface, the way it looks. Program includes trust accounting. Can include/integrate credit card billing as an option which I did, and works well. Have used Law Pay for a while and it integrates through Clio. Send out invoices through Clio, client can click on button to make credit card payment, and have option to have program automatically apply to open invoices when payment comes in -- get email notifications of payments. Very satisfied with the program -- does what I need and enjoy using.

Nachteile

I don't think it's a negative factor, but don't use the mobile app much, for whatever that means. Tend to just check my iphone calendar (I use Office 365 to integrate, other options also I think like Google to integrate -- Clio integrates with Office 365 and iphone calendar will show Office and Google calendar events). There is a new beta version of the mobile app available for use that looked at today and I like -- I could see using that to make entries if I need while out of the office, but usually just do all of that at my computer in the office.

Vorteile

Clio has the features I needed. I was fooled by the initial trial into thinking it would be a good fit for my firm. What use is a feature that is so complicated to find, use, and enable that I have to call support or Google how to make it work.

Nachteile

Nothing is intuitive, at first it seems like everything is going to work. Clio has all the features I wanted, or at least it seemed like it did. Once I used it for more than just the trial period, using it to manage my trust account, client billing, client communication, it just does not work. After using it for any length of time, the navigation gets tiresome and then frustrating. At every turn I find myself having to Google how to make it work. Sharing a document with a client requires several steps including typing in the client's contact info; instead of just clicking a button for share. Now my client can't enter a partial payment. What the heck? Prior to becoming an attorney I was a software engineer; I would have been embarrassed to put my name on such a product.

Frankly, I don't trust the myriad of positive reviews for this product, they can't be true.

Vorteile

Our law firm has tried a few software companies to help us manage our clients and cases and this has been by far the bests. It is not perfect, but it is user friendly and easy for all to use (from lawyers, law clerks, paralegals, to even our admin and secretaries). We do not use the document feature. I use it to track open client matters, add notes to the case, assign tasks to support staff, calendar meetings, track time, hold contacts, and invoice. I really like that Clio constantly is updating to meet their customer's needs and is open to our suggestions on things that would make the software better. I would definitely recommend this software for law firms.

Nachteile

I do not like you cannot have two clients to a single matter - we have a lot of husband and wife contacts, so I wish we could connect two clients to a single matter. I use notes constantly and wish there was a way to format the notes like as a word document - highlight, make numbered outlines, add bullet points, change font size, etc.