PracticePanther Legal Software

Vorteile

Before PracticePanther we had started an Excel spreadsheet to log our contacts for conflicts checks. We created a joint email account with Gmail so our email would be centralized and that also gave us a central calendar that we all had access to in order to set appointments, record deadlines, etc. We also created a Dropbox account for file storage.

While everything was low cost or free, all the parts felt scattered. PracticePanther pulls it all together in one beautiful, user-friendly interface. Now, instead of having to pull up 5 or 6 different apps/websites, we are able to pull up just one site and have everything right there. All of the components of PracticePanther are really easy to use. The entire program is designed for efficiency and ease of use. Color-coding allows you to see and understand your financial details in mere seconds. Tasks, events, and timekeeping are easy.

Nachteile

I would like to see the software integrate with more programs. Quickbooks is great, but my brain works better with Wave Accounting; LawPay is great, but being able to integrate with PayPal also, would be even better. However, these are minor things and not worth seeking a different program I like as much as Practice Panther. I had shopped around quite a bit before choosing Practice Panther; I doubt I would find anything I like as much.

Hands down, our favorite thing about PracticePanther is the superior support staff. If you have a problem and leave a message after hours in the chat box, you get a response generally within the hour. There is also training videos and a help center that will help you find the help that you need.

Vorteile

I love how seamless this software makes my practice. It is so user-friendly. The client portal is wonderful, and I love how the accounting features are organized. Customer service is amazing. The templates feature saves me countless hours. The tasks feature really keeps me on track. I love how you can link relationships, create emails that sync automatically with the matter, and create events that send text notifications to clients. The support is quick and always friendly and helpful. The e-signature feature is also really cool.

Nachteile

(1) the phone app should be able to have multiple timers up at once, so you can go back and forth between working on different projects, like the desktop version.
(2) The "history" section at the bottom of matters should include time entry descriptions. I cannot stress that enough. I do not use the "history" section at all as it is currently operating, but it would be invaluable if that one change was made! If time entry descriptions were included, the "history" section would actually tell me the history of the work that's been done on the matter.
(3) We need a better text integration that's part of Practice Panther, so that clients can text us through the software, or something like how we can create a new email that links with the matter, but for texting.
(4) Company contacts - love the idea, but when you link a subordinate member of a company contact to a matter, the only email address you can actually auto-populate is the number one contact of the company contact. It's very annoying. I've had to create separate individual contacts for all the members of a company contact. Like for court services, I would like to be able to have all the employees of court services under the Court Services company contact, and then be able to link the particular officer assigned to supervise my particular client. But right now I have to link the court services company contact AND the individual contact to be able to send emails to the correct officer.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

Gründe für den Wechsel zu PracticePanther Legal Software

Vorteile

I like using it - it's easy to use and people on my team enjoy it too. Easy for billing and time managements, which is primarily what my law firm uses it for. We have had it since about 2018, and overall, I'm satisfied with the functionality. I haven't tried any of the competitors so I don't know how it compares.

Nachteile

Customer support is highly inadequate. I've had an issue with uploading billing entries and costs onto invoices on my iPad. It can only be done on a computer or laptop, but it doesn't work on iPad. When I open an invoice to edit it, and click on the link that states "add unbilled time, expenses and flat fees" to upload the billing entries and costs, nothing happens and therefore they can't be added to the invoices. It's frustrating that this feature doesn't work on iPad as I can do everything else on my iPad. I informed Practice Panther of the issue over a year ago, gave them technician access probably over ten times, talked to customer support on the phone repeatedly in the course of months as well as exchanged dozens of emails with multiple customer support reps - and nothing. Eventually, they failed to resolve the problem and stopped getting back to me. Notably, over a year later, the issue is still UNRESOLVED. So although I enjoy the software overall, I find their customer support inadequate and it hinders my business that I still can't add the billing entries to my invoices whenever using the software on my iPad.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

Vorteile

The billing and payment functions are easy to use

Nachteile

I am not really certain. I am converting entire practice into Practice Panther. My problems have been either user error or I forgot some instruction from customer service.

Vorteile

I've been a PracticePanther user for four years now. The most important factor in my selecting PracticePanther was the ease of use. With my prior software, I had to hire independent contractors and pay for "maintenance agreements" just to have access to the help desk. With PracticePanther, their support team can assist. More important, they have videos that will walk you through the process of setting up the various systems and integrations. Finally, I love the integrations. PracticePanther integrates with Microsoft Office, Box, Dropbox and Quickbooks. Your information stays in it's original locate with seamless access from PracticePanther.

Nachteile

Initially, there was a big push to produce new features. I'm not seeing new features coming out as frequently. However, I would note the quality of the new features, e.g., workflows with conditional logic and e-signatures.