Clio Reviews

Pros

this practice management system is pretty robust overall for tracking and organizing docs

Cons

It isnt the most user friendly and isnt the most cost effective for smaller firms and companies

Pros

Clio is a fantastic information-gathering tool and is close to being a one-stop-shop for everything we need pertaining to our clients. the upcoming rollout of a new communications tab should help to sort this information further.

Cons

Client intake is a tedious process. Something as simple as being about to mark clients as spouses/life partners and copying over address and other basic information would go a long way to help speed things up. as of now, we make three contacts for every matter (the married couple as well as each spouse).

Alternatives Considered

PracticePanther Legal Software

Reasons for Choosing Clio

PCLaw was a nightmare that crashed multiple times a day and had no customer support.

Switched From

PCLaw

Reasons for Switching to Clio

pricing and crm capabilities; document management, integration possibilities.

Pros

Clio is always innovating, but they do not hesitate to pass along the cost for such innovation to the customer. There is a whole suite of "add-ons" to choose from. But it feels like nickel-and-diming users for features and enhancements. Imagine if Google or Microsoft charged a fee every time there was a software update. That is how it seems to work at Clio. Don't believe the advertised price. If you want a fully-functional practice management platform (i.e., Clio Manage + Clio Grow), the price is going to be closer to $200 per month. That does not include Drafting and Duo (AI).

Cons

The machines are in control at Clio, not the humans. Certain functions, once entered and/or executed by the user, cannot be undone--even by the software developers and engineers. So you have to be triply trepidatious when entering data. If you get something wrong, your whole organizational scheme can fall into chaos.

Support is outsourced, largely to India. When you call in, you get that call-center vibe, including and especially the "I'm sorry, sir, but..." mantra (the "I'm sorry routine"). They will not go the extra mile to problem-solve and come up with creative solutions to fix what is a very common issue.

Clio is a captive sales scheme. They want you to invest time and money in a closed subscription-model ecosystem that, over time, will get more and more expensive--yet commensurately more difficult to disinvest from given all the time it takes to build your processes and workflows that will not be cross-compatible to other platforms. The lifetime investment in Clio will be huge.

The company is based in Canada. They have no offices in the United States.

Alternatives Considered

PracticePanther Legal Software, MyCase and Smokeball

Reasons for Switching to Clio

Clio has a great sales and marketing team. I had no idea the support would be so bad.

Pros

Efficient for case management, designed for easy use and the most responsive team I’ve ever seen for management application.

Cons

I would like to have more options for my calendar (more like a daytimer feel) with a calendar view that supports tasks management and notes.

Alternatives Considered

Trello and QuickBooks Enterprise

Reasons for Choosing Clio

Efficiency and reliability. Ease of use and consistency.

Switched From

Amicus Attorney

Reasons for Switching to Clio

Because Clio does so much more. Everything is all in one application.

Pros

Very easy to navigate. The resource center gives lots of information when you don't know how to do something. Very happy with how user friendly it is. The document management and use of docusign has been excellent

Cons

Not being able to mark invoices as sent via USPS. Not all of our clients use email. Not being able to pay multiple invoices via the matter, and having to navigate to the billing page. On the billing page, not being able to search via the client/matter number. Only can search by name. Not being able to search clients by balance when someone other than the client pays the invoice with no identifiable reference. Less third party crossovers would be nice as well. I would like to see a more developed Clio for clients desktop app/website/portal. I think our clients would really utilize communicating with the attorney more through a portal then an app on the phone.

Pros

Ease of use and so many options
Document storage client connecting trust and more

Cons

The cost per user is high and is based and billed in Us funds.

Alternatives Considered

PCLaw

Reasons for Choosing Clio

Cosmolex poor accounting feature for Canadian users. Switched to clio with QB.

Switched From

CosmoLex

Reasons for Switching to Clio

Integrates into QB Document storage Support services Backup system

Pros

The user interface is very intuitive and easy to use.

Cons

The Tasks and Messaging could be more robust in Clio Manage and the phone app needs to better resemble the desktop version.

Alternatives Considered

Rocket Matter

Reasons for Choosing Clio

Needed something more integrated and will more features.

Reasons for Switching to Clio

The user interface was more intuitive and our bar association had a discount on Clio

Pros

Clio gets the job done. Document uploading, e-signing documents, and a client communication portal, you name it.

Cons

Pricey service as you add more licenses within the firm.

Pros

Being able to manage time, billing, documents, and client communication in one platform.

Cons

The price -- it's really expensive, and it just keeps going up.

Pros

What I like most is how versatile the program is and that you can customize and build it out to your needs

Cons

What I like least is that some of the features are not as intuitive as the competitors.

Pros

Extremely user friendly. You can tailor the platform to meet your firms particular needs regarding your area of practice.

Cons

Duplicate Contacts when logging emails. I believe that is being fixed.

Alternatives Considered

Litify

Reasons for Switching to Clio

The product met the needs we were looking for in being able to have it all in one platform

Pros

The ease of use and the integrations with third party software

Cons

The cost per user compared to other legal case management software.

Alternatives Considered

MyCase and Smokeball

Reasons for Switching to Clio

I was more familiar with using Clio; the ease of use. The ability to integrate with third party software

Pros

Very accurate and reliable software. Customer service is very responsive. they appear to take suggestions well for enhancements.

Cons

Minor complaints about user access/authorizations. However, software roadmap contemplates fixes.

Alternatives Considered

LEAP

Reasons for Choosing Clio

PC Law was being twilighted. Not a stable platform.

Switched From

PCLaw

Reasons for Switching to Clio

Better platform. Heavy outside investment

Pros

We love that we have all data, participants, documents, contacts, email/communication journaling, calendaring all in one place. The mobile app is great for on the go use and tracking time when you are away from the office. The client portal is a great tool for tracking what the client has provided and what is still needed. The time Clio saves us in administrative work has been invaluable.

Cons

Mapping with Quick Books does not match up the best. Some of the integrations are still work in progress. No integration with MyPleadings.

Alternatives Considered

MyCase

Reasons for Choosing Clio

Cost effective and all our case management, billing and firm administration can be done in one program.

Switched From

Sage Timeslips

Reasons for Switching to Clio

Ease of use. All-in-one solution. Timeslips is a completely separate systems resulting in double-entries and lost time. Clio is easy to navigate and understand.

Pros

It’s easy to use and covers everything I need it to do. From letter/document creation to billing and invoices. Everything is centralised in one place for accurate record and ease of access.

Cons

It’s very time intensive to set up all the features in the manner you need the system to function to align with your business and there’s not really a guided process for this which would be helpful as some of the set up features can be tricky. It would be helpful to be assigned someone when you first sign up and for them to help you actually set things up the way you need them to be. I also can’t link my emails to Clio as my email:outlook was purchased through a third part (Go Daddy) but I was not aware this was going to be a problem so it would have been helpful if that that was clarified from the outset when I first spoke to Clio so I would have known.

Alternatives Considered

Actionstep

Reasons for Choosing Clio

LEAP had terrible customer service and although I had used them previously when I was employed, using them now as a firm manager, the customer relations and care was horrendous. Once they have you signed up they couldn’t care less about you and it was a nightmare dealing with them.

Switched From

LEAP

Reasons for Switching to Clio

Clio was practicle, affordable and comprehensive. It has everything I need for my firm currently as a start up business as has the ability to grow as my business grows with all the in built features.

Pros

Everything is all in one place. A matter can be managed completely within Clio.

Cons

The ineffectiveness of the Reports feature.

Pros

I have demo'd a bunch of law practice management software providers, Clio is by far the best. It isn't a perfect system, but it does the job. The two way texting, client portal, and customization are hard to beat.

Cons

Two of my biggest pain points are flat fee payment plans and notes. I would like to see a feature where we could just easily type a quick status that does not need a dedicated note entry.

Flat fee payment plans there has to be a better solution than me manually figuring out the payment plan and due dates. MyCase automates this, Clio should be able to figure this out too.

Pros

Clio has been great to track billable time and expenses, and sharing documents (including LARGE attachments like videos.). Calendaring is great as you can link the event to a matter and invite users, including clients and other parties. Setting reminders is also great to help you take on task and meet your deadlines. Customer support is very responsive, and helpful. Clio Grow has also been great to use, wish the editing of the documents and forms was more user friendly--it has already gotten better since we started using Clio (there is now the ability to add a table!)

Cons

There have been bugs that have taken some time to correct. Timer issues (starting and stopping, you need to really pay attention that it is properly recorded this); additionally, the Clio calendar becomes un-synced with out Outlook calendar(s) and that is a huge issue (currently) as we have to double record.

Pros

I like that it is a comprehensive CRM system that is geared towards legal. I can invoice with it, add new clients, retain documents, generate documents, you name it.

Cons

I think some features could be a little more user-friendly, but I think they are constantly working on that. It takes time to get all the bugs out of any technology.

Pros

Clio used to have responsive and helpful customer support, but that was years ago! It was once easy to track and link payments to client matters, run useful reports, and handle cloud-based documents, but recently the software has seen nothing but bugs.

Cons

Clio is plagued with bugs and its cloud-based document system stops working entirely every few weeks or so, requiring a complete reinstallation of the desktop launcher. Clio also, without any notice at all, removed certain features that allowed for the linking of card payments from Clio Scheduler (a sister program), retroactively recharacterizing ALL prior card payments in a completely different manner and ruining my firm's entire accounting system overnight. Clio tech support is worthless and is never aware of any issues brought up to them about the software, no matter how debilitating the issue may be, and they endlessly put you on hold to "talk ton their team" while stalling and asking for more screenshots of the issue, only to tell you a week later that they can't help you. The software has fallen far from grace and serves only to be a very expensive patchwork of buggy integrations, paired with tech support that doesn't understand any of the details of their own program.

Pros

We like the integrations and ease of use.

Cons

Automation with the custom fields is lacking and we have to use secondary programming that still does not meet our needs. The reporting mechanisms could be better as well. We would also prefer some better integrations with Clio Grow and the inbox with the Quick Intake form.

Pros

Clio is intuitive and greatly assists me in managing my firm. The dashboard is organized in such a way that I can easily track overall firm finances and open matters. Additionally, the ability to create tasks and sync Clio with my firm's Microsoft account expands the functionality of the product.

Cons

I really do not have any complaints about Clio. When I attempted to use Clio Grow, I simply did not have the time to create the templates that are designed to make the product more valuable to client intake.

Pros

User friendly from the calendar, to reports, to billing and client details.

Cons

Looking for more customization when creating matters

Pros

I love how easy Clio makes it to do nearly all of my day-to-day practice management from invoicing to trust accounting. The calendaring / court rules and document automation is also great.

Cons

I didn't love that they increased the processing fee for Clio Payments not very long after I signed up for it. They did agree to freeze the rate for a few months until it goes up, but I was disappointed they increased it in the first place.

Pros

Ease of use and reliability. Entering time is the bane of every lawyers existence. This makes it about as easy as it’s going to get.

Cons

No real downsides. The only area I can think of which might be improved is the ease of entering contact information for multiple clients on the same matter.