Clio

Avantages

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.

Inconvénients

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.

Avantages

I love having everything in one place - not a bunch of extra integrations or connecting apps needed. I also love that Clio is constantly making improvements and listens to its users.

Inconvénients

The need to sync back and forth between Grow and Manage and the appt booking does not constistently stay up to date with my calendar.

Avantages

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).

Inconvénients

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 envisagées 

MyCase

Pourquoi passer à Clio

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

Avantages

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

Inconvénients

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 envisagées 

Trello et QuickBooks Enterprise

Pourquoi choisir Clio 

Efficiency and reliability. Ease of use and consistency.

Pourquoi passer à Clio

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

Avantages

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

Inconvénients

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.

Avantages

Easy to Use, Does literally everything I can want as an attorney. Great use of technology to streamline my practice and make normal tasks take seconds (drafting, reminding clients of court dates, etc). Very quick response time from their tech support, and most of the people are very nice and courteous even if they can't help you with what you want. The fact that they continuously update, make changes, and add features that we either wanted or didn't know we wanted until now, especially for such a low monthly price.

Inconvénients

The aesthetics of some of the features. Some of the features don't work as well as I want or there are little glitches on my computer (windows that pop up saying things I don't quite understand as a lay person haha), but these can likely be solved by talking to tech support. Some of the tech support people aren't that helpful, or will refer you to call their hotline so they can set up a Zoom call so you can share your screen and they can see the problem, which takes a whole lot longer than I would like. But generally they do solve the problem pretty easily.

Avantages

Completely changes how I handle matters and communicate with clients and staff. One central location for all things "client". I like that Clio is big enough for developers to want to work with Clio and there are hundreds of integrations that can be used with Clio. The customer support is always right there when needed, helpful and instructive. The knowledge "library" is vast and always helpful.

Inconvénients

My only complaint about Clio is even though the onboarding training was extensive and helpful, this was such a big change for me and my firm we literally had to rethink our "workflows". I wish there was available from Clio a service that we could hire to sort of guide us and tell us what changes we should be making to get ready for Clio. I did end up speaking with a consultant and it will be fine I just wish at the beginning of the process Clio offered this service (maybe they do and I missed it).

Alternatives envisagées 

LEAP

Pourquoi passer à Clio

Didn't do half of what clio could do. I did not have confidence that they were headed in the right direction as a company that understood what my needs were.

Avantages

I love the expansive growth coming down the pipeline. I started with simple document automations with Manage and Clio continues to acquire new features to aid in running my firm and continues to refine those features. Along with the 200+ integrations, Clio dominates the market for a reason

Inconvénients

It used to be a bit unsophisticated in terms of functionality but they listen to their clients and they get better every day

Alternatives envisagées 

MyCase

Pourquoi passer à Clio

Pricing is excellent; additional features are the Lynch pin. I want all my services in one place, not spread between platforms

Avantages

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

Inconvénients

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

Avantages

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.

Inconvénients

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.

Avantages

It's one of the more widely used software so if you're hiring new legal staff, they might have had some exposure to it. At times they can be responsive to requests make helpful changes to the product but mostly, you get stonewalled.

Inconvénients

Well, there are several things. We have to pay for an extra license for our bookkeeper to use the product and other software companies don't do that -it's a hidden cost. Necessary product upgrades take long with Clio and some functionality is lacking For example, Clio was far behind the competition to include an effective client portal (they started with one that was not user-friendly at all) and although they are making improvements with it, it's still is not up to par and its functionality compared to other case management software systems.

We paid extra for use of their CRM called Clio Grow and its a primitive software compared to Salesforce, Hubs, monday sale CRM, pipedrive, etc. It lacks functionality like texting your potential clients. It only partially integrates with the case management portion of Clio. Worst of all, after setting up a document template in Clio Grow for client intake with our office (30 people), Clio restricted some of the functionality of that document making it even more awkward, to the point where it's unusable for us. It would've been simple to fix it and change the functionality back to the way it was just a few days ago but, I got stonewalled. No one's responding.

Avantages

Robust platform that integrates time-keeping, billing, write-offs, and lawyer productivity seamlessly. Conflict checking. Competent, authorized human customer service is truly just a phone call away - no difficult menus and queuing music.

Inconvénients

Document filing/storage area by matter is a bit clunky, as is the Clio-generated Client email - though it is conceptually a great idea it doesn't work smoothly in practice.

Avantages

Clio is very user friendly. The company is extremely responsive to client input with regards to product enhancements.

Inconvénients

I honestly cannot think of anything I don’t like.

Avantages

user-friendly and support is efficient and effective!

Inconvénients

I would like to integrate quickbooks access with the general account or perhaps more of an accounting feature within Clio.

Avantages

The user interface is very intuitive and easy to use.

Inconvénients

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

Avantages

Customer service is extremely helpful and responsive, our representative is also very responsive and knowledgeable. Programs are fairly easy to use. Transition from previous software was easier than anticipated

Inconvénients

We have a different way of inputting payments so it was a bit cumbersome but we have now learned how to work around these issues

Avantages

- Clean layout
- Straight-forward interface
- Friendly Customer Service

Inconvénients

- Basic Billing tab
- Too many Eservice fees
- Not enough features

Avantages

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.

Inconvénients

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.

Avantages

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

Inconvénients

Pricey service as you add more licenses within the firm.

Avantages

i like that I am able to streamline the intake process in Clio Grow and then pass the baton to my colleagues seamlessly in Clio Manage and Clio Draft

Inconvénients

There are still some things that need improvement, but i love that the support team is always so helpful and try to find workarounds for me, and then they take our suggestions seriously and send those to their design team to try to figure out how to put those suggestions in action.

Avantages

Ease of use, e-signing with ease, invoices can be unique to our firm with templates for each client, cleaning up others time entries are simple as admin, and it just overall makes my job more efficient and enjoyable.

Inconvénients

It needs work on adding my state laws and guidelines into the calendar. For example if I have a CT slip and fall case, it would be nice if the calendar prompted me to enter all my scheduling order dates, remind me when discovery is due per statute, etc… also an in office chat feature would be nice too! When we save emails from outlook the organization is not helpful for some attorneys and we cannot edit that. Also we need AI integrations!

Avantages

The ease of having everything in one place and the ability for clients to make timely payments, often the day they receive the invoice

Inconvénients

It would be nice to pass the credit card fees on to the client automatically when they make the payment

Avantages

It captures all of the information needed to work on a file in one place and allows me to be much more productive.

Inconvénients

Clio does not yet work with Connecticut Probate Courts to be able to upload documents directly to their system.

Avantages

Everything is in one place, and its easy to read.

Inconvénients

Mixnor bug fixes: sometimes when you go back on a page, it doesn't load. the calendar at the top with the "All Day" matters sometimes is forgetful; it doesn't scream "Urgency."

Avantages

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

Inconvénients

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

Alternatives envisagées 

LEAP

Pourquoi choisir Clio 

PC Law was being twilighted. Not a stable platform.

Pourquoi passer à Clio

Better platform. Heavy outside investment

Avantages

Easy to learn and a lot of capabilities if you don't mind "add ons"

Inconvénients

Some of their solutions were a little unconventional, ie if an atty wants two different rates I was advised to change the rate case by case. I thought there should have been a better solution

Avantages

Having my client information, cases, documents, templates and invoicing under one system is a dream come true.

Inconvénients

I wish Clio had more in-house created integrations with apps versus using services like Zapier to make the connections and send data from apps or services to Clio. Zapier can be very clumsy and if something gets updated in Clio's software you sometimes have to rebuild the Zapier.

Avantages

For a reasonable price, Clio includes a number of useful features in one package: DocuSign capacity, billing, trust accounting, document creation, hourly billing tracking, and of course management of cases and case loads.

Inconvénients

Clio's method of running credit card or ACH fees and then tracking them is a bit frustrating. I do appreciate the fact that the fees are not taken from the trust fund.

Avantages

Overall Clio is very user friendly. My clients who have commented on the use of Clio have had positive feedback as well. I like that there are training videos and customer service has been great the few times I've called. The integration with my Google Workspace and now having their own credit card processing fees is great too! This year I'm utilizing the Dashboard more, both on Manage and Grow and I do like how it works. It helps me stay productive.

Inconvénients

For sections I haven't used as much, I have difficulty finding my way back to them after stumbling upon them. I would like to be able to attach receipts for reimbursable expenses to client's invoices. I would like to be able to mark client matters and/or client invoices as mail only so I know when to print the invoices and mail them to clients.

Alternatives envisagées 

QuickBooks Online

Pourquoi passer à Clio

I had Quickbooks at my previous firm and I hated their program. My boss was always on the phone with them because something wasn't working correctly. Every time I went to log time the format had changed. It is expensive. Clio was recommended by both bar associations that I am a member of and the free trial went very well for me.

Avantages

it has been a software that facilitates daily tasks that could require a lot of time, with clio it is easier to invoice, appointment reminders and have all the documents in one place to access them from anywhere without having to be in the office with the physical documentation
its security and reliability allow you to have all the documents in the cloud with the certainty that nothing will happen to them and they will be protected

Inconvénients

in my use I have not detected anything that I dislike and I feel that everything has worked correctly without causing any problems

Avantages

We like the integrations and ease of use.

Inconvénients

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.

Avantages

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

Inconvénients

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

Avantages

Ease of use
Seamless integration with Google Workspace
Like the app integrations

Inconvénients

Needs AI
Needs better historical invoicing abilities
Needs better contact syncing
Needs more tutorials on Clio Grow

Alternatives envisagées 

MyCase

Avantages

I love how customizable this program is. I can create my own fields and documents. I love the organization options. I love how we can template our own information to create a matter. It's a very useful tool. I also love the clio portal and the ability to text our clients.

Inconvénients

The only issue I have with clio is the email attachments need to be saved to the file it's self, unless you save the entire email. It will be routed to an attachments file and that can be difficult to find if you have many files.

Avantages

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

Inconvénients

The ineffectiveness of the Reports feature.

Avantages

I've been using Clio Manage since I started by firm in 2020 and find it to be very responsive to my needs. I've recently also started to use Clio Grow which I hadn't really thought would make a whole lot of difference to me, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I enjoy the interface, the support is good, it does what I need it to. Highly recommend it.

Inconvénients

The initial onboarding was great, but once you're up and running, you're left alone. Fair enough, but I suspect there are features that I could be using and would be beneficial to me, that I don't know about either because they didn't exist when I was onboarded, or I didn't need them initially and I've forgotten they exist. This could be fixed by a 6 month review or 1 year review, but it's not critical. Perhaps for firms with more users/wider range of services, they'd pick this up and follow it up with Clio. It's hard to follow up on something you don't know exists.

Avantages

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.

Inconvénients

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.

Avantages

Manage makes it easy to send bills and get paid electronically. It can maintain files and track time.

Inconvénients

Grow is a useless product that doesn't really work, and premium tech support is a waste of money.

Alternatives envisagées 

MyCase

Pourquoi choisir Clio 

I opened a new office and needed software

Pourquoi passer à Clio

Clio seemed good for a solo practitioner. Boy was I wrong.

Avantages

Comprehensive and ease of use. It's ability to do drafting templates and communicate seamlessly with the clients. Also, customer support is excellent.

Inconvénients

Some of the services are not as intuitive as some staff would like, especially older staff.

Avantages

What is not to LOVE about Clio? The platform itself is intuitive, efficient, and has become essential to effectively running my organization. Even features that have not been particularly relevant to my practice (non-profit sector) have either already been updated to be more relevant (Clio for Legal Aid) or are in the process of being updated.

Beyond the practicalness of the product itself, Clio is a company that is visably devoted to their staff, clients, and mission. Passion for the practice of law is one thing, passion for the humans who choose to practice law is another. Clio's client-centered approach sets them apart from their competition in this regard.

Inconvénients

We have been using an ACCESS Database to process our claims (non-profit sector) for more than two decades. I would love to use the billing/invoice features offered through Clio but, they are not yet granular enough to fully transition us out of ACCESS.

Avantages

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.

Inconvénients

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.

Avantages

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.

Inconvénients

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.

Avantages

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

Inconvénients

Looking for more customization when creating matters

Avantages

Ease of use and integration with other apps

Inconvénients

Clio Grow scheduling functionality and workflows are not refined enough to be helpful to the way I work.

Avantages

Clio is so easy to use, and definitely a great value. I love that Clio can grow with my practice - and help my practice grow! I'm looking forward to getting other products I use to interface with Clio (like QuickBooks, etc). I'm also thrilled that I have the ability to quickly and easily get clients signed up directly through Clio, rather than having to use a third party electronic signature system.

Inconvénients

The self-help isn't fabulous, but fortunately I've been able to get help through online chat.

Alternatives envisagées 

MyCase

Pourquoi choisir Clio 

I used it at my prior firm, and swore I'd never use it again. Choosing Clio was the best decision I ever made.

Pourquoi passer à Clio

Clio has great pricing, and I don't feel nickel-dimed - it's straightforward, easy to use, and no one in the sales process made me feel like I was buying a used car.

Avantages

The features that it offers are extremely helpful ...

Inconvénients

So far, we are extremely pleased with this product.

Avantages

I love how easy clio is to use and all of the most important information is on the main page of a case

Inconvénients

I least like the layout of clio, I think it could be laid out a little better

Avantages

Clio’s ability to integrate key features internally - calendaring, invoicing, payment, and communications, along with allowing for third-party programs to work within the eco system make it a very easy to use 1 stop shop.

Inconvénients

Sometimes some features are only available at the highest level of service, which while understandable can be hard on younger folks just starting out.

Alternatives envisagées 

MyCase

Pourquoi passer à Clio

Better suited my needs way back when, and continues to do so.

Avantages

Clio can be used as a a sole "source of truth" for managing a law practice. I am able to create many automatic workflows with Clio Grow that seamlessly transition to Clio Law Practice Management. It has nearly all the features I need, built into the Clio Complete package.

Inconvénients

I wish I could upload videos larger than 25GB, as I have police bodycams and dashcams I need saved. It would be amazing if I could view these inside Clio, a la Dropbox or Office 365 functionality, so I didn't have to download the video file each time I wanted to watch it (or alternatively keep the file on my computer, due to limited disk space).

I wish my VOIP integration was natively integrated, rather than relying on a Chrome extension to connect Clio and my VOIP system. I am however, appreciative that Clio maintains the Chrome extension as it has eliminated much time manually inputting texts/phone calls into my billing system.

Avantages

An all-in-one practice management system to run my law office

Inconvénients

Clean syncing with Email for storage of communications is not there yet and should be included