Clio is web-based legal practice management software for solo practitioners and small firms. It is designed to replace multiple different systems (like document management, case management, and accounting software) to streamline the amount of technology that small firms need to manage.
$49
per user/per month
PCLaw
Score 6.0 out of 10
N/A
PCLaw is offered as an all-in-one billing, legal accounting, and matter management solution, from PCLaw | Time Matters, a joint venture spun out of LexisNexis in collaboration with LEAP in 2019.
N/A
Pricing
Clio
PCLaw
Editions & Modules
EasyStart
$49
per user/per month
Clio Grow
$59
per user/per month
Essentials
$89
per month per user
Advanced
$129
per month per user
Complete
$159
per month per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Clio
PCLaw
Free Trial
Yes
No
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
All pricing tiers have a 7-day free trial. Discount available for annual pricing.
Clio is a wonderful practice management solution for small firms that do billable work. The Clio manage software is excellent for tracking your time at different rates, tracking matter budgets, and tracking expenses. Clio is also great for firms that want to implement and use tech in their offices. If clients are at least somewhat tech-savvy (have and know how to use email), they will also benefit and enjoy the implementation of Clio.
PCLaw is well suited for small to medium sized law firms with minimal accounting and bookkeeping needs. The software provides basic case management functions, and I've encountered issues with viewing or organizing new documents. The software crashes and freezes often, especially when multiple users are trying to access it at the same time. The user interface is a bit outdated but still very easy to navigate. You have to pay more for the cloud-based version of the software and it does not allow software integrations or workflow automations. I would recommend using this software only for billing/accounting purposes and subsidizing case management with more modernized products
The billing screen is serviceable but unwieldy. It is hard to get your bills to look the way that you want in many cases.
The document management process could stand some improvement. In order to manipulate a document, you have to download it, work on it, then re-upload the new version. I'd like a local client or a seamless way to edit and then automatically see the update taken into Clio.
The task entry is good but not great. I'd like to see a way to have it integrate into my iPhone's reminders list.
The quickbooks online sync has been a constant source of frustration for our bookkeeper, who has to monitor daily and hardly ever goes a day without an item failing to sync.
We have been able to streamline our task management and everyday office procedures by using Clio to its fullest potential. We have a hire client retention rate because we can easily keep track of leads and follow ups. Clio Draft is saving us time on drafting legal documents and correspondence espondence. Overall, we are able to save time and money on everything tasks
Clio is intuitive and easy to learn. Even new staff or attorneys with limited tech experience can quickly navigate through tasks, matters, billing, and calendars. This reduces training time and increases productivity, especially in a busy mid-sized law firm. Because it’s cloud-based, Clio can be accessed from any device, anywhere. Whether I am working in the office, at home, or in court, I have full access to my cases, documents, and time entries.
The software may not be pretty, but it works. It could use a facelift but the functionality is still there. Personally, I would like to see an investment to make it prettier, but again, function over fashion. It is not a client-facing application, so internal use does not need to be razzle-dazzle.
Rather than talk in generalities, I'll give two specific examples. First, after updating my OS, I got locked out of Clio. I was back in, up and running, with no loss of data, within an hour thanks to Clio customer support. Second, I made some specific recommendation for features that I thought would be useful. Those recommendations fell in a black hole, with the suggestion that I try a very buggy third party integration app. Clio is making lots of money from lawyers using its software. Why can't Clio create the integrations and test them if Clio is not willing to build them into its platform?
I've always had positive phone calls with PCLaw support. I usually have my questions answered within a few minutes of my phone call, and rarely have to go into very much detail
Clio offers integrations such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, QuickBooks, Zoom, Dropbox, and more. This allows me to customize my tech stack to fit my specific needs. Clio’s mobile app is more feature-rich, offering time tracking, document access, calendaring, and even billing on the go. It’s ideal for attorneys who work remotely or travel frequently.
PC Law is quicker and cheaper. With CosmoLex, I found that I waited a little longer for reports and documents to generate and for transactions to be saved. In all other areas, I found CosmoLex to be better as it is more intuitive to use and the user interface is clean and easy to use. CosmoLex does not provide a receipt when receiving funds for some reason, which is something that I like about PC Law. When entering data, you can enter the data for multiple entries at a time whereas with CosmoLex, you enter the data for one transaction/billing/expense/etc, and then you have to save it before going on to do another entry. This doesn't take too long, but there is often a delay of a few seconds which is very frustrating when you are used to the speed of PC Law.
It has improved our ability to capture billable activities.
It has increased our efficiency in regards to onboarding clients and getting retainers signed.
The integrations with QuickBooks and other software platforms such as Mailchimp has allowed us to improve our marketing efforts and overall operations.
