Actionstep Erfahrungen

Stick with it - it's amazing

Kommentare: Overall, it has been fantastic. [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] was incredibly helpful, easy going, and keen to answer my questions. [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] also incredibly knowledgeable and honest in his suggestions, I think he was one of the main reasons I decided to proceed with Actionstep - and I am very happy with that decision.

Vorteile:

The features and functionality built in to Actionstep are amazing. This is a company that actually understands legal practice and legal software. I am impressed that Actionstep offer features that should be standard in every legal software, but aren't always included.

Nachteile:

It does take some time to get used to it and to actually make it work for you. The key is to actually spend time using it and customising it to your needs. This isn't a plug and play solution out of the box, and firms will need to take time to make sure that they have configured it to meet their needs.

Excellent CRM for lawyers!

Kommentare: Overall, this is a terrific product worth purchasing!

Vorteile:

We loved the ability to craft work flows based upon our specific practice. But we also had the flexibility to obtain pre-set work flows as well. The client management and task automation is incredibly helpful.

Nachteile:

My biggest frustration is that we created a webform so with a couple clicks, staff can create a new potential client matter using that information as it integrates into the software. However, 90% of the webforms are spam that has to be read every day because bots are completing the form. Have not seen a remedy for this because AS just refers us to our own IT but we have filters and the bots are coming in through AS system. This is a huge issue I've spent so much time on and it is the one issue that would make our work lives so much better if it could be remedied.

We regret using Actionstep

Kommentare: We started using Actionstep in 2019 but we quickly realised that it was not suitable for small law firms. The only real attraction for using Actionstep was it used to be cheap but that is no longer the case. We moved software in late 2021 but left a single licence to access historical records. The cost for customisation is expensive through third parties, it has terrible integration regarding document storage, and we were not satisfied with its functionality regarding trust. It was an inferior product and it took less than two years to make the jump to something better. The cost of licences has increased from the cheapest software on the market to one of the most expensive with the necessary integration to make it almost useable. I can't see what type of law firm they could be targeting. It seems entirely unsuitable for any level of law firm. Although we would have been forced to something better with our growth, the only one benefit they had was low cost, and whilst that might still seem partly true, the functionality requires costly integration and it ends up more expensive. I would not recommend this product, and regret the hassle of using it temporarily and having to change to a different provider.

Vorteile:

It used to be cheap, but that is no longer really the case.

Nachteile:

Terrible/the worst document management. Limited trust accounting capabilities. Increasing cost. Cost of integration and customisation. Customer service issues.

Great Product

Vorteile:

I use this for my estate planning, probate, and elder law practice. The system has built in workflows, which I appreciate, and it grows with my firm. I like the client portal very much and the way I can track documents that I share with my clients and vice versa. Very easy to track my paralegal's work as well.

Nachteile:

It does take time to learn and customize. Even with all that I use, I am not using it to its fullest capacity.

Lots of Customization options, but lacking some basic common sense

Kommentare: Mixed. A number of positive features, but also a number of time consuming and expensive issues to set it up and keep going, and almost "TOO" much for our needs, since it is missing some simple features.

Vorteile:

For a small law office, there is a lot of potential to customize the matter setup and use different workflows. Also as a supervisor there is complete transparency so I see everything my support staff is doing, I like that the system does a complete backup of saved documents and matters. The Home page is very workable. And the timekeeping functions are good. I also really like the Microsoft Outook integration, even if I keep having to reboot it.

Nachteile:

First, something simple. Make an "out of office" message available through the email system. When I set this up on my outlook, then even though it is integrated, if the client sends an email directly through the Actionstep platform,they do not receive that out of office message. Second, the billing system is not user-friendly. First, the billing templates are a lot harder to set up than they should be, even with the pre-made templates. Second, the trust accounting is difficult to integrate into the bills. Yes, it is there but not in a way that is client friendly. Third, this is so simple I fail to understand why it isnt in place. Make some simple billing features automatic like the ability to print aging on a bill. They have a form for it but it just looks weird! And why shouldn't you just be able to carry over onto a new bill in an easy way. Other case management software has this in a very easy format. Also, when we upgraded to the new billing format there are some ongoing and permanent glitches that make my bookeeper's job harder. Finally, this is a costly system compared to some others in the legal field. And we have received word that the cost is increasing. We will be in the process of reviewing other options. We may decide to stick with Actionstep since there are a lot of good features, but we don't feel strongly enough to keep it with a price increase down the road, even if we are "grandfathered" temporarily. We hired a consultant to help us get it set up.

Actionstep still the best but not yet perfect

Kommentare: Overall, I've been very happy with Actionstep. I get the most satisfaction when I get a new client and need to create a document that I have set up document assembly for, and am able to generate in seconds a document that would have taken an hour or more to create manually.

Vorteile:

Document assembly tools are the most powerful of the many cloud based law practice management systems I have looked at. CLIO's document assembly comes close, but not quite as powerful. It is also the most customizable cloud based law practice management system I have tested.

Nachteile:

Options for integration with accounting and invoicing software is fairly limited. Learning curve is a bit steeper than other cloud based systems. They seem to have heard these concern and over the past four years that I've been using Actionstep, and their development team has making progress on these two fronts. They aren't perfect yet, but they seem to be continually improving.

Small NY Metro Area Law Firm, T&E

Kommentare: We find it perfectly fits our needs.

Vorteile:

Comprehensive features, simple interface

Nachteile:

Like all similar programs out there, use of templates and other excellent advanced features requires regular use, or expense of consultants.

Workflows Good! But Search, Integration with other software, and Document Generation need work.

Kommentare: We are happy with the workflows. We like that we are able to access our client data from anywhere with internet. We are disappointed in our ability to utilize all the data we have stored because of the terrible document and data search functions, limited document generation abilities and difficulty importing or exporting data to other software we use for drafting and client contact.

Vorteile:

Workflows, workflows, workflows. They help us keep our law office on track and help us keep deadlines and make sure we do not miss a step in complicated transactions. We like that Actionstep seems to be trying to improve the product.

Nachteile:

Search is terrible! Searching for documents is useless. Searching for contacts by employer/place of work is impossible. These are basic things a law office needs to do, and this software is a hindrance to getting work done because of its awful search capabilities. Also, the fact that you can only see so many results on a page is maddening. Imagine that you want to search your contacts and get a list of contacts that live in a certain city. You want to select them all and send an email or something. NOPE! Search results are limited to 200, no matter how many contacts you have from that city, and you can only see 10 per page, and the results are not sortable; they come in random order. Also, there is no way to select them all and take any action like sednding them all an email within the program. Copy and paste of contact info is also impossible. I have many opportunities during a week to send one person the contact info for another person. Actionstep has no way for me to easily do this. There is no button to click, function to use or work-around for selecting a contact and getting that contact's info onto the clipboard for pasting into a document or email. You can bring up the contact and drag your mouse over various places on the contact form to copy the address, then do it again for the name, then do it again for the email address, then do it again for the phone number, then do it again for the fax number. But be careful not to *click on the(I ran out of space on this form)

Actionstep Workflows

Kommentare: We were using a very archaic system with Time Matters. Since Actionstep is completely cloud base and accessed via a browser we were able to deploy it to all our remote locations without the need of installing and maintaining software. It was the best move we ever made.

Vorteile:

Actionstep automates task and reporting. Having the ability to customize it via workflows is a huge advantage for us. We also use the document merge features very heavily.

Nachteile:

The home screen dashboard can use some design updates with relevant information.

Actionstep Review December 2019

Kommentare: The overall efficiencies of the product are brilliant. Increasing productivity of fee earners and support staff.

Vorteile:

That its online. That its simple (mostly) to use. That parts of it are customisable. The support.

Nachteile:

The trust administration functionality isn't the best. Infinity was much better!!!

Lots to love about this program

Kommentare: Overall I recommend ActionStep to other law firms. It has vastly improved our office workflow, and the various customizable features enable our employees to address clients' needs more efficiently. The ActionStep support staff are accessible and responsive to any challenges we face, whether they involve addressing problems or learning how to implement new features. What we love:
- Workflows that are customized for different types of cases
- Customized tasks that are automatically assigned to particular employees
- Case dashboard: the "one stop shop" for all basic info related to a case (employees involved, clients, other important players in the case, calendar appointments, notes, etc.)
- Contact records that exist independently of cases but may be linked to cases -- so updating a contact applies changes across the board
- Newsfeed-style case notes with tag options to identify notes as "important," "call," etc.
- Document folders with powerful search feature to easily locate documents
- Integration with MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook) that allows case data to be merged into documents and e-mails and allows users to assign e-mails to cases
- Ability to create letter and other document templates that pre-populate cases
- Document portal that allows clients and other parties to securely exchange documents with the firm
- Fantastic support staff and easy-to-follow tutorials The most challenging aspect of ActionStep is the initial setup (hence my three-star rating for "ease of use"). There is no sugar-coating it: the downside of all those wonderful customizable features is that someone in your organization has to do all the customizing. It's a lengthy process, and the initial data migration can also be time-consuming, but the friendly support staff are available to assist throughout the process. For us the end result has been well worth the challenging setup process. The ActionStep developers are constantly working on improvements to the program, including ways to make it integrate with other types of software and responding to users' suggestions. Occasionally the updates cause hiccups in the system, but they are typically short-lived. We genuinely appreciate the drive to improve the product and the responsiveness to users' wishes.

Vorteile:

- Workflows that are customized for different types of cases - Customized tasks that are automatically assigned to particular employees - Case dashboard: the "one stop shop" for all basic info related to a case (employees involved, clients, other important players in the case, calendar appointments, notes, etc.) - Contact records that exist independently of cases but may be linked to cases -- so updating a contact applies changes across the board - Newsfeed-style case notes with tag options to identify notes as "important," "call," etc. - Document folders with powerful search feature to easily locate documents - Integration with MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook) that allows case data to be merged into documents and e-mails and allows users to assign e-mails to cases - Ability to create letter and other document templates that pre-populate cases - Document portal that allows clients and other parties to securely exchange documents with the firm - Fantastic support staff and easy-to-follow tutorials

Nachteile:

- Challenging initial setup (customization of features) - Cumbersome process to unlock encrypted zip files after backup request - Previous difficulty with calendar integration caused problems with client scheduling and has made us skittish about returning to use of the calendar, even though we see this as a high-value feature of ActionStep

Need big improvement in billing system!!!

Kommentare: I used Actionstep in my previous company and it seems pretty good. However, after increasing the price, actionstep has not improved a lot and the billing system is still not work very good. At the beginning I have asked for Actionstep partner for help. But they did not come back - so I set up the actionstep by myself. It seems some of the function cannot be fully utilised.

Vorteile:

the display of the program is good and some of the support team is quite responsive

Nachteile:

The invoice system is terrible as it is not able to add it back to the matter. Further, the invoice system does not accept other currency billing method - this must be changed asap. Other CRM can amend the invoice on the matter file - not like actionstep need to download and upload the documents manually - that's ridiculous

Too expensive, too much work involved

Kommentare: I spent a long time deciding on Actionstep, and in that time the monthly price doubled. Apparently because it was an immediate start process and I could do everything myself. $139/month and once signed up it turned out that without putting my business on hold and spending one month setting it all up myself i was left in the same position as previously - paying an Actionstep provider to do it for me, with my input to tell them what to do. Plus the higher monthly fee. I spoke to 3 provider companies and all were charging more than $5,000, and the day I stopped paying my AS subscription all that work would be lost. So getting off the ground is fairly prohibitive, unless you dont actually have any business and the time to do it. Within AS the email system didnt really ever work and involved a lot of double handling and diverting and didnt address any of the automated email issues we needed. The invoicing in AS does sync with Xero but you have to send invoices from Actionstep - so you need to build a new template, then you cant add a Stripe pay now credit card link for people to click on, (and theres no alternative product available in Aus) and you cant do a basic, include-and-show GST calculation on the invoice. Incredibly frustrating. Customer support they would get back to me within 24 hours, often to say no, or "thats coming in the next upgrade". I lasted 2 weeks and after about 5 days total work with minimal progress I decided Office 365 could do all the same and more.

Vorteile:

The potential - it seemed like it was going to help me automate and streamline

Nachteile:

The level of set up involved. The subscription basis meaning time put in not retained. The email functionality - non existant. The integration with Xero - very minimal and wont do the same standard of invoicing. The support in WA - customer support online not bad, although timewise for WA meant they were responding when I wasnt at work. When I requested local support they kept sending me to interstate firms. One very helpfully said he would fly over and solve all my problems - it would take three days plus travel from Qld - in the vicininty of $10,000

Great Productivity Tool but Additional/Improved Integrations Needed

Vorteile:

The timekeeping functions, file notes, and overall organization into workflows are tremendous features. Once customized and part of daily practice, Actionstep makes task management much more efficient.

Nachteile:

Gmail/G-Suite integrations are lacking. We are unable to automatically log emails that originate in Gmail. Emailing directly from Actionstep takes care of the record keeping, but we often lose the formatting of our email signatures despite best attempts to keep it true-to-form.

Actionstep review

Kommentare: We have been able to automate our invoicing which has allowed more time to be spent on other matters. We now have greater oversight as to how much time is spent is certain matter.

Vorteile:

Ease of use, ability to automate a number of tasks, oversight of office time.

Nachteile:

Inability to convert $ format to € format, for example $4,000.85 needs to be manually converted to 4.000,85€ and 1.5 hours manually converted to 1,5 hours. Inability to customise the automatic email that is sent to client portal users to grant them access. Inability to select size and font of text that will automatically be generated when copying text from Actionstep system to a word document. Sections of the system still refer to GST when using a different tax. Inability to change a matter type once a matter has been created, instead a completely new matter with a different matter type needs to be created.

Organization = Success

Kommentare: The information is organized in such a way as to keep everyone on task, organized and successful in the day to day operations of the firm. Actionstep Webinars are efficient, effective, insightful and when paired with customer support, outstanding. Overall the program and support adds to my ability to remain a step ahead in meeting client expectations. A program that does that is worth applauding.

Vorteile:

Actionstep's fields and layout are intuitive, data is easy to enter, monitor and track.

Nachteile:

additional tiers of user privileges would be nice

Turnkey solution for legal practice management

Vorteile:

ActionStep runs a variety of reports and queries from our data tables very quickly, and we can customize views and reports as needed. The financial software and G/L is included, which is rather rare. Trust accounting is treated as it should be with separate reporting and functions. Their development of the APIs to connect to Microsoft and Outlook has given us a lot more efficiency in workflows. The support staff is very responsive and will try to thoroughly understand and address the issues for us.

Nachteile:

Some of the accounting functions need some work to run smoothly and to be more intuitive. Also the Outlook add-in and Microsoft Plug In are nice to have but the average user cannot properly install them and maintain them it seems on their own, there are too many steps to the install and updates.

Do not use Actionstpe if you are a smll firm and looking to focus on conveyancing.

Kommentare: I’m sure this software would be beneficial for a large (100 people +) firm who wants a customisable program. However, if you are a small operated and do not have unlimited resosres, you may want to steer clear of this software. I wish I did.

Vorteile:

The fact that it is 100% web and cloud based.

Nachteile:

The lack of cohesion between :- 1. Actionstep (ie the software provider), -2. the separate company which implements the installation and maintenance; and - 3. The 3rd party add on providers (ie the conveyancing add on is done by a company called Konekta) is problematic and horrendous to navigate. This software is full of issues and there is no accountability by anyone. When issues arise, my experience was that each of the 3 before mentioned parties blame each other and then come up with excuses. There are no workable precedents in my field (conveyancing – I also pay $49 for the add on). I found errors in the documents and some documents are out of date (by a number of years - and versions). Very embarrassing and potentially dangerous.

Feature Packed but missing a few key components

Kommentare: Working with Actionstep has been great, but I am in the process of switching to another application due to the availability of integrations I am looking for. I would have no hesitation going back to Actionstep in the future.

Vorteile:

This is by far the best of the mainstream programs for document assembly. The tasked based orientation of the program is great once set up. Support has always been helpful and knowledgeable. Very easy to customize. Strong reporting.

Nachteile:

While having a strong feature set, I feel the software is missing a few key integrations. The software really needs to integrate with LawPay, OneDrive and Quickbooks(I believe these were all under development, but not available when I last checked).

Actionstep evaluation

Kommentare: We've been able to somewhat streamline our practice administration, and we like how all case information can be contained in one place

Vorteile:

e-mail integration is easy and seamless highly customizable excellent document management

Nachteile:

steep learning curve weak online training materials requires a consultant to truly make it work our version does not yet sync with Quickbooks

Using Actionstep

Kommentare: Overall, I enjoy using action step. I cannot recall any problems with this software.

Vorteile:

I like the idea that client information is easily accessible. I am able to determine the status of a case at moments glance. I can plug in all my tasks and assign due dates to keep me organized.

Nachteile:

Not being able to update or correct information in the client profile, such as adding, title, Mr./Ms. This site only allows for address changes, or adding emails.

ActionstepReview

Kommentare: Great software!

Vorteile:

It is all inclusive - with the exception of acouting

Nachteile:

Accounting! it does't work for us - we are still using QBO

Lifeline

Kommentare: My overall experience with Actionstep is excellent.

Vorteile:

ActionStep is easy to use and maintain as a central portal for keeping up with client files and work between staff.

Nachteile:

I wish the software had better search functions including an ability to look up contacts by phone number.

Actionstep is Ace

Vorteile:

I like the ease of use and intuitive format of the software. I have worked in a number of different law firms with a number of different software packages, and Actionstep is by far the best. Opening a new matter is super easy, which is important.

Nachteile:

I can't think of anything right now but will come back to you if I do.

Actionstep review

Kommentare: We like the software itself. We have been using it for approximately 6 months and are in the beginning of phase 2 where we are starting to develop our work flows for each action type. We are anxious to learn how to build the processes so that we can begin doing things ourselves instead of paying the consultant to do it. I am not overly confident in the knowledge of our consultant so I feel that at times we are overpaying for the time he spends looking for the answers to our issues and helping to train us on how to do things.

Vorteile:

The ability to create workflows and automate some of our processes

Nachteile:

The lack of after hours tech support and if our consultant is out of town or busy we have to wait to resolve issues that come up. We pay for every phone call to get assistance so the install and the ongoing support has been very expensive