Clio Reviews

Custom sets of templates for client types and matter types is great. There are tons of integrations with so many other programs to add functionality is dizzying. We're still learning all this program can do and trying to maximize our use of it through best practices, but we're very hopeful and optimistic that it's going to make our lives much easier and more organized.

The implementation by Clio has been less than stellar. They've tried to integrate spreadsheets of information from our prior practice management software, plus other sources to get all of our client and matter data into the program. But getting the data migration specialists on the phone has been difficult. We noticed that one phase of the migration had not gone correctly, so we called and e-mailed like mad to make sure they wouldn't go to the next step of migration until we could get that prior data fixed. They ignored the calls and e-mails and went ahead with the next step. So that just compounded the problem by about 10,000 times. Now, we're having to go back through our spreadsheets to clean up the data again. Then they're going to have to somehow undo the migration steps they've taken already. Then we'll try it again. We've been using it almost 90 days, and we're still not at full usage yet, because the migration is so messed up.

Web based program and cost.

Rigid, time consuming process. So many things don't work and the process of finding a work around is cumbersome.

We like the CRM/case management integration and the ability to use templates. We have a real estate and estate planning practice, both of which lend themselves to form documents, and we have further customized documents through integration with the CRM component to auto-populate documents.

My only issue is the way “non-billable” does not get shown on the invoices. I believe it is critical for the client to see this.

The Clio team helped me transfer data from my old billing program. Transition was seamless and painless. Clio is intuitive to use. As a solo practitioner I have neither the time for nor interest in hours of admin activity every week. Clio lets me track my work as I go, and provides the framework for organizing information about my clients and cases. At the end of the month I spend only about 2 hours reviewing and sending out bills.

More flexible report options would be helpful, particularly regarding A/R.

What I like most about Clio and it's developers is that when there is a feature you believe would be a great enhancement and you suggest it to them, it seems like not long thereafter you have that enhancement.

I cannot think of anything I don't like, honestly.

The HelloSign integration is the only reason I stay. It has the benefits of any basic CRM.

Customer service is horrendous. Sure they are polite and quite courteous in fact, however, it's like speaking to a brick wall. It's like everyone's drank the cool-aid. They avoid the acknowledging system limitations or errors like the pliegue which obviously comes from the top. There are far better CRM programs with true automation for far cheaper instead of the patch work of products branded as Clio. I could get the same, if not better, effect with Zapier.

Yes, I'm bitter because I've invested thousands of hours and dollars and now I'm stuck. As a sole practitioner, I do not have the money or man power to start all over again. I tell ALL my peers they are much better off using Dubsado and HelloSign than Clio. Tyring to get technical support is a time suck! The level of work/investment needed just to get the first tier customer support familiar with the product then explaining the issue is not worth addressing it AT ALL! They obviously receive minimal training and have NO real comprehension or experience with the Clio products themselves. It's like they are afraid to admin they don't know or they don't understand. They are just key word searching in the help index which I've ALREADY DONE!

Clio is very user-friendly and intuitive. Even if you do not have experience or training on Clio, there is a certain about of functions which you can work out how to use but by having a play with the system. Time recording is very straightforward and it makes our billing easy.

Downsides are: there is no currency conversation; cannot split invoices on one matter (e.g. we have to 2 or more entities responsible for payment say, 50/50, but there is no way of automatically splitting the invoice; no summary front sheet for an invoice.

Clio software is comprehensive and covers everything that I need as a solo attorney to keep my practice running smoothly and efficiently. Clio Grow is a new feature that helps me track leads, lead sources, the intake process, etc. It is very comprehensive and is easily merged with Clio Manage. The Clio help desk is excellent. Answers are always spot on. If they cannot fix my problem, they will honestly tell me that Clio does not have the capability that I'm looking for and they will offer to submit a request for that capability to be considered in the future. Clio is always looking to address customer needs.

Does not have all of the capabilities that I need but has most of them. Sometimes the queue for the help desk/chat is rather long.

Initially it was a better system overall than the systems we were trying to make fit our needs (Timeslips and Sharepoint). Subsequently, the updates that are implemented by the development team when there is an obvious need or lack identified.

I did not like that the billing of outstanding balances was not automated during billing runs to capture all outstanding balances so anyone who does not have a current bill still gets a bill when I do not enter a start time as a filter option. I also do not like that I have to clean up so much on the Quickbooks Online end of a Retainer transfer, especially after a billing run when its many clients at once, it creates a lot of work in the Retainer in Trust register in QBO.

Clio could be, and indeed was for a long time, a fairly good and overall well featured application. As with any application, it did not have everything covered, but was slowly improving and adding features. In other words, it was a decent application that was getting better.

As of few months ago, Clio, put simply, started going backwards, and fast. Features that existed for years and worked perfectly, were either intentionally removed or broken and no longer worked. The number of bugs has increased exponentially. I used to discover a bug once every few months in the past. These days, almost every day I have to report new bugs or follow up on the existing and unresolved ones. In the past, any reported issues were addressed and resolved quickly. Now, you still get emails in response, but the emails are more of the scripted/lip service type and most issues do not get resolved at all, including critical issues relating to basic features that used to work fine in the past.

As I am not an insider to Clio, I am not sure what the reason is, but from many recent interactions with Clio support and their answer, it seems to me that there is no one at Clio who has their hand on the pulse or any control over the "technical team" or the "development team". From responses I get, it sounds like the "developers" run the place and if they do not think that something is important, it will not get done or fixed. To give you a concrete example, an important financial report was working fine in the past and, as one would expect, it was showing the period to which the report relates. Some months ago, when "updating" that report to a "new" report, they removed the period of the report field, so, believe it or not, the report now does not show which period it relates to

It's online.
The timer can be stopped and started easily.

I spend about two (2) hours a day implementing workarounds to make the system work because it was not built for family law practice or file review. It's a good backup system but it's nothing very reliable unless you're willing to invest the time into making it work.

The Clio Manage product offers an excellent practice management tool with enough flexibility that we can continue to develop new solutions to any hurdles we face. Primarily, Clio has been instrumental in:-Time Tracking-Data Base Management - for clients, opposing counsel, judges, mediators, etc.-Case Management-Invoicing-Data Analytics - for performance metrics, financial projections, etc.

Clio offers a lot of powerful solutions, but is not 100% comprehensive. Often, when Clio is missing a feature, support will add it to their list of "feature requests" to be implemented in the future. While I fully appreciate Clio actively working on new features, some of the roadblocks we have hit feel surprising considering the software is built for law firms. This is mentioned in a previous section, but one of our current issues is in our pre-bill review. When discounting line items, they must be discounted at a percentage, rather than a dollar amount, which was not a problem we had faced in previous software.

I've been using Clio since 2010. I have tried other software over the years. I also originally had to use other software that integrated with Clio, but slowly have been able to reduce subscriptions as Clio built out features. Clio is the best in class, affordable, and the software around which I ultimately chose to build all my systems. I like that Clio allows me to manage the entire client file, including documents and emails, bills, and file shares, all within a single integrated system. Less software is cheaper, easier to manage, helps me capture details, and requires less employee training and management.

Clio still has some features and kinks to work out. Not everything is intuitive. Its plugin with Outlook is a little slow and I don't like that it strips the attachments from emails when placing them in the file. There still isn't enough flexibility in fee arrangements. It could improve the marketing side quite a bit. And I wish you could edit billing entries in bulk a little easier (especially if you made a mistake in one edit, it doesn't save and you lose ALL your edits -- super annoying). That said, all of these bugs and annoyances get addressed by Clio over time. They continually improve and grow the software. So I don't feel that there are any fatal flaws; just quirks that you learn to work around​.

What is best? There is so much. The Dashboard (to see instantly how the I am doing, and for each client so I can see how much time and billing has occurred on each matter and easily find the information I need); Time keeping, invoicing, secured email, email drop (to easily put emails into client matters in Clio and free up inbox space, ) and DOCUMENT TEMPLATES with Custom Fields -- I have automated my engagement letter, a basic client letter, will forms, POAs, etc. It saves so much time. To write a letter and not have to look up an address or block/copy it is so nice. You generate the document and edit to start typing the body right away. It requires work on the front end but in the end it is worth it. Also, the customer service being one click on a chat icon away is great. They are so friendly and talked me through invoicing each month for the first few months.

The customer service and training videos are great but sometimes it feels like an Easter egg hunt to find out what all it can do. I spent the first 8 months just keeping time and doing invoicing. I knew it did other things but wasn't sure what and how. Once I started digging around I have been amazed at what all I have found. It has saved so much time and made things for a solo attorney so much easier. I am sold.

I loved Cleo from the moment a representative gave us an overview of the software and what it had to offer. After that demonstration I couldn't wait to try the software. I love that Cleo allows you to customize the program to your specific law firms needs. There is an enormous amount of ability to customize clients billing and matters. I've never found a software like this one before nor one that allows you so much freedom to make it your own. There are two sections to Cleo Cleo grow and Cleo manage. Cleo grow allows you to enter potential new clients and track their progress as to whether they hire the law firm get referred out or don't hire the law firm. It has saved me from keeping up with two separate spreadsheets which allows me more time to work on important tasks. Once in Cleo grow you can move a client over to Cleo manage once they hire you. Once in Cleo grow everything about your client and their case is all contained on their own individual dashboard. Within that dashboard you can store communications their documents their payment transactions emails billing their time they're expenses etc. And because of the categories you can customize I'm able to enter the important information needed for their particular case and it's no farther than one click away. I have to say the Cleo support and help section is spectacular and one of the best I've ever come across. They have a clear academy which offers training on specific things you can do in the software.

The only thing I found so far that I'm not fond of with the software is the flat rate billing. Our Law Firm wants to keep track of the time spent on a case even if it's for flat fee. I'm still trying to find a way to best show this on an invoice and after researching Cleo help section they don't seem to have a real clear method of doing it.