CARET Legal Reviews

“So much to like about CARET Legal

Pros

The built-in accounting features are essential, and I find CARET's accounting capabilities to be excellent. Occasionally, I wish I could customize reports, but overall, I can still obtain the necessary information. Time entry is simple and designed for thoroughness. The automatic time entry windows help ensure I don't miss any billable hours. Matter management is flexible and simple. The document upload and management capabilities are good, offering features that prevent duplication, track versions, and facilitate easy viewing, along with automatic OCR and integration with Word. Email handling and the ability to associate emails with matters are also effective, even though the shift from server-based management poses some challenges.

Cons

Some issues are simply due to the web-based nature of the program, requiring users to adjust their habits, and some features of local server-based management are not available. OCR is not always consistent, some documents that OCR well in a local PDF editing application don't seem to do so in Zola. My wish list includes a plug-in to allow for spreadsheet creation in Excel and direct uploads to Zola, similar to the Word plug-in; Outlook shared calendar integration so the firm calendar would synchronize with the shared Microsoft Exchange Outlook calendar, an invite mechanism like Outlook, the ability to save all email attachments at once to a matter folder, the ability to move documents from one matter to another subfolder, the option to change the document menu from white lettering on grey to black lettering on white, the ability to import V-cards, icon notifications for email receipts and document searching by date created or modified.

“Top-rated legal software

Pros

I love how I can manage tasks within CARET Suite. Additionally, CARET Suite features a very easy document automation system.

Cons

While I understand that the HotDocs integration is still in testing and has not yet been released, it requires additional features. Specifically, the "Overlay" feature that is inherent to HotDocs needs to be activated within CARET Legal. It also needs the capability to email the HotDocs interview to clients through CARET Legal.

“Reliable Software

Pros

Everything I need for a matter is consolidated onto one fantastic page, helping me stay organized and on top of all tasks.

Cons

I wish it were possible to customize a home page for each matter to display a collection of information from other tabs.

“CARET Legal outperforms other platforms

Pros

The best features of CARET Legal for my firm include its integration with Google Business for email, comprehensive accounting with three-way reconciliation, timekeeping and billing features, and connections with law firm-specific merchant services. I've tried Clio, which might be the closest competitor, but CARET Legal definitely outperforms their software by a wide margin.

Cons

The color scheme for distinguishing read and unread emails in the Gmail integration could benefit from different colors to make it easier to identify which emails have been read and which have not.

“Integration of all key features

Pros

I really appreciate the integration of accounting, document preparation and merge, plus the matters time tracking and billing features.

Cons

For me, integration with the Best Case bankruptcy program would be fantastic and would help me tremendously.

“All in one tool for our needs

Pros

everything's consolidated in one spot: timekeeping, case management, accountingit's all accessible right there.

Cons

I find that a few reports do not include enough detail and I sometimes struggle when processing refunds or voiding checks because it is not easy.

“Ease of use and provide great reports

Pros

For me, the interface is really easy to use as the reporting plus time and expense tracking make my life easier.

Cons

A bit awkward to move emails and documents into the client file.

“best for a law firm!

Pros

To me, Zola Suite feels built specifically for a law firm as I can find every necessary detail, covering everything from client intake through file closing.

Cons

I would like it to support importing multiple email accounts rather than just one.

“Love the email integration

Pros

I'm a big fan of the email integrationit lets me review my team's messages to make sure they don't go off course. As far as I know, Clio doesn't include a way to save emails. Ultimately, Zola Suite gives me an all-in-one solution for handling active litigation matters, which is what I needed to consolidate case workflows and communications.

Cons

We could really use a more useful 'all in' tab within each matter that shows a snapshot of every part, or at minimum an option to pick what I want displayed on that consolidated view. Our team manages dozens of matters for certain clients every month and we're currently unable to automatically create a polished cover page that neatly lists each invoice line item. That limitation creates extra manual work for us and reduces efficiency.

“My fav thing is that accounting is built in

Pros

I really appreciate that accounting is integrated right into the platformit's such a time-saver. The template builders are fantastic and easy to use, which makes creating repeat documents so simple. Creating intake forms and automatically attaching them to a matter is so convenient and I also really like the reporting features.

Cons

My Google Calendar shows items as 'double booked' whenever I try to sync, so I'm not using that sync feature at the moment. Also, a few of the dashboard reportsfor example the goals sectiondon't seem to display accurate numbers, which is frustrating when I rely on those metrics.

“User friendly and meaningful information

Pros

We find ZOLA really user-friendly, so even our attorneys can pull up reports and actually grasp how the business is running. We rely on its accounting reports every week and month and compared to ProLawwhich we used beforeZOLA is far simpler to use. Because of that, we no longer have to lean on a tiny circle of people just to get useful information from ZOLA.

Cons

I've noticed some members of our accounting team want different report formats and views than what comes out of the box. The upside is the help desk really guides us through the options and quite often develops the custom reports we need and rolls them into updates.

“Clean, quick and easy to use UI

Pros

The interface is tidy, fast and really simple to navigate. I find their support team extremely professional, helpful and quick to respond. As someone using it regularly, it meets almost all of my needs without feeling intrusive.

Cons

My gripes, aside from one exception, are mostly small complaints. For starters, the color palette might put some people off. Also, because the product is still in the process of having new capabilities added, certain areas feel a bit rougher or less finished than others. Personally, I don't love that you need to keep several Zola tabs open to access all the functionsthat's not my preferred workflow. Finally, I would really like to see Google Drive integration. Since I already sync with Google Calendar and Gmail, the lack of Drive syncing stands out more to me.

“visual dashboard of it is amaizng

Pros

The main reason I moved from Clio to Zola back in 2019 was how the dashboard lays everything out visually. At a quick glance I can tell what tasks need my attention each day and how close I am to meeting my daily, weekly and monthly revenue goals, which really nudges me to prioritize higher-paying work. It also shows me how much I have tied up in receivables at any given moment, which is invaluable for planning when a few big clients consistently pay invoices 90 days out. On a broader level, the dashboard helps me watch how the makeup of my clientele changes from day to day as my practice evolves. Another feature I like is the email breakdownfar easier than Gmail for seeing which messages arrived and in what sequence. Keeping everything related to one matter together is simple: contacts, assorted reminders and notes, phone calls, emails and documents all live in one place. Creating, sending and managing invoices is also easy, tracking client trust funds is painless and setting up flat-fee packages is uncomplicated. Even though I consider myself pretty tech-averse, I picked Zola up very quickly and felt comfortable using it. I'm genuinely excited to start using more of the platforms tools, especially customizable intake forms and the default task lists.

Cons

Every so often Zola becomes inaccessible, though those outages are rare and usually resolve within a couple of hours. Because the email storage/uploading feels sluggish at times, I keep my emails in Gmail rather than relying on Zola's storage. Aside from these occasional slowdowns and brief outages, I haven't experienced major disruptions, but the email performance is the one thing that still pushes me to use Gmail as my primary archive.

“Most helpful is their support

Pros

Hands down, their customer support is the standout for me. I've even asked for new capabilities and they either roll them in or walk me through an existing option so I can accomplish what I need. On top of that, the interface is refreshingly tidy and the reporting tools have been a lifesaver for my workflow.

Cons

So far Zola Suite checks every box for my practice and I genuinely don't have any complaints to report at the moment. Should anything arise down the line, I know I can reach out to support and they'll take care of it quickly.

“Really appreciate the inclusiveness!!

Pros

I really value how Zola Suite bundles accounting, document and case management and CRM into a single system. That means fewer subscriptions to juggle and fewer separate apps I have to learn or attempt to tie together. The way it links with Word and Outlook feels flawless, which makes setting appointments and handling documents easy and user-friendly. On top of that their support is excellent when I submit a help ticket which has only happened a handful of times, I usually get a reply within minutes.

Cons

Occasionally the platform feels sluggish, although I can't always tell whether that's caused by my network or something on their end. I'd also like the reporting tools to include a simple option for side-by-side or comparative data so I can analyze trends more easily.

“Easy to sort :)

Pros

One thing I really appreciate is how simple it is to navigate through client matters, CRM records and calendar entries and how smoothly everything links together to make finding required information and keeping myself organized much more efficient.

Cons

I'd like uploading documents to a matter to be smarter about duplicates, so when I'm backing up a folder from my computer it would only add new files instead of re-uploading ones already stored. It would save so much time if the system could detect previously uploaded documents and skip them automatically. Also, after I search for a specific matter and open it, going back should keep the search term visible in the search bar or at least in the search history so I don't have to type the client's name again every time--especially when the same client has several matters listed. Those are really the only improvements I can think of.

“provides easy access to everything

Pros

What I find most helpful is how effortlessly I can access everything in the platform. The invoices and payments section is something I really like it's simple and makes it easy to track every payment. I use all of Zola's tools and find each one easy to operate.

Cons

Whenever something breaks or I run into a problem, Zola's support team is always available to help me out.

“Clean interface and easy to navigate

Pros

Zola's interface feels clean and basic and I find it really simple to move around. Having used Meruscase before and really liking it, I think with some tweaks that borrow Merus's user-friendly touches Zola could be excellent. Overall I'm hopeful that a few usability improvements would make this my go-to program.

Cons

There are quite a few problems that make me feel like whoever built this didn't have to actually use it and those gaps create a lot of daily annoyances for me. A big pain is that I can't view a colleague's billed time on a shared matter as when multiple attorneys contribute to a file it's incredibly useful to see what has already been done and billed without having to fire off an email asking. Another issue is the inability to sort or manage custom matter fields in a way that fits our workflow, which forces me to use clunky workarounds. The absence of a save-and-copy option for time entries is particularly frustratingI'm often entering charges that share the same date, duration and billing codes and it would save me a ton of time to copy an existing entry and only change the narrative rather than typing everything from scratch each time. Altogether these shortcomings slow me down and make the system feel less practical than it could be.

“Full integration of it makes it top-notch

Pros

In my workflow, having Zola combine billing, document management and client contact info in a single place is essential for meeting daily deadlines and staying on top of tasks. I find it more user friendly than other options and it cuts down on juggling several different programs.

Cons

I appreciate that Zola Suite is feature-rich, but I have to be extra vigilant with conflict checks. The document search isn't as clean or streamlined as some competitors' tools, though the recent OCR addition has significantly improved how I find documents.

“Unimaginably easy to use

Pros

CARET Legal stands out for its remarkable ease of use, which I truly appreciate. The software simplifies the entire process of billing clients, turning what could be a complex and time-consuming task into an easy and efficient one.

Cons

I frequently find myself logged out unexpectedly in the middle of billing sessions.