CARET Legal Reviews

“mobile app is easy to use

Pros

I am impressed by how amazing the feature is and that it's Google-powered. The mobile app is excellent as my staff depends on it constantly and I find it an invaluable, user-friendly tool for keeping productive while we sit and wait in various courtrooms.

Cons

There are still features I personally need that aren't available yet, but the company has been very responsive and willing to collaborate with us and they actually pushed out several features specifically designed to address our requests over time.

“Time management makes invoicing not a problem

Pros

The time-tracking tools have made invoicing so easy for me. Plus, the document creation features shave off hours every single time I draft contracts and motions.

Cons

My only gripe is wishing there were just a little more flexibility in customization options.

“Includes everything you need

Pros

I think Zola Suite does a pretty solid job covering all the different areas where software helps run a firm. It comes with a comprehensive set of accounting features, integrates email and handles matter management smoothly.

Cons

From my experience, although the product's been around for several years it still feels 'new,' which means there are some quirks. That isn't unique to Zolamost competitors face similar issues. Navigation could use refinement in places, but on the whole it's quite polished overall.

“Favorite is responsiveness to feedback

Pros

What I like most about Zola is how quickly the team responds to user feedback and feature requests. As our team continues to work with the software, we spot ways to expand its capabilities and Zola usually turns around the majority of our requested features within a matter of days or weeks, depending on how complex the change is.

Cons

A portion of Zola's features depend on having a reliable internet connection and unfortunately our connectivity from the national cable provider has become more erratic, with fluctuating latency that occasionally freezes everything and leaves us staring at endless buffering. We're eagerly anticipating the arrival of fiber-optic service in our area and I genuinely expect that upgrade to noticeably enhance how Zola performs for our team once it's in place.

“Everything is all in one place

Pros

Everything is consolidated in one spotemail, documents and time sheets and the way the different features interact really helps.

Cons

I've found that when I'm reading emails the site reloads and jumps the message back to the top, which is really frustrating with longer emails.

“email automatically captures time

Pros

One thing I really appreciate is that my email automatically logs time. Billing for emails used to be a huge headache for me and ate up a significant portion of my day, but Zola fixed that problem. It only tracks time when I'm composing and sending a message, which means I still need to remember to record time when I'm just reviewing emails. Still, the speed of my billing has improved dramatically. I no longer have to drag and drop messages into a folder as emails simply save when I select the related matter, which is another noticeable time saver. I also like that everything functions togethercalendar, contacts, email and accountingand that all client and contact addresses are stored in one central place instead of separate billing addresses. What once took me two full days to complete now takes only one day using Zola. We send most invoices by email, so dispatching bills is fast. I've connected Zola to LawPay and that integration works smoothly, allowing me to accept payments online. As a result, my collections have noticeably improved and administrative time has been cut down.

Cons

In my view the weakest area of the software is its accounting features, although Zola is actively improving them. I can import my bank account into the system, but reconciliation suffers unless every detail is entered exactly the same way, which makes matching transactions more difficult than it should be.

“Essential for our firm's success

Pros

For our practice, Zola Suite has been a key factor in our success, allowing us to manage client matters and our accounting together in a single platform so we can handle everything more efficiently and accurately than before.

Cons

We've used Zola Suite since we started the firm in 2017, so we've watched it evolve a great deal over the last three years. While we've encountered a few glitches and rough patches along the way, the Zola Suite team consistently responds and works to fix problems as quickly as they can and they keep us updated throughout the process.

“simple organization and ease of navigation

Pros

I really like how well organized the system is. Also it is simple to get around and looks clean and the features work the way I'd expect. We have gotten a lot of value from the practice management side of the platform and I especially like how it logs case activity and keeps client communications in one place. Even though we had some trouble tying in certain accounting pieces, I still find Zolas reporting powerful and basic for running reports.

Cons

Our firm has definitely had trouble with some of the more advanced accounting features and we've found it difficult to reconcile Zola's financial tools with the other reports we already produce. A number of accounting workflows we rely onfor example allocating time and costsweren't available out of the box and had to be custom-built into the system. On top of that, we've run into frustrating issues with batch billing, batch payables and similar processes.

“keeps everything in one place

Pros

One thing I really appreciate is that I can keep everything related to a case organized in a single place, so I don't have to hunt through different locations to find documents or notes.

Cons

When I'm trying to link an email to the right matter, I notice the selection process is sluggish and sometimes jumps between emails, which makes it really difficult when I'm working through a long list of messages.

“Complete business accounting is included

Pros

I appreciate is that the software includes complete business accounting, so I can handle finances within the app.

Cons

I've noticed cloud-based programs are generally slower than desktop apps, but Zola Suite feels quite responsive in my experience.

“Helps capture time that slips

Pros

Using Zola Suites has made it much easier for me to capture the time I spend sending emails and placing phone calls that would otherwise fall through the cracks as this tool more than justifies its cost and pays for itself.

Cons

I'd love for Contacts to automatically sync with the contacts on my iPhone, since that would save me the hassle of manually linking entries.

“Google driven with great mobile app

Pros

We're on a Google-powered system and the mobile app is fantastic. Whenever we run into problems, a real support person is available around the clock. From day one they collaborated with us to create the custom fields we required and were always enthusiastic about helping in every possible way.

Cons

We can't reach the accounting functions through the mobile app and there are occasional slowdowns. Still, we understand that's a normal trade-off when using a cloud-based service.

“First and foremost is email

Pros

To begin, the email system is top-notch. Every message, incoming or outgoing, can be attached to a file with a single mouse click. I find it easy to attach a document a Z-doc to an outgoing message or to save an attachment straight into the file. The Intake forms, both shared and internal are great shortcuts to keep important details such as critical dates, expenses, etc right where I can access them quickly. The dashboard is exactly what I need to manage my practice: it shows incoming emails, tasks and my calendar. Clio's dashboard, by contrast, emphasizes billing about 70% statistics. While I admit that billing metrics are useful, my default screen should show the day ahead and that is precisely what Zola Suite delivers. When I use the Matter-Specific Custom fields I can almost effortlessly drop key data into a matter. Those fields flow easily into merge documents. The way Clio handles fields, where you must open and hunt for them, wastes time. Since I create many fields and produce numerous merge forms, having fast, simple field insertion is a major advantage. It saves me countless minutes every day and improves document accuracy across the whole firm for staff and clients alike.

Cons

Not being able to integrate with platforms like Zapier frustrates me. I've had a love-hate relationship with Clio and Zapier. I liked connecting Google Forms and Smartsheet to Clio and miss the capability. I'm also finding it tricky to work with virtual assistants in the system, though I'm adapting and leaning toward one platform.

“Complete control from anywhere

Pros

With Zola, I can completely manage every facet of my business from virtually anywhere, as long as I have an internet connection. I don't have to keep moving files between devices or worry about being unable to check on projects while I'm at home or on vacation. Just signing into the platform lets me stay connected and fully informed no matter where I happen to be.

Cons

I haven't run into many drawbacks myself. Any concerns I can think of, like the site layout or how many templates are available, have been promptly and skillfully addressed by the excellent support team. Their responsiveness and ability to resolve issues quickly have meant I rarely have anything negative to report based on my own experience.

“Ease of orientation and use

Pros

For me it is easy to get my bearings and handle key operational functions like matter maintenance, tracking time and billing.

Cons

I have some difficulty retrieving transferred documents at the moment, though I expect this to be a temporary hiccup that will improve as I become more familiar with the system.

“Did not like this software

Pros

I wasn't impressed with this program and our customers struggled a lot with billing, accessing their accounts and other login-related issues, etc.

Cons

We couldn't find a single feature we liked about it as after spending a few months using this platform, we eventually switched over to a different software portal.

“Ease of use and combination

Pros

What I like most is how user-friendly it is and that it brings together every key function such as practice management, accounting and planning into one single application that handles everything.

Cons

I found the training overwhelming and delivered too early as what I'd prefer is a brief starter session upfront, then a more in-depth follow-up about 30 to 60 days later after everyone has had hands-on time with the software so they better understand it and can come prepared with useful questions.

“Does not function as advertised

Pros

I value the time-keeping feature and the ability to track time across pages.

Cons

Everything else has been disappointing. I find the software falls far short of how it was represented to our firm. It's buggy, inconsistent and forces frequent updates to get features we were promised would work out of the box. The so-called "dual sync" for email and calendar fails to operate correctly and recurring tasks don't run as expected. Had the product performed as advertised when we purchased it, I'd be satisfied, but it hasn't. In short, the program has harmed my practice because I can't rely on it and it isn't the product we bought.

“Appreciate how integrated it is

Pros

I am really impressed with how seamlessly everything in the software ties together. From handling emails to tracking time, it is all consolidated in one place. Moving between sending messages to clients and attaching files to their particular matter is easy too. I also value how simple it is to jump into a client-specific timer quickly.

Cons

I do not have any real complaints. Using it has made my workdays smoother and more productive. Because the timekeeping feature is so effortless, I have managed to grow my billable hours. I genuinely appreciate how fast and user-friendly Zola feels in everyday use.

“Extremely easy to use

Pros

As per me the interface incredibly easy to navigate. I was able to teach myself how to log my hours and handle project management with Zola in no time.

Cons

Honestly Zola Suite works so well that I have no issues to report and nothing to criticize.