Firm Central Reviews

“decent overall and app feels buggy

Pros

For what I use it for it accomplishes what I need and since I don�t have many alternatives to compare it to it gets the job done within its lane. Given the limited scope in which I employ it I�d say it�s fairly average in my view but it doesn�t wow me with extra features but it also doesn�t let me down on the basics.

Cons

I find the phone app to be sluggish and prone to frequent glitches and when I've reached out for help the support team hasn't been helpful.

“An abandoned and trapped system

Pros

Back when it launched there really wasn't anything comparable available besides the then-clunky, server-only Amicus Attorney. It was the very first cloud-based practice management system and the fact that it ran in the cloud is what tempted me to adopt it over nine years ago.

Cons

Sadly it feels like West has essentially abandoned this program. They tied every bit of access to our Westlaw subscription so whenever our firm grew and we needed to add a user it took a minimum of two to three business days just to get that person added. The delay comes because someone has to contact our sales rep who then has to draft a new contract to extend the Westlaw agreement to include the additional seat. Meanwhile we have been asking them for new features for years, yet I can't think of anything meaningful that's been added since the product first launched. We eventually switched to Clio but although we were able to export clients, contacts and matters, the documents stored inside each matter couldn't be exported. For that reason we can't completely abandon it because they effectively hold ownership of our clients' documents as well as our firm's emails and files indefinitely. We've asked repeatedly what happens to the data if we close the firm, retire or die and nobody provides a clear answer. It's not even as forgiving as a Facebook account which can be archived and downloaded for perpetual access if needed. The frightening reality is that when you stop paying, thousands of documents, records and gigabytes of data can simply disappear. Because of this alone I strongly advise people to avoid FirmCentral.

“simple & works well with Westlaw

Pros

I find the interface pretty simple and easy to use so we didn't have to spend much time on training and I also like that it integrates neatly with the Westlaw features.

Cons

We had no problem integrating this tool with the other software we were already using which made rolling it out across our team much easier.

“A terrible accounting tool

Pros

Honestly I found nothing positive. After I've worked with QuickBooks and other far more user-friendly accounting programs, I would seriously consider quitting my job before being forced to use this software.

Cons

If the extent of my accounting skills were limited to balancing a personal checkbook this application might suit me. But since I have actual accounting knowledge I strongly advise against buying it. In my experience you'll end up tearing your hair out. The company claims it was written for a basic-level accountant, yet that simply isn't true. When mistakes happen you can't just go back and edit a date, amount or similar detail in many places which makes it incredibly frustrating to use.

“efficient and lifesaver for small firms

Pros

I've found it alignes time and billing management in a very efficient way. It's a lifesaver for small firms.

Cons

Setup seems like it can be a pain though I think it really depends on the source system and how the data is handled.

“Extremely stable but not on Mac

Pros

It feels extremely stable to me. I haven't faced glitches or bugs and I really appreciate the way the dashboard can be tailored to matters plus the handy "status" feed on each matter keeps me up to date.

Cons

On a Mac it introduced a bunch of version-control headaches for our team. Mac users have to download documents to a local drive, save them there, then re-upload and we initially thought that was a manageable inconvenience. Over time though we discovered the OS often creates duplicate filenames , adding things like "(1)" , whenever the same document is downloaded multiple times which wreaks havoc on tracking changes. To preserve proper versioning you end up having to delete any local copies so you can re-save using the exact same filename before downloading which is far too time-consuming and manual. Even though my firm subscribes to many Westlaw products, the WL integration here wasn't worth losing the connectivity we had with other platforms. Finally the contract is binding once signed & there's no month-to-month option, so you really can't try it short-term without committing.

“Simple time entry but frustrating finance features

Pros

I appreciate that attorneys and legal assistants can enter their time directly into a client's matter which makes tracking billable hours simple.

Cons

I am frustrated by everything related to the accounts receivable and finance charge features and I find that uploading PDFs into each matter takes a lot of time.

“buggy and unsupported system

Pros

Can't find any positives. This software was the hardest to work with and their support was awful. They never managed to resolve the bugs. Whenever I rang with an issue, they told me they'd escalate it and someone higher up would call me back. Usually I only heard back two or three days later. It felt like a constant loop of promises and no solutions.

Cons

My calendar events kept disappearing repeatedly. Also the invoicing side was frustrating because transfers had to be done per client there was no way to move funds in bulk across multiple clients at once.

“solid case management with add-ons but outlook plug-in unreliable

Pros

It is really solid case management system if you're prepared to spend on the optional add-ons like Custom Forms, Westlaw, Company Investigator and similar tools. It can become very costly but my firm realized financial gains in multiple areas after we decided to use the full suite of features. For me the most significant upside was being able to automate the Custom Form Builder by pulling data directly out of it which alignd several workflows and paid off over time.

Cons

In my experience the Firm Central plug-in for Outlook was awful and unpredictable. I think more development attention should have gone into that part of the product because lawyers and law firms rely on their email as the hub of daily work and the unreliable integration made it harder to work the way we need.

“Only good for easy login

Pros

I can easily log in from anywhere and honestly that's basically the only real advantage I've found.

Cons

every document is packed with excessive wording and legal jargon that makes things confusing. A salesperson also misled me to close the sale and when I reached out to customer service for help I got silence and then extra fees showed up on my bill.

“All matters in one clear place

Pros

What I really like is how the app groups all matters in one place and displays each matter's balance along with unbilled time, so I can quickly pinpoint which clients should be billed.

Cons

Sometimes I find myself wishing the program offered a small pop-up window for rapid time entry across multiple clients like Ebillity provides since that would save me time but I guess it's something I can learn to live with.

“we switched to another

Pros

I liked the client portal because it allowed my clients to securely log in and view their records which meant I didn't have to send documents to them over email anymore.

Cons

We bought the software several years back and tried to fold it into our office systems but the integration process was really rough. Despite being told Outlook support would arrive "very near future" that never materialized so once our contract ended we stopped using it and moved over to Clio.

“Helpful but wrong for our billing

Pros

the customer service is very helpful and I appreciate how simple it is to record my time and expenses.

Cons

A frustrating part for me is that it doesn't align with how we do billing. Because we're a law firm and bill by client rather than by matter I end up taking extra steps to reach the views I need.

“good calendar but complex settings

Pros

The calendar tools are excellent! Most of the people we've reached out to for assistance with the software have been incredibly quick to respond and very helpful.

Cons

There are so many settings and choices inside the Deadline Assistant that I frequently struggle to locate the specific option I need. When I want to block out dates for things like 'Court Holidays' or an 'Attorney Out of Office' situation, I'm forced to invent a dummy client matter and add the event there just so everyone in the office can view it. It would be much more convenient if I could create a single event that is visible to the whole office without attaching it to a particular matter. The integration process also hasn't moved along as smoothly as I expected. It's been a painstaking, time-consuming chore to transfer all of our clients' documents from our existing platform over to it and that has been frustrating.

“Very easy to use with great support

Pros

What I like about it is that it's extremely user-friendly. I find it simple to use and whenever I've needed help the customer support has been excellent.

Cons

I'd recommend that it offer customers trial access to their add-ins before requiring them to commit to a subscription agreement (or before increasing an existing subscription agreement). There are many features I believe could be beneficial to our firm but I want to test the product before committing to it.

“I'm disappointed!

Pros

I thought their sales demo was convincing but the actual software underdelivered.

Cons

We're stuck because it doesn't integrate completely with Outlook, so whenever we change something in FC we also have to manually update Outlook. Rule updates arrive slowly & our state revised its rule with a seven month notice, yet FC was still rolling out related rule updates three months after the new rule took effect. Service requests are handled poorly and I often get passed around from one rep to another who mostly want to discuss the experience rather than fix the issue. We still have calendar errors like extra days appearing, so we must double check everything and it really defeats the point of using this software.