Smokeball Reviews

Pros

The layout is thoughtfully designed and simple to move around in. It integrates smoothly with Outlook which is something I really appreciate.

Cons

I'd really like clients to have access to their case information and be able to request phone calls directly through the platform.

Pros

After more than five years using this software at our firm, it has become part of everyone's daily routine, even for staff members who aren't particularly tech-savvy. There are several features I rely on every day especially the InfoTrack integration which lets me electronically file pleadings directly from the matter without extra steps. We've also built forms and templates that make it much faster to generate pleadings and other documents without wasting time fixing formatting. On top of that, customer support is consistently available whenever questions come up. They can even remote into my computer and handle the behind-the-scenes technical tasks that I wouldn't know how to do on my own.

Cons

The benefits definitely outweigh the downsides. Updates seem to roll out pretty frequently so there can be some bugs to work through at first but once those are resolved, Smokeball does exactly what we need and runs seamlessly.

Pros

Document automation makes day-to-day work much simpler to handle and keeping files organized by separate matters works really well. The time tracking is especially useful when it comes to billing and the community forums and training resources have been very helpful too.

Cons

Billing section can be hard to use at first until you get used to how it works.

Pros

The more time I spend learning it, the more I enjoy using it. Being able to text clients directly is a big plus and the task features have been really helpful as well.

Cons

Split billing for our GAL cases would really help. I'd also love a pop-up note feature on a matter so when someone opens it they immediately see a message left for the team, like "Get Payment."

Pros

Getting started has felt very easy and whenever something isn't obvious, there's plenty of help available.

Cons

One thing I'd really like to see improved is invoice page pagination since pages currently aren't paginated. Also, if interest gets added by mistake and then turned off before printing invoices, it would be better if the client wasn't still charged for the retroactive time while it had been active. A simple way to fully stop or toggle interest on and off would help. The extra step to remove that interest isn't awful but it could definitely be more convenient.

Pros

Having all our client documents and time entries in one place has been really helpful. The document search works well and being able to file similar documents saves time too. The built-in timer is another really useful feature for tracking billable hours. Overall Smokeball is simple to handle and feels very user friendly.

Cons

It can get pretty slow when working with larger documents although we were told that could happen. I also don't like that there's no way to apply Bates numbering to documents which slows down document production. It would also be helpful if there were a simple date calculator for docketing.

Pros

The response from their team is quick and genuinely helpful. The team provides practical solutions, assists with requests like customized reports and is very responsive overall. It also includes a good range of self-help resources and training options which has been really valuable for our team.

Cons

A few party fields in certain matter types could be more detailed to better match our firm's specific needs especially for conflict checks and party searches. We recently raised this suggestion and it was well received and forwarded to the appropriate team for consideration.

Pros

Whenever I need help, the customer support team gets back to me quickly and that really stands out.

Cons

Honestly I don't have anything I dislike about it.

Pros

It really helps everything move along more efficiently and keeps all the matter information right at your fingertips.

Cons

A few matter types still need more detail added and some options that would normally be available to select or toggle are missing.

Pros

So easy to use. The automatic time tracking has been especially helpful since billing is something I tend to fall behind on and it helps me make sure I'm charging accurately for all of my time. Customer support has also been outstanding, they're always available to assist and they provide extra resources whenever needed.

Cons

I haven't run into any major issues with it. If anything, I'd prefer the price to be a bit lower although considering how many features are included, it's still reasonable. I also don't use all of the forms so I'm not really getting the full benefit from that part of the system.

Pros

Being able to connect files, documents and events directly to a matter is really useful and keeps everything tied together in one place.

Cons

The billing side is a bit complex especially when it comes to handling GAL files.

Pros

One of the best parts of using it has been the support team. Emily has been absolutely fantastic!!!!

Cons

There are no downsides.

Pros

From the support and training side, this has been outstanding. The one-on-one help and guidance we've received from Emily has been priceless. She has been incredible about answering our questions and helping us make sure the entire staff is trained the right way.

Cons

Reporting is pretty inflexible and not easy to customize so we're constantly exporting multiple reports into Excel or Google Sheets and using queries or pivot tables just to get the data we need.

Pros

Over the past several months, we've been doing one-on-one training with Emily at Smokeball and she has been wonderful. She explains everything clearly and always makes sure we understand it. Every time we need extra help, she takes the time to walk us through it without rushing.

Cons

Getting comfortable with the CRM does take some time but the training provided is outstanding and really helps with the learning curve.

Pros

The automation features are a huge plus. Most tasks get handled with very little effort on our end.

Cons

PDFs can't be saved in a specific way. If I open a new PDF that didn't come through email, I have to download it to my computer first before doing anything with it. It's also inconvenient that I can't just drag and drop a file into Smokeball to save it.

Pros

Packed with useful features and being able to access files from my phone or from anywhere in the world is a huge plus. The automatic billing tool saves me a lot of time and the mail merge function works really well. Tech support has been outstanding and quick to respond whenever needed. They also provide plenty of training resources.

Cons

Billing comes with a pretty steep learning curve. I also wish the software included full accounting. I was told the Outlook calendar integration isn't working at the moment. Moving over from our old software has been less than ideal and is taking much longer than expected, with a few issues along the way. It's not perfect but I'm not sure any legal software really is. At times, the AI billing feels a bit too aggressive. Since it's still relatively new, I expect it will keep getting better over time.

Pros

Keeping everything organized is one of the best parts. It handles file organization really well, auto-files court forms and makes it simple to send emails to anyone connected to a matter. Document storage is very convenient and the bookkeeping tools automatically track the work I do on files which saves time. There are also lots of training videos available and the free one-on-one support has been really helpful.

Cons

I can't save a PDF straight into it. I'm also not a fan of having everything stored only in the cloud. It would be much better if there were an option to keep files in the cloud while also saving them to my desktop and syncing both. Another missing feature is a way to log or memorialize phone calls tied to a matter or at least I haven't been able to find one.

Pros

Once you get the basics down, it feels very user-friendly and works really well as an overall DMS. It serves as a one-stop place for keeping all of your client information together.

Cons

The reporting side is still frustrating. They keep rolling out new reports but the results can be disappointing and not being able to customize or manipulate the fields the way we need is a drawback.

Pros

Being new to it, I'm already really impressed by how thorough, efficient and smoothly connected the whole platform feels in every way I could have hoped for.

Cons

At this point, I honestly don't have any complaints. If anything, the only frustration is not having enough time in the day to keep learning how to use it even better and maximize our firm's workflow. I'm extremely impressed overall.

Pros

It is incredibly comprehensive. It holds a huge amount of information and having it connected with other sources, like mailing information, makes the software especially helpful.

Cons

There can be some trouble when using it alongside Excel. It has occasionally crashed while working on Excel spreadsheets and saving them into Smokeball.