Clio Reviews

Clio simplifies docketing, billing and keeping client files organized, offering streamlined processes and automation that significantly reduce administrative overhead.

My least favorite aspect of Clio is the separation between Clio Manage and Clio Grow. These platforms offer complementary features essential for client file management and intake processes, yet their division necessitates two separate subscriptions. This separation not only increases costs but also complicates what could be a more streamlined workflow.

I have nothing positive to say about Clio at this time. Integrating our firm into their software was a major learning experience, which will guide me with the next software I choose.

The items added in the time that we have been with Clio have caused no improvement to our use of the product, although they use these additions as an excuse for raising their prices significantly. The "client portal" that they added does not even allow you to see if clients have viewed documents, which their old version did. Their new payment system only adds to their profits, so why would they utilize that as an excuse to pass on additional costs to their clients?

The Clio platform was very easy to implement with our firm's daily usage. The onboarding process was smooth and the learning and transition for staff were easy. The software is meeting our firm's needs on a daily basis. I also appreciate that they listen to suggestions and continue to improve and add features throughout the year. Clio has allowed our monthly billing process to go from a day-long process to an hour process.

Some of the reporting features need to be fine-tuned or added to. My biggest pet peeve is the limit of 50 items to a page, so you update to 200 but it defaults back to 50 every time you move around between pages.

The software is easy to use and understand. The transition to Clio from our previous system was relatively seamless and the customer service is fantastic. I like that we can share documents with our clients and are able to see what date and time a client viewed each document. It is also extremely convenient to have our documents stored in Clio so that they can be viewed when we are not physically in the office.

It would be nice if you could integrate notes from a contact directly into a new matter as you are opening one. Currently, I have to copy and paste each note from the contact into the matter notes. Also, when I put in messages for Mr. Chefalo on people he needs to call back I make a task for him. When he views the tasks on his cell phone, it would be nice if he could simple tap on the phone number in the task and have it directly call the number as opposed to him having to type the number in on his cell phone to make the call. Finally, a client suggested that it would be nice if he had the option to opt in to receiving text messages from Clio any time we share a document with him or generate a bill on his matter.

There is no such thing as a perfect legal case management software. There is nothing that is going to do everything the way you want it and Clio is no different. However, clio has numerous thrid party integrations. If this software doesn't do something there is probably something else out there that will fill in the gaps. However, what really makes clio great is its easy to use Open API. I have a saying with automation. Where there is a will there is a way and this API makes that possible. If there is something you want to have done or want to automate Clio's open API makes it possible.

There reporting could use some work although they have made some improvements. Some of their bigger improvements can take a lot of time. However, there are always making consistent and regular improvements. It does seem like at times they will make a partial release but complete release or complete functionality can take a back seat.

I love the simplicity and flexibility of Clio. It is very user friendly and the way it looks is very neat. It does not take long to work out exactly what you are looking at and what it all means. For me personally, I do a lot of billing and compared with a previous software package, Clio has saved me a lot of time and it's really easy to keep track of where you are as it automatically incorporates a workflow. Also, setting up new cases is easy and flexible. You are easily able to incorporate your own requirements and information.

This is quite specific but for us, the biggest drawback is not being able to present the invoice in exactly the way we want (i.e. a front cover summary of figures without the time description wording). There is a lot of flexibility on the invoices which is great but the one thing we can't do is take the wording away from the first page. Our company like to keep the first page of the invoice very simple and clear and then have the narrative on the following pages. We understand, however, that this is being developed by Clio and should be rolled out some time in the next couple of months or so.

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​.

- Easy to use and learn
- Easy to show others to use
- Really easy billing features
- Great organization
- The Notes feature is fantastic and replaces any need for docketing and memos to file
- The "add time" feature makes it easy to keep track of billings and what's to go on the next invoice
- The linking of contacts to files is a time saver
- The Calendar is easy to use and does what you need it to
- The accounting that exists is great for keeping track of the movement of money directly connected with a file. It has helped keep my trust accounting immaculate. IT also helps me keep track of expenses associated with each file.

Clio is fantastic and the best solution I've been able to find, and I've done a lot of searching both before and after buying Clio. That said, Clio seems half finished in some areas and I'm hoping more work will come.

- The accounting is adequate, but should go a lot further than it does. I would love an integrated cheque writing program, for example.

- I don't know why you can't have more than one client per file. It's a small thing, but it bugs me. I put additional clients in the "contact" list associated with the file, and just pick one as a primary client to list. It doesn't matter, but again, it's a weird oversight.

- The firm metrics is a great idea, but it seems half finished. I don't know why, but it doesn't save stuff year to year and just dumps the information. There's also a dramatic lack of ability to customize things. This is frequent in some of Clio's features, such as how to list matters or client names. It's not a deal breaker, but it's a weird thing to not make more usable.

Overall, Clio is a fantastic program and I don't know how I'd run my practice without it. It's a lot better than everything else I've tried. I just wish the damn thing integrated with more programs and capabilities, and that they just expanded on it. I think the reason why it's frustrating is because it's so close to being sort of perfect, and they just don't go far enough. Hopefully they'll keep adding to it and raise it to that level!

It's definitely worth the buy.

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.

What is not to LOVE about Clio? The platform itself is intuitive, efficient, and has become essential to effectively running my organization. Even features that have not been particularly relevant to my practice (non-profit sector) have either already been updated to be more relevant (Clio for Legal Aid) or are in the process of being updated.

Beyond the practicalness of the product itself, Clio is a company that is visably devoted to their staff, clients, and mission. Passion for the practice of law is one thing, passion for the humans who choose to practice law is another. Clio's client-centered approach sets them apart from their competition in this regard.

We have been using an ACCESS Database to process our claims (non-profit sector) for more than two decades. I would love to use the billing/invoice features offered through Clio but, they are not yet granular enough to fully transition us out of ACCESS.

I like Clio's simplicity and intuitiveness best. It really is the easiest time management program I have used. If you want to get up and running, like, literally, now, you can purchase Clio online with a push of a button and have open matters and clients/contact in minutes. I originally chose this product 5+ years ago for a small firm I manage, after looking at most of the online time management products on the market. I chose it specifically because it seemed the easiest in which to enter time. One of the attys I work with isn't great with a keyboard. Clio time entry required the least amount of effort, was the easiest to navigate and simplest to look at. But after using Clio, as well as, other online time management products (I manage a few small law firms), I really appreciate the easy of creating and EDITING invoices, which I do extensively at my firms. Lastly, I recently utilized Clio's FREE migration services to move from another online software, which I did not like. The migration took one hour on the phone, one day for them to migrate, and was pretty seamless! I've migrated data a few times (Prolaw and CosmoLex) and this was by FAR the easiest. The customer service is always great, even though I don't have to use it often because Clio is so simple to use.

Only 1. I haven't mastered LEDES ebililng on Clio yet. At one of my firms, we do only LEDES98 ebilling. If you don't know what this is, stop reading, you will not experience this minor Con. I am having trouble perfecting the LEDES98 txt files and uploading them. Granted, this is my first month of e-billing on Clio at this firm, so I'm sure customer service will correct it for me. It's just that a few other time management programs I have used had no LEDES glitches and uploaded perfectly the first time.

The price is also high for small firms. But all online billing programs are.

Clio used to have responsive and helpful customer support, but that was years ago! It was once easy to track and link payments to client matters, run useful reports, and handle cloud-based documents, but recently the software has seen nothing but bugs.

Clio is plagued with bugs and its cloud-based document system stops working entirely every few weeks or so, requiring a complete reinstallation of the desktop launcher. Clio also, without any notice at all, removed certain features that allowed for the linking of card payments from Clio Scheduler (a sister program), retroactively recharacterizing ALL prior card payments in a completely different manner and ruining my firm's entire accounting system overnight. Clio tech support is worthless and is never aware of any issues brought up to them about the software, no matter how debilitating the issue may be, and they endlessly put you on hold to "talk ton their team" while stalling and asking for more screenshots of the issue, only to tell you a week later that they can't help you. The software has fallen far from grace and serves only to be a very expensive patchwork of buggy integrations, paired with tech support that doesn't understand any of the details of their own program.