Actionstep vs. Filevine

ActionStep is a powerful CRM and matter management tool. It provides many other good benefits too. For example powerful accounting and billing, time tracking and document management. Only in highly specific areas, like multiple many to many contact relations has it fallen short. But even in this highly specialized area, so many other benefits are provided that it hardly matters.

File Vine is well-suited because I believe it was invented to assist Law Firms with document organization for the legal cases collected in a Law Firm. It is easy to navigate and find your documents with a click of a button.

Incentivized

• The workflows are great to automate simple tasks like notifying people when an engagement letter is signed.
• Mobility. Because it's in the cloud it's easy to access from anywhere.
• The scratch pad is a good way to take quick notes.
• ActionStep lets you create custom fields so you can make sure the data you need is collected.

• Customization - you can easily add sections and fields
• Workato and Zapier integration works well - we can connect Filevine to a multitude of other platforms and services
• Texting and faxing is available across the entire platform
• Integration with Vinesign for e-signature completion

Incentivized

• ActionStep is difficult to setup. I suggest working with a consultant which increases cost.
• Needs mobile app.
• One of our practice areas, Property Law, request we have a many to many contact relation. ActionStep cannot accommodate this. However, no other software I have reviewed can do this either. ActionStep is the most robust that I have seen and comes closest to making this work.

• The PDF document editor can be easier when trying to save changes. Make a button that says save changes, instead of save file.
• The contacts can probably be more streamlined so that there are not multiple contacts for the same individual or business.
• Tasks should automatically be changed to a new individual in a parallel role when the file changes teams.

Incentivized

It has helped keep our cases well organized, our client contact up to date, and our to do lists to a minimum

Incentivized

Filevine is pretty user friendly. The interface looks good and it is relatively easy to navigate. I would identify as someone who is pretty tech savvy but for someone who isn't so experienced, Filevine is still very usable. Rarely do I come across an issue that I cannot find some alternate work around

Incentivized

I have worked with a lot of software. Each one has a different focus. ActionStep is better at workflow and task automation that the items above, in my opinion. However, having gone through many different deployments, what really matters is identifying your key requirements and needs. Then evaluation software against those. Once you have your requirements and software, focus on using that software to fix issues in existing workflow. This, when compared with ongoing training, is what it means to invest in software. Simply purchasing ActionStep or any software without identifying needs, problems in workflow or an investment in training is not a good plan. Neither is comparing the vendors to one another without knowing all of your specific needs.

I’ve tried Clio, MyCase, and PracticePanther. Clio is super user-friendly with lots of integrations, MyCase is great for billing and communication but more limited on automation, and PracticePanther is easy to use but not as strong on reporting. Compared to them, Filevine feels more customizable and workflow-focused, though it does take more time to learn.

Incentivized

• I love the workflows that can be deployed for practice areas to ensure consistency. This has reduced new employee onboarding time and increased the speed at which we can complete matters.
• Since ActionStep lives in the cloud, and we have O365 our firm is very mobile without spending lots of money in TS or other such infrastructure.
• Creating the workflows is a bit complex, so this increases the overall cost and makes an ROI take longer. I suggest spending a bit more initially to get everything setup and working with a consultant to learn how to do this on your own during that initial setup.

• Allows much attention to detail on many cases. We can handle more cases more easily. Revenue is up for several years by at least 25%
• Better client communication and less expensive with texting from the file. Less expense than letters. Reduction in letterhead and postage costs of at least $2000 per year. Emailed letters may not be noticed as quickly but text messages are.
• Less time on billing. Saves on our bookkeeper tasks making it more part time and allows paralegal tasks to be added for this person increasing productivity.

Incentivized