TechnoLawyer member Dana Yaffee writes:
"I bought PCLaw to go with Amicus Attorney and think it is more sophisticated than what is necessary for a solo practitioner. I have been looking for something less complex and the consensus from colleagues is that Quickbooks integrates pretty well with most of the case management software programs. Many bookkeepers are familiar with Quickbooks and Timeslips, if you are planning to farm out your billing activities."
Kent L. Davis responded:
"I agree with TechnoLawyer member Dana Yaffee regarding the depth of features available in PCLaw may be disadvantageous to some firms. I also wish to confirm that QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier do an adequate job of time and billing and accounting functions.... Unfortunately, some tasks, such as trust accounting and client cost allocation are a bit awkward and require some expertise to configure the "QuickBooks" way to make everything work...."
Stephen P. Wing wrote:
"I am a long time user of PCLaw, but I recently had an opportunity to load and try out the network version of QuickBooks Enterprise. Although I have serious complaints about the immutable and non-modifiable accounting rules built into PCLaw, I still find it much easier to use and more functional than QuickBooks...."
I have used both programs at two different firms within the past two years. I agree with earlier posts — unless you are an expert in QuickBooks (which I quickly became) and know how to run customized reports, the escrow feature was very difficult to use. Reports on attorney time and profits were also difficult to run without including attorney initials in the client's name, and many times I still ran many reports with my good old calculator.
My current firm uses PCLaw only for bookkeeping and billing, and it has made the process much simpler. I can assign attorneys to files and run reports on hours and/or disbursements without customizing a report. I can make a payment from the escrow account to the general account in a few simple mouse clicks. What used to be very difficult, has become much easier using PCLaw.
I must also say that I did like QuickBooks Payroll Service very much, but I cannot compare that to PCLaw as this firm uses a payroll service. QuickBooks updated tax charts in a timely fashion and I was able to run many reports on employee hours and salaries (again, by maniuplating the customized reports).
Cathy Furlani
Law Offices of Steinberg & Symer, LLP
[Publisher's Note: Learn more about PCLaw and QuickBooks. — Sara Skiff]
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