Actionstep vs. CosmoLex

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.

CosmoLex is very well suited for the solo or small practice where you just need a little more backup to keep you organized, or where you still intend to do your own taxes or like to have a lot of control over your activity and your output. It may also be well suited for a larger practice where the task management pieces would be more useful but, a lot of those pieces get in the way in a solo practice. It is also great for anyone who wants a strong trust accounting program built into their daily activities.

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.

• Cloud-based - accessible from anywhere.
• Very easy to get started.
• Intuitive user interface (for the most part).
• No need for separate accounting software.
• Check printing is very easy and smooth, especially when printing multiple checks.
• Flexibility to integrate with other software to import billing.

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.

• Sometimes difficult to find what you want on the clunky interface.
• Would be beneficial to offer a pared down version for solo practitioners
• Accounts payable function is weak.

Incentivized

There is far too much reliance on symbols versus words, and it is sometimes difficult to navigate to the function you need. CosmoLex offers great support, knowledge base, and training, but sometimes you just don't have an hour to spend learning how to do a basic function that you have forgotten, and you just need it to WORK. It would be great to have the option of having word labels instead of picture symbols. It would also be great to have full functionality in the smartphone app. It just is not good. Not good. Pretty much everything keeping me tied to CosmoLex is on the money management side.

Incentivized

I think that CosmoLex actually relies so much on its stellar support infrastructure that it forgets we don't actually want to have to use it. Just make the darn thing easier to navigate and understand, and you won't need all that client-facing support. You can choose chat, email, phone, knowledge base, embedded training videos within the different pages, but darn it all, I just want it to be more intuitive instead.

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 used CosmoLex over PC Law mostly because it was cloud-based, and I used it over Clio because the accounting for Clio required the use of both Clio and QuickBooks which made for very inefficient data entry. CosmoLex is slower than PCLaw when inputting entries, but I believe that in the long run, it will be better as CosmoLex is better situated to move forward with new technology.

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.

• Time is the greatest factor when it comes to managing and creating documents and client accounts.
• Tracking client data.