Avis clients sur OfficeTools

Great software, could use some improvements

Commentaires : Having all my firms client info in one place. Being able to track projects through the office.

Avantages :

I like having everything tied together, having all a single client's info in one place, being able to link related clients, have all notes in one place, etc.

Inconvénients :

There are some bugs, it's also a very hefty program so it sometimes runs slow on our aging server. Also it's pretty complex to learn and some features are counterintuitive.

Without this software our office wouldn't be able to function.

Commentaires : keeping everything straight. with so many clients and "projects" its imperative to know where everything stands. who has it, whats being done, whats missing, etc. having the documents in the system attached to everything (be it a meeting, a call a project) is a huge positive.

Avantages :

Everything you need to know about any client, contact, etc. is all in one place. whether it be an email, a phone message, document, meeting notes, client files, projects, time and billing. we can research anything and find anything on them. one stop shopping.

From HORRIBLE OfficeTools moved to TaxDome

Commentaires : HORRIBLE software!

Avantages :

ABSOLUTELY ZERO. At the time OfficeTools seemed like the only practice management software that could consolidate some of our management software. Was interested in the Lacerte sync function, but it's basically useless. Every year you have to wait for the developers to fix the sync, usually this is done after tax season haha. So adding new clients to Lacerte and expecting them to sync to OfficeTools is a joke.

Inconvénients :

Too many to list. Stone age program that needs to be taken out to pasture. STAY AWAY!

OTP is relatively easy to use. It is quite forgiving.

Commentaires : Much easier for billing purposes, tracking projects and allowed us to reduce the number of software products used in a day.

Avantages :

Quick and easy entering new contacts. Many ways to classify and group contacts. I'm also a big fan of the "bill to contact" feature. It's easy to focus on the clients you need to contact.

Inconvénients :

Only one email can be utilized per contact. Not easily managed when contact name has to change and they often do in cases of marriage, divorce, death of one of a couple or sale of company etc.

Fantastic Software

Commentaires : I think the interactivity of this program makes it a winner and puts it at the forefront of innovating in its industry.

Avantages :

All client information is available to each member of the team, and viewing the progress of the tasks being completed is very easy. In a virtual environment it has become more important to be able to monitor one another on a team without “micromanaging” and constantly having status meetings, so this is fabulous.

Inconvénients :

Sometimes the video tutorials are a bit confusing, so I prefer speaking to someone through the phone support. Reading the articles isn’t as self explanatory as it is made out to be, but this can be different based on who is using this software.

Could be a good product but no customer service to help you realize its potential.

Commentaires : Trying to get answers to specific questions is futile. There is no attempt to identify a problem. They are dismissive if they have never seen it before . As you show them, on your screen, what the problem is and ask for a solution you get - "you need the newest update, that will get rid of the problem" or "it is your fault" or my personal favourite - "that doesn't happen" as they watch it happening on the screen.

Avantages :

Love the time feature. It is easy to record the time you spend on a file. You can have multiple timers going to track clients that you have stopped working on while you answer the phone, or wait for info from them. Our billings went up 20 % immediately because we were keeping track of our time better. The project management is great as long as everyone is vigilant about tracking their files. It is a constant challenge to get employees to record the movement of a project but constant vigilance and discussion gets the point across to new staff quickly.

Inconvénients :

There is no follow up on queries, compliments or complaints. They only call if they want to sell you more. It could be a great product if the customer service was there. Someone that will look at the problems and discuss possible solutions or a work around. But that doesn't happen so thank you Capterra for giving us alternatives to look into.

Hard to find any other option that's as simple and powerful.

Commentaires : Great office hub.

Avantages :

70-80% of the features provided are very easy to use and very intuitive. The navigation getting from task to documents to calendar etc is super easy. You feel like a power user almost right away. Documents and the portal system are easy to use and very intuitive. Same with ToDo's, Calls, and schedules. Instant success. Billing is easy at it's basic level but as you get into options and features it can take some time. A fair trade off for the feature set. Time tracking is available for evey screen in the software so that's great.

Inconvénients :

They have an amazing base product. They need to stop shooting them selves in the foot on updates, new feature roll out and customer relations. Examples are: 1. Pacific time support hours only. If your on the east coast and you have a problem in the morning, you get to deal with it until 11am. That's a problem. 2. No user community. Facebook and linked in are not user communities. They need to have a place for users to gather, ask and answer questions, and post information about services and updates so users can be informed. 3. Being proactive when there is a system wide issues. Like every software company, things happen from time to time. I have no problem with that. But when it does there should be an e-mail alert to all users and it should be posted in the user community. I should not have to check face book on the off chance something is posted. 4. Loosen control of system variables. The report function, which is very good, hits strong limits when you can only access certain variables from the system depending on the report type. There is no reason to limit access to variables. Multiple reps from inside the company agree with this and have for years, yet no change. 5. Online helps and training. Office tools has some excellent online videos and resources for using their software. But they tend to not be updated regularly and are hit and miss on what they cover and what they don't. There is little consistency in online help. 6. Out of room!!!

Workflow that works for us!

Commentaires : Excellent -- we rely on it to keep our systems working. It offers a lot of functionality including communication among the office and ease of retrieving prior information.

Avantages :

We appreciate the ability to have one software that provides so much utility -- Contact info, Notes, Documents, Projects, Calls, etc

Inconvénients :

There is a learning curve on how to use the software fully. And the reports are a bit difficult to decipher.

Office Tools has been a very practice management tool for our firm

Avantages :

The product has a lot of features that made the implementation in the first year wonderful. The support staff was great and easy to access. Ease of use, reporting, billing features

Inconvénients :

40% + cost increase for the new year. The Lacerte software integration did not work very well. There are issues that could not be resolved with the multi-firm features of the product

Good product, but not always cost-effective for smaller firms

Avantages :

easy integration with various programs, easy to use portal and effective DMS system. Add to the easy of setting up the annual engagements and you have a great system.

Inconvénients :

Least is the cost and required training. further, the program is not yet Cloud-ready. also, the server-based DMS does not provide for security of the data files

Disappointed

Commentaires : Support - was a joke in year 1 of our contract. It took at least 3-5 days or more for someone to get back to us. One day I got lucky and [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] called me. She is the best asset your company has. She knows how to provide support. I even tracked down someone at the Abacus Next Conference to make sure they knew how valuable she was. Shortly after, [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] had to inform me that I was no longer allowed to email her directly and I had to go through the ticket system. I complied with her request and now I'm back to hating your support. I know we are just a little guy in your eyes. I am the type of person when I love something I tell everyone about it. I also tell everyone when something is not right. I could never refer your product. We will be switching to another product as soon as we can.

Avantages :

Firm has been using for 4-5 years. It has served us well and we use most of the functionality.

Inconvénients :

Lack of technology development. When it was announced there was a QB online integration we were very excited and converted. Our 150 clients are on QBO, however we remain on the desktop version due to Office Tools. We then learned it does not integrate with QBO Accountant. We then had to convert back to QB desktop version as it was our only option. We patiently stuck with Office Tools on the belief that the software would continue to be developed and evolve. At this point we wished we had not signed our last 3 year contract. With the signing of the 3 year contract we were given/comped 3 hours for training. When we went to use them we were told those hours had to be used in the first year - WHICH WAS NOT TOLD TO US. I had our sales rep check into it and the "board" advised the hours were expired. WOW was I shocked. I had never been given something from a company that was complimentary to then not advise me that the hours had to be used in the first year. Who ever made this decision just made our final decision for us. We will NOT be renewing our software when the contract ends. Too many disappointments.

Fine for us, for now

Commentaires : I can't easily get reports I feel I should be able to get. Such as all clients who came to us in 2020. If that is possible I don't know how. I find the training to be less than helpful. I've watched videos, but they frequently don't look like the product I'm using and never seem to be to the point. If I could easily switch to another product I would likely do so. But my information is captured in Office Tools and I can't get it out and don't want to lose it. So I'm stuck.

Avantages :

The software does a good job of keeping our database of clients and their personal data. We use the Contacts features, Notes, ToDos, Calls and Schedule features. We do not use the other features such as Projects.

Inconvénients :

I think it's expensive for the features we use. I think it is better suited to a larger organization who want communication among users who are not in the same office together. I have difficulty getting out letters and distinct lists of information. If you don't do those tasks very frequently you forget the process and it takes too long. As with every database it take constant and I mean constant updating. In the midst of a busy time we do not have the time to keep the database up to date so every few months I have to give a chunk of time to getting it back to rights.

Product has gone downhill fast - no support

Commentaires : used for over 10 years. product is not supported by abacus (or caret). if you have a question or problem, you get foreign tech support you cannot understand. now, 90% of the time they tell you it is a training issue!

Avantages :

all in one crm that linked with lacerte tax software.

Inconvénients :

support! functions offered when purchased are no longer supported. lacerte link, crexendo (voip) link. link with microsoft exchange is only work sometimes. their merchant services are terrible. document management is terrible. portal is a joke.

Been working with Office Tools for nearly 14 years now

Commentaires : We use Office Tools for our companies billing, tracking time, tracking our projects for our clients and for our scheduling appointments with clients. We have used this product for nearly 14 years and it helps our office run smoothly. We have access to each others schedules and daily tasks. Everything is right at our fingertips.

Avantages :

I really love that it is user friendly. It really helps keep me on track with my tasks with all the projects that have been assigned to me and when it was assigned. It really helps me not forget about projects. I love all the available reports that you can print. There are reports to help track or Work in process and reconcile our billing and many many more.

Inconvénients :

There is not any thing really in particular right now that I would say I least like about the software. I find that if I have an issue with the software I can call technical support and they are always very helpful.

I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you all know about exceptional customer service.

Avantages :

I'm a long time Office Tools user who was MAD when I got my renewal quote. The quote included 2 more users than our small firm has, and I misunderstood it to mean that you only offered the program with a minimum of 5 users.  The initial quote represented a 162% increase over the prior year and I was informed that the Office Tools user agreement, we would lose access to our data once the subscription expired. I immediately went shopping for alternatives.  Long story short, he was willing to work with me despite my very vocal displeasure. He was very professional and took the time to answer all my questions thoroughly, as result he helped you retain a long time customer. FYI, I'm very happy to learn that under Abacus's user agreement, we'll retain read-only access after the expiration of our subscription.

Inconvénients :

I do not feel there are any cons worth mentioning at this time, or things I like the least about the software

We've used OfficeTools for last 3 years and find it very effective in our client relations.

Commentaires : Client info concentrated in one area. Easy classification of documents/emails for later retrieval. Accountant info can be specific to Project.

Avantages :

Projects allow us to ensure that Corporate info, Bookkeeping info and Personal Tax info gets properly sorted. Our use of Outlook Sync also ensures that our Office365 Inbox and Sent folders are captured to client's communication. Many shared documents are quickly categorized allowing for a quick, specific search of information.

Inconvénients :

Invoicing module currently only links to Quickbooks desktop for bookkeeping and we've been using Quickbooks Online for past 4 years. Support Team doesn't always comprehend our "real-life" situations and how we need to operate - thus leaving us not able to use OfficeTools to its full potential.

Great product; horrible experience with new owners

Commentaires : Originally used Cloud9 to host all applications, AbacusNext bought Cloud9 and pushed to have users move to APC Cloud. Horrible experience - see reviews for AbacusNext. Also used OfficeTools which was purchased in 2017 by AbacusNext. AbacusNext would not let me renew my OfficeTools licenses because I no longer hosted my other apps on APC Cloud, even though I moved away from AbacusNext legally and ethically. They held me hostage as Abacus gave no prior notice that they would not renew my OfficeTools license. Ended up without a practice management software for 3 months while I searched for and implemented a new one.

Avantages :

It's a great practice management software for small accounting firms; workflows, reminders, time & expense all good

Inconvénients :

When AbacusNext bought out OfficeTools the culture and professionalism went down the toilet.

Office Tools

Commentaires : For the most part we are pleased with the functionality of Office Tools. The help sections needs to have a few more topics that it will help with.

Avantages :

It makes organizing files very easy. There are money sort options to choose from when searching for documents. The time tracker is really useful when working on large accounts.

Inconvénients :

It does not require an account to have a designated number. It stores information by the name on the account. If there is ever a name change, (such as with a marriage or divorce) all documents assigned to the original name disappear. Also in the billing feature, there is no report that you can run that will let you search by a specific invoice number.

Do Yourself a Favor and Avoid this Software

Commentaires : I don't recommend them. Poor customer service, no resolution to issues.

Avantages :

In the beginning, this software was great. Great user-friendly product, had some shortcomings with projects and tasks, but it was workable.

Inconvénients :

It has some major glitches they take no responsibility for. We lost like a hundred clients' information. All documents. Office Tools blamed it on us. They said that we had used all caps for the names of the clients, (which they never advised us on) and that had caused the software to malfunction. Customer service and management made no effort to correct the situation. They just wiped their hands clean by saying it was out mistake.

Great software for CPA firm to keep organized.

Commentaires : Overall experience has beeen great! We are learning new things every day that we can accomplish with Office Tools and it’s been very beneficial to our growing accounting firm.

Avantages :

It does everything from scheduling, time tracking, document organization to project management. All of our clients information is together in once place and every one in our office has access to it. I can see who has worked on which projects, for how long and when they’ve been completed. It also tracks our invoicing and will sync emails to each clients document folder which is super helpful!

Inconvénients :

Access to all of the features can be modified for each employee, however changing it to allow access isn’t very clear and doesn’t give detail on what it allows them access to. Overall great software!

Office Tools - Good for Small Companies

Commentaires : I had a very positive experience with Office Tools. It was very easy to use and could store a lot of data. Opening, copying, and saving documents was also very efficient

Avantages :

I liked how user friendly the software was. It was easy to store and save data as well as track workflows.

Inconvénients :

Creating workflows wasn't very intuitive

Office Tools

Commentaires : Not the best experience but could be worse.

Avantages :

This software has all the vital functions you would expect. Invoicing, Billing, Project Management, File Storage

Inconvénients :

This software is constantly freezing and giving error messages.

Great Program When it works

Commentaires : It was initially great integrating one CRM database between QB/Lacerte. Recent updates has caused the office staff to update multiple databases which increased error rates of different client information in OTPS and QB and Lacerte. Prior to the update we would update one database.

Avantages :

The database it creates and the custom project tracking for accountants and tax offices

Inconvénients :

Customer support and the ballooning cost year over year. The more I pay the quality of the support goes down as well as the ability/reliability to synch with other software

Overall the program works well.

Avantages :

Project tracking and shared calenders

Inconvénients :

Users must have admin control over calendars to view them. It seems users need admin control to do just about anything if it involves other users. We sometimes hire temps. We need them to view the calendar and contacts but we don't trust them to edit them. We have had a number of appointments moved by mistake. We aren't notified about updated until we call in with a problem and are then told they will send us the update. Why aren't the updates pushed out?

All in one solution

Avantages :

What I love about this suite is that it includes a bunch of software that you would typically need for billing, invoicing, tax, etc., and provides them in a nice one-stop-shop package. All offerings are well integrated with each other and handle simple to complex scenarios. My most used and I think their best feature is their invoicing. Very easy to customize, apply markup, and set up for an ad-hoc or a reoccurring subscription.

Inconvénients :

If you are only planning on using the basic functionality, then you will get a big sticker shock. This product is very expensive, especially for a small business. Also, make sure you set a reminder before renewals. They add you to auto-renewals without specifically notifying you.