--- description: Get information about HoudiniESQ price, usability & features from verified user experiences. Read reviews from Indian business users & discover similar tools. image: https://gdm-localsites-assets-gfprod.imgix.net/images/capterra/og_logo-e5a8c001ed0bd1bb922639230fcea71a.png?auto=format%2Cenhance%2Ccompress title: HoudiniESQ Price, Features, Reviews & Ratings - Capterra India --- Breadcrumb: [Home](/) > [Law Practice Management Software](/directory/20038/law-practice-management/software) > [HoudiniESQ](/software/112888/houdiniesq) # HoudiniESQ Canonical: https://www.capterra.in/software/112888/houdiniesq Page: 1 / 7\ Next: [Next page](https://www.capterra.in/software/112888/houdiniesq?page=2) > Integrates with LawPay, Word, Excel, Outlook, Evernote, QuickBooks, Acrobat, Calendar/Court Rules, WordPerfect \& Google. > > Verdict: Rated **4.1/5** by 141 users. Top-rated for **Likelihood to recommend**. ----- ## Overview ### Who Uses HoudiniESQ? Legal Departments and Law Offices ## Quick Stats & Ratings | Metric | Rating | Detail | | **Overall** | **4.1/5** | 141 Reviews | | Ease of Use | 3.9/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Customer Support Software | 4.4/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Value for Money | 4.4/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Features | 4.1/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Recommendation percentage | 80% | (8/10 Likelihood to recommend) | ## About the vendor - **Company**: LOGICBit - **Founded**: 2008 ## Commercial Context - **Starting Price**: $48.00 - **Pricing model**: Per User (Free version available) (Free Trial) - **Pricing Details**: 100% turnkey and FREE for Solo practitioners SaaS just $64 a month (your data resides in our data center) On-Premise $240 a year (your data resides within your firm's walls) Free support and all upgrades included. - **Target Audience**: Self Employed, 2–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–500, 501–1,000, 1,001–5,000, 5,001–10,000, 10,000+ - **Deployment & Platforms**: Cloud, SaaS, Web-based, Mac (Desktop), Windows (Desktop), Linux (Desktop), Windows (On-Premise), Linux (On-Premise), Android (Mobile), iPhone (Mobile), iPad (Mobile) - **Supported Languages**: English - **Available Countries**: Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, United Kingdom, United States ## Features - Access Controls/Permissions - Archiving & Retention - Billing & Invoicing - CRM Software - Calendar Management - Case Management software - Case Notes - Client Portal - Collaboration Tools - Document Classification - Document Generation Software - Document Management Software - Document Storage - Email Management Software - Expense Tracking - File Conversion - File Sharing Software - Full Text Search - Task Management Software - Time & Expense Tracking - Time Tracking Software - Version Control - Workflow Management Software ## Integrations (5 total) - 8am LawPay - Gmail - Microsoft 365 - Microsoft Outlook - Microsoft Word ## Support Options - Email/Help Desk - Knowledge Base Software - Phone Support ## Category - [Law Practice Management Software](https://www.capterra.in/directory/20038/law-practice-management/software) ## Related Categories - [Law Practice Management Software](https://www.capterra.in/directory/20038/law-practice-management/software) - [Legal Case Management Software](https://www.capterra.in/directory/20040/legal-case-management/software) - [Legal Document Management Software](https://www.capterra.in/directory/10049/legal-document-management/software) - [Legal Billing Software](https://www.capterra.in/directory/20039/legal-billing/software) - [Legal Calendar Software](https://www.capterra.in/directory/30577/legal-calendar/software) ## Alternatives 1. [Clio](https://www.capterra.in/software/105428/clio) — 4.7/5 (1691 reviews) 2. [Lexzur](https://www.capterra.in/software/146976/app4legal) — 4.6/5 (63 reviews) 3. [CosmoLex](https://www.capterra.in/software/18931/cosmolex) — 4.6/5 (340 reviews) 4. [LEAP](https://www.capterra.in/software/147413/leap) — 4.2/5 (529 reviews) 5. [Litify](https://www.capterra.in/software/160393/litify) — 4.4/5 (138 reviews) ## Reviews ### "HoudiniESQ: A promising case management program" — 4.0/5 > **Taras** | *14 January 2015* > > Overall, I am very satisfied with HoudiniESQ. I have used the one-account free version to manage the cases for my budding law firm for several months now. The program is relatively straight-forward. Many of the program's parameters can be readily customized, which I appreciate. Also, it can upgraded to accommodate my growing legal practice. Customer service is generally pretty on-point when it comes resolving occasional issues. Plus, the price can't be beat\! For a sole-proprietor like me, the fact that the program is offered free of charge for a one-seat account, was a big selling point when I was opening up my law firm. However, as with any case management program, there are a few drawbacks to HoudiniESQ that I would like to see corrected. For instance, some minor cleanup may be necessary when it comes to invoices. Presently, I have to limit the length of each task that I enter into HoudiniESQ for any given client because, if the task description is on the longer side, it will be cut off on my invoice, with a "..." appearing at the end. I wish that the program could simply carry over the rest of the task description to the line below. Also, there is another invoicing issue. More specifically, if a decide to not charge a client for a task, but still want to have the task appear on the invoice as a "no charge," I have to remember not to open up the task again after I put "0" for the charge about b/c, if I do, HoudiniESQ will automatically refill the charge amount per the going rate for the task, effectively overriding my override. Left unnoticed, this issue can cause MAJOR issues b/c the error tends to spill over to future invoices. Another issue that needs to be addressed has to do with calendaring. I regularly use Google Calendar for organization. But, almost immediately after syncing my HoudiniESQ with my Google Calendar, I had to turn off syncing. The problem was that syncing made all of my case tasks appear on my Google Calendar, regardless of whether the task was an upcoming hearing reminder or a notation that I received and read a letter from an opposing attorney. In effect, my Google Calendar became heavily cluttered, showing tasks that have no reason to be on my calendar. In short, I would like more control over the calendar syncing option and invoicing. I trust that these issues can be fixed in future updates. But, all-in-all, I am very happy with this program and I think that it shows great promise. Thank you, and keep up the good work\! ----- ### "The best there is but not for the entry level user" — 5.0/5 > **Scott** | *22 January 2015* > > Cons: HoudiniEsq has learning curve. This is not a terrible thing when all things are considered. The product is feature rich. It does a lot of things and does them very well but getting setup does take time. Since every organization has its own way of doing things it would be difficult to have a system that is customized to a particular preference out of the box. I think if there was a way to add custom fields or change labels directly on the forms instead of a admin panel it would really make the setup more intuitive. Pros: HoudiniEsq really shines when it comes to collecting data. You can customize the product. Fields can be added to Matters, Contacts and Events. You can have fields placed by the record's type, subtype and or status code. Fields only appear if they apply. This unclutters the screens. I love the fact that we can place fields based on a status code. As a case moves from one phase to another, new fields appear and the others are hidden. A huge benefit is the ability to create custom forms. Forms are child records of a matter. This enables us to collect a lot of very specific but repetitive information like injuries for each party without having to see hundreds of fields on screen. Each form neatly collects and displays this information. It deserves a mention that you can change practically any label in the system as well. Another area we are very pleased with is the ability to create templates that will merge data including custom fields. We can generate one document or several in a single shot. We like the ability to use these templates with the workflow automation feature to generate supporting docs automatically. The workflow automation feature isn't limited to docs. You can calendar events, send email, reminders and notifications. HoudiniEsq is worth a serious look. I would not suggest this product to a Solo although according to the HoudiniEsq LinkedIn group solos are very happy with it. HoudiniEsq isn't an entry level product like My Case or Clio. Simplicity isn't its mainstay it is the ability to handle the complex that sets it apart. If you wouldn't use Pro Law then you probably shouldn't consider HoudiniEsq. I'm not saying Solos should stay away, the solos who do use HoudiniEsq seem to be the enterprising upstarts who are growing their businesses quickly. Currently not for Solos, a con only if you need an entry level product. I give HoudiniEsq 5 stars overall because it really can do remarkable things. ----- ### "A good program that just hasn't kept up with the time" — 3.0/5 > **Stephen** | *14 January 2015* > > I used HoudiniEsq for about five months when I first opened my firm, and my experiences with it were a little mixed. The program itself is extremely powerful and has many features which can be used to automate a lot of billing and correspondence tasks... but only if you can figure out how to use them. Take billing, for example. Some of my clients are the typical "charge an up-front retainer, then bill by the hour" clients, and the billing settings were easily adapted to that use and would produce nice invocies relatively easily. However, a large portion of my clients are billed a flat-fee for my services, but I would still like to provide them with an itemized bill showing the hours I worked on their case. After days of experimenting, trying to make sense of the Houdini support documents, and just generally pulling my hair out I gave up. I couldn't make it work. Houdini does definitely excel in providing you with every option and feature under the sun. In my months working with it, I never came across a major feature which a competitor offered but Houdini didn't. But again, those features require you to learn how to use them. The user interface is, to put it kindly, dated and not very intuitive. The user experience, then, is more about learning Houdini's quirks of placement decisions and icon choice and adapting your use to it. Even after five months of use I still hadn't taught myself Houdini's interface well enough to really describe myself as "comfortable" with it. But then there's the feature that drew me in to begin with: The cost. For solo firms, Houdini is free of charge. Some people will warn you that you get what you pay for, but with Houdini that's not really true. You do, in fact, get a very full featured very powerful practice management suite for no cost at all to you. But you also get to adapt your working habits to its interface and workflow style, because it will not adapt to you. I consider myself quite computer savvy, I set up my own phone system for my office, but I still had a heck of a time figuring out how to make Houdini do some of what I knew it could do. So if you're a solo who's attracted by the price, but who doesn't have a lot of time to learn the quirks of the program, then you may be better off picking again. In the end, my final verdict on it is this: Houdini was, once, on-par with the other practice management options; but Houdini has failed to keep up with the times, and it shows in many ways. ----- ### "Review of HoudiniESQ" — 4.0/5 > **Bruce** | *14 January 2015* > > Pros: Platform independent and on-premise and cloud options. Features and included plugins Cloud services integration Browser interface. Scalable licensing. Multiple supported back-end database choices. Opportunity to architect legitimate HA and DR solutions. Cons: Adobe Flash as a front end is somewhat of a non sequitur. My experience with support has been measured in days. I've had to send follow up emails after no response for 3+ days to hopefully keep a support request alive. I'm currently on day 9 waiting for a response. I don't necessarily expect a solution, but I do expect a response; especially after multiple follow up emails. I've done some testing with "short codes" but the product feels a bit reliant on the mouse to navigate the interface and input data. The document storage architecture appears to only offer a single folder approach when storing files and templates. A nested physical folder structure is preferred and common in firms. Logical folders by matter, case type and doc type would be an advantage when dealing with many templates and files. This might also exclude the need to manually (re)assign and maintain the metadata assignments of all documents via the gui interface. Finally, the doc management approach requires full commitment to document access and management through the user interface and the provided plugins. Integration with a content management system or a scanning and imaging solution while possible via ECF, is a non-starter due to the required manual cloning of documents into IRIS The API while advertised as simple and easy to use appears to not have much if any documentation or reference material to support very simple proof of concept integrations Finally, the reputation of HoudiniESQ on the street is "it's one-man shop". Overall Impression: My overall impression of the product is good. I like the platform and the enterprise approach. The coverage of specific and general needs of many different law firms is impressive. Integrations are there for targeted solutions like Google,Dropbox,Evernote but integrations outside of those select few seem dependent upon the development pipeline. The full commitment required to IRIS with little to no opportunity to bring enterprise doc management/workflow automation to the solution is a little unnerving. Generally speaking the feel of the platform is constrained primarily by the UI and doc management. ----- ### "Does what it does better than the others..." — 5.0/5 > **Jeff** | *14 January 2015* > > (Full disclosure: I am an INDEPENDENT legal practice management consultant who chooses which products I want to work with... and a HoudiniEsq consultant - among others.) HoudiniEsq is one of a few legal practice management products that actually gets it: it will do a lot of end-user concepts (custom forms, triggers, document management/generation) better than any other legal practice management product. It also does a lot of the administration concepts (true relational database; updates that work and don't force you to roll back because they don't install properly, flexibility to run in almost any environment) very well too. HoudiniEsq makes it easy to capture and bill time; it allows firms the ability to create and store data on custom forms that provide the firm with the necessary data in order to function efficiently; it is intuitive and continues to add new features that mean something to the user base, and not just something a marketing guy thought would be great to list on a brochure - heck I don't even know if they have a "marketing guy"\! Mobility is probably it's strongest point: it can be accessed by a phone/tablet/laptop, and an iPhone app is in the works (currently it's biggest end-user request.) The list of what it doesn't do is a small list: besides the above-mentioned iPhone app, electronic billing is probably at the top. It continues to grow its list of end-user features, often because the developer listens to the requests that come directly from its users. And the price: FREE for solos? You cannot beat that deal. Add more users and pay more, but you are still paying for a product that works, and every time they make a product release the response from the user base is "Yes\!" and not "So what? Does this stuff actually work?" Want to write a check and not deal with updates, backups and server updates - go with the SaaS version and pay monthly. If you still prefer the idea of your data residing on your servers in your office, then go with the On-premise version. Not all practice management programs offer both options. While not perfect (no software is), it ranks at the top of my list when clients look for legal practice management software. ----- Page: 1 / 7\ Next: [Next page](https://www.capterra.in/software/112888/houdiniesq?page=2) ## Links - [View on Capterra](https://www.capterra.in/software/112888/houdiniesq) ## This page is available in the following languages | Locale | URL | | de | | | de-AT | | | de-CH | | | en | | | en-AE | | | en-AU | | | en-CA | | | en-GB | | | en-IE | | | en-IL | | | en-IN | | | en-NZ | | | en-SG | | | en-ZA | | | es | | | es-AR | | | es-CL | | | es-CO | | | es-CR | | | es-DO | | | es-EC | | | es-MX | | | es-PA | | | es-PE | | | fr | | | fr-BE | | | fr-CA | | | fr-LU | | | it | | | ja | | | nl | | | nl-BE | | | pt | | | pt-PT | | ----- ## Structured Data