Actionstep vs. Referent Comparison Chart

8am™ is business management software for professional service firms designed to help law firms, accounting firms, and other professional services organizations run more efficiently from client intake to payment. Bringing together trusted products like LawPay, MyCase, CasePeer, DocketWise, CPACharge, and ClientPay, the platform delivers a unified solution for practice management, case management, document management, billing and invoicing, payment processing, accounting, and financial reporting. With enterprise-grade security, seamless integrations, and award-winning support, the platform empowers professional service firms to work smarter—not harder. Over 260,000 professionals and 175+ associations trust 8am technology to power their practices, simplify operations, and drive sustainable growth.

Create a repeatable process you can set and forget with Lawmatics law office intake form templates. Spend time on the most valuable tasks and let your legal CRM handle your client intake and marketing efforts. Our CRM for lawyers enables you to not only connect with new clients, but re-engage with your collected database of past clients with law firm documentation automation. Keep your firm at arm’s reach for them when a new opportunity arises. Workflow automation for law firms is the simplest way to create a new stream of revenue! Implement automated follow-ups to ensure that you respond to potential clients immediately with our all-in-one legal CRM. Don't let anyone fall through the cracks. Your clients will be impressed by your organized and tech-savvy methods for handling their case from the minute they reach out to your firm. From easy & instant esign for legal documents, to automatic follow-ups, our software delivers a cutting-edge approach that will WOW your clients.

Canopy is award-winning, all-in-one accounting practice management software designed to help tax, bookkeeping, and CPA firms build an autonomous firm. Operating as a firm-wide operating system, Canopy eliminates the friction and security risks of running a practice across disconnected software tools by centralizing client management (CRM), document management, workflow automation, time and billing, proposals, engagements, and tax resolution into a single cloud-native platform under one login. By providing one unified workspace, Canopy enables accounting professionals and firm leaders of all sizes to manage their entire practice with total visibility, clear operational structure, and predictable profitability. Key capabilities include: Canopy Coworker & Everywhere AI: Utilize built-in AI assistant tools to draft client communications, summarize complex documents, and surface actionable insights across your practice to reduce daily administrative load. Canopy Notetaker: Automate meeting documentation. This dedicated assistant records, transcribes, and extracts action items from client calls, syncing every detail directly to the client record. Client Management & Portal: Provide a modern digital front door for your firm. The secure client portal enables real-time collaboration, document sharing, eSignatures, and intake forms backed by a robust CRM. Workflow Automation: Build a self-running firm with customizable templates and automated recurring work steps while tracking team capacity and project progress in real time. Document Storage & Management: Centralize client files securely. Clients upload documents directly through their portal, removing email risks and reducing back-and-forth messaging. Engagements & Proposals: Deliver professional, branded engagement agreements with custom pricing, recurring billing structures, and clear terms of service to eliminate scope creep. Time & Billing: Automate your revenue cycle with integrated time tracking, automated invoicing, and faster online payment options. Tax Resolution & IRS Transcripts: Manage tax-specific services by accessing IRS transcripts, notices, and resolution forms directly inside your practice management workspace. Unite your practice into one firm-wide operating system and increase capacity without adding software complexity. Learn more at getcanopy.com.

Shape is purpose-built sales and marketing automation software that comes with pre-built features that can be configured for any business. The easy-to-use interface empowers your teams and consolidates all aspects of your business in one AI platform. Shape provides a collaborative space for your teams to stay aligned and efficient in everything they do, whether it's streamlining your sales pipeline, engaging more prospects with marketing sequences and digital ads, nurturing customer relationships, communicating seamlessly, or tracking projects. Start growing your revenue with Shape's suite of services today.

Save 80% for 4 months on Xero's award-winning accounting and online bookkeeping platform for businesses of all sizes and stages of growth. Beautifully simple, Xero covers a wide range of features that help businesses manage their finances effortlessly, including invoicing, inventory, bank connections, payroll, reporting and more. Xero also offers users free online support 24/7. Xero offers a robust ecosystem of connected apps and integrations with banks and financial institutions, enabling small businesses to access a wide range of solutions within Xero's open platform to streamline operations and manage finances. Additionally, accounting and bookkeeping firms benefit from efficient compliance tools, advanced practice management software, and a cloud-based unified accounting ledger for all clients, centralized in one place.

Filevine, powered by LOIS, is an AI-driven legal intelligence platform designed to provide a unified system of truth for modern legal practices. It connects data, documents, workflows, and teams into a single, cohesive environment. The platform enables legal professionals to verify facts, prepare depositions, and manage cases more efficiently. LOIS delivers contextual insights by analyzing the entire matter lifecycle in one place. It supports functions such as document management, contract management, and billing within a centralized workspace. The system is built to enhance decision-making by providing accurate and actionable intelligence. Its AI capabilities help automate workflows and streamline legal operations. Overall, Filevine empowers organizations to improve productivity and achieve better legal outcomes.

LegalEdge is a comprehensive case management software platform designed specifically for government legal organizations. It offers dedicated solutions for prosecutors, public defenders, and agency or municipal attorneys. The platform supports the full lifecycle of legal cases, helping teams manage case data, documents, people, and workflows efficiently. LegalEdge is built as a fully server-side application, allowing secure access from any device without client-side installations. Mobile access enables attorneys and investigators to work seamlessly from courtrooms, offices, or remote locations. Integrated data capabilities reduce duplicate data entry across criminal justice systems. LegalEdge focuses on delivering robust functionality while helping agencies control costs.

Creatio is an AI CRM and workflow platform where people and AI agents work together — with no limits on users, agents, workflows, or scale. Built for midsize and large organizations, it combines best-in-class CRM across sales, marketing, and service with an AI-native, no-code engine that lets business teams automate workflows, deploy AI agents, and adapt processes without developer dependency. The platform includes Creatio Business Studio for building applications and AI agents using natural language and visual designers, and Creatio AI Studio — a dedicated environment for managing the full enterprise agent lifecycle, from building and deploying to governing and optimizing agents at scale. The AI CRM suite covers Marketing, Sales, and Service, each with embedded AI agents that handle routine tasks autonomously so teams can focus on higher-value work. Creatio's Unlimited Enterprise model removes per-seat, per-agent, and per-workflow pricing constraints entirely — the more your people and AI agents do together, the more value you get, without the cost scaling with it. The platform supports industry-specific deployments across 20+ verticals including financial services, manufacturing, high-tech, and public sector, backed by 700+ marketplace add-ons and a global network of 500+ partners. Recognized as a Leader and Strong Performer across multiple Gartner and Forrester reports, Creatio serves thousands of customers in 100+ countries.

Act! Advantage is a full front-office CRM solution with all-new functionality that unites sales, marketing, and customer management in one intuitive, affordable platform to help you stay organized, attract new customers, and turn relationships into results. Act! Advantage includes Interactive Quotes and Payments, Website Chat, Accounting Integration, Appointment Scheduling, Project Management, Web Forms, Online Surveys, and more, broadening Act!'s footprint across your entire front office, and reducing your need for costly, third-party tools. Additionally, you can select the perfect fit, cost-effective tier to meet your current needs with peace of mind knowing that Act! will grow with you. For 38 years, Act! has partnered with small and midsize businesses - listening, learning, and building alongside them and Act! Advantage is the culmination of nearly four decades of their feedback. Every feature is designed to reflect how today’s SMBs run their businesses.

Pipedrive is a web-based sales CRM (customer relationship management) software that lets sales teams track pipelines, optimize leads, manage deals and automate their entire sales process to focus on selling. Pipedrive’s simple interface empowers salespeople to streamline workflows and unite sales tasks in one workspace. Unlock instant sales insights with Pipedrive’s visual sales pipeline and fine-tune your strategy with robust reporting features and a personalized AI Sales Assistant. Reach the right contacts at the right time with intelligent lead segmenting and activity reminders that tell you when to take action. When it’s time to seal the deal, compose instant, irresistible sales emails in just one click. With Pipedrive, winning has never been easier.