Running Primafact and PC Law Together: IT Support

Why these two applications end up on the same infrastructure

Primafact organizes case documents while PC Law manages trust accounting, billing, and time entry, and in a firm without a large IT department, both usually run on a single server sized to handle the firm's whole practice. That shared foundation is efficient, but it also means a problem with the server, the network, or the backup routine affects both applications at once.

This is different from firms large enough to run separate application servers, and most small to mid-size Ontario firms fall into the shared-infrastructure category described throughout our guides to Primafact server requirements and PC Law server migration.

Where a split-vendor approach creates gaps

• A backup routine built only around one application, leaving the other exposed
• Server capacity planned for one application's growth while the other quietly outgrows its share
• Remote access set up for one system but never extended properly to the other
• Security patches or antivirus exclusions tuned for one application that inadvertently affect the other's performance
• No single point of accountability when a slowdown affects both systems at once

Server and storage planning for both applications together

Sizing a server for a firm running both Primafact and PC Law means accounting for two very different workloads on the same hardware: large scanned documents in Primafact and transactional trust accounting data in PC Law. Storage growth from Primafact tends to be the larger driver over time, but PC Law's database performance is sensitive to disk speed and should not be starved of resources during periods of heavy document activity.

A capacity review for a dual-application firm should look at both systems' resource use side by side rather than assessing one in isolation, which is why our Primafact server requirements guidance is written with an eye toward firms that also run trust accounting software on the same box.

Backup that covers both applications properly

Both Primafact's case files and PC Law's trust accounting data need to be backed up in an application-consistent state, meaning the backup captures the database correctly rather than copying open files. A backup routine designed around only one of the two applications leaves a real gap, particularly for PC Law backup and disaster recovery, where trust accounting records carry regulatory retention expectations under the Law Society's bookkeeping rules.

A single backup plan covering the full server, both applications' data stores, and periodic restore testing is more reliable than running two disconnected backup jobs configured by different people at different times. See our companion guide to Primafact backup and disaster recovery for what application-aware backup looks like on the document management side.

Coordinating remote access across both systems

Lawyers working from home or court need access to case files in Primafact, while billing and accounting staff working remotely need access to PC Law. Designing remote access for both under a single approach, whether VPN or published desktop, avoids maintaining two separate remote access systems with different security postures.

Our guides on Primafact remote access and PC Law remote access each go into the specifics, but the underlying infrastructure decision, VPN versus published desktop, should be made once for the whole firm rather than twice.

Security considerations that span both applications

Trust accounting data in PC Law and confidential case records in Primafact both represent high-value targets, and both typically sit behind the same firewall, on the same server, protected by the same set of user accounts. A single set of cybersecurity controls, including multi-factor authentication, endpoint protection, and monitored access, protects both applications rather than requiring separate security reviews for each.

Trust accounting specifically carries added scrutiny given Law Society recordkeeping requirements, which our guide on PC Law trust accounting data protection addresses directly.

Migration and upgrade planning for firms running both

A server migration or major upgrade is the moment where coordinating both applications matters most. Migrating Primafact one weekend and PC Law the next doubles the disruption to the firm and doubles the risk of something being missed. Where practical, plan a single migration window covering both systems, following the sequence in our Primafact server migration checklist alongside the vendor-specific steps for PC Law.

What a coordinated IT plan should include

1. A single documented inventory of the server, storage, and network supporting both applications.
2. One backup routine covering both data stores, tested with periodic restores.
3. A unified remote access approach used by both litigation and billing staff.
4. Security controls applied consistently across the shared infrastructure.
5. A single point of contact managing infrastructure issues for both systems, coordinating with each vendor's own support when application defects arise.

Frequently asked questions