When you run a business(es) that require multiple communications, forms, client management and financial tracking – things can get tricky. For the longest time I have been using free or inexpensive options but nothing all in one – which made it complicated.
Enter Dubsado! It is a CRM platform that allows you to automate a lot of the client on-boarding and behind the scene processes to save you time. It also has the awesome perk of having everything I could ask for all in one place!
Now I am currently in the process of moving all my forms, workflows, email templates and client information over but I wanted to share some tip and tricks that have saved me so much stress.
#1: THE BRANDING IS 100% CUSTOMIZABLE!
This is key for me since I love embedding my lead forms into my existing site, and this seamlessly allows it. The entire focus of he platform is YOU and your business! You can set everything to be custom for your needs and even use your own email for incoming and outgoing communication!
#2: A MUCH BETTER LEAD CAPTURE SYSTEM
I’ve been guilt of finding any and all free ways to get clients to contact me and collect information. And it’s a pain when it’s not integrated. Dubsado makes this painless and so simple. The lead forms are there right from the start and you can make multiple ones for each of your needs. The best part of they are so easy to embed and link! It’s amazing cause you can then link that form to set up an automated workflow.
#3: CANNED EMAILS ARE A LIFE SAVER!
Think about the time you would save not having to keep sending he same emails to leads and clients over and over again. Make a list of what you send and then just add them to Dubsado and you can send them so much faster. Automate them and you won’t have to think about some of them!
#4: THE ALL IMPORTANT WORKFLOW
I am going to be honest here and let you know that I still haven’t set up my own workflows. * Slacker alert!* But I have set these up for several clients.
With workflows you can change the lead status, send an email, send a form (such as a questionnaire), send the contract, send the invoice, activate a client portal and more. And you can do this all automatically. That is what makes workflows such a time saver.
And you can do it based on certain conditions. For example, you can send the invoice automatically after the contract has been signed. Or maybe your client paid their invoice and you would like to send an thank you email (I have a client who does this and it is seriously genius). Or after they paid the invoice you want to send them a welcome email that breaks down the next steps and attaches an on-boarding survey.
I won’t say the possibilities are endless, because that wouldn’t be true. But you can sure do a lot with workflows. The “hardest” part is figuring out which should go into Dubsado and which would be better suited for a project management tool like Asana. I have had so much fun working with clients to streamline their process and make the best use of both platforms.
#5: A CLIENT PORTAL TO HELP YOUR CLIENTS
The best thing for my clients is have everything they need from me in one place that is easy to navigate, and submit contracts as well as see invoices. It is personalized to them, and such a great too. The aded perk is that I can make automated workflows to add items and steps to the client process as they complete things – and it is not just forms, but emails and reminders too. Literally saves me from having to spend hours bouncing between three different platforms for information and tools.
#6: FORMS, FORMS AND MORE FORMS!
Forms are where it is at with Dubsado.
Seriously forms are where you create contracts, sub-agreements, proposals, lead capture forms and even questionnaires. Basically if you need any information from your client, this is where you go.
I love that everything you create is like a template. So I create my contract template once and I can add it to as many jobs as necessary. I have use Smart Fields to automatically input client information but I also have the option to edit the contract once I have added it to a job. And this can be done WITHOUT editing the original template.
The best part? They use a drag-and-drop editor. So making it pretty is no trouble at all.
#7: BOOKKEEPING IS PART OF THE SYSTEM!
I am horrible at keeping track of my expenses and income – I am old-school and still use Excel most of the time. I usually take a night or two and go through everything and input into a spreadsheet the first week of January. This means I definitely miss stuff. But with Dubsado, I am much more proactive. In fact, I am already on top of things this year since switching over! Everything is logged into Dubsado. Tax time next year is going to be a breeze.
And if you have Quickbooks, you can connect Dubsado to Quickbooks!
There are a lot of other cool features and resources about this platform, and I’ve only listed a few. One thing that is important to me at this stage of business, is making sure that the products and services I decide to invest in are affordable and totally worth the money.And let me tell you that Dubsado was an absolute no brainer. This is my first year using the system (and I don’t even use all of the features) and I can’t imagine going anywhere else. Plus if you prepay for the year, you get 2 months free! If you are curious how Dubsado can work for you, they offer what they call a “take your time trial.” That means that you get to try it out with 3 clients. There is no time limit. I feel this is the best way to do a free trial because you can actually use it through the life cycle of the client and not try to shove everything into a 7- or 14-day trial.
try dubsado for free
I hope you can see why I love Dubsado so much. It is probably the #1 tool I can’t live without in my business, especially as a service provider.I encourage you to try Dubsado out if you are looking for a CRM system. I guarantee you won’t regret it. Are you ready to try Dubsado? Let me know in the comments below.
