If you’re a freelancer or service-based business owner, managing your clients is the backbone of your business. It is for me, too.

I used to spend a few hours a week sending invoices, creating proposals, and monitoring where leads were in the pipeline. All that time I was spending on running my business was unbillable. Time I was spending on running my business was time that I wasn’t spending on caring for my clients. I knew I would need a good CRM system if I wanted to reduce downtime and increase my profits.

I wanted a system that was faster AND easier. Was I being too greedy?

1. Manage Clients from One Place

Prior to using Dubsado,* I had a bootstrapped client management system full of software that didn't integrate. They didn't "speak" to each other and that meant every step was manual. This system involved:

• Streak CRM or an Excel spreadsheet for lead tracking.

• Canned Emails inside of Gmail for pitches and responses.

• Attaching a welcome packet to an email from my computer's hard drive.

• Boomerang for Gmail to schedule email reminders.

• Google Docs or Bonsai to create a contract.

• HelloSign to sign a contract.

• Marking my calendar to remind myself when a proposal would expire.

• Google Forms or TypeForm for questionnaires.

• Manually adding client to my email marketing software.

• TMetric or Toggl for time tracking.

• Freshbooks Classic for creating invoices and payment.

• Asana for keeping track of all of the above.

This was time-consuming, sloppy, and headache-producing. Many of the tools used were great, but they were great at one or two things.

I wanted to simplify and Dubsado allows me to do just that.

Dubsado allows me to:

• Capture leads from inquiries on my website.

• Log notes for calls and create to-dos

• See my calendar.

• Send and sign contracts.

• Give clients the ability to select which packages they want to purchase.

• Send invoices and collect payment (with a tipping option, too).

• Deliver canned emails.

• Track my time.

• Automate my workflows.

• And so much more.

With Dubsado’s robust features, I can manage my clients from one place.

2. Designed for Small Business Owners and Creatives

There are a lot of great software out there. However, each software is designed to serve a certain market. Early on, I tried using tools that weren’t designed for my business and, ultimately, they just didn’t work the way I needed them to.

Dubsado works really well for:

• Photographers

• Graphic & web designers

• Writers

• Virtual assistants

• Project managers and OBMs

• Coaches

• Stationers

• Doulas

• Event planners

• Bookkeepers

• Various other creatives and freelancers

It’s also mobile-friendly and integrates with other tools small businesses commonly use like G-Suite, Zapier, and QuickBooks Online.

3. Client Portals

This is one of my favorite features for a few reasons.

Firstly, client portals impress my clients. I like any software that makes me look more polished!

Secondly, it allows clients to help themselves. If they need a copy of an invoice, want to find out what my office hours are, etc., they can do so 24/7 without me need to be involved. That means I can spend more time churning out deliverables for my clients.

3. Pricing and Fees (or Lack Thereof)

This was big for me. I found free CRMs, but they couldn’t do everything I needed. I had to supplement with paid services for invoicing, contract signing, and lead management. Then I looked into paid CRMs and the subscriptions were too expensive for my budget.

But that’s not all…

I found other paid CRMs charged fees for processing payments. I could collect money using Paypal or Stripe, but they would charge about 3% to do so. Considering Stripe and Paypal charge around 3% on their end, I would lose 6% of my earnings before they ever entered my bank account. While there are costs of doing business, it felt unreasonable. After all, I was paying a monthly fee to use the CRM in the first place.

Paypal, Stripe, and Square take about 3%, but Dubsado doesn’t charge you to use those services. If you collect money through ACH transfer, you’ll pay about $1 out of every $100 in the payment, but only up to $5 per transaction. With ACH transfer, you’ll never pay more than $5 per transaction.

Example: Say you charge a client $1000 once a month.

With many CRMs, you’d pay 3% to the processor and 3% to your CRM. You’d lose $60 on every transaction.

With Dubsado, you only pay 3% to the processor (Stripe, Paypal, Square). You only lose $30 on every transaction. If you use ACH transfer in Dubsado, you would pay just $5 for processing a $1000 payment.

That’s an extra $30-$55 you can keep and that really adds up over time.

4. Unbeatable Customer Service and Community

Furthermore, they listen to their customers. They are constantly cranking out new features customers request.

Then there’s the Facebook group. The Facebook group is part helpdesk, part community and a whole lot of wonderful. It’s a great place to get ideas for all the different things you can do with Dubsado, but it also a lot of fun.  As someone who works remotely, I especially appreciate having a community of like-minded people to connect with.

5. Automation, Templates, and Workflows

Now for the holy grail of Dubsado’s features..

I have a systematized process that’s better for my clients and myself. My clients have consistent experiences now and I have less of a headache. It’s a win-win for both of us.

I no longer have to put effort in to keep track of clients. I simply login to Dubsado and it tells me the next task to do. And sometimes, I don’t need to complete a task at all -- and that’s because of automation. Dubsado does part of my job for me.  

Simply put, automation, templates, and workflows have made my business a well-oiled machine.

Eager to have someone walk you through the Dubsado interface? Watch this Dubsado tour below.