As an entrepreneur, a CRM system like Dubsado can be a game changer. But what’s a CRM? A CRM (Client Relationship Management) system is one of the most beneficial tools that you could invest in for your business. There are numerous benefits to having a CRM. It is such a great way to keep you and your clients organized, and have all their documents in one place.

However, there are SO many different CRMs out there! So I understand the overwhelm on how to decide which is right for you and your business. What is most important is that you focus on what works for you. What works for me, may not be how your business or mind work, and that’s ok! Most platforms allow you to try theirs for free, yay! I highly recommend trying 1-2 of them first before your investing your hard earned money.

In this post I’ll share why I personally chose Dubsado, and some of the tools that I use to organize myself and my clients. Let’s get to it!

And if you want to learn more about the other platforms and tools I use for my business, click here!

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What is Dubsado?

Dubsado is a client relationship management software or a business management platform. It is designed to cut out a lot of the busy work you often find yourself dealing with in day-to-day business management. Through Dubsado you are able to send contracts; build email templates; build workflows; track your progress with clients; send invoices; stay organized; schedule calls and events; and SO much more. Dubsado has truly changed the way I run my business and has allowed me to focus on my client experience and less of mundane tasks. 

If you’re interested in trying Dubsado, use this code for 20% off your first month or year. 

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Why did I choose Dubsado vs Honeybook?

So, why did I go with Dubsado vs Honeybook? Honeybook is another CRM that is extremely popular with the photography community, and for good reason! While it has some incredible features, the client facing experience wasn’t my favorite compared to Dubsado.

However, I’d love to focus on what I love about Dubsado, and why I chose them.

1. The layout: Honestly, my brain works better with the layout and organization that Dubsado has (see below). I love that all the functions are to the left, then everything you’re working on is the full screen. This is just personally how I feel more organized and less overwhelm.

2. Pricing + payments

Not only is Dubsado slightly less expensive per year, but I liked the way Dubsado allows you to take payments. You can receive payments in several ways through Dubsado so you are able to make the decision based on what works for you. While Honeybook I had heard and seen that they take a bigger percentage of what you earn (I’d research this beforehand).

3. The functionality and customer point of view

I’ve used both CRMs as a customer before, and I felt that from a client point of view, I loved the ease of use from Dubsado more. Client experience is most important to me, and I wanted to make sure that I make my clients experience easy rather than confusing or annoying!

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4 Tools in Dubsado I LOVE to use to Organize my Clients 

1. Tasks

Do you ever struggle with managing multiple clients at the same time? Struggle to remember what you were supposed to send to one client and when to check in with another? That was my reality for so long. I was having such a hard time organizing myself and my clients, which resulted in a less than ideal client experience, and an extremely stressful work life. Thankfully with Dubsado, I don’t struggle with that anymore!

Dubsado allows you to create “tasks” for each client that keep you organized and stress-free. Every day I can open my Dubsado account and click the task folder to see what I need to work on and send out for the day. I can set reminders for when the task is due and easily check it off once it’s completed. It’s essentially like an online assistant reminding you of your goals for the day. 

But not only that, this is a great tool that your clients can use too! I created a task list for their elopement planning so it is easy to follow, and so they aren’t missing anything that they may have not thought of. It’s a great way for them to have a task list for their planning as well!

2. Scheduler 

Consult calls are a huge part of my business and the number one way I book clients. As soon as I get an inquiry, I try to get the couple on the phone to talk about what their ideal elopement experience is and to build a relationship with them. Over the phone, I can also convey my branding message and upsell hours of coverage. Overall, consult calls are essential for my business. Before Dubsado I was manually scheduling calls with clients, hoping to find a time we were both available to chat. This process could take quite a while and be an unnecessary waste of time for both me and my future clients. 

With Dubsado I can now use the Scheduler to book consult calls. I insert a button into my client emails that allow them to see my available times and schedule a call within minutes. When they schedule one, I get a notification and it gets added to my calendar. If my schedule changes, I can quickly update what times I have available for calls in the future. 

This has helped me get more clients on the phone, built stronger relationships, and made my workflow process so much easier avoiding back and forth.

3. Payments/Payment Plans

One of Dubsado’s best features is the payment and payment plan options. When booking multi-thousand dollar customizable packages, each client may need a different payment plan and have a different total cost. Dubsado allows you to create custom invoices for each client and set different payment plan options on an individual basis. You can also create your baseline payment plan (for me that is a deposit and one final payment) that is set as the default setting in the event your clients don’t need a custom plan. 

When sending an invoice you can set the total amount due, and create a payment plan that breaks up the total into however many payments you want. You can set the percentage for each of the payments as well, making it completely customizable. You can set automatic email reminders that go out to your clients to remind them of upcoming payments so they never miss one. Dubsado also keeps track of all payments so you never need to worry about miscalculating how much a client owes. 

4. Forms

Contracts, sub-agreements, questionnaires, proposals, and lead captures are all things you can create through Dubsado forms. You can create templates for each of them and upload them to a client’s project and update it for those specifications. 

The form I use most often is contracts. I have contract templates for each possible session (adventure elopement, intimate wedding, adventure session, etc) that is custom-tailored for the needs of that session type. When I need to send a contract to a client, I can upload the template into their project and make any changes (like adding names, date, the total amount due, etc.) without needing to rewrite an entire contract. 

You can also build out questionnaires to send to clients that can help you get to know them and their needs better. You can send these out seamlessly with Dubsado’s email integrations that allow you to create a button that takes the client to their questionnaire. Clients can save drafts while their working and reopen them at a later time if they don’t want to finish it in one session. Once it’s complete they can send it to you, where you can download it and review their answers. 

There are so many amazing things you can do with Dubsado forms, I can write an entire post about it! Maybe I will…

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Overall, Dubsado has up-leveled my business in more ways than I can count. This post is just scratching the surface on everything Dubsado can do. If you are interested in trying Dubsado, click here to get 20% off your first month or year!