Dubsado is CRM that is powerful and has transformed my business. CRM stands for customer relationship management, and is an online system that handles various workflows and keeps contact information available for all of my clients. It allows for me to make sure that I am in constant communication with all of my clients throughout their wedding planning process, no matter where they are. While most of my clients get married in Atlanta and book me for their photographer, I’ll also use this system to keep track of my portrait leads and coaching clients to help ensure they all are taken care of.

The user interface is one of the easiest ones I’ve ever used and it has an incredibly mobile-friendly website, too! I have tried many other CRM platform systems but what I have found is that most were either too tedious to set up, complicated, or that their user interface was clunky. The fonts and colors are incredibly pleasing to the eye, which is important especially if you’re a busy business owner who’s constantly staring at their computer screen.

Bulletproof Contracts

As a entrepreneur, having contracts is a essential to running a business  so that both parties understand what the agreement is and what the terms are. When planning a wedding, most of my clients will book me a year in advance, so having everything written out and in a online spot for them to refer to has always been helpful. Dubsado serves as a platform that allows for my clients to sign their agreement electronically within seconds. Not only does it allow for my bride and groom to sign, but I am also able to send a second contract to their parents to sign with a click of a button. This process used to take me about a day or two to complete, as I had my couples print out the contract and send it to me in a hardcopy format.

Furthermore,  what I love about this platform is that easy drag and drop user interface that allows for me to create up my contacts and online forms within seconds. All I need to do is drag a text box or signature field! The company also has a plethora of resources in their media library of with multiple kinds of contracts to use as templates, which is perfect for entrepreneurs who need a starting point when creating their own agreements.

sophisticated and clean design

Another thing that I absolutely love about the Dubsado platform is the sophisticated and clean design of their invoices and forms. Dubsado has made it so that small business owners are empowered and able to make the system entirely their own, by allowing users to use their own specific logo and branding elements rather than having “Dubsado” plastered over every element; something that few other platforms allow.

I also love that there are code blocks, which allow for me to customize my forms using HTML and CSS! It takes my system’s aesthetic to the next level. Invoices are automatically generated based on the collection that a client decides, with payment plans and automatic e-mail reminders sent to my clients (because I hate personally reminding people of payments, I love that Dubsado will do this for me)! With these elements, my time in front of the computer is drastically reduced!

Oh, and not only are the invoices and forms and contracts beautiful, but the platform also acts as a payment processing platform, allowing clients to select a package, sign a contract, receive an invoice, and make their first payment all in a single page. Dubsado has a diverse range of payment options, collaborating with platforms like PayPal, Stripe, and other major credit card processing companies. There’s also an option for clients to add gratuity! Personally, I use and recommend the ACH option as it is wonderful for business owners who are wanting to reduce incurred transaction fees.

Impeccable customer service

Dubsado is constantly updating their system and always listens to their community and strives to accommodate system update requests and adds new updates incredibly frequently. I’ve been so surprised at just how much has happened since the only signing up last autumn! They’ve integrated their own appointment scheduler on top of their own bookkeeping system that will sync to Quickbooks Self Employed. Another thing that blows me away is their customer service which is remarkable – if I ever have a question, their community on Facebook is eager to help and their staff is available nearly 24/7 on live chat directly within the platform.

WORKFLOW AND LEAD TRACKING

I use Dubsado to set up my workflow which tracks leads and includes automated emails that go out at specific checkpoints before their event (ie: sends out a vendor recommendation e-mail 2 days after booking, another e-mail 2 days after that, and so on). The emails will only go out at designated office hours, as well, which has been great to help set boundaries for my clients. My management system also send out forms and proposals automatically for me, and even responds to inquiries while I am sleeping, which was a huge selling point for me.

This platform has been the best investment for my business and it’s allowed for me to focus on other areas of my company that before, have fallen to the wayside (like marketing, or writing blog posts, like these!) The key to starting to use a CRM is to start BEFORE you need it; if you try to transition during a time where your business is busy, you might have difficulty with the learning curve that comes with using a new system. Honestly, I would not be sure how I’d keep up with all of my clients, leads, and responsibilities if I wasn’t utilizing Dubsado and it’s a tool that everyone needs to use!