I have been on a search for the perfect client management software and all I can say is that it doesn't exist. Not that I haven't tried finding it. I've put in over 40 hours of diligent searching, reviewing, sampling and crying and have yet to discover a system that fits all my needs (without costing $147 a month). Since I put in all this effort, I thought I'd share some of my findings with you so that your search for the perfect client management system may be a little (A LOT!) easier.
First off, here's what I was trying to accomplish with my new system:
It seems like most systems are really good at doing one or the other but not both. This is where I've hit a wall. I'm still open to suggestions but I'd find it hard to believe there's a system left out there that I haven't tried (several times).
Here are my thoughts about the softwares I've checked out. Keep in mind, I'm a life coach and akashic practitioner, not a multi-level corporation. I'm just trying to make my life a bit easier. I'm dividing these into client management and online scheduling because I seriously couldn't find one that did both well at the same time. I'm also including coach-oriented softwares that specialize more in handling client demands as well as some online scheduling.
CLIENT MANAGEM ENT
NIMBLE (www.nimble.com) - $15/month
Great way to keep track of clients, leads and even vendors. It's very social media oriented and friendly, fully integrating Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter along with email. Has pipeline capability, deal tracker, mailchimp integration, tags, and deal forecasting. No automated emailing or scheduling. Pipeline confuses me.
ONEPAGECRM (www.onepagecrm.com) - $15/month
Client management, integrates mailchimp, pretty easy to use. Easy to differentiate leads, current clients, past clients, etc. Has nice pipeline with target projections. However no calendar, no integrated email.
VTIGER (www.vtiger.com) - $12/month
Has a lot of usable functions - email integration, calendar, great client management - but isn't set up for someone like me. This would be better suited for an organization.
BASE (www.getbase.com) - $15/month+
Has call recording, email automation, integrations, leads and contacts (unlimited). Utilizes tags. Has lead capture for Facebook. Has a calendar and would be great for putting together meetings because it will send emails to all attendees (or if you have to change the meeting or will be late). However can't connect deals to events (that I can see) and has no twitter integration.
BATCHBOOK (www.batchbook.com) - $35/month+
Client management with deals, tasks and filters. A bit expensive for what you get. No calendar.
WORKBOOKS (www.workbooks.com) - free to $35/month
I did not like the interface of this at all. I found it very confusing. Very 1998.
CONTACTUALLY (www.contactually.com) - $19.99/month+
Has "buckets" to organize contacts into leads, clients, referral partners, etc., which I really like. Email, twitter and Facebook integration. Prompts you to take action. Pipeline is a bit confusing. Doesn't track/show reports of won deals.
SNAPFORCE (www.snapforce.com) - $25/month
Sales - leads, contacts, accounts, opportunities. Customer support - case management. Activity log. No email integration. Very sales-oriented versus client management.
ZOHOCRM (www.zohocrm.com) - free to $35/month
Looks like a very robust client management system with emphasis on sales. A little too much (and too confusing) for my needs.
CONTACTME (www.contactme.com) - free to $7.42/month
This software is fun to look at but not a lot of integrations. No email integration. You have to manually input everything you want to keep track of. It does have a calendar and task list as well as the ability to add appointments to contacts (manually). No way to track revenue. No social media or email integration.
PIPELINEDEALS (www.pipelinedeals.com) - $24/month
Very sales oriented. Has calendar, tags, and deals with pipeline. No associating deals with appointments/calendar. Not exactly set up for what I need to do. No email or social media integration.
CAPSULE (www.capsulecrm.com) - $12/month
Has pipeline and contacts. No email integration. Not feeling it.
NUTSHELL (www.nutshell.com) - $15/month
Great lead tools - kind of walks you through them and explains what it all means (big plus for me). Has sales goals and ways to organize competitors and sources. Allows for tags. Allows you to input products. Has a bunch of sales reports. Looks like it'd be great if you have a team. But not really set up for what I need to do.
HIGHRISE (www.highrisehq.com) - $24/month+
I didn't actually sample this one since they wanted your credit card (most don't) and it didn't look like anything more than the others. No calendar. Has contact management, tasks, cases and deals. Looks like you can send emails from it, too, but no social media integration.
KARMACRM (www.karmacrm.com) - $9/month+
Starts out inexpensive but quickly ramps up to expensive depending on the number of deals you have. Well, I plan to have a lot so am thinking this won't work for me. It's very similar to every other sales management software from what I can see. I didn't demo this one either.
SALESFORCE (www.salesforce.com) - $5/month+
I know this is the #1 client management software but I wasn't feeling it. And as I was trying to get back in to quickly review its features, etc., it kept coming up with a server error. You're on your own with this one.
AUTOMATIC CEO (www.automaticceosystem.com) - $25/month
My girlfriend, a fellow coach, suggested this one although she uses it more for her network marketing business. She loves it but is not what I'm needing.
STUDIO CLOUD (www.studiocloud.com) - free with add ons for fees
This is an actual software that you download. It's ok but not super intuitive. No social media integration.
INSIGHTLY (www.insightly.com) - $0-9/month
Client management with opportunities, projects, emails and reports. Not able to attach opportunities to events (appointments). Not feeling it.
1CRM (www.1crm.com) - free to $35/month
It looked to confusing for me to even get started. Looks like a robust client management software with projects, marketing, accounts and orders. Also not Mac-friendly.
PLANPLUSONLINE (www.planplusonline.com) - $35/month
This is more about organizing your schedule than clients.
SOFFRONT (wwwsoffront.com) - $15/month+
Client management and campaigns. I'm happy with Mailchimp so not interested here.
ONLINE SCHEDULING
SIMPLYBOOK.ME (www.simplybook.me) - free then ramps up to $8 or $15/month
This is what I use now for my online booking. I'm using the free version right now. It works fine, accepts payments (which is great) but there's no client management (besides a list of whose scheduled).
SUPERSAAS (www.supersaas.com) - free to start then ramps up
Very similar to simplybook.me with no real client management, just online booking.
FULLSLATE (www.fullslate.com) - $30/month
You can split times. Supports classes. Has reviews. You can add prep time (before and after) to a service (something I appreciateLooks like you can customize auto emails per service. Shows clients birthday, how long they've been a client, and allows for notes. Has reports. I like that it imported my notes, etc., from my gmail account. You can also set whether or not a client receives auto emails or mass emails which is a nice way not to bombard current regular clients with sales info. Can also notes to appointments. This one could be a winner!
SATORI (www.satoriapp.com) - $25/month+
This is a great online scheduler for coaches. It allows you to put together coaching packages (multiple sessions for one price) as well as handling coaching agreements. It has an income summary and allows for prospect clients as well as current clients. Is integrated with Mailchimp. There's no importing of contacts, however (weird, I know) so you'd have to put them all in one by one. I do like that it tracks current, past and fading clients. It also shows revenue made per client (which is a nice feature). It also has google calendar integration. This would almost be perfect if it had a way to import clients and had email integration. I'd be at the $45/month level so combining it with another client management system could start to get pricey.
GENBOOK (www.genbook.com) - $20/month
Has a great big calendar that's easy to let people know when you're available, including splitting time (like I have a dinner break one evening). It allows for reviews and has analytics of appointments and revenue. The only real con is that you can't personalize the confirmation message to the service (something I'd like to do).
VCITA (www.vcita.com) - $20/month (if paid annually)
I really want to like this one. It has a lot of the features I want - easy follow up option for sessions, imports emails, syncs with calendar, has a nice scheduler page (and is very editable), and has an easy contact form for the website. I don't like that the calendar doesn't have a weekly view, only daily and list. It also doesn't allow for confirmation emails to be service specific. It doesn't have the capability to schedule packages (4 sessions for one price) and doesn't have any customer reviews. I also don't like that it costs $30/month if you go month to month.
TUNENGO (www.tunengo.com) - $9/month
Online scheduler with client database. No reviews. You can't add appointments manually (something I do). It does allow you to customize your auto response email to the service people sign up for which is great. It also connects with Facebook and Twitter and can sync with a Google calendar. It also doesn't allow you to import contacts.
BOOKAPPO (www.bookappo.com) - $19/month
This online scheduler doesn't allow me to split up my time (allow for a dinner break), something that's vital for me to have.
BOOKFRESH (www.bookfresh.com) - $20/month
This online scheduler allows you to import clients and has a client option. However it doesn't allow for my dinner break and has transitions between clients in only 15 minute intervals (I need 10). This is almost it but not quite.
SCHEDULICITY (www.schedulicity.com) - $20/month
Allows for classes and workshops (which is great) along with individual sessions. It allows you to rate the clients (for reliability) and has some email marketing features. You must use Stripe to accept payment. It allows you to import contacts but it didn't like the CVS files I had.
BOOKSTEAM (www.booksteam.com) - $20/month
Can import clients and add their birthdays. Shows revenue statistics. Allows for classes. Has reviews and allows you to block clients. Doesn't look like you can send auto emails.
FLEXBOOKER (www.flexbooker.com) - $50/month
Had a wait list that looks kind of cool (if you're that booked up). It also allows you to book rooms for services (if that's what you need). Has split times (as many as you need) as well as capability to book classes. Can't import contacts. I'm not seeing automated response emails.
CHECKAPPOINTMENTS (www.checkappointments.com) - $20/month
Has class capability as well as recurring appointments. No split times. Not my favorite.
BOOKINGBUG (www.bookingbug.com) - $20/month + charges per reminder and confirmation
Has both appointments and classes. Can import clients. Not looking like you can split times.
FINDJOO (www.findjoo.com) - free but lots of add on costs
I didn't like it. I'm not keen on so many add on fees.
MAKEPLANS (www.makeplans.net) - $9/month
Calendar integration. Has reservations report. Didn't like that you could't specify that you need 24 hours notice for an appointment (something I require). Not going to work for me. It's very basic and good if you have very basic needs.
SNAPPOINTMENTS (www.snapappointments.com) - free to $25/month for one staff member
Has its own online directory for its users (for clients to search). Allows for time padding before and after an appointment. Allows classes, custom messages and custom confirmations. Has appointment history per client.
QOOSHI (www.qooshi.com) - free
Basic online scheduler but doesn't allow for split times (for dinner break).
COACHING OR IENTE D
COACHING CLOUD (www.coachingcloud.com) - $77/month for solopreneur (but there's a free version)
Online session booking, client payment, online content delivery, session journal, auto reminders, online conversations and community branding. Very coaching oriented (obviously) and looks like it'd be great for developing online communities. I could see using this for that but not client management.
JIGSAW BOX (www.jigsawbox.com) - $67/month
I'm not entirely sure what this software does but it's more about creating a portal/space for current clients than client management or scheduling. This is very much a coach-oriented software. I wish it had a demo version or at least some screen shots. I'm kind of in the dark about this one but think it'd be worth further investigation if I need something like this.
LIFETICK (www.lifetick.com) - $49/year
This software is all about helping your coaching clients achieve their goals. It creates a shared space to help your clients to see their goals and their action items. Would be great as a resource for clients. Takes clients through values, setting goals, creating tasks, staying motivated, tracking progress, measuring performance and journaling their thoughts.
LIFE COACH OFFICE (www.lifecoachoffice.com) - $13/month for 10 clients (and goes up)
Coaching calendar, client folders, classroom, library, account management. I really like this. Could see using this to create classes and groups (in future). Again, more about helping current clients than contact management.
COACHING CLOUD (www.coachingcloud.com) - free version (that doesn't do much) or $77/month
I couldn't get in to demo the real version but looks like it has some client management, books appointments, has auto reminders as well as session notes.
COACH ACCOUNTABLE (www.coachaccountable.com) - $20/month+
Manages current clients. Has group coaching option. Tracks clients progress.
LIFE COACH MANAGER (www.lifecoachmanager.com) - $0+ (depending on # of clients)
Calendar, reports, accepts credit cards, does mass emailing, and has a secure client journal.
CONCLUSION
As you can see, my search has been rather exhaustive (and exhausting). Reviewing all of these again for this post has helped but I'm still not 100% decided on which ones I'm going to use. I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to need to mix two (or more) to create the complete system I want. Let me know what you're using to keep your
First off, here's what I was trying to accomplish with my new system:
- manage potential and current clients including their history with me (such as appointments made, money spent, interest in future services).
- the ability for clients to book their appointments online, including reminders and auto emails.
It seems like most systems are really good at doing one or the other but not both. This is where I've hit a wall. I'm still open to suggestions but I'd find it hard to believe there's a system left out there that I haven't tried (several times).
Here are my thoughts about the softwares I've checked out. Keep in mind, I'm a life coach and akashic practitioner, not a multi-level corporation. I'm just trying to make my life a bit easier. I'm dividing these into client management and online scheduling because I seriously couldn't find one that did both well at the same time. I'm also including coach-oriented softwares that specialize more in handling client demands as well as some online scheduling.
CLIENT MANAGEM ENT
NIMBLE (www.nimble.com) - $15/month
Great way to keep track of clients, leads and even vendors. It's very social media oriented and friendly, fully integrating Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter along with email. Has pipeline capability, deal tracker, mailchimp integration, tags, and deal forecasting. No automated emailing or scheduling. Pipeline confuses me.
ONEPAGECRM (www.onepagecrm.com) - $15/month
Client management, integrates mailchimp, pretty easy to use. Easy to differentiate leads, current clients, past clients, etc. Has nice pipeline with target projections. However no calendar, no integrated email.
VTIGER (www.vtiger.com) - $12/month
Has a lot of usable functions - email integration, calendar, great client management - but isn't set up for someone like me. This would be better suited for an organization.
BASE (www.getbase.com) - $15/month+
Has call recording, email automation, integrations, leads and contacts (unlimited). Utilizes tags. Has lead capture for Facebook. Has a calendar and would be great for putting together meetings because it will send emails to all attendees (or if you have to change the meeting or will be late). However can't connect deals to events (that I can see) and has no twitter integration.
BATCHBOOK (www.batchbook.com) - $35/month+
Client management with deals, tasks and filters. A bit expensive for what you get. No calendar.
WORKBOOKS (www.workbooks.com) - free to $35/month
I did not like the interface of this at all. I found it very confusing. Very 1998.
CONTACTUALLY (www.contactually.com) - $19.99/month+
Has "buckets" to organize contacts into leads, clients, referral partners, etc., which I really like. Email, twitter and Facebook integration. Prompts you to take action. Pipeline is a bit confusing. Doesn't track/show reports of won deals.
SNAPFORCE (www.snapforce.com) - $25/month
Sales - leads, contacts, accounts, opportunities. Customer support - case management. Activity log. No email integration. Very sales-oriented versus client management.
ZOHOCRM (www.zohocrm.com) - free to $35/month
Looks like a very robust client management system with emphasis on sales. A little too much (and too confusing) for my needs.
CONTACTME (www.contactme.com) - free to $7.42/month
This software is fun to look at but not a lot of integrations. No email integration. You have to manually input everything you want to keep track of. It does have a calendar and task list as well as the ability to add appointments to contacts (manually). No way to track revenue. No social media or email integration.
PIPELINEDEALS (www.pipelinedeals.com) - $24/month
Very sales oriented. Has calendar, tags, and deals with pipeline. No associating deals with appointments/calendar. Not exactly set up for what I need to do. No email or social media integration.
CAPSULE (www.capsulecrm.com) - $12/month
Has pipeline and contacts. No email integration. Not feeling it.
NUTSHELL (www.nutshell.com) - $15/month
Great lead tools - kind of walks you through them and explains what it all means (big plus for me). Has sales goals and ways to organize competitors and sources. Allows for tags. Allows you to input products. Has a bunch of sales reports. Looks like it'd be great if you have a team. But not really set up for what I need to do.
HIGHRISE (www.highrisehq.com) - $24/month+
I didn't actually sample this one since they wanted your credit card (most don't) and it didn't look like anything more than the others. No calendar. Has contact management, tasks, cases and deals. Looks like you can send emails from it, too, but no social media integration.
KARMACRM (www.karmacrm.com) - $9/month+
Starts out inexpensive but quickly ramps up to expensive depending on the number of deals you have. Well, I plan to have a lot so am thinking this won't work for me. It's very similar to every other sales management software from what I can see. I didn't demo this one either.
SALESFORCE (www.salesforce.com) - $5/month+
I know this is the #1 client management software but I wasn't feeling it. And as I was trying to get back in to quickly review its features, etc., it kept coming up with a server error. You're on your own with this one.
AUTOMATIC CEO (www.automaticceosystem.com) - $25/month
My girlfriend, a fellow coach, suggested this one although she uses it more for her network marketing business. She loves it but is not what I'm needing.
STUDIO CLOUD (www.studiocloud.com) - free with add ons for fees
This is an actual software that you download. It's ok but not super intuitive. No social media integration.
INSIGHTLY (www.insightly.com) - $0-9/month
Client management with opportunities, projects, emails and reports. Not able to attach opportunities to events (appointments). Not feeling it.
1CRM (www.1crm.com) - free to $35/month
It looked to confusing for me to even get started. Looks like a robust client management software with projects, marketing, accounts and orders. Also not Mac-friendly.
PLANPLUSONLINE (www.planplusonline.com) - $35/month
This is more about organizing your schedule than clients.
SOFFRONT (wwwsoffront.com) - $15/month+
Client management and campaigns. I'm happy with Mailchimp so not interested here.
ONLINE SCHEDULING
SIMPLYBOOK.ME (www.simplybook.me) - free then ramps up to $8 or $15/month
This is what I use now for my online booking. I'm using the free version right now. It works fine, accepts payments (which is great) but there's no client management (besides a list of whose scheduled).
SUPERSAAS (www.supersaas.com) - free to start then ramps up
Very similar to simplybook.me with no real client management, just online booking.
FULLSLATE (www.fullslate.com) - $30/month
You can split times. Supports classes. Has reviews. You can add prep time (before and after) to a service (something I appreciateLooks like you can customize auto emails per service. Shows clients birthday, how long they've been a client, and allows for notes. Has reports. I like that it imported my notes, etc., from my gmail account. You can also set whether or not a client receives auto emails or mass emails which is a nice way not to bombard current regular clients with sales info. Can also notes to appointments. This one could be a winner!
SATORI (www.satoriapp.com) - $25/month+
This is a great online scheduler for coaches. It allows you to put together coaching packages (multiple sessions for one price) as well as handling coaching agreements. It has an income summary and allows for prospect clients as well as current clients. Is integrated with Mailchimp. There's no importing of contacts, however (weird, I know) so you'd have to put them all in one by one. I do like that it tracks current, past and fading clients. It also shows revenue made per client (which is a nice feature). It also has google calendar integration. This would almost be perfect if it had a way to import clients and had email integration. I'd be at the $45/month level so combining it with another client management system could start to get pricey.
GENBOOK (www.genbook.com) - $20/month
Has a great big calendar that's easy to let people know when you're available, including splitting time (like I have a dinner break one evening). It allows for reviews and has analytics of appointments and revenue. The only real con is that you can't personalize the confirmation message to the service (something I'd like to do).
VCITA (www.vcita.com) - $20/month (if paid annually)
I really want to like this one. It has a lot of the features I want - easy follow up option for sessions, imports emails, syncs with calendar, has a nice scheduler page (and is very editable), and has an easy contact form for the website. I don't like that the calendar doesn't have a weekly view, only daily and list. It also doesn't allow for confirmation emails to be service specific. It doesn't have the capability to schedule packages (4 sessions for one price) and doesn't have any customer reviews. I also don't like that it costs $30/month if you go month to month.
TUNENGO (www.tunengo.com) - $9/month
Online scheduler with client database. No reviews. You can't add appointments manually (something I do). It does allow you to customize your auto response email to the service people sign up for which is great. It also connects with Facebook and Twitter and can sync with a Google calendar. It also doesn't allow you to import contacts.
BOOKAPPO (www.bookappo.com) - $19/month
This online scheduler doesn't allow me to split up my time (allow for a dinner break), something that's vital for me to have.
BOOKFRESH (www.bookfresh.com) - $20/month
This online scheduler allows you to import clients and has a client option. However it doesn't allow for my dinner break and has transitions between clients in only 15 minute intervals (I need 10). This is almost it but not quite.
SCHEDULICITY (www.schedulicity.com) - $20/month
Allows for classes and workshops (which is great) along with individual sessions. It allows you to rate the clients (for reliability) and has some email marketing features. You must use Stripe to accept payment. It allows you to import contacts but it didn't like the CVS files I had.
BOOKSTEAM (www.booksteam.com) - $20/month
Can import clients and add their birthdays. Shows revenue statistics. Allows for classes. Has reviews and allows you to block clients. Doesn't look like you can send auto emails.
FLEXBOOKER (www.flexbooker.com) - $50/month
Had a wait list that looks kind of cool (if you're that booked up). It also allows you to book rooms for services (if that's what you need). Has split times (as many as you need) as well as capability to book classes. Can't import contacts. I'm not seeing automated response emails.
CHECKAPPOINTMENTS (www.checkappointments.com) - $20/month
Has class capability as well as recurring appointments. No split times. Not my favorite.
BOOKINGBUG (www.bookingbug.com) - $20/month + charges per reminder and confirmation
Has both appointments and classes. Can import clients. Not looking like you can split times.
FINDJOO (www.findjoo.com) - free but lots of add on costs
I didn't like it. I'm not keen on so many add on fees.
MAKEPLANS (www.makeplans.net) - $9/month
Calendar integration. Has reservations report. Didn't like that you could't specify that you need 24 hours notice for an appointment (something I require). Not going to work for me. It's very basic and good if you have very basic needs.
SNAPPOINTMENTS (www.snapappointments.com) - free to $25/month for one staff member
Has its own online directory for its users (for clients to search). Allows for time padding before and after an appointment. Allows classes, custom messages and custom confirmations. Has appointment history per client.
QOOSHI (www.qooshi.com) - free
Basic online scheduler but doesn't allow for split times (for dinner break).
COACHING OR IENTE D
COACHING CLOUD (www.coachingcloud.com) - $77/month for solopreneur (but there's a free version)
Online session booking, client payment, online content delivery, session journal, auto reminders, online conversations and community branding. Very coaching oriented (obviously) and looks like it'd be great for developing online communities. I could see using this for that but not client management.
JIGSAW BOX (www.jigsawbox.com) - $67/month
I'm not entirely sure what this software does but it's more about creating a portal/space for current clients than client management or scheduling. This is very much a coach-oriented software. I wish it had a demo version or at least some screen shots. I'm kind of in the dark about this one but think it'd be worth further investigation if I need something like this.
LIFETICK (www.lifetick.com) - $49/year
This software is all about helping your coaching clients achieve their goals. It creates a shared space to help your clients to see their goals and their action items. Would be great as a resource for clients. Takes clients through values, setting goals, creating tasks, staying motivated, tracking progress, measuring performance and journaling their thoughts.
LIFE COACH OFFICE (www.lifecoachoffice.com) - $13/month for 10 clients (and goes up)
Coaching calendar, client folders, classroom, library, account management. I really like this. Could see using this to create classes and groups (in future). Again, more about helping current clients than contact management.
COACHING CLOUD (www.coachingcloud.com) - free version (that doesn't do much) or $77/month
I couldn't get in to demo the real version but looks like it has some client management, books appointments, has auto reminders as well as session notes.
COACH ACCOUNTABLE (www.coachaccountable.com) - $20/month+
Manages current clients. Has group coaching option. Tracks clients progress.
LIFE COACH MANAGER (www.lifecoachmanager.com) - $0+ (depending on # of clients)
Calendar, reports, accepts credit cards, does mass emailing, and has a secure client journal.
COACHES CONSOLE (www.coachesconsole.com) - $147/month
Doesn't have a demo version and a bit more than I want to spend. Does contact management, scheduling, client support, forms and documents, course and content delivery, and reporting. Has client agreements, billing and gift options.
COACHTRACK (www.coachtrack.com)
Not Mac friendly. Couldn't find pricing.
Not Mac friendly. Couldn't find pricing.
COACH SIMPLE (www.coachsimple.net) - $49/month or $199/year
Helps with client accountability and creating training programs. Tracks clients progress with worksheets and follow-ups.
CONCLUSION
As you can see, my search has been rather exhaustive (and exhausting). Reviewing all of these again for this post has helped but I'm still not 100% decided on which ones I'm going to use. I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to need to mix two (or more) to create the complete system I want. Let me know what you're using to keep your