Eighteen months ago, I jumped the corporate ship into the entrepreneurial waters of owning my own business. It didn’t take long for me to realize I had too many project spreadsheets, communication apps, forms for every possible situation, and no way to track invoices and payments. During one late night of playing processes catch-up, I decided I needed a Customer Relations Manager (CRM) before I blew up my business with an unorganized mess.
I found Dubsado.
It came highly recommended, but I was skeptical. Did I really need a full CRM as a startup business? I signed up for the free trial (up to three client projects) and discovered that Dubsado was not just an amazing CRM. It offers so much more.
Before I tell you all about my favorite features, here are three things you probably didn’t know Dubsado could do.
With a paid account, you can have multiple business portals under one login or team with other Dubsado users on a project and have separate branding incorporated into each one.
You can activate a client portal and offer your client access to all of their contracts, invoices, uploaded documents, and more in one place. The client portal can be password protected and offers file uploads to make it even easier to share documents, images, forms, and files.
Dubsado’s contracts are electronically delivered and electronically signed! Congratulations on saving trees and eliminating paper copies. PS. These are accessible from the client portal!
Is your interest piqued? Let’s dive into more of the fun features offered by Dubsado.
When you first log in, you’ll find yourself at the dashboard - a customizable overview of your financial goals, outstanding invoices, contracts, calendar, and project workflows. You can sync multiple calendars in Dubsado and even link video conferencing tools like Google Meet or Zoom to schedule invites directly from your account. I visit my Dubsado dashboard daily to remind myself of workflows, tasks, and to keep myself accountable for the revenue goals that I’ve set for my business.
I also spend a lot of time on the projects tab. This big picture of your current workload is the jumping-off point to access detailed project-specific information including email correspondence, forms, and contracts, invoices, workflows, appointments, tasks, and notes.
As a growing business, I found Dubsado’s reporting functions to be exactly what I needed for simple bookkeeping tools to track my income and expenses. The customized breakdowns helped me with tax season and marketing strategies and as my business and bookkeeping needs grow, Dubsado will integrate with more robust programs like Quickbooks.
Remember my messy processes? Dubsado offers both a task board and workflows.
The task board is helpful when you have a to-do list, but it is not automated. You do have form templates and canned email responses created for any number of business management needs, but the real power comes when you incorporate Dubsado’s workflow.
Once you have set up the workflow process, Dubsado can run automation from lead capture to proposals to project completion. This is arguably the most impressive of Dubsado’s features. It sends emails, creates invoices, applies for payments, changes a project status, and more. Each completed step sets off the next part of the workflow process, but it’s only activated when you apply the workflow to a project so you can change and revise as much as necessary.
Clearly, I am a Dubsado fan.
It has changed my messy processes into streamlined automation processes. All my projects, invoices, and contracts are housed in one place where I can find all the information I need through reporting functions. A year after using Dubsado, I’m still discovering new ways to save time in my busy entrepreneurial schedule.
But don’t just take my word for it. As an AMSE member, when you realize you can’t live without Dubsado, you get a 15% discount each month or from a yearly purchase. Find the discount in your membership dashboard!
Want to learn even more about Dubsado?
AMSE is proud to host a Masterclass with Dubsado in March! Hosted by Cameron McBeth, we will be learning about how to save time by using Dubsado so you have more time for what matters. This Masterclass will be held on March 2, 2021 at 1:30 PM EST - sign up for it in your membership dashboard!
Not a member with AMSE? There is no better time to start! Click here for more info on membership!
Anna Larson is a 15-year military spouse, entrepreneur, and homeschool mom of 2 amazing kids + 1 fur baby. She started her own business after nearly 20 years in marketing and program management. NomadAbout offers comprehensive marketing solutions, website design, copywriting, and social media management.
She contributes monthly to a number of publications, hosts a weekly podcast and live stream business show called 15ish Minute Coffee Chat, sits on a board as the Director of Operations for a non-profit that offers support to cancer patients, and co-leads the Fort Hood chapter of the Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs.
In her spare time, she likes to travel the world and have amazing adventures with her family. She can’t decide if exploring glaciers in Switzerland, standing in the shadow of Burg Khalifa, or zip-lining at Victoria Falls is her favorite so far. You can also find her with her nose in a book or sitting poolside for relaxation.
