How Dubsado CRM Changed My Business Forever

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a huge part of business success.

If you’ve ever had to send a price list, invoice, contract, or proposal to a lead or onboard a new client, you’ve probably wanted a good CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system.

Before Dubsado, my CRM was kind of a hot mess. I had proposals everywhere, saved in Dropbox files that I’d have to search for. I sometimes wouldn’t remember everything that was included in each custom proposal, so I’d have to search through them to figure it out before telling a client “yes.” It took me way longer to send proposals since my system was basically copy an old one into a new document, then rewrite it and send. Having clients digitally sign PDFs was difficult if they didn’t have the right program. This system (if you could call it that) was dragging my business down.

Enter Dubsado.

Dubsado was a game changer for my business.

With many friends and colleagues in creative fields, I knew a lot about the different CRM systems out there. Honeybook was too wedding-focused for my needs, and 17 Hats was a little clunky. I decided to try Dubsado instead.

Once I figured out all the ways to maximize it (with some help from their tutorials), I realized that it was a game changer.

Streamlining your systems means more profit.

A good CRM like Dubsado means more profit for your business. How?

Less time you spend creating and managing proposals, contracts, etc.: they’re all in there!
You don’t lose leads, since they’re all in one space on your dashboard.
You can see at a glance all your current projects, who owes you money, and your workflow, meaning you can move projects along faster.
Less time-wasting admin tasks, more automation.

The pros and cons of Dubsado

One of the complaints I heard before taking the leap was that it was time-consuming to set up. As a systems person, I wasn’t too daunted. But, yes, putting all of my contracts, proposals, subcontracts, and branding in there did take some time, as did learning the difference between the forms, packages, etc. It definitely was a lot of work, but it was front-loaded work: now that it’s set up, I can send a new client a proposal in a matter of minutes.

To be honest, that’s really the only “con” I’ve noticed. I did have a few little issues in the beginning figuring out workflow: I accidentally sent a client an overdue invoice notice before they even accepted the proposal! Dubsado’s help team has always been receptive to questions and helping me fix things.

My favorite things about Dubsado?

The embed quality. My lead capture form is embedded in my contact page and it is a freaking life changer.
The scheduler: I used Acuity scheduling for a long time, and I did really like them. However, having Dubsado’s scheduler is so much more seamless so I switched to theirs, and I’ve lost fewer potential leads since the scheduler is easier for them to use.
Subcontracts: this is great for when clients need to approve print proofs.
Branding the proposals: I have this down to a science, and my proposals look awesome.
Proposal expiration date: LIFE CHANGING. No more of that “You sent me a proposal a year ago, can I get the same price?” stuff. I can set a proposal to expire 2 weeks, a month, however long I want after I send it, so clients who were quoted a long time ago can no longer fill it out and get an old price. This also helps me close sales easier.
The professionalism. Clients are super impressed by my onboarding and CRM, and it makes my business look higher end and more professional.

If you want a discount code to Dubsado, you can get 20% off your subscription using my affiliate code bonniebryantcreative or my affiliate link that you can access by clicking here.