Honeybook vs Dubsado: What Is The Best CRM for Photographers?

As business owners, finding the perfect software to automate your business and create an excellent customer experience is one of the top priorities. In the creative world, there are so many incredible Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools available. Two of the most popular for photographers, in particular, are Honeybook and Dubsado! While everyone wants to believe all softwares are created equally, the truth is they’re not. Today, we’re going to talk about Honeybook v. Dubsado and what the differences are, who should use them, and some things to consider when you decide which CRM to use for your business! 

Automating Your Business

When you choose a CRM for your business, one of the most important aspects to consider is how easy it is to automate your workflows and systems. A CRM should make your life easier by allowing you to automatically send and collect files, communicate with clients, and run workflows. Honeybook promotes the fact that you do just that – automate files, workflows, and more. But in reality, their systems fall a bit short. Automations are limited to only one workflow at a time, have limited triggers, and cannot trigger an additional workflow if one is completed. Right off the bat, those limits mean that you – the business owner – are going to be spending time maintaining your workflows, instead of letting them run automatically.

In contrast, Dubsado makes automating your business easy! With many more customizable triggers and workflow steps, you can truly build out the specific workflow that your business needs. When you create a workflow, the point is to be able to make everything run smoothly in your business so that you can enjoy the life you’re building while not missing a beat with your clients. If your software can’t do that for you easily, it’s not the right software. Their software also allows for multiple workflows to be running for a client – and to trigger a second workflow. This can be really helpful if your client experience is layered (like a wedding client who also has an engagement session).

Creating a Customized User Experience 

But the differences don’t end there. Part of using a CRM is finding a system that will enhance your client experience, not take away from it. Many photographers worry that automating their business will limit the personal feeling of their client’s experience. But, the right CRM will actually keep that from happening. Dubsado allows for more customization in your smart fields, which then can be used to auto-populate information in your projects. This means any email, document, or proposal sent from Dubsado is automatically customized to your clients. Nothing feels canned – instead, it feels personal and like you’re truly involved in the process. Additionally, Dubsado ensures that you can automatically send documents, proposals, and invoices to clients which means that your process is never slowed down and can move, even if you aren’t at your desk.

Honeybook, in comparison, has many fewer smart field options and is severely limited in the way it connects and populates data in your project from that contact form. This means that you’re going to have to connect more dots, which is more time and energy – and it leaves more room for error. Not to mention, their templates are way less customizable – so nothing feels as personally branded as it does in Dubsado. Your options are limited, which then means that your client experience is lacking!

In both softwares, you can create a pipeline to follow your client’s progress through your experience. In Honeybook, the pipeline is partially customizable, but you can’t remove steps that might not apply to you. Additionally, your clients will not automatically move through the pipeline. You have to do it. In Dubsado, you can completely customize your pipeline and your customers will move through it automatically. Remember, these may sound like small tasks but the time spent completing them WILL add up!

Getting Paid

One of the most important parts of using a CRM is how you get paid! We’re all about making money here!! Honeybook ONLY allows you to use Stripe to receive payments. You can’t integrate other platforms or use one you already have like you can in Dubsado (which allows you to get paid via Stripe, PayPal, and Square). While this may not sound like a big deal, it’s more accounts to create – and again, more room for error. With less flexibility, only having one payment processor really turns into a headache.

Availability 

Finally, something else to consider is who can use each software. Currently, Honeybook is only available in North America. Dubsado is used internationally, which means no matter where you work – it will work. Honeybook is also marketed for photographers and while it can be used by other business owners, with the lack of customizations available, it’s not nearly as easy to do so. In contrast, Dubsado provides many more options for various business owners.

When it comes to choosing your CRM, make a list of what’s most important to you. Are you looking for software that will automate your business fully? Do you want easy payments and access to your program? When you start to lay out what you really need, the decision between Honeybook v. Dubsado becomes much easier.

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Meet Your Friendly Systems & Workflow Educator For Business Owners

Dolly DeLong is a Nashville-based family photographer and a creative business owner who educates other creative business owners on all things systems, SOPs, and workflows.  Dolly loves serving families with her bold, elevated, and radiant photography.  She also loves educating other creative business owners on how to set up systems and workflows that will ultimately help them save time in their business. She does this by producing weekly blog posts, weekly podcast episodes on The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast, and weekly YouTube Episodes.  She has a heart for serving the larger business community. Dolly shares her knowledge of tools like Dubsado, Email Marketing, and Business Systems with new creative business owners & family photographers in an encouraging and supportive way because she believes that anyone can find joy in systems, workflows, and SOPS! Plus BONUS: Systems is where the MAGIC happens! You CAN streamline & automate the backend of your creative business with ease! Dolly’s faith and love for her family motivate her to help other business owners find the joy and freedom she’s found in running a successful small business. Whenever she has a spare moment, she enjoys watching TV (i.e. Survivor), loves eating way too many sweets, and listens to podcasts while running or walking. To work with Dolly DeLong fill out her contact form