Building a Better Business with the Best Business Managing Platforms of 2023
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As a small business owner—or someone planning to launch your small business soon—you might be overwhelmed when it comes to choosing a business management platform to help you streamline operations.
A quick Google search will turn up more platforms than you can reasonably compare. You may simply decide, forget it, I'll figure it all out on my own. Though possible, to a degree, you don't have to throw in the towel just yet. Instead, we invite you to stick with us for the next two thousand words or so while we highlight a couple business management platform options that could work for you.
Knowing Where to Begin
It can feel impossible to even know where to begin with making a platform decision. But before you even look at any websites or sign up for free trials, you should ask yourself some questions about what specifically you want from a platform and what specific business tasks you want help with.
Among the myriad platforms out there, no two do exactly the same things. Some are much more heavily focused on customer relationship management (CRM), while others aim to streamline paperwork processes for you with customizable and/or automatic quoting and invoicing.
Knowing which pieces you can do on your own and which you want a platform to help you with can help you eliminate options quickly.
Five Questions to Answer Before Starting the Search
Asking and answering the next five questions before you get started will make it easier for you to scan a platform's features and fully investigate or test only the ones that will give you the things you really want.
What are the three most important features I want?
You may have more than three features you want, or you may only have one or two that are deal breakers. But knowing this ahead of time will help you avoid trying out multiple programs only to find they aren't what you need. Features you may find crucial could be templates for business documents, lead generation assistance, email marketing, and comprehensive customer contact cards.How much am I willing and able to pay for a platform?
Platforms vary in pricing both among competitors and among their various levels of service. Knowing ahead of time what you can afford will help you avoid wasted time researching programs that are too expensive for you.How many team members need access to the program?
Many programs charge more per user, so knowing ahead of time how many team members need to use the program will help you quickly do the math on cost. Some programs may seem cheap until you start accounting for all the users. Other programs have minimum user counts that might result in wasted money if you're a team of one.What existing programs do I use that I don't want to get rid of?
Integration is key to business management programs. It's time-consuming if you have to transfer all your email contacts by hand, for example. If you have programs you still anticipate using or that you have relied heavily on before, you'll want to make sure the platform you choose has integration capability with them.Where do I anticipate my business being in the next year/what size and scope am I working toward?
A business management platform is an investment into your business, so while it's natural to want to spend as little as possible, you also want to consider where you're heading as a small business and prepare accordingly. Choosing a platform that has plans to grow with your business, even if it's not the cheapest option out there, is better in the long run than changing platforms with every significant business milestone.
Our Key Feature Factors
Choosing the key factors that you need in a business management program is going to be specific to each small business. What one business needs another may be able to easily do without.
That said, we've decided to compare platforms based on key features that we think will generally apply to a variety of small businesses.
Price
How much you're shelling out each month or year is going to be a big factor for nearly every small business. As much as a business management platform is an investment into your business, you have to be wise with how you invest into your business when you're small. That said, the cheapest option isn't always the best, so while price does factor in to our comparisons, we also consider what features you get for the price you pay.
We're not going to rank any platforms that don't have either a free trial or a free option. If you can't try before you buy, we're not going to recommend it. User experience is highly individual and just because a lot of small businesses like one platform doesn't mean it's going to be the perfect fit for you.
Accounting/Billing Paperwork
Many small businesses struggle and fail because of the paperwork. Quoting, invoicing, contracts... keeping on top of the paperwork that shows money coming in and out is a full job in and of itself. That's why the programs we recommend all have some degree of accounting and paperwork feature, whether it's simply templates you can customize for each client or automated processes you can set up.
The less time you have to spend on paperwork, the more time you have for growing your business.
CRM
CRM features can be fairly nebulous. It can be anything from easy organization of existing customer information, comprehensive contact data that shows relevant projects or purchases, to lead generation by capturing contact information from your website so you can personally follow up.
For our purposes, we're looking at detailed customer databases and lead generation capability.
Tracking of Sales and Marketing
Perhaps the pinnacle of business is being able to look at reports and see what is working and what isn't working, both from a sales and a marketing perspective.
You don't want to keep listing a product or service that no one wants. You'd rather adjust your listings to account for what people are buying.
Similarly, you don't want to keep using the same marketing techniques that aren't bringing in customers.
A good business management platform is going to provide you with some reports to help you make decisions for your small business. We'll highlight some of the key reporting and tracking features of the platforms we review.
Keep in mind that there are more factors than just the few we've listed. Nothing about this list is comprehensive, but it should be helpful in giving you a place to start. We recommend you read up on the platform that seems to be the best fit for you and take advantage of any free trial or free plan they have available before financially committing.
Without further ado, here's our comparison:
1. HoneyBook
HoneyBook keeps things simple. You get access to all their features and you don't have to guess about any quantity limits you need, all you need to decide is whether you want to pay annually or monthly. Honeybook costs $32.50 a month when you pay annually ($390 per year). They offer a 7-day free trial, which doesn't seem like very long, but they also offer a 60-day money back guarantee. Here's what HoneyBook offers:
Access to business documents including proposals and invoices, with the option to bundle them with payment options for streamlining your processes
Streamline lead generation by allowing clients to book appropriate services themselves online
Email scheduling and triggers that generate personalized emails for customers, along with email templates for you to use
Integration with various apps and programs you may already be using
Reports for projects, leads, and financials
Access to free document templates even if you do not use HoneyBook's platform
You can add an unlimited number of team members to your projects
CRM features that allow you to organize clients and projects and never miss communications
HoneyBook is more expensive than 17hats, it's kind of refreshing to just get everything instead of hoping you can get everything you need without paying for the things you don't need. If you need a program for multiple team members, HoneyBook is our favorite option. For context, to get more users with 17hats you'd be paying a base of $300, plus $5/mo for every additional user. Depending on your team size, the savings you'd have with 17hats quickly diminishes.
2. 17hats
17hats is a comprehensive business management program that provides everything a business needs for success, whether a small, growing business or an established business. They offer a three-project free trial to see if it's the right fit for your small business. Their first level plan begins at $13 a month ($156 a year) and includes:
One user, more users available in level two plan at $5 per user per month
CRM features to record and store contacts and project details
Up to 20 customizable document templates per month, with more available to purchase as necessary
17Hats integrates with your existing email account to make it easy to transfer contact information and send customized emails and documents
Build one lead capture form into your website and set up automated responses to acknowledge receipt of your clients interest. Lead management allows you to look over all your client interactions and see which are going smoothly and which need your immediate attention
A variety of reports allows you to see how your business is doing, including client sales reports and sales tax reports
17hats has varying level options that allow the program to grow with your business. When you purchase the second level plan, some features become optional add-ons, allowing you to pay for what you need.
3. Dubsado
Dubsado takes a different approach to the free trial or plan than its competitors. According to their FAQ, you can use Dubsado for free for as long as you like, but you can only have three clients. Once you need more clients, you can choose between the standard or premium plan. The standard plan starts at $16.67 a month when billed annually ($200 per year). The starter plan includes:
Up to three users on the plan
CRM features with unlimited database space for projects and clients
Templates for various forms, including invoices
Email integration and templates
Capacity to embed one lead capture form
Automated invoicing and payment plans for clients
Reports on profits, expenses, and overdue invoices (but the website doesn't make it clear if this is for all plans or just premium)
Dubsado may be a good option for a beginner business. While you only have a couple clients, you can use their features for free to see if you like their platform. Once you need space for four or more clients, you can upgrade or try out another platform if Dubsado isn't working for you.
4. Vcita
Vcita's essentials plan is $19 a month when billed annually ($228 per year) . They offer a 14-day free trial so you can test out the features before committing. The essentials plan includes:
One user (additional users reserved for business and platinum plans)
CRM features for organizing your clients
Online lead capturing capability and online scheduling
Customizable business forms including estimates, invoices, and receipts
No performance reports unless you are on the premium plan
Email marketing campaigns and automation not included with essentials plan
Integrates with various programs, including apps to receive payments
Vcita is less comprehensive than its competitors and falls into the middle of the pack in terms of pricing. They withhold some of the key plan features for the more expensive plans, and while some blossoming businesses may be able to easily afford the plans, smaller or just starting businesses may find it challenging.
Wrapping it Up
We did a quick dive into quite a few different programs and left out any that didn't come close to meeting any of our comparison criteria. Others had the features we were looking for but started creeping above $700 a year, and didn't even give businesses ever feature they had.
That said, you may find that a program we haven't listed here is the best fit for your business. You should definitely listen to your intuition—you know your small business best.
If you've done your homework by answering the five questions we asked above, researched some different options, and have tried out the free trial or free plan for your platform of choice, you can commit with confidence.
And remember, even if you change your mind later on and end up switching platforms somewhere down the road, you'll still have gained valuable insight into what it takes for you to run your small business.
