If you’re wondering what Dubsado is and how to use it, you’ve come to the right blog post! I started using this amazing CRM tool back in 2020, and I can confidently say it has made freelancing and owning an online business a whole lot easier! When I started out, I loved that I could have a free account for up to 3 clients, which makes this an appealing offer to any new business!

Who should use Dubsado?

Dubsado is great for any service-based solo entrepreneur, small business or freelancer. If having all your client admin in one place is what you’re looking for, then you should try Dubsado! If you are a photographer, virtual assistant, coach, online marketer or event planner, then Dubsado might be perfect for you!

Is Dubsado a CRM?

Yes, it is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management), CMS (Client Management System) or workflow automation. Personally, I prefer using the term CRM since CMS is also an acronym for Content Management System.

If you’re unsure of what a CRM does, you can think of it as software that helps track each interaction you have with a lead or customer. That can include lead captures, sales calls, proposals, contracts, customer service interactions, emails, and more.

Another great aspect is your account can be as hands-on or automated as you want! This means the automations and workflows can be created as your business grows! By then you’ll also have a better understanding of your client journey and your repetitive tasks that you would like to automate.

What is Dubsado used for?

This software is used as an all-in-one solution for managing various aspects of a small business, including client relationships, projects, invoicing, and communication. Its flexibility and customisation options make it the perfect choice even for businesses in their first months.

These are my favourite and most used features:

Forms:

Lead captures Forms - These are the most powerful little (Or big) forms you could have on your website. They not only capture details of potential clients, but they can also start workflows if your account is set up to be automated. Dubsado has a whole library of customisable forms, or you could start from scratch with the drag and drop builder.

These lead capture forms can be shared as a link on social media, or embedded into your website.

Proposals - Imagine jumping off of a sales call and being able to instantly send your lead a proposal. Well, with these proposal templates, you can set up the form with “smart fields” that can autofill the clients’ details that you think are important. You could manually or build a workflow to automatically send the proposal immediately.

If you want to personalise the form a little more, you could quickly edit a version within the client project.

Proposals can also include invoices and contracts, so you could sign up a client and get paid in one go! (I love getting to my laptop and seeing these notifications!)

Questionnaires - My favourite form! These could be anything from on-boarding to off-boarding forms, and everything in between!

Sub-Agreements - These are great if you need any documents signed by your client, in addition to the main contract. Sub-agreements can also be used if you have multiple clients in one project, but you want each person to sign their own agreement.

Contracts - Make your work together with your client legal with an E-signature! It’s so easy to implement, and these forms can also autofill smart fields that you want within the contract.

Unsure of whether you should use a sub-agreement or contract? Dubsado has the answers!

Call Scheduler:

Scheduling virtual meetings can be a pain if you don’t use a call scheduler. Dubsado’s built-in scheduler is similar to Calendly, but a whole lot better in my opinion, even though it is still in the beta phase! I love the fact that I can attach forms, and set up automated reminder emails to remind my clients about our calls. I’ve never had a no-show, and I honestly think the reminder emails are the reason!

Canned Emails:

You know those emails you keep on typing out again and again? Well, with Dubsado, you can save those emails as templates! This includes reminders, onboarding, updates, invoicing, FAQs, inquiry responses, etc. Any email you send regularly can be saved as a template that you may edit before sending, or add into a workflow for it to be sent out automatically once a client does a common action in your process.

Invoicing:

The best part! Invoicing is so easy within this platform and can 100% be automated! Imagine saving hours as a business owner, and having a few ways in which to do it!

Payment after seeing the Proposal - Proposals can be set up to be a fixed amount, or adjustable by the client and the invoice will update automatically once they accept. (Remember, clients can see the proposal, accept it, and be moved to the contract and invoice on the same browser window!)
This is amazing for any new client you will be onboarding or even a digital product!
Payments can have payment plans attached to them that allow certain instalments to be paid on relative, fixed, or “TBD” dates within the client journey.
Think high-ticket items! Photographers receiving deposits, coaches with ongoing coaching sessions, etc.
Recurring payments can be created within the client’s profile.
This is a must for any client that you onboard as a retainer! This is great for Virtual Assistants, memberships, etc.
Invoices can be created using the built-in time tracker. Simply by tracking your time, you can go into the client’s profile and add the tracked amount to an invoice!

Time Tracker

Dubsado’s built-in time tracker is so simple to use and saves the need to use tools like Clockify, Toggl or Harvest. The best part is the tracked time can easily be added to an invoice within the client’s profile!

Other great features I love using as a small business owner include:

Calendar integration
Bookkeeping
Custom branding
Client portals
Task list

Did you know you can customise your URLs in Dubsado to match your domain? Check out that article if you’d like to know how to set up your custom domain in under 5 minutes!

Is Dubsado HIPAA compliant?

Dubsado is not HIPAA compliant! Read more details on the company’s site, and you can suggest an update.

Dubsado Pricing

You can sign up to Dubsado for free for up to three clients, with no time limit. This is the perfect way to get used to the platform without stressing yourself out because there is no time limit!

Starter plans start at $20 per month or $200 per year in 2024. This entry-level product includes unlimited projects, clients, easy invoicing, payment plans, forms and email templates.

The Premier plan is $40 per month or $400 per year in 2024 and includes everything in the starter plan, as well as, scheduling, automated workflows, public proposals, multiple lead captures at once and Zapier integration.

Grab a 20% discount here or use “sabine” at checkout! (This is an affiliate link that saves you money and also supports me in a small way! Thank you!)

Dubsado app is coming!

We’re all super excited about this and they’re busy developing the app as I write this! Like most business owners, I generally have my laptop with me when I need to use Dubsado, so this has never been an issue for me, but it would be great to be able to check-in on the business while on the go.

Dubsado vs HoneyBook

Both of these are great client management systems, and I spent HOURS researching the differences when I was starting to send invoices and contracts to clients!

The biggest downside of Honeybook is that it’s only available for US and Canadian-based businesses.
Most other CRMs only give a trial period, which I find stressful! I love that Dubsado gives 3 free clients forever - This may not seem like a lot, but once you have 3 paying clients, you know you’re onto a good business idea that can convert and scale from there!

Dubsado alternatives:

17Hats
HubSpot
Bonsai
Plutio

What is Dubsado? All you need to know in 2024.