So you’ve made the decision to invest in Dubsado – congratulations!
You’ve taken the first step to getting back your time as a business owner. But, which Dubsado pricing plan is right for you? With a free trial and two paid pricing options, knowing which features you need at this point in your business is important but can be a little bit confusing.
In this article, I will dive deep into both plans, their features, their differences, and some frequently asked questions about the two.
DUBSADO FREE TRIAL
If you’re wanting to give Dubsado a try without committing, their free trial may be a perfect choice. Unlike other popular CRMs, Dubsado offers a free trial for up to three clients rather than a designated amount of time. This means that you can fully set up three full client profiles before needing to even give your credit card number. I personally find this is a much better option because it gives you the flexibility to set up the system without rushing and the opportunity to upgrade the platform as you bring in more clients and revenue. Most other CRMs offer a 7 or 14-day trial (or nothing at all), which in my opinion, is not enough time to set up the system and experience the benefits before making a decision.
When you’re ready to sign up, save my affiliate code ‘martine30’ for 30% off!
Premium Vs. Starter Plan
Once you move beyond the free trial, you’ll be faced with two Dubsado pricing options: the Starter plan and the Premier plan. While both plans have incredible advantages, they are each designed to be better suited for different business needs.
the dubsado starter plan
The Dubsado starter plan is priced competitively for new businesses. Even though it has many of the same features as the premier plan, its price is exactly half of the premier plan. If you’re a freelancer or just getting started in your business, this option is the leanest option that will still save you a TON of time through automation. It’s the most logical “next step” from the free trial and allows you to automate a ton of things in your business including:
- Managing unlimited projects & clients,
- Sending automated invoices,
- Setting up payment plans,
- Setting up email templates,
- Creating automated forms (including questionnaires, contracts, proposals, lead capture forms, etc.).
- Creating client portals for your clients to access important information & documents
- Processing payments through integrations with Stripe, Square & Paypal
- Capturing leads through one lead capture form
- Compiling basic bookkeeping reporting
the dubsado premium plan
The Dubsado premier plan is still priced competitively at $40/month, especially considering how comprehensive it really is. That being said, it’s designed for slightly more established businesses that truly want to automate their business processes. There are several features that are only available in the Premier plan which can really upgrade your business automation. We’ll explore the differences more in the next section, but my two favourite features that are exclusive to the Premier plan are the scheduler and workflows.
the main difference between the two
If you visit the Dubsado’s website, you’ll see the most obvious difference is the pricing. But in fact, there are some core feature differences that are important to understand when deciding which Dubsado pricing plan is the best for you.
Workflows
The first and quite possibly the most amazing feature is “Workflows”. Dubsado workflows are where the true automation magic happens. Workflows are essentially a series of steps that happen automatically based on identified triggers. So what this means is that, for example, when a client fills out a proposal for a specific package of yours, they are automatically sent a customized contract with a pre-written email and customized invoice. Once the contract is saved and the deposit is paid, you can set a trigger to automatically send a questionnaire to your client. If the client doesn’t fill out the form, Dubsado can send automatic reminders, etc. Workflows can be created and triggered when a client inquires, fills out a proposal, etc.
With workflows, it is possible to automate a TON of the customer experience to ensure everything is sent on time and the client feels supported throughout your entire time together.
Scheduling
The Dubsado scheduling feature is a newer Dubsado feature that I also love. It takes the place of other schedulers like Calendly or Acuity (or worse – manual scheduling), and integrates directly with your personal calendar. One of the biggest benefits of using the Dubsado scheduler (rather than a third party) is that you can easily add a lead capture form to it so that when people book a call they are automatically added to your Dubsado system. Another big advantage is that if you charge for your appointments or consultations you can automatically attach an invoice to make billing seamless as well. It is important to note, however, that depending on your business model the Dubsado scheduling tool does have some limitations. For example, for coaches, I sometimes recommend integrating a more comprehensive scheduling tool.
Public Proposals
This feature may not appeal to everyone, but public proposals are another feature that are only available in the Dubsado Premier pricing plan. If most or some of your services follow the same process, and you would like clients to be able to book directly without you needing to send them an individualized offer, you can create a “Public Proposal” that can live on your website. This prevents the back-and-forth of having someone contact you, responding, potentially having a sales call, and then sending the proposal directly to them. Public proposals offer a simple sales process for packages that clients can purchase directly from your website or another public link (such within as an email).
Lead Captures
In the Starter plan, it is only possible to have a single lead capture form. While this works for many entrepreneurs, having multiple lead capture forms allows you to customize the form to different services. If you’re wanting to ask different questions for different services, the Premier plan may be a better fit as it allows you to create multiple forms with customized questions.
Additionally, without the workflow feature mentioned above (only included in the premier plan), you’re unable to automate a ‘thank you’ email that confirms that you’ve received an inquiry or booking. As a workaround, many people choose to use a ‘thank you’ page which can be used to confirm the inquiry and manage expectations for next steps. However, having that automated email go out can be a really nice way to open the line of email communication and provide a definite guarantee you’ve received their inquiry.
Additional integrations
The Dubsado premier pricing plan also offers more integrations which means you can integrate more software and tools to streamline your processes even further. Some of the most popular are integrations like: video conferencing (like Zoom), bookkeeping (like Quickbooks and Xero), and Zapier. Zapier is another automation software that allows you to connect even MORE integrations without coding knowledge. So essentially, the integration possibilities are almost endless with the Premier Dubsado pricing plan.
Time tracker invoicing
The time tracker invoicing tool is another helpful feature of the Dubsado Premier plan that you can’t access with the Starter package. If you are a Copywriter or Designer who charges by the hour or if you support other business owners in an hourly whitelabel capacity, the time tracker feature can be really helpful. This feature includes a timer within Dubsado that you can use to log your time and then an option to input the logged time directly into an invoice making hourly billing extremely easy. This feature is only one of many that makes Dubsado my favourite CRM for creatives!
Can I change pricing plans once I've set up Dubsado?
Absolutely! One of my favourite things about Dubsado is how easily it is to have the software grow with your business. From the free trial to the starter plan, to the premier plan, it’s incredibly easy to upgrade when you’re ready. A Dubsado setup can take a lot of time, and getting started with the initial optimizations available in the Starter plan is a great way to shift some of the tedious administrative work off of your plate. As your business grows, and you’re wanting to offer a seamless yet automated client experience, the Dubsado Premier plan is the most logical next step.
Of course, you absolutely don’t need to start with the “starter” plan. If you’re wanting to dive straight into full automation then you absolutely can! The great thing about the Dubsado free trial is that you can also try out ALL features that are available on both the Starter and Premium plan. That way, if you’re not totally sure which features are a must-have, you can try them all out and make an informed decision.
What if I already have another CRM?
If you have another CRM set up currently, but you aren’t totally happy with it, or you have other reasons for wanting to switch to Dubsado (I don’t blame you), they’ll actually move over your data for free! To qualify for their White Glove Migration service you’ll need a paid account (the free trial doesn’t qualify), but once your application is approved, their team will move over your clients, jobs, signed contracts, filled forms and invoices up to 2 years back. There are a few things that aren’t included, so if you’re interested in learning more I recommend checking out their website directly!
Is the Dubsado price worth it?
As a Dubsado specialist, my opinion may feel a little biased, but I can say with full honesty that I 100% believe the Dubsado pricing is worth it. I see on a daily basis how a properly set up Dubsado system works to save busy business owners so much time – which as a business owner you know is truly invaluable.
Aside from the money saved from spending your own billable hours on administrative tasks or having to hire someone at an hourly rate to support your business administration, Dubsado pays for itself in the way it upgrades your client experience. This is something that I talk about with ALL of my clients and is often a top priority for people I work with. Having a seamless client experience makes it so much easier to feel comfortable charging more for your services because you know that your clients are having a flawless experience and are feeling supported in all the right ways.
Ready To Get Started?
If you’re feeling ready to get started with Dubsado, I invite you to try a free trial or dive right in! If you’re diving right in, don’t forget to use my affiliate code ‘martine30’ for 30% off!
If setting up Dubsado yourself feels totally overwhelming, I offer two VIP-style set ups over the course of a day or a week! If you’re looking more for support with upgrading your client experience, regardless of your CRM platform, check out my client experience intensive now!
