4 questions to help you evaluate your options…

…so you can finally choose the right business tools for your small business

I think we’ve all been there — chosen a piece of software because it’s the newest, shiniest thing, only to realise that it doesn’t do what we really needed it to. Unfortunately, there’s very few systems or tools that are flexible enough to be one-size fits all. And when they are, it’s all in the set up – which (you guessed it) comes from being clear on what you need, as well as what you want. With this in mind, I wanted to share a really quick series of questions you can ask yourself before you trawl the internet looking for the perfect solution to your system woes.

I’m using a CRM (like Dubsado) in my examples, but you can use these questions to help you make decisions about almost any type of tool.

1. What is your primary need?

If it does one thing well, what does this tool need to do?

Automation of your client admin? Proposals, contracts and invoices? Client scheduling over multiple time zones?

2. What are the features that are essential?

They might not be things that are sexy, but without them, you just can’t make it work.

Being able to sign legally binding contracts? Integration with Quickbooks? Ability to create recurring invoices?

3. What things would be nice to have?

The things that might sway your decision IF you have a couple of options that both meet your core needs.

Whitelabeling? Client portal? Stripe for ACH payments?

4. Do you like how it feels? Does it make sense to you?

There isn’t any point in choosing a system that just feels plain wrong to you.

However, I’d encourage you to keep in mind that all systems have a learning curve, some steeper than others. For example, I see a lot of people choose Honeybook over Dubsado because they couldn’t figure out workflows – even though, sticking with Dubsado (and getting help with the set up) may have been a better choice for them in the long run.

Switching tools is often costly and always time intensive — and let’s be honest, we all have more pressing priorities than going back and forth on systems.

Panic-choosing your business tools really isn’t a good idea.

By evaluating tools on what you need, not what they can do, you’re much more likely to get yourself up and running with a tool that will serve you well over a long period of time.

So, where do you get started?

My (totally free) course 7 Steps to Automation will help you choose and set up your very first client management systems. Enroll now!