It’s hard to find the best CRM for photographers. As your photography business begins to bloom, you must figure out how to manage your growing list of clients and all their projects. You might start on a system of excel spreadsheets, docs, Etsy invoice templates, and a Canva welcome packet. And all these pieces of your client experience in different places might work for a while— until they don’t. It’s a problem that needs a solution to ensure your growth and a consistent client experience!
As you start researching what to do, you’ll find many articles to find the best CRM for photographers – technology that handles customer relationship management. Two that you’ll find many photographers, wedding professionals, and creatives use are Dubsado and Honeybook. Both are robust platforms that help you manage your clients, invoices, templates, workflows, and payment processing, so how do you know which one to choose?
People are often curious about what I use (it’s Honeybook!), but I love when they ask me why, because that’s important to know. I switched from Dubsado to Honeybook in 2018, and I am in LOVE and would never switch back. Because I’ve used both, I’ll share why I think Honeybook is the best CRM for creatives.
I should start by saying they’re both great platforms with features for email templates, online contracts, project management, payment processing, and more. But, here’s the lowdown of why I’m Team Honeybook all the way and I think it is the best CRM for photographers!
Honeybook is just complex enough for what I need.
Dubsado offers more customizations of their templates, but after using Dubsado for some time, I found that even as a brand and website designer, I didn’t tap into many of the extra design features. More isn’t always better, and with so many options, Dubsado can become overwhelming. Remember, your CRM is there to simplify your life and not stress you out to the point that you don’t use it to its capacity.
Honeybook’s templates are simpler to customize and still offer plenty of customization to keep your client communications looking on-brand without the frustration factor.
Honeybook setup is simple.
When you need a CRM, you need it set up ASAP (like yesterday). Dubsado set-up took much more effort and time, where Honeybook can be up and running in a few hours.
The Honeybook workflows are easy-breezy.
Can I get an “Amen” to automation?
If you are typing individual emails to each client or potential client for every step of working with you, Honeybook will change your life as soon as you set it up. From the first inquiry to booking and processes along the way of your client project, Honeybook wins over Dubsado for me in the automation department. Automation workflows in Honeybook are much less confusing, so you can get your email templates set up correctly and have your CRM working for you in very little time.
Your clients will appreciate features like the Event Timeline.
When your client signs on with you, they’re excited to use your services. After all, you’re solving a big problem for them with your creative business. Keeping your clients excited through the process is easy to accomplish with the Honeybook Event Timeline. Whether it’s a day event such as a photo shoot or a wedding or a process service you offer, your client will enjoy seeing their project’s timeline. In addition, the more information your clients have upfront, you’ll answer their questions before they ask!
You can schedule meetings using the Honeybook integrated scheduler.
If you’re paying for or using another scheduler like Calendly, you will have an all-in-one solution with Honeybook, so you won’t have the extra platform to manage or pay for. This feature of both CRMs will allow you to schedule all your consultation calls, project planning sessions, photo shoots, and even in-person client meetings, if they are part of your service options. The fewer places you have to go for scheduling, the more streamlined you can run your business.
Honeybook is a partnership with the Rising Tide Society!
The Rising Tide Society is a wonderful community of creative entrepreneurs. It’s an endeavor to elevate the voices of small business owners, share their stories, and build a thriving online and offline community to support entrepreneurs. Honeybook offers Rising Tide Society members 20% off their first year of HoneyBook! Learn more about this partnership here!
Honeybook offers an app to take it on the go!
As a busy photographer, you know that not all your business is managed from behind a desk. With the convenience of the Honeybook mobile app for iOS or Android, you can easily respond to client communications or even create projects from your child’s carline or your favorite coffee shop. You can also see instant payment notifications and access all the desktop features of Honeybook from your mobile devices. Dubsado plans to release an app, but Honeybook’s app is available to all its subscribers. Big plus!
Here’s what some might say is a con.
You will have a processing fee with Honeybook’s built-in payment processor, but with Dubsado, you’ll have to integrate a payment system like Paypal or Stripe if you choose Dubsado, and they’ll take their own fees. It washes out in the end, as you’ll pay processing fees one way or another as a cost to do business. Consider these costs when you set up your pricing. Still, I think that Honeybook manages payment without integrating an outside processor, is another way Honeybook comes out on top over Dubsado.
With many great features like a clean interface, easy setup, form integrations with your website, and simple-to-use project management options, Honeybook is an excellent option for your CRM. Unlike Dubsado, you can get it up quickly, and from the first day you use it, you’ll immediately feel confident you’re running a smarter business. You’ll save tons of time, and you’ll make more money with all your extra time! I promise you your clients will be impressed, too, with your organized client processes.
So, when it comes to choosing the best CRM for photographers, and I am looking at Honeybook vs. Dubsado, I think it’s clear to see why I’ll be a Honeybook fan for life!
I am proud to say that I am a Honeybook Educator AND a Honeybook Pro.
I will sing their praises until the end of time, and I am the first to raise my hand to be a beta tester any time, as they are constantly working on a new development!
If you want to give it a whirl? Here’s a trial for not 20%, not 30%, not 40% but 50% off your Honeybook experience! USE CODE ALLYBDESIGNS
If you want to book a quick call to ask any questions you may have about Honeybook you can do that here! I am more than happy to help in any way possible! Book your call here to find out why Honeybook is the best CRM for photographers.
