Client Management Software?

Gonnaphoto

Does anyone here use client management software - or a service? I am really talking about a database to keep all the details (a contact sheet) that makes it easy to keep in touch, attend to anniversaries, etc.

I am so new I am still having some numbers on post-its, some mistakes where I just give my email and say contact me when ready, and some assorted facebook contacts. I have about 10 previous clients and 4 new pending accounts ( work is booked) and I am losing track of those who say , "I want you to do some work for me soon if your interested", to which I have basically responded with , "Yes, sounds great - let me know when your ready"

It is all getting out of hand and I want to start off right instead of making paper or electronic contact sheets to just have to put them in a database later.

Thank you,

Jay

ADMIT Photography

Gonnaphoto wrote: »

Does anyone here use client management software - or a service? I am really talking about a database to keep all the details (a contact sheet) that makes it easy to keep in touch, attend to anniversaries, etc.

I am so new I am still having some numbers on post-its, some mistakes where I just give my email and say contact me when ready, and some assorted facebook contacts. I have about 10 previous clients and 4 new pending accounts ( work is booked) and I am losing track of those who say , "I want you to do some work for me soon if your interested", to which I have basically responded with , "Yes, sounds great - let me know when your ready"

It is all getting out of hand and I want to start off right instead of making paper or electronic contact sheets to just have to put them in a database later.

Thank you,

Jay

You could try making a Microsoft Access database to do this. This would allow you to customize it with your own criteria. It's not to hard to do.

ssimmonsphoto

I was in your boat not that long ago. I've been shooting professionally for just over two years, but it's not my primary job and I just couldn't keep track of it any more. So I started trying to find a studio management program that would take off a lot of my load and help me keep track of everything. The first one I used was Studio Cloud. The nice part about it was that the basic portion was free. So it was a great place to start. But I soon wanted to use email integration, which meant shelling out $25 a month. It worked well for a while, but then I just got frustrated with various parts and pieces and decided to explore my options again.

Shoot Q is a really common one and looks to be a stellar outfit. But the price tag was more than I could swallow.

I'm currently with Tave and really liking it. It has really streamlined everything in to one place. I like that I can have my clients sign my contracts electronically at their convenience, which often results in bookings in the middle of meetings or during my day job (so awesome!). I also have a client portal for my brides to log in to so they can update their contact info or check their balance. The nice part is that my contact form now puts the client right in to my calendar as a pending/potential client, so I can easily tell if I'm booked or not. They are doing a huge release this month that should result in a lot more email integration and, hopefully, more automation so I can have Tave send an email right back when a client inquires for a date I'm already booked. I'm paying $25 a month and it definitely feels worth it. I could go on about it for a while longer so, if you want to know more, just let me know. If you're interested in checking them out, I'd appreciate it if you could use my referral code https://www.tave.com/?action=Start&Invite=40NR-RKIE-F5FI. (To be honest, I get a free month once you've been with them for 90 days.) But, if you'd rather not, check them out at http://www.tave.com

There are a lot of other ones out there, but that's my experience.

Gary Peterson Photography

This is an amazing product. http://www.act.com/products/sage-act-2011/index.cfm

stuart33

studiolead.com software
Hi there,
I've been using Studiolead.com's (http://www.studiolead.com) desktop + online software. Love it!

Much cheaper than shootq and i keep all my client info locally.

Gonnaphoto wrote: »

Does anyone here use client management software - or a service? I am really talking about a database to keep all the details (a contact sheet) that makes it easy to keep in touch, attend to anniversaries, etc.

I am so new I am still having some numbers on post-its, some mistakes where I just give my email and say contact me when ready, and some assorted facebook contacts. I have about 10 previous clients and 4 new pending accounts ( work is booked) and I am losing track of those who say , "I want you to do some work for me soon if your interested", to which I have basically responded with , "Yes, sounds great - let me know when your ready"

It is all getting out of hand and I want to start off right instead of making paper or electronic contact sheets to just have to put them in a database later.

Thank you,

Jay

aquaticvideographer

Highrise
Check out Highrise:

http://www.highrisehq.com

Nice and light but still powerful!

Tas67

Hi Stuart,

I was looking at Studio Cloud but saw your post and Studio Lead looks much easier to use. Do you HAVE to subscribe or can you get by with just using it on your computer?

Any info would be great!

Thanks
Tanya

MileHighAko

ssimmonsphoto wrote: »

I was in your boat not that long ago. I've been shooting professionally for just over two years, but it's not my primary job and I just couldn't keep track of it any more. So I started trying to find a studio management program that would take off a lot of my load and help me keep track of everything. The first one I used was Studio Cloud. The nice part about it was that the basic portion was free. So it was a great place to start. But I soon wanted to use email integration, which meant shelling out $25 a month. It worked well for a while, but then I just got frustrated with various parts and pieces and decided to explore my options again.

Shoot Q is a really common one and looks to be a stellar outfit. But the price tag was more than I could swallow.

I'm currently with Tave and really liking it. It has really streamlined everything in to one place. I like that I can have my clients sign my contracts electronically at their convenience, which often results in bookings in the middle of meetings or during my day job (so awesome!). I also have a client portal for my brides to log in to so they can update their contact info or check their balance. The nice part is that my contact form now puts the client right in to my calendar as a pending/potential client, so I can easily tell if I'm booked or not. They are doing a huge release this month that should result in a lot more email integration and, hopefully, more automation so I can have Tave send an email right back when a client inquires for a date I'm already booked. I'm paying $25 a month and it definitely feels worth it. I could go on about it for a while longer so, if you want to know more, just let me know. If you're interested in checking them out, I'd appreciate it if you could use my referral code https://www.tave.com/?action=Start&Invite=40NR-RKIE-F5FI. (To be honest, I get a free month once you've been with them for 90 days.) But, if you'd rather not, check them out at http://www.tave.com

There are a lot of other ones out there, but that's my experience.

Thanks for the info about Tave. I signed up with your code, but I haven't received my confirmation e-mail yet (going on a long time now), but whenever I get it I look forward to trying it out.

ssimmonsphoto

MileHighAko wrote: »

Thanks for the info about Tave. I signed up with your code, but I haven't received my confirmation e-mail yet (going on a long time now), but whenever I get it I look forward to trying it out.

That's unusual for it to take so long. If it still hasn't coming, I'd just use the link on their page. I have been completely happy with it and don't regret leaving StudioCloud at all. And I love having it online only so all I need is internet and I'm good to go. No software that gives me more function that the site like others I looked at.

There are a lot of people who got their panties in a bunch because version 3.0 was supposedly going to be released a while ago. But they have since been very open with the fact that they made a mistake announcing the date and have since learned from it. Their Facebook page has tons of updates on it and they have since been much better about keeping their users in the loop. I'm excited to see 3.0, but I'm just as happy using what we have now and already think its a great product without the upgrades that we'll see at some point.

MileHighAko

ssimmonsphoto wrote: »

That's unusual for it to take so long. If it still hasn't coming, I'd just use the link on their page. I have been completely happy with it and don't regret leaving StudioCloud at all. And I love having it online only so all I need is internet and I'm good to go. No software that gives me more function that the site like others I looked at.

There are a lot of people who got their panties in a bunch because version 3.0 was supposedly going to be released a while ago. But they have since been very open with the fact that they made a mistake announcing the date and have since learned from it. Their Facebook page has tons of updates on it and they have since been much better about keeping their users in the loop. I'm excited to see 3.0, but I'm just as happy using what we have now and already think its a great product without the upgrades that we'll see at some point.

I submitted a ticket and they responded in minutes, and activated my account. Thank you so much for the recommendation. I am very pleased with the functionality and capabilities. It took quite a bit of time for me to get it setup the way I like it with my fields and contract language and such, but it was worth it. I've had two customers use the online contract signing module, and the process is pretty slick.

I am excited for 3.0. Not worried if it takes them several more months. The functionality I have now is spot on (again, takes a bit of configuration on your part to make it work for your business).

Thanks again. I gladly used your referral code.

ssimmonsphoto

MileHighAko wrote: »

I submitted a ticket and they responded in minutes, and activated my account. Thank you so much for the recommendation. I am very pleased with the functionality and capabilities. It took quite a bit of time for me to get it setup the way I like it with my fields and contract language and such, but it was worth it. I've had two customers use the online contract signing module, and the process is pretty slick.

I am excited for 3.0. Not worried if it takes them several more months. The functionality I have now is spot on (again, takes a bit of configuration on your part to make it work for your business).

Thanks again. I gladly used your referral code.

Thanks, Adam. I've used them just about exclusively for contracts at this point. I only do paper ones when the clients are computer illiterate or don't have easy access. I sell it as being better for the environment and easier for them since they don't need to worry about keeping track of a paper copy. I implemented their contact form immediately and it makes it so easy to see what leads are coming in, from where, and for when. I can easily reply back to an inquiry without having to compare their date to a calendar or anything. I'm hoping that response (for the dates I'm booked) will be a bit more easy to automate in V3.0, but, like you, I am completely happy with where it is now and am more than willing to wait for a stable release of 3.0 as opposed to a version they hacked together to try and appease their users sooner.

Light_prod

has anyone got any recommendations for a desktop application that does the same/similar thing for mac?

ssimmonsphoto

Light_prod wrote: »

has anyone got any recommendations for a desktop application that does the same/similar thing for mac?

StudioCloud is computer based (or it was when I used it) and I know they have a Mac version since I used it on both PC and Mac.

dbveto

ssimmonsphoto wrote: »

I was in your boat not that long ago. I've been shooting professionally for just over two years, but it's not my primary job and I just couldn't keep track of it any more. So I started trying to find a studio management program that would take off a lot of my load and help me keep track of everything. The first one I used was Studio Cloud. The nice part about it was that the basic portion was free. So it was a great place to start. But I soon wanted to use email integration, which meant shelling out $25 a month. It worked well for a while, but then I just got frustrated with various parts and pieces and decided to explore my options again.

Shoot Q is a really common one and looks to be a stellar outfit. But the price tag was more than I could swallow.

I'm currently with Tave and really liking it. It has really streamlined everything in to one place. I like that I can have my clients sign my contracts electronically at their convenience, which often results in bookings in the middle of meetings or during my day job (so awesome!). I also have a client portal for my brides to log in to so they can update their contact info or check their balance. The nice part is that my contact form now puts the client right in to my calendar as a pending/potential client, so I can easily tell if I'm booked or not. They are doing a huge release this month that should result in a lot more email integration and, hopefully, more automation so I can have Tave send an email right back when a client inquires for a date I'm already booked. I'm paying $25 a month and it definitely feels worth it. I could go on about it for a while longer so, if you want to know more, just let me know. If you're interested in checking them out, I'd appreciate it if you could use my referral code https://www.tave.com/?action=Start&Invite=40NR-RKIE-F5FI. (To be honest, I get a free month once you've been with them for 90 days.) But, if you'd rather not, check them out at http://www.tave.com

There are a lot of other ones out there, but that's my experience.

I am also checking out Tave but I have to ask why do you have ShootQ in your sig?

ssimmonsphoto

dbveto wrote: »

I am also checking out Tave but I have to ask why do you have ShootQ in your sig?

Because since I wrote the original post, I got sick of waiting for Tave to come out with 3.0 and really tired of their lack of communication. My photo biz is a side job for me and I need something that does what I need it to do NOW and not in 2+ years. Tave 3.0 has been in the works for well over a year and they have been really bad about keeping their customers in the loop about the timeline ever since they totally missed their announced release date last fall. I just got tired of it all. I really wanted to support the "under dog" and didn't believe that ShootQ would really be worth the $40 per month. But Tave really tried my patience too much. And then Pixifi, who has amazing customer support and a really great team, just had too many of my required features in development still. I wanted to like them really badly, but, especially with a day job and my business on the side, time really is precious for me and I didn't want to wait anymore and be a bug finder. I wanted it to work right the first time.

The final straw for me was when I went to a photog get together near me and everyone there unanimously said ShootQ was a lifesaver. That made me give in and give ShootQ a test drive. That was less than a month ago and it took me less than a week to be sold on it. I haven't had to talk to tech support for anything. No bugs to report. No "deal breaking" features missing for me (I want an android app and an iPad app, but I can deal without). Yes, it's $15 more per month, but it is well worth it at this point for me. Oh, and ShootQ seems to be genuinely concerned about their customers and helping them succeed. I never truly got that feel from Tave after they messed up their big release last fall. They just shut down and stopped talking all together. If I ran my business like that, I'd never book anyone.

The only one that I'd likely go with other than ShootQ at this point would be Pixifi. Whenever I emailed them with a problem, they instantly emailed me back and helped to troubleshoot it. If they responded and I didn't send them back anything, they actually followed up to keep me in the loop and make sure everything was ok again. They were really great, but I just couldn't wait for a startup to get everything set up right.

Let me know if you want more information. That was a lot of venting, but I've used four different managers before finally settling on ShootQ. This is just my experience. I'm sure there are many others who loved the places I tried before ShootQ and I'm sure there are people who hate ShootQ. This is just my two cents.

*vent over*

dbveto

ssimmonsphoto Sorry I sometimes forget to look at when posts are actually made.

ssimmonsphoto

dbveto wrote: »

ssimmonsphoto Sorry I sometimes forget to look at when posts are actually made.

No worries at all. I feel bad about it since I was such a cheerleader in my original post. But my mood died as did my patience. And my poor husband was tired of hearing me talk about what I was waiting for and told me to get something better that did what I wanted and be done with it. So I wanted to give my honest, updated response to counterbalance my cheerleader mentality in my first post. I'd recommend checking out the Tave 3.0 blog and reading the comments to get feedback from other users. I'm frustrated that I switched 4 times in the past two years, but I'm happy with where I wound up.