How To Make The Most Of Your Dubsado Free Trial
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Before 2020 turned the world —and the wedding industry— upside down, automation was at the top of my list of business goals for the year.
Life was getting pretty busy with two little kids at home and multiple brands to manage. I was long overdue to streamline my process for onboarding and invoicing wedding planning and coaching clients, as well as booking exhibitors for the wedding show.
I wanted to work smarter, not harder and I knew CRM software was the way to do it. For the life of me, I couldn’t make up my mind. It took me months to decide which option was best for me.
Spoiler alert: I chose Dubsado.
Honestly, I kick myself for not signing up sooner.
Along with my Canva subscription, it’s the best money I’ve spent all year.
If you can afford to add Dubsado early on in your business, go for it!
I must have read a dozen blog posts while I was trying to decide. After two disappointing free trials of Aisle Planner, consulting friends on both Dubsado and Honeybook, a helpful demo, and debating with myself for months, I finally decided on Dubsado. You can read more about that decision, right here.
With so many weddings cancelled and postponed in 2020 and 2021, any business expense results from a careful decision making process. I wanted to make sure that I was choosing the right CRM for my wedding business if I was going to spend my hard-earned money.
I know you’re here to learn how to make the best of your Dubsado free trial, I promise I’ll get to it shortly.
WHY I LOVE DUBSADO
Dubsado has a reputation for being complicated, but I don’t think that’s the case! I think new users overcomplicate it by trying to adapt the system to their old way of doing things, rather than going with the flow. There is a ton of helpful information in their Help Centre and on YouTube. Or you can enlist Dubsado experts or VAs for help.
Having interacted with Honeybook as a planner and a client (and a free trial), I didn’t love it. It seemed clunky to connect to the right projects and navigate from quotes to contracts. Dubsado’s portal system —which is easily white-labelled and updated with my own branding— has worked great. The email linking seems much smoother. And I’ve used it easily as a client, when booking services with other professionals as well.
Dubsado has email templates built in, so I save time by editing those instead of starting from scratch. It also includes some basic contract templates, though I have uploaded my own.
Payment processing and online contract signing is the most obvious way that I’ve been able to streamline my client onboarding and customer service. The contact signing option was particularly helpful because it meant I could stop paying for HelloSign. That right there helps to offset the cost.
Read about my other fave free apps for my wedding business here.
DUBSADO FREE TRIAL & PRICING
While Honeybook’s free trial lasts only seven days, Dubsado’s free trial lasts for three clients. So I was able to get most of the software set up, and get my bearings for quite a while before I needed to actually spend money and sign up officially.
If you’re really trying to spend as little as possible, you can start with the monthly payment options which allows you to pay as you go and spend less initially at sign up. But my suggestion is to pay for the annual subscription, saving you money in the long run. Use my Dubsado Promo Code “KJANDCO” to save 20% off right off the bat.
If the timing is right, save further by signing up during their annual birthday sale in February or usually in November as well. That deal can be stacked along with my promo code, KJANDCO. You can sign up for a free trial any time, but you must purchase your plan during the sale to take advantage of the sale pricing and lock in the discounted rate.
Updated to add:
In February 2022, Dubsado is introducing a less expensive “Starter Plan”.
DUBSADO STARTER PLAN
Unlimited clients and projects
Invoicing and payment plans
Form and email templates
Branded to your business
DUBSADO PREMIUM PLAN
Everything in the starter plan PLUS:
Scheduling
Automated workflows
Public proposals
Multiple lead captures at once
Zapier integration
The Starter Plan is a great option if you’re bootstrapping your business budget this year. If saving time is high on your list of priorities, I highly recommend the Premium Plan. I am obsessed with the scheduler. It saves so much time for booking client meetings. And the proposals have some really interesting functions that you could use in your consultation process.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR DUBSADO FREE TRIAL
Okay, the info you came for: how to make the most of your Dubsado free trial. Remember, rather than a time limit, the free trial covers three clients. That count starts with each new client added in to the system, either manually or through a “lead capture” form.
The key is to not link Dubsado to your website inquiry form.
At least not during your free trial.
Instead, add those first three clients in to your Dubsado system as they’re ready to book you and sign on the dotted line. In other words, add them when you’re ready to write and send their contract.
You can still use a Dubsado “lead capture” form to get them in to your software, but not directly from their initial inquiry through your website.
By linking any new inquiries to your free trial, those potential new clients will count towards your 3-client limit right away. That could get eaten up fast, by price shoppers who might not even book a consult with you, or sign up for your services.
In this scenario, you’re might not get to use all of the functions of the software right away (like proposals and workflows) but if you’re set on Dubsado and trying to delay the expense it’s your best bet to extend the trial.
And once you’ve got that first client (or clients) booked with payment, you can use those funds to help pay for the software! This is a great option for brand new wedding businesses starting out!
If you’ve been looking to streamline onboarding your clients and better keep track of payment schedules, then it’s time to give Dubsado a shot.
DUBSADO DISCOUNT CODE
Use my Dubsado Promo Code “KJANDCO” for a 20% discount.
Get 20% off your first month or your first year, with my link right here.
If you’re on the fence about which CRM software is the right fit for your wedding or creative business, I highly recommend that you book a Dubsado demo and take a closer look.
STILL KEEN ON HONEYBOOK?
If you’re still not sold on Dubsado and would like to give Honeybook a try, you can use this referral link for 20% off your first year.