

To efficiently implement CRM (customer relationship management) one must first understand its history and its importance. Travel through time, and you will learn of a detailed background, its creators and evolution.
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Are you a freelancer looking for CRM software? What is the best CRM for freelancers?
Staying organized and managing all the client’s information are always the hardest parts of freelancing. This is where CRM software can take out and be a Customer Relationship Management solution for freelancers.
CRM solution helps freelancers to manage their projects while keeping track of all their information and notes at the same time. In addition, the price of the CRM system must suit the tight budget of freelancers.
Luckily, in this article, we will compare the 8 best CRM software, based on efficiency and budget criteria, to help freelancers make their choice, and in addition, some tips in choosing the right tool.
1CRM is one of the best Cloud CRM specialists for freelancers, startups, or small businesses. It combines both sales and marketing features all in one single system and its platform is easy to use. It helps freelancers save time and create long-term relationships with their clients.
Features
Here are some CRM features of 1CRM:
If we compare 1CRM and HubSpot, which is a huge CRM specialist in the industry, we can see that 1CRM focuses on the integration of order management, efficient client support service, and project management, all in one solution. Otherwise, HubSpot provides lots of CRM features but lacks service management and can’t offer an overall view of your project. Furthermore, if the budget is a thing that freelancers or small businesses care about, there is a huge difference between the price of 1CRM and HubSpot.
There is a free version for freelancers and small businesses. The paid plan starts from $13 per user per month, billed annually. The price can go up to $34 per user per month which is a good price tag for freelancers. Freelancers can register directly on their website.
Agile CRM is considered as the most flexible CRM tool, just like its name “Agile”. The reason is that its design is so minimal and easy to use, compared to some more robust CRM software like HubSpot or Salesforce CRM. This CRM tool is specifically designed for freelancers or small businesses who want to launch an eCommerce business.
It has a timeline board showing all the interactions you have with the application. If freelancers want more marketing features, there are even some marketing features such as marketing automation, emailing, newsletter, tracking, …
Features
Here are some CRM features of Agile CRM:
Sales:
Marketing:
Service:
The good news is that Agile CRM offers a free plan for 10 users and 1000 contacts but it doesn’t include the marketing features. The paid plan starts from $8.99 per month and can go up to $47.99. Freelancers can register easily right on their website.
Bitrix24 is a cloud-based CRM software, founded in April, 2012. Bitrix24 offers basic CRM tools specially designed for freelancers and small businesses. It is available in Cloud or on-premise and in 18 different languages. This platform gives freelancers and small businesses a CRM suite of communication and management to help them be more organized.
Features
Here are some CRM features of Bitrix24:
Bitrix24 is able to organize both communication and organizational tasks for freelancers and small businesses.
Bitrix24 offers a freemium for freelancers and small businesses. The paid plan starts from $39 for 5 users per month and can go up to $159 (unlimited clients).
The greatest thing about Betterlance is that this tool helps freelancers and small businesses generate new leads every month and always be clients’ top-of-mind. To do that, they use lots of prospecting tools and match your offer to the client who needs it. Freelancers always work on their own. Luckily, Betterlance does automatically all its work so freelancers don’t need to spend hours or hire a team.
Features
Here are some CRM features of Betterlance:
The CRM basic plan is totally free and it has a free trial for 14 days. The paid plan:
Capsule CRM is a simple online CRM tool that will help freelancers nurture the relationship with their clients, win more sales and give you the most insightful report. What makes Capsule CRM distinct from others is the visual overview of the whole project. Life is much easier when you can track your sales to see if you are in progress.
Capsule CRM is very easy to use with a clean and friendly interface. It allows you to:
Here are some CRM features that make Capsule different from other CRM tools:
There is a free plan and a 30-days free trial. The free plan has some limits such as only for 2 users, storing up to 250 contacts, 50MB of storage limits.
The paid plan:
Close CRM is specially designed for freelancers and small businesses that focus on email marketing campaigns because this tool will help them generate automatically the email campaign. Close CRM also provides advanced email tracking.
The most significant advantage that Close CRM offers to their clients is the capability to manage and generate leads freely. It’s easy to use, all you need to do is choose the plan that suits you the best and use the migration tool to import your client’s sheet. Once you finish this process, you have to save a boatload of time and you are ready to go.
Features
Features of Close CRM:
There isn’t a free plan. The paid plan:
All plans include must-have tools.
Less Annoying CRM is a CRM specialist tool specifically designed for freelancers and small businesses. This CRM platform is recommended by thousands of businesses for its ease of use and customer support quality. All the information is stored in one place.
With Less Annoying CRM, you can:
Less Annoying CRM has the most affordable price tag for freelancers and small businesses with lots of CRM features. It has a cost unique for all businesses $15 per user per month without contracts and limitations. With the price of your lunch but you can organize your work for a month. It’s a very good cost for freelancers or small businesses on a tight budget with lots of powerful CRM features in one simple platform. They also offer free client service to answer all client’s problems.
Streak is a platform that was created by a former Google product manager in 2011 with the idea of helping salespeople connect easily their work to their email box. Streak has everything you need for a CRM tool. It is deeply integrated totally in the Gmail box and works alongside other G suite applications. The goal is to create a platform where salespeople can both communicate with their leads and manage their work in one simple interface. It’s very easy to use the user interface.
It has all the important CRM features such as:
The special thing is that Streak lives inside Gmail so freelancers can easily export and import information or customize their workflow. You can easily track information when an email is opened.
Streak provides a free version which is ideal for startups with few contacts. With its basic pack, you can still enjoy most of its important CRM features such as reports, data management, … The paid plan starts from $15 per user per month, billed annually.
There is no better CRM tool than the one that will truly satisfy your needs and suit your budget. Before choosing a CRM system, it is important for freelancers to determine their objective by answering these 3 questions:
After answering these questions, you will know what CRM features you need to use. Moreover, you have to pay attention to these criteria such as:
Furthermore, we have to take into account that freelancers must find a balance between:
With a powerful CRM solution, you can significantly increase your sales, efficiency and productivity. It is important to research carefully your business needs and the client before you choose a CRM tool. Find your needs and a CRM that meets those needs by considering the key factors that we have mentioned.
With this article, we hope that you can surely find the right CRM for your business. The key is knowing what you need and finding out the CRM platform that satisfies those needs when you see them.