Want to learn about business management software for consultants? Or about business management software free? Check out these free business consulting software programs. There are a number of cloud based software options when it comes to managing your business. These business management software free products are easy to setup, (some install in just minutes), and they can improve your productivity and workflow.
There’s a lot of business management software for consultants out there. But which ones are the best? And which ones are available for free? I’ve test-run a lot of different types of software and created this list of the best alternatives for any consultant to use.
Practice Ignition
Practice Ignition is a software that helps you create comprehensive proposals and send them directly to your clients so you can more easily earn the money you deserve for your services. It creates a much more efficient proposal process that keeps you moving forward.
Practice Ignition features:
- Simple proposal creation with a library of customizable templates
- Ability to collect one-off and recurring payments right on your proposals
- Comprehensive business dashboard so you can easily monitor cash flow, sales and revenue
- e-Signature capabilities so your customers can sign your proposals with greater convenience
- In-depth commenting system allows your clients to add feedback or objections directly to the proposal
- Integration with third-party accounting software like QBO and Xero, along with workflow software like Zapier and XPM
Proposify
Proposify’s aim is to streamline the entire proposal process, from start to finish. This is an affordable software that helps you add an extra level of visual design to your proposals, following the idea that this will impress your clients more.
Proposify features:
- Fully customizable proposal templates allow you to add video and other visual elements
- Mobile access allows your clients to review proposals on the go
- Team collaboration for better communication between teams and tracking of important deadlines
- Interactive tables so your client can choose from a list of the different services you provide
- Public API for integration with your CRM and invoicing software tools
PandaDoc
PandaDoc is a software made for sales teams, marketing teams and company leadership teams. Geared toward fast-moving companies that are looking to quickly gain more customers, this proposal software focuses on efficiency and analytics.
PandaDoc features:
- Web-based functionality allows you to create proposals anywhere and on any device, as long as you’re connected to the internet
- Advanced analytics that track proposal views, time spent viewing proposals and more
- Customizable proposal design with a library of ready-to-edit and ready-to-use templates to fit a variety of different situations
- e-Signature functionality for faster signing
- Team collaboration features that give your employees the option to work on proposals together and give your clients a voice during the proposal process
Slack
If you have a team there’s one tool that will make communication between every member on your team a breeze – Slack.
Slack is an instant messaging tool with features that go beyond chatting. With Slack you can:
- Communicate with members of your team instantly with messenger.
- Create groups to communicate with specific members of your team about projects they are working on.
- Search and archive messages to keep track of everything that’s ever been discussed.
- Streamline your workflow with Slack’s 1,000+ app integrations.
Trello
Managing projects and collaborating with your team and clients is a cumbersome task if you don’t have a project management tool to help.
There are a ton of project management tools available in the marketplace. We love using Trello in our marketing consulting agency because of the customization and visual aspect that it provides to allow us to collaborate, capture project details, and manage projects to completion.
Trello also has tons of apps that they integrate with to allow you to “power up” your boards to streamline your efficiency and productivity.
Harvest
As a consultant, it’s likely that you bill clients by the hour. Harvest is a time tracker that integrates with Trello seamlessly so that you and your team can keep track of the time spent on projects.
To use Harvest, all you do is start and stop timers as you work. You can estimate project costs by logging expenses, tracking time, and creating detailed invoices you can send off to your clients with a click of a few buttons.
Depending on where you are at in your entrepreneurial journey, it’s likely that your team will begin working for you remotely. Harvest is a perfect way to make sure everyone on the team track’s their time so that clients are billed and the team is paid properly.
Zoom
I’m pretty sure (almost) everyone has heard of Zoom at this point.
Zoom is a video platform that allows you to conduct 1:1 meetings, webinars, and online events anywhere you can access the internet.
We’ve been using zoom before it was uber-popular. It allows us to serve clients all over the world, record our calls, and send the recordings to our clients for added value.
Calendly
One of the biggest “time-sucks” as a consultant is the email/phone “tag” trying to schedule sales and consulting calls. As such, appointment scheduling software are some of the most essential tools for consultants.
Calendly eliminates this back-and-forth hassle by automatically checking calendars for available times so clients can opt for a time that works for them. You can also set your own availability so you keep appointments blocked to certain times without lifting a finger,
QuickBooks – Invoices & Payments
QuickBooks makes it super simple to prepare for tax time all year long. You can manage all of your money and expenses in one central place.
QuickBooks allows you to do things like:
- Track your expenses
- Create invoices
- Collect payments
- Monitor cash flow
All of these are important to every consulting business!
Instapage
Leads are the lifeblood of any consulting business. Without leads, you cannot have sales.
Landing pages work for you to collect leads through contact forms, lead magnet downloads, and other prospect data capture. Instapage’s landing page builder has over 500 layouts tested for conversions with speedy fast load times. Browse templates by industry and use case so you can speak to your exact consulting need.
BidSketch
BidSketch is a proposal software that is dedicated to saving you more time to focus on the needs of your clients. It can help you remember exactly what needs to go into your proposals, and it also includes a variety of other tools that you can use to increase revenue and overall success.
BidSketch features:
- A library full of proposal templates that you can easily fill out with personalized information for the client
- Unique upselling features allow you to easily add optional fees and services for your clients to consider
- Automation for the steps following the proposal signing so your clients aren’t just waiting for more information
- In-depth notification system that keeps you up to date with all the actions your client is taking with the proposal Integration with other consulting software like SalesForce, Zapier and more
Qwilr
Qwilr is a proposal software that focuses on intuitive and simple design features that make it easier for you to make visual and personalized proposals. With other features that help you measure proposal success, this software is a handy tool for any consultancy firm.
Qwilr features:
- Design features focused on consistency help keep your brand visible across all proposal templates
- Increased security functionality that includes password protection, view limits and time limits
- Reporting features allow you to see how long clients are viewing your proposals and what areas they spend the most time on
- Integration with third-party software to keep your business streaming without any hiccups
- Comprehensive team collaboration functionality streamlines the editing and approval process
Mavenlink
Mavenlink is a project management software that is dedicated to helping consulting businesses maximize utilization and improve overall margins. If you’re looking for an all-in-one business consulting software, you definitely want to check out Mavenlink. This software focuses on creating the most collaborative environment as possible so you can meet your deadlines and increase your efficiency.
Mavenlink features:
- Executive dashboard gives you deeper insights into the use of your resources so you can improve areas that need work and praise teams who are performing exceptionally
- Comprehensive resource planning features help you understand in real time how your employees are spending their time
- Simple overview dashboard provides a quick look into the projects you are managing and the resources being used
- Integration with other business consulting software like CRM and accounting tools
Pipedrive
A CRM is supposed to help you and support you in your everyday tasks and not distract you.
And this is exactly what Pipedrive does at its very core nature. The main view of Pipedrive is a structured pipeline of deals, which can be configured depending on your needs (e.g. for sales pipeline: lead-> contact made -> meeting -> negotiations, or for M&A process: long list -> short-list -> teaser -> memorandum -> due diligence -> SPA negotiations).
“Pipedrive CRM is both reasonably priced and one of the easiest CRM services there is to set up and understand.” Rob Marvin, PCMag editor
The most useful things about Pipedrive you will find in your advisory business are:
1. Seeing and managing all your deals in one place in a visual way
2. Integration with your email, enabling you to send emails to clients directly from your CRM
3. Planning activities to be performed for each client
4. Statistics (what % of deals go through particular pipeline stages)
5. A mobile app giving you access to information, history, and notes of each contact or client anywhere you are
Pipedrive is designed to help and not distract, and you will most likely find yourself using it because “you want to” rather then “you have to”.
Conclusion:
Business management software for consultants can help you stay organized and work more efficiently. For example, when a consultant takes over a new client, it’s important to be able to track the progress that has been made from start to finish. In order to do this, you will need a detailed system of organization that includes specific deadlines, clear objectives, and expectations. It is imperative that the consultant keep track of all these details and business processes so they can create a professional end solution.