Photography Business Tools we use: Dubsado

Running a business comes with a ton of work that you really don’t realize until you’re in the thick of it! Thankfully, there a ton of photography business tools available to make things a lot easier. We use 4 main tools for running our business, but they’re all so great, that we have to do a series!  So, today we thought we would talk about our newest and possibly our favorite photography business tool: Dubsado.

Our most recent photography business tool is a client management system called Dubsado. Talk about a gamechanger! Prior to Dubsado, we would keep track of our clients with mental notes & google docs that rarely got updated. That worked pretty well whenever we started, however, we have way too many amazing clients to keep track of everything. We decided to start looking into various client management systems because we want to consistently deliver the same, quality client experience across the board.

We asked other creatives and if you’re a creative, you’ve probably heard about Honeybook, 17 Hats, or Shootflow. All excellent choices, however, we found that Dubsado was perfect for us because of it’s price, what we wanted to use it for, and how frequently they update & add new features. We felt that in the long run, it was the best investment. After using it for a couple months, I am confident that we made the best choice for us!

1. Dubsado’s workflow system betters our client experience

   What we love about Dubsado is that it keeps me on track with all of our clients and automates tasks that we do for everyone. It has completely changed the way we handle clients, and we adore it because it’s everything we wanted to do for our clients, but didn’t know how. For example, whenever a potential couple inquires via our website form, that form goes into our Dubsado account. Before we’ve even looked at the inquiry, Dubsado sets them up as a lead, and starts a lead workflow, which immediately sends a welcome & while you wait PDF that shares a piece of our heart with our couples. Then, we will personally respond to the inquiry because we like to keep it real with real people and with real interactions around here!

2. Contracts are easy with Dubsado

   After meeting up, we send over a proposal that has all three of our wedding collections, and our couples will simply choose their collection, and it will generate a contract reflecting their choice, and then an invoice where they can pay online. SO easy.

3. Dubsado makes Bookkeeping easy.

   Inside Dubsado, I can keep track of all of our bookkeeping and it even connects to our quickbooks account. It keeps track of who has paid & who hasn’t, and also automatically reminds our clients a month before their wedding that their final payment is due.

4. Keeps us & our clients organized

   Dubsado organizes our business & our clients and keeps us on top of tasks that need done. One area we were struggling with, was receiving our questionnaires back. Luckily, Dubsado makes forms super easy. We have a getting to know you form that we send shortly after booking, as well as a wedding day questionnaire with all the details.Not only does Dubsado keep us organized, but it also offers customized client portals for our couples. After booking, we activate their portal, and they can find their invoices, contracts, any messages we’ve sent, forms we’ve sent, and any guides we may have shared. Heck to the Yes!

5. They add new features frequently!

   Finally, since joining, there have already been so many new improvements. They regularly post into the Facebook group for Dubsado users, and let us know what they’re working on. I feel that a lot of businesses tend to say they’re working on new features but then never follow through with their ideas. However, Dubsado has blown us away with their follow-through, and we’re so excited to see what they’ll update next!

If I’m completely honest, it did take some time setting up, but to be fair, I also didn’t completely watch all of the helpful getting started videos they sent! However, the dubsado facebook group is super helpful, and the customer service team was great at getting back to me with any questions I had. Overall, this may be the best investment in our business we’ve made.

If this hasn’t convinced you, you can try out Dubsado in a free trial that doesn’t expire, it just limits you to three clients. I used this time to put together our workflows & try it all out before adding our clients into the system. Or, if you’re ready to jump in and get started, use our code: dubsadoislife!