There’s plenty of free CRM software packages and websites available for you to sign up to; while all are pretty good, I’m writing about the free web-based option that is Capsule CRM, a lightweight and easy to use web-based tool with a small business focus, and a few integrations.

What is a CRM

CRM stands for “customer relationship management,” and CRM software is a management tool for businesses to keep track of business relationships, clients, and prospective clients, and also allows for the implementation of a support ticket system among other things. So who needs a CRM? Any business that has client’s that require a lot of follow-up, contact, and management. A CRM is fantastic for those who have a product to sell.  I’ve used programs such as Ontraport and Infusionsoft both of which are super high tech organisational CRMs, not so easy to use nor are they user-friendly. But they do serve a purpose, and that is to manage the entire marketing / sales aspect of your business for a price.

In a nut shell …

Capsule CRM has two modes of usage with varying restrictions, starting with the free edition you have some limitations restricting you to 2 users, has a very tiny 10mb storage limit and you can keep up to 250 contacts. In the scheme of things, it’s really too small to be bothering with.

If your business needs grow outside of the free limit, you can go premium which will give you unlimited user logins with 20gb of storage each and up to 50,000 clients can be tracked in the system. Professional also includes integration into other useful software including, MailChimp, Freshbooks, Xero and more! The professional package does cost $12 USD/month (Roughly $17.00 AUD) but can be downgraded or cancelled at any time.

The Review

The space offered with the free version, is hardly worth bothering with. 10mb is the size of a decent quality photo (or two). Most of us have more than 250 contacts in our phone alone. So you’ll be needing to move to the premium version pretty quickly, however. Deciding on a CRM for your business (If you feel the need to go down that path), the free version of Capsule CRM will provide you with a great starting point.

Pros

  • Easy to use web based interface (access anywhere)
  • Search Bar on every section of the website
  • Web-based means universal device support
  • Easy customization of information
  • Dashboard interface is intuitive
  • Sales and deals tracking is useful
  • Plenty of inline help offered on the website
  • Great sales pipeline page with export to image option

Cons

  • Two user limit might be reached fairly quickly
  • Depending on the type of work, 10mb storage is a tiny limit
  • Only MailChimp integration available for free edition

Summing up there’s not too much you can complain about with a free edition which is mostly fully functional, the free edition is really only suitable for the very small business with only a couple of employees accessing it.

I’d encourage you to give it a try, there’s even a 30-day trial for the professional edition if you have a bigger business you can skip the free edition from the start and give it a go.

Click here to go to the CapsuleCRM sign up page and give it a shot.

If you’re using a CRM, what is it? Or if you’ve checked out Capsule CRM; what did you think? Please leave a comment in the comment section below.