We love systems and softwares in every way! Of course, simpler is better, but over the years, we’ve learned that some systems just work better for specific things. Here are the ones we use in our business (or have heard great things about from others!) Full transparency: There are affiliate codes below where you may get a discount and I may earn referral credits. But we, of course, live and breathe by these apps/softwares we’re sharing below! π
CRM (Client Relationship Manager) – An absolute MUST for every client-focused business owner!
Dubsado is my Client Relationship Manager aka my business lifeline that houses all my contracts, templates, inquiries, workflows, etc. I personally like Dubsado over other CRMs because of the customization and how easy it is to stay on-brand.
- You can read more about why I chose Dubsado over Honeybook and Aisle Planner here.
- Dubsado: Get 20% off your first month or year with this link or type in “obec”. You can trial up to 3 clients (no time limit) before making the purchase, which is also amazing!
- Dubsado alternatives in case you decide you want to compare it to something else:
- Honeybook: I am sure you will find someone with a code! Talk to any photographer you know π
- Aisle Planner: They have CRM capabilities but just doesn’t work as well for my brain. AP has AMAZING planning tools but it never worked well for my business personally. It may work well for you! The price is also very high. I personally found this as a great planning tool for design or full-service weddings, however, it is not great if you have a lot of wedding management couples!
- Rock Paper Coin: I haven’t looked super into this but a lot of wedding industry people do use this for contracts and invoicing.
Planning Tools:
- The Refine Portal: This is a great option for actual planning tools for clients! They have a manual “CRM” set up but it’s not my fave. Honestly, you should just pay for a good CRM that can automate things for you, otherwise you will be stuck doing a lot of manual entry which goes against the point of making your life easier! There is a lot to the REFINE portal and pretty overwhelming to set up, but a great and valuable investment (one-time payment!) if you don’t want to pay for something like Aisle Planner!
- GSuite – Nothing wrong with good ole Google Docs!
- Aisle Planner: See notes above, but also a great option if you have a good amount of higher planning packages!
Timelines:
- Timeline Genius (subscription): We’re not going to lie, switching to TG has been an absolute game-changer for us and vendors. Also, they have the best customer service team ever.
- Our very own timeline template available in the shop with set up cues list (one-time payment)
- Includes everything you need to make sure that you have all boxes checked:
– Vendor Contact Information
– Rehearsal Timeline
– Wedding Day Timeline (pre-filled)
– Setup details and setup cues (for you and your team)
– Wedding Notes Section for important information, diagrams, etc.
Of course, it’s fully customizable so you can add and take anything off that is not pertinent to your wedding. This template will save you TONS of time (read: hundreds of hours) and present you as the true professional you are!
Client Care:
- Greetabl: a budget friendly option to treating your clients
- Box and Bow and Box Fox: custom gift boxing websites. If you’re in a rut, they also have pre-made boxes to choose from at many different price points!
Daily Organization/Project Management (also great for team tasks)
- ClickUp: Free! I’m a pen and paper planner kind of girl, but now that I have a team, it’s way easier to delegate tasks using ClickUp. ClickUp lets you embed spreadsheets and is the “one app to replace them all” (at least we can try to reduce the tabs on our browsers from 10 to 5).
- Asana: Another great option if you want something free!
- Toggl: Time Tracking. The Google Chrome extension is really handy! If you’re not tracking your time, you need to! It provides such great insight into how long it takes to serve your clients and reveals a lot about how much time you’re actually spending on certain tasks!
Team Management:
- Google Calendar
- Connecteam or Homebase for shift scheduling (free options)
- Slack for team communication
Marketing/Social Media/Website:
- Showit: Get your first month free on us! (Use link or put in “obec” when you subscribe). The best website platform to exist. If you’re like me and want gorgeous design with full customization control, this is for you. Blogs are hosted through Showit (WordPress) and there are a ton of stunning website templates to choose from.
- Planoly: I use Planoly to map out my Instagram feed and content. You can start off with the free plan if you want to test it out!
- Tailwind: Get a free month on us. They also have free plans. I mainly use Tailwind for Pinterest but they recently expanded to also include IG and FB. Basically, you can batch schedule all your pins in way less time and increase your growth significantly with Tailwind! Thank goodness for this powerful tool.
Design:
- Canva (Free): an amazing resource for creating graphics, design boards, etc.
- Merri: taking your design boards and floor plans to the NEXT level!! I do not have a referral code – yet. Stay tuned! π
Email Marketing:
- Flodesk: Get 50% off your first year. The prettiest and easiest email marketing platform that exists! We love Flodesk and are happy to say we actually send out emails every now and then thanks to Flodesk, haha! One thing I learned about social media is that everything you put time into on social media can disappear within seconds, so starting an email list was a no-brainer for me.
Business Operations:
- Quickbooks: Get 50% off your first 3 months. Gone are the days of manually entering all your transactions and crying into the $$$ abyss. QB makes it easy to categorize your expenses, receipts, and mileage. Because tax time is already hard enough y’all!
- 5 Biz Numbers You Need To Know: The fact that all of these spreadsheets are so affordable completely blows my mind. I’m not the most numbers-savvy, but your finances and business will thank you immediately. Take the time to set up your business for success, pay yourself a real salary, and scale big time by getting your finances in order
- Your Legal BFF: Contracts for wedding planners! I also like Paige Hulse Law and Engaged Legal.
- OnPay – I use OnPay for payroll and love that it features a ton of HR tools and makes payroll quick and easy!
Physical Planner:
- Simplified Planner – They also have a more affordable line you can find at Target
Memberships/Communities for Planners
Which tools do you think you’ll use for your own business? If you want more planner resources, be sure to check out the SHOP sign up for my email list for more content and education for planners!
